“Lovely to make your acquaintance, Paige.” He returned to his chair. “I must confess this bingo is new to me. I suppose you know exactly what you’re doing and want to be left alone.” His gaze passed her to settle sharply on the woman on the other side of Paige. “I’ve already been told as much.”
Paige laughed. “This is my first time here, but I understand the general idea of the game. I’ll help if I can.” She set up the little stand she’d brought and attached her phone to it, then turned the camera around so it could capture her.
“Brilliant.”
“B-17,” the caller announced.
She didn’t have that combination, but Graham did. She pointed it out when he didn’t seem to be finding it. “Right there. Mark that.”
“Much thanks. You are keen-eyed.”
She glanced at her phone. Graham was being captured in the picture, too. She slid her hand toward him. “Quick question.”
He looked over. “Yes?”
“I’m recording this for my social media. It’s kind of a thing I do. Do you mind being in it? My camera is picking you up.” She gestured at the phone.
“Ah,” he said, smiling at his image. “Does this mean I’m going to be famous?”
She laughed. “I make no guarantees.”
“It’s fine with me.” He waved at the camera. “Hello, there.”
She didn’t know what her followers would think of Graham. Sometimes they liked a guest, sometimes they left rude comments about how they didn’t follow her to see other people.
Amazing what people thought was acceptable behavior online.
“I-22.”
She had that, so she marked it, then looked over at Graham’s cards. It wasn’t on either one of his. “What pattern are we trying to make? I just realized I didn’t hear him say that.”
“Pattern?” Graham’s brows rose. “Oh, dear. I didn’t catch that either, I’m afraid. But I did warn you I was out of my depth.”
She smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll find out.” She leaned toward the woman on her right. “Sorry to bother you, but what pattern are we trying to get?”
The woman cut her eyes at Paige. “An I. Pay attention.”
Paige did her best not to react. “Thank you.”
With a snort of disgust, the woman reached over all of her cards to touch the heads of five little troll dolls that were lined up in front of them.
Paige glanced around and realized a lot of people had knickknacks and other little objects around their cards.
“Good-luck charms, I believe,” Graham said softly. “Pity me not bringing my rabbit’s foot.”
“O-62.”
Neither of them had that one. Bingo was a strange game. She could probably do a whole video on the objects people brought with them.
As surreptitiously as she could, Paige picked up her phone and got footage of her neighbor’s troll dolls. She turned around and got some of the woman behind her, who had a Princess Diana purple Beanie Baby bear on one side of her cards and a unicorn on the other.
That would be enough. She returned her camera to its former position.
“N-37.”
Graham leaned back, a funny gleam in his eyes. “I don’t think I’m going to win this one.”
He was handsome, in that proper English sort of way. She hated to make the analogy, but there was a faint air of James Bond on vacation about him in his dress shirt and linen jacket. “I probably won’t do any better. I have half the cards you do.”
