Page 119 of Timelessly Ours

She shakes her head innocently.

“Alright.” I study my cards and set one down, then lift my eyes to Royce, who still holds several cards...and appears to be lost in thought as well. I clear my throat loudly.

“Oh, my turn, okay umm…” He flips through his cards and sets one down.

“That’s not yellow or a seven,” I point out.

“Daddy, don’t you know how to play?”

“I do, I do.” He rearranges his cards as if it will help, then sets one down. “Does this count?”

Rory’s eyes widen—because since she’s next and close to winning, she’d be drawing two cards from the stack, which would set her back.

“No. Pick something else.”

“Rory!”

Coach blinks like he’s coming out of a deep thought. “What? What’s wrong?”

I exchange devilish glances with my mini-me and she gives me a look that I swear says It would be so easy.

I give her a wry grin then turn back to her father. “Umm…no you can’t use that.”

He crosses his arms and leans forward. Suddenly very interested in the game—and me. “Why not?”

I press my lips together. “Because…I…saw your cards. When your head was somewhere else," I say pointedly. "So it’s not fair. You need to collect a new stack.”

He studies me comically. “Hmm…”

I not-so-subtly slide the rules card away from his side of the table.

“Fine,” he grits. “New cards.”

Rory breathes a sigh of relief and her dad and I exchange a knowing smile.

He sets a card down and Rory follows with her last one. “I win!”

“Awesome.” He folds down his cards. “Time for bed.”

“But now you have to play against Nicole.”

He winks at me. “If it’s between the two of us, Nicky will always win.”

Rory pouts. “That’s not fair.”

“When you’re older you’ll disagree,” he teases, for my benefit.

I love his timeless charm. It’s one of the perks of dating an older man.

Dating.

Are we dating?

I watch as he lifts her off the chair and positions her into an airplane.

“Arms out. Ready for take-off?”

“Ready.” She giggles.