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“I meant between me and you.” He leans closer so his mouth is hovering just above my ear. “If Team Groom wins, you and I steal a bottle of champagne and sneak back to our room for some alone time.”
My heart skips a beat. Hell. Don’t make my night, Theo Bennett.
“And if Team Bride wins?” I ask, but at this point I’m not sure I want Team Bride to win anymore.
“If Team Bride wins, we go back to that tattoo parlor, and I’ll get a tattoo of your choosing.”
“Interesting,” I tap my chin with my fingers. “Anything I want? You sure you’re willing to trust me not to force you to tattoo Mickey Mouse on your ass?”
Theo’s fingers rub the back of my neck, “I wouldn’t be making this bet if I wasn’t confident I’d win.”
“You’re on, Théoden.”
Theo thrusts his left hand in the air, his eyes fixed on mine. “I’ll volunteer for Team Groom.”
Caleb claps his hands in excitement, “Atta boy, Theo. Bring it home!”
“So, Theo for Team Groom.” Tess acknowledges and her nostrils flare. He is clearly not the one she wants to volunteer. He is going to make this much harder for Team Bride to win. “And Team Bride, any vol -”
Leah practically dislocates her shoulder throwing her arm in the air. And unless its just me, I feel a bit of tension splash over the table.
“I volunteer for Team Bride,” she smiles at Theo before narrowing her eyes at me.
I keep muttering Athena’s words under my breath to keep me calm.We ignore those who bear us no threat. She is no threat.But it doesn’t keep me from wanting to kick her ass.
Tess looks completely deflated. Mentally, she must already know this is not looking great for Team Bride, but she summons a smile and cheers her team on.
“Alright, let’s have Theo and Leah come sit in these two chairs and Caleb and Sarah come sit across from them.”
Tess waves them to four seats away from the main table where there are small whiteboards for Theo and Leah to write down their answers.
“First question.” Tess picks up a few index cards from the table. “Where did Caleb and Sarah meet?”
“Come on, Leah,” Ruth hollers from the table, Drew’s arm wrapped around hers. “I don’t want to have to hula with this mom belly.” She laughs and Drew shakes his head.
“Time’s up.” Tess says, turning her finger in the air. “Let’s see your answers.”
Both the whiteboards sayOnline.
“Online is the right answer.” Tess scribbles a notch under both Team Bride and Team Groom on her whiteboard. “Next question. Who is messier? Caleb or Sarah?”
My eyes are glued to Theo. I never noticed before that he is left-handed, and I enjoy watching the muscles in his arm twitch as he writes his answer. He must sense me looking at him, because he lifts his face, and his eyes meet mine. I want to kiss that perfect smile of his.
“Alright,” Tess’s voice booms through my thoughts. “Let’s see your answers.”
Theo and Leah turn their whiteboards and by the bride and groom’s outburst, they both got the answer right.Caleb.
“We’re tied 2-2. Three questions left,” Tess flips to the next index question. “What jobs did five-year-old Caleb and Sarah say they wanted to have when they grew up?”
That’s a tough question. I think back to when I was five and remember I wanted to be a veterinarian only to discover shortly thereafter that I don’t like needles and I have an aversion to the sight of blood. Neither of which are ideal traits when treating sick animals.
“Time’s up,” Tess wiggles her eyebrows. “Answers. Let’s see how off these are,” she laughs.
Leah’s board says Sarah wanted to be a baker and Caleb wanted to be a firefighter. Theo’s board has Sarah’s dream job as a surfer and Caleb’s as a garbage man.”
Both sides of the family are laughing, muttering how they remember five-year-old Sarah and Caleb and I am reminded that these people are all new to me. That if this were a game played at my rehearsal dinner there wouldn’t be anyone around that could answer this question.
“The right answers are Sarah wanted to be a baker and Caleb wanted to be a garbage man.” Tess marks down one point for each team. “I guess siblings got those right.”
