Page 80 of The Plus One Pact

"We have a winner." Mom unfolds the paper theatrically. "Miss Ivy Vaughn was right on the money. Black coffee." She looks to the breakfast. "You were close too, Daniel. Cynthia."

She named a cheddar omelet as her favorite. Guessed scrambled eggs with chorizo and salsa as his.

That's probably his favorite. She knows him better than he knows himself.

And I…

Wasn't close.

Oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon.

"Sorry, sweetheart." Mom takes a long sip of her coffee. "But I'll give you points for how high she rates it."

"It is good." Ivy digs into the omelet. "But a little dry for me. I like my eggs wet. We always argue about that." She continues the story.

"She likes them raw," I play into the supposed conflict. Maybe it's true. I like my eggs over medium.

"They're inedible the way he eats them," she says.

"And these?" Mom points to the plate.

"A compromise," she says. "I do love a caprese salad."

"Who doesn't?" Cynthia asks. I'm sure she's not trying to say you don't know shit, but it still fills the air.

"Okay, boys, dig in." Mom smiles. "You'll need your strength for our next exercise."

"What's that?" I ask.

"Oh, nothing too dramatic," Mom says. "Just a game where you share your deepest, darkest secrets."

Chapter Eighteen

Romeo

"The premise of the game is simple." Mom points to a stack of note cards. "You write down something your partner doesn't know about you and put it in the hat." She does, in fact, have a hat sitting on the dining table. "I'll take items out of the hat, and we'll all guess who wrote the item."

We're inside now. On the couches in the living room. It's too early for cocktails, so we're filling up on coffee and tea.

Even with the air conditioning on high, the space feels warm. Too warm. It's still late morning. With the breeze from the ocean, it's not even hot outside.

Why am I sweating?

I take another sip of coffee. It doesn't help with my temperature, but the familiar rich flavor steadies my nerves. Ivy did well with the first game. She'll do well with this one.

Really, we should have the advantage here.

We know a lot less about each other.

"Are you going to play too, Amara?" Cynthia asks. She's sitting on the couch opposite us and she's in the position opposite Ivy.

Cynthia and Daniel on one side.

Ivy and I on the other.

Mom on the armchair in between us.

Like we're playing Family Feud.