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I spot Caroline on the other side of the room and wave to her, weaving through the tables and parking it so that I don’t have to sit right next to Leilani. She’s glaring at me and mutters, “You’re late,” while typing something into an iPad.
“Question number four. How many wives did King Henry VIII have?”
“Six.” Asher and Caroline lean in together, both whispering the answer to Leilani.
“I know.” She taps the answer into the iPad, then frowns at Asher, who was forced to sit on the other side of her. “Who are you?” She scowls at him.
“I’m Asher.”
“And who invited you?”
Asher shakes his head at the rude woman before pointing to me. Then his eyebrows lift before he flicks a narrow-eyed glare at me. “Wait a second. Is this… the shrutebag?” He whispers it, but he’s so fucking loud, she hears him anyway.
I wince and shoot him a pleading look that he misses, because he’s just whipped back around to glare at the chick who gave his arm a solid backhand slap.
“I don’t like that name,” she grits out.
“No shit. That’s the fucking point,” Asher grumbles.
I kick him under the table, thankfully getting the right leg. He jerks, and now his glare is back on me.
“Play nice,” I warn him.
Asher huffs and shuffles in his seat while Caroline gives me the human version of a grimacing face emoji.
Yep. She’s right. If those two don’t cool it, this night is going to be total shit.
“Question five,” the trivia host calls across the room. “Where did the Franks settle after defeating the Romans?”
“Gaul,” Asher answers immediately, getting a surprised blink from Leilani, who swivels in her seat to check with Caroline.
“Yeah, I think that’s right.” She nods while Asher frowns.
“Of course it’s right. I know that’s right.” He snaps his fingers at the iPad, and Leilani huffs, writing down the answer and giving him a side-eye that’s equal parts suspicion and curiosity.
I slide my hand under the table and rest it on Caroline’s knee. This is going to be the longest night in fucking history. But as soon as Caroline’s fingers curl around my hand, this sense of… I don’t know… peace, maybe, settles inside me. I get to spend the night sitting next to her, touching her, watching her face, listening to her laughter. I guess it won’t be so bad after all.
The round comes to an end, and the answers pop up on the large screen on the far side of the room. Leilani starts checking our answers and figuring out our score for that round while the host tells a long-winded story that I’m pretty sure will reveal the theme of the next round… if he ever gets to the end of it. People are laughing and calling out their theories.
“I’ll get a round of drinks. What’s everyone want?” Asher stands, digging out his phone and taking our orders.
At first, Leilani says she doesn’t want anything, but after a nudge from Caroline, she gives in and mutters an order that I can’t even hear.
“Pineapple juice? Do you need any liquor in it?”
“No.” She gives him a dry glare.
“So, just me needing the happy juice, then. Okay.” He spins and walks away from the table.
“Does this café even serve alcohol?” I look around, figuring it’s got more of a coffee vibe.
Leilani laughs. “No.”
The sound surprises me, and wow, her smile is stunning. Look at that, the dragon’s got teeth—straight white pretty ones. Can teeth be pretty? I guess they can, because hers are, and she looks gorgeous right now.
If only Asher could see this.
But of course, by the time he returns with a grumpy-looking frown, her scowl has fallen back into place, and she keeps it there for the rest of the night.
