“Trivia night, music bingo, paint and sip, board game lounge, Pictionary by the fire…”
It was crazy to be this enchanted by the thought of doing all those things, but she was. Having a ton of people to socialize with nightly would make going back to her little cabin alone feel less…lonely.
“I love trivia games. My family always used to play those when I was growing up. And I have a group of friends I used to do paint and sip with, but I’m not big on wine. Everyone used to laugh when I’d order an iced tea or just water with lemon.”
“No one’s gonna judge you here,” he said easily. “Drink whatever you enjoy. It’s about you having fun, not what others think fun should look like for you.”
Tilting her head slightly, she studied him. “You’re kind of wise, Slater.”
He laughed softly but didn’t reply with a snappy comeback or anything.
They sat like that, the fire crackling between them, the night stretching wide and quiet. Evie realized she wasn’t restless anymore. Not really.
For the first time since she decided to take this trip, she didn’t feel like she was running away or avoiding something.
She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Chapter Three
“Bon Jovi!” Evie called out as she jumped to her feet. “The album came out in 2009, and the second single was ‘Superman Tonight’!”
“Well done,” Maisie said into the mic. “And it looks like team Bean is in the lead now by ten points!”
“Woo! Yes!” She sat down beside him, and Slater had never been more amused, impressed, and a little embarrassed all at the same time.
The high-five she gave was borderline aggressive.
Apparently, Evie took her trivia very seriously, and while he usually enjoyed participating, she treated it like an Olympic event.
“We are going to win those Lakeview Harbor travel mugs,” she said confidently.
“You do realize I own the place and could just…you know…give them to you, right?”
She gave him a hard side-eye. “Where’s the fun in that? And if you’re not even going to try because you don’t care about the prize, why are you even playing?”
His eyes went wide even as he laughed. “Because you needed a partner and you said this would be fun.”
“And you’re not having fun?”
“I didn’t say that, but…you haven’t let me answer a single question.”
“Only because you haven’t known any of the answers,” she replied sweetly before taking a long sip of her virgin margarita.
She’d been at the resort for a little over a week, and they’d hung out almost every day, but Milo was keeping her busy setting up the new office. They were gone all day and typically got back to the resort in time for dinner. They all ate together—Milo, Nora, Axel, Maisie, him, and Evie—but so far, he hadn’t had a chance to get her out on a trail or a boat.
“Okay, I’ll make you a deal,” he began. “If you let me answer the next question and I get it right, tomorrow you have to tell Milo that you’re not working, and you and I are going to have an adventure.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday and we weren’t planning on working.”
“You worked all through last weekend,” he reminded her.
“We were just getting started.”
Slater couldn’t help the huff of frustration that came out. “Do you always have an answer for everything?”
“Next question!” Maisie called out.
“You’re up, big guy,” Evie said with a hint of a smirk. “And for the record? Yes. I always have an answer.”
