Page 35 of Love is a Game
“Absolutely,” she agreed. “Think of the compound interest on that.”
“Right.” He chuckled. “Or I could travel, maybe take someone out for a fancy dinner?”
“You mean like bottomless fries and an ice-cold Coke from the Tethered Anchor?” she asked as an unbidden giggle sounded in her throat.
“Well, yeah, I have high standards, you know.”
He pulled up to a stop sign and turned to face her. She saw his grin falter as they locked eyes in the dim orange glow of the streetlamp. He cleared his throat and turned back to the road. She looked down at her lap, feeling her cheeks burning again.
“So, yeah, not my best night,” he conceded. “Admittedly, not my worst either. Where did you learn to play Texas hold ’em?”
“I played some in college. A lot, actually,” she admitted. “It was kind of a big thing with the business majors.”
“Really? So Tyson wasn’t kidding about you beating us.”
“No.” She chuckled. “He invited me to poker night once, and I have not been invited back.”
“I’m not surprised. I’ve been playing with Kimura for a long time, and I know there’s no way he would have won that last round without your help.”
“I don’t know about that. He seemed to be doing all right before I got involved.”
He gave her a furtive glance before turning back to the road. “So,” he said after a moment, “you majored in business. How did you end up with Maddox?”
“I minored in hospitality and tourism,” she explained. “I thought the hotel business would be a good fit. It’s always changing, and there are a lot of opportunities to move up the ladder. And I thought if I worked for Maddox, I’d have a chance to travel.”
“And?”
Sadie grinned. “I don’t want to make you jealous, but I spent six months last year in exotic Idaho,” she said, wiggling her fingers in the air for effect.
He laughed. “Wow. You’re quite the globetrotter, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, well . . .” She shrugged and looked out the window as the car slowed. They were pulling up to the curb in front of her parents’ house. The porch light was on, but otherwise, the house looked dark and she was suddenly grateful she hadn’t run home. “For now I’m working in the Northwest division,” she continued, “so I go to Idaho, Oregon, wherever they need me.”
Andrew put the car into park and then turned to her again. “And now you’re back home.”
She nodded. “And so are you.”
“Funny how that happened,” he said quietly, looking out the front windshield.
She hesitated, not quite ready to reach for the door handle. She wanted to ask him why he was still there, why he hadn’t gone back to the law firm and whatever else he’d left behind. What was keeping him in Briar Cove?
She and Andrew had always been driven by the same ambition, always fought for the same success. As much as they’d butted heads, they were similar enough that she’d always been able to at least understand him, which was why finding him at the Briar Cove Library had been such a shock. How had her Most Likely to Succeed counterpart fallen so offtrack?
Curiosity burned within her, and when he turned, his expression was open as if he would answer whatever she might ask. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came. The dark interior of the car felt suddenly cramped, and there was a tightness in her throat she couldn’t explain.
“Thanks for the ride,” she finally managed to say before opening the door.
“No problem. Are you coming to the library tomorrow?” he asked. Was it foolish to think he sounded hopeful?
“I was planning on it,” she told him. “I’ll be working from here, so I should be able to come by in the afternoon.”
She watched him adjust his grip on the steering wheel. “Okay, well I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah.” She nodded, then stepped out of the car.
“Good night, Sadie,” he said before she closed the door.
She bit her lip and waved, then shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets and headed toward the house, a smile working its way across her lips. When she got inside, she peeked through the blinds to watch him leave. It was dark inside the car, but she could see his silhouette run a hand through his hair before he drove away.