The Bachelor's Little Bonus (Proposals & Promises 3)

An hour later, she faced him with her shoulders squared, chin held confidently high. “Well? Still feeling good about that bet?”

“Pretty sure that was an unfair challenge.” Cole tilted his head as he eyed her in suspicion. “How many times have you played this course?”

Smiling nostalgically, she glanced around the indoor miniature golf course. The large space was dimly illuminated. Two eighteen-hole courses were lit by low walkway lights with multicolored plastic shades. Tiny fairy lights were strung in greenery arranged to replicate a nighttime garden setting. Tinkly new age music played from hidden speakers, and water splashed in artificial streams and falls, creating a mystical ambiance that explained why the few other players on this Sunday morning spoke in quiet tones, their laughter politely muted.

Holding putters, Stevie and Cole faced each other across the tee of the eighteenth hole. Only one stroke separated their scores, the advantage hers.

“I can’t remember how many times, exactly,” she said in answer to his question. “But every time Mom brought us to Branson for vacations, Tom and I begged her to let us play in here and in the arcade down the hall. We always bet on the outcome—doing dishes for a week, putting away the laundry, various household chores. Mom wouldn’t let us bet money.”

“You still haven’t told me what we’re wagering,” he reminded her, his tone indulgent. “And by the way, I don’t actually mind doing household chores.”

“So, what are you offering if I win?”

He gave it a moment’s thought, taking advantage of having no one behind them and waiting to play to stretch out the teasing conversation. “If you win, I’ll wash and detail your car when we get home.”

Having known her for a year, he was aware of how much she hated washing her car, and it was especially dirty after last week’s snow and mud. “Ooh. Interesting.”

He chuckled, tossing and catching his bright yellow golf ball in his right hand. “And what will you do for me if I win?”

She bit her lower lip for a moment in thought, then spread her hands, offering a vague pledge she was pretty sure she wouldn’t have to make good. “If you win, I’ll owe you a favor to be redeemed at your discretion. You name it.”

His eyebrows rose. “Sounds intriguing. But you look awfully confident you won’t have to pay up. You’re pretty good at this next hole, huh?”

“Scared?”

He dark eyes gleamed with amusement. “Maybe.”

He really was cute. More relaxed than she’d been in weeks, she grinned back at him. “Well?”

He swept a hand toward the course. “Take your shot.”

Already picturing her car all shiny and clean, inside and out, she bent to place her hot pink golf ball on the rubber mat. As she did so, she glanced over her shoulder at Cole. Was he admiring the curve of her bottom? He looked away quickly and she thought his face might have flushed just a little, though it was hard to tell in the shadowy venue. Biting her lip against a smile, she stood and lined up her shot.

A short while later, she walked out of the golf course into a big indoor breezeway, still shaking her head in disbelief. Smiling from ear to ear, Cole wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “So now you owe me a big favor.”

“I still can’t believe you got a hole in one. And that I whiffed that last putt. Are you sure you weren’t just taking it easy on me on the first seventeen holes?”

“I just got lucky with the hole in one, and you only missed your second putt by a half inch.”

“So what’s my penalty? Have you decided what you want for the bet you won?”

“Not yet. I’ll let you know when I think of it.”

She looked up at him through her lashes, enjoying his lazily teasing mood despite her pretend pouting. “Now I’m the one who’s scared.”

He laughed softly and gave her shoulders a little squeeze. “Don’t worry, Stevie, I won’t have you wash my car.”

She made a show of wiping her brow in relief, drawing another laugh from him.

In addition to the mini golf courses and arcade, the building housed a restaurant, a couple of small theaters and several gift shops. Stevie paused to admire a display of scarves, momentarily tempted by their bright colors, sparkly threads and fluttering fringe. Making herself turn away without buying, she looked around for Cole, spotting him standing in front of a display of stuffed animals.

He held a stuffed tiger in his right hand when she joined him. The toy looked quite suitable for an infant, more funny than fierce, incongruously whimsical in Cole’s strong hand.

She smiled. “You found a tiger.”

He nodded, his expression a little odd. “It caught my eye.”

Still he didn’t move. She lifted her eyebrows in question. “Are you buying it?”