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“Really?” I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised. I knew how smart she was.
“Yep,” she said with a nod of her head. “Played with them at tournaments for four years.”
“That explains it,” I said as she expertly cornered my king, leaving me nowhere to go.
“Checkmate,” she announced, her eyes sparkling gleefully.
I grinned at her as I laid my king down in defeat. “Again?”
She nodded, and we reset the board and started another game. I decided that the best thing to do would be to distract her with conversation, because I clearly couldn’t depend on my chess skills alone to win.
“So, you majored in business and played chess. But did you do any partying in college?”
“A little,” she said, not looking up from the board as she brought her rook out to play. “But I had to rely on scholarships that demanded a certain GPA, so I couldn’t go too wild and risk losing the money.”
“Well, it paid off. You certainly know what you’re doing in business,” I said, giving her a well-deserved compliment. “I was a frat guy myself, so I spent all of my time partying. It sounds like fun, but there was a point where the thought of alcohol made me sick, and I was falling behind in my classes.”
She peered up at me curiously while moving her knight. “I take it you got over the aversion to alcohol?”
I thought about sharing that bottle of bourbon with her the other night. It was probably the first time that I drank something so strong since I graduated from the university.
I nodded in response to her question. “Yep. We all have to grow up some time.”
“Did you always know that you wanted to take over the family business?”
“Not at all.” I shook my head, looking up at her after I moved one of my bishops into play. “I used to think that I wanted to be a lawyer, maybe become a district attorney someday, but I guess business is in my blood. Once I got to college, I found that I was way more interested in the courses related to business. Economics...marketing...that sort of thing. Once I had my degree, working for my dad’s company seemed like the obvious choice.”
“How is your dad, by the way?” she asked casually. “I heard you talking to him on speakerphone when I walked by the office the other day.”
My mood soured a little at the thought of that conversation, but I made sure that it didn’t show on my face. I didn’t want to kill the light-hearted atmosphere we’d established.
“He’s good,” I replied, trying to sound more indifferent than I felt. “Spending Christmas in the Caribbean with his latest young girlfriend.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize he wasn’t spending the day with you,” she said, biting her lip and looking uncomfortable. “Sorry I brought it up.”
“No, it’s fine. Probably for the best.” I exhaled a deep sigh. “My mom and her new husband will be there, so who needs that drama, right?”
“I imagine that they’re pretty worried about you right about now,” she said, her voice going soft.
“I’m sure they are,” I agreed, guilt eating at me. I didn’t want my family’s Christmas to be ruined, but what could I do about it? “I just hope that they let my nieces enjoy the day despite my absence. I’d hate for their Christmas to be full of panic and fear.”
She propped her elbow on the coffee table and rested her chin in her hand. “You really love those little girls, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.” I moved my rook into place on the chess board. “Check.”
“Have you ever thought about having kids of your own?” Sophie asked as she moved a pawn into the path of my rook.
“Of course. I kind of thought that I would by now, but it hasn’t felt like the right time.” I lifted my gaze to hers, feeling something warm and optimistic unfurl in my chest. “I still hope it’s in my future.”
“I think you’ll make a great dad,” Sophie said, her voice ringing with sincerity.
Her words meant more to me than she could possibly know. Sometimes I worried about that because I didn’t have the best paternal role model growing up. Would I be able to do a better job than my dad? I worked a lot, but I always assumed that I would cut back on those hours when I had a kid. That was the plan, anyway—if I ever found someone to start a family with.
I eyed Sophie as she moved her knight toward my king, trying to box him in. Was I crazy to think that she could be that someone? I knew that I was probably getting ahead of myself a little, but I couldn’t stop from wondering if there was a future between us. It would all depend on how things went when we got back to our real lives.
I won the second game, and Sophie insisted that we play again to break the tie. It looked like she was competitive, and I found that it was something else that I liked about her. The fire in her eyes that made her rise to a challenge was a hell of a turn-on.
Despite everything, this low-key Christmas together was turning out great.
