Page 84 of Shots Fired

Her eyes light up like this is the best news ever as she continues walking, holding the conker up to show me.

“Okay, so basically, you have to drill a hole in the top, being careful not to split the skin because that weakens the conker. Then you pass a string through it and tie a big knot at the bottom. The idea is to destroy your opponent’s conker as they hold it out in front of them.”

She turns and walks backward, demonstrating what to do. I just smile because she’s in her element.

She huffs out a breath and finishes up explaining the rules to me. “Back before my dad became at total arsehole, we used to have family championships each October. I looked forward to it every year, and I usually lifted the conker trophy. That was, until one year, when I caught Jack preserving his chosen conker from the chestnut tree at the bottom of our garden in a jar of vinegar. Cheater,” she bites out.

I make the assumption that vinegar intervention is frowned upon and skip to what I really want to know.

“Does my girl have a competitive streak?” I ask, pocketing the conker in my jeans. Fully intending to keep it somewhere safe when I get back home.

Her brow quirks in a menacing way. “Will it get dark tonight? Of course. But only when it’s necessary.”

“Like with family conker championships?” I muse.

“Precisely.” She nods once, turning on her heel before coming to a grinding halt. “Oh fuck. I didn’t expect that to be so huge.”

Hold in the inappropriate comments, Archer.

I walk up next to her as she pockets her conker too.

“That’s the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument.”

Darcy continues walking until she reaches the couple of large steps leading up to it and turns to take a seat. I do the same and sit next to her.

This feels like the date I never got at the restaurant. But despite being an impromptu idea that came to me in her kitchen, it feels even better than sitting in a restaurant I booked out so we could have some privacy.

Beneath her black winter jacket and beanie, Darcy rubs her hands together and breathes out, a small puff of air clouding the space. I can tell she’s getting cold.

“I should’ve used the voucher my colleagues at work got me for my birthday to buy more winter clothes,” she says on a shiver. “It really says something when I’m too overwhelmed to go shopping.”

I scan the area around us; there are only a few people walking in the distance, and they’re not close enough to recognize us.

“Come here,” I say, picking up both her hands and pressing them together between my large palms.

She releases a small whimper as warmth seeps into her freezing fingers. “You aren’t even a bit cold.”

I shake my head. “Hockey players run hot since we spend most of our lives on the ice. Call it adapting to our habitat.”

She giggles at that, staring up at me with her baby blues. “How did you know that coming here was just what I needed?”

I kick my feet out in front of me, constantly searching the area for people who could see us and blow our cover. “I’ve beenhere more times than I can count. To most of the parks around where I live, to be honest.”

Darcy cocks her head to the side, studying me again. “Like for runs and stuff?”

“Sometimes, but mainly to center myself when things get difficult. I do my best thinking in the outdoors, whether it’s before a game or afterward.”

She nods her head slowly. “Oxford University is a beautiful place. I found myself walking the grounds around my campus a lot. Took the edge off the loneliness.”

My relaxed jaw tics when I think about Liam.

“Loneliness? I can’t imagine you being without friends.”

She shrugs, and I interlace our fingers on both hands, holding them down between us. “The first year was good. I went out partying a lot. After that, everything changed, and I decided to take on elective courses in my second and third years.”

I know she did since she’s told me before.

“That’s when it all went wrong with Liam,” she continues, moving into territory I’m not aware of. “I tried explaining that I took them on because I was finding my course easy and I wanted to bolt on additional subjects to help pursue my dream career in editing, but he didn’t get it. With increasing responsibility, I had less time to party. Friends became more distant, especially since I shared so many with Liam. By the time my undergraduate degree was done, I was so ready to leave but stuck it out to finish my master’s degree because I knew that would help secure a job, like the one I have withGlide.”