Page 24 of The Best Man Problem
He grinned, unable to resist the gauntlet she’d just thrown down. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve traded in my pirate jokes for more meaningful pursuits. As a matter of fact, right now I’m reading a fascinating book about gravity.” He paused for dramatic effect before leaning in close and saying, “It’s impossible to put down.”
Lilly bent over the machine, laughter bursting out of her, the last silver ball rolling down the ramp past her flippers, ending her turn. Turning to face him, she took a moment to control herself, but her lips were curved in a wide, beautiful smile as she pointed a finger at him accusingly.
“You cheated.”
“Hey.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Technically it wasn’t a pirate joke.”
Rolling her eyes, she gave him a tiny shove. “Your turn, funny man.”
Lincoln stepped up to the game, fishing a quarter out of his pocket and sliding it into the coin slot. He worked the machine, following the ball with a keen eye, fingers light and ready on the flapper buttons. It took him his first two balls and a couple thousand in score to get the feel of the game, but once he did, Lincoln was in the zone.
“Impressive, Mr. Reid.”
Lilly’s softly whispered words in his ear sent a shiver up his spine, hardening a part of his anatomy thankfully hidden by the large metal gaming equipment in front of him.
“Now who’s cheating?” he tossed over his shoulder. Honestly, he didn’t mind her method of distraction. If he thought for one minute her little breathy come-on was real, he’d tank this game so fast—but as much as he wished, he knew Lilly still had an issue with picking up where they left off. So he kept his attention on the game, 100 percent.
The warm feel of her arm pressed against him as she leaned over his shoulder to watch him play…
Okay, 75 percent.
After ten excruciating minutes trying to concentrate on the game while the woman he wanted more than his next breath did her best to distract him simply by existing, he glanced up at his score. Not his highest by any means, but a solid ten thousand over Lilly’s. He figured that was good enough and let his final ball sink.
“Dang,” Lilly muttered as he turned to face her. “You are good.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have a lot of friends in middle school, but we did have a pinball machine in the basement of our house. Spent a lot of time with that thing.” It was his safe place, that pinball machine.
A sad light entered her eyes as she stared at him. “You didn’t have friends?”
He shrugged, uncomfortable with the sympathy in her gaze. He didn’t need it. Yeah, maybe he’d been a lonely kid growing up, but he had Kenneth and Marie now. “I was an übernerd. Really into computers and gaming. All the other kids were into sports and stuff. Not really my scene. How about you?”
She scrunched her nose, pushing her glasses up with a finger when they slipped down. “I was my high school’s varsity volleyball captain two years in a row. I can’t say I’m into gaming other than pinball.”
He chuckled, in no way surprised that the slightly uptight Lilly wasn’t a gamer. “Are you telling me you don’t play D&D? Pathfinder? The Settlers of Catan? Small World? Smash Up? You never had LAN parties with computer geeks as a kid?”
Her head tilted as she gave him a droll stare. “I have no idea what any of those things are, but no, none of them really sound up my alley.”
“At least we have pinball.” He gave her a wink. “Wanna play again?” He motioned to the game.
She shook her head. “No way can I beat that score.”
He smiled. “I told you it was my game.”
“True, but aren’t you supposed to let your date win?”
His eyes widened, hopeful warmth radiating through his chest. “Is this a date?”
“What? No!” Panic erased all the joy from her face as she glanced over at Mo, who stood laughing with Kenneth and Marie as the giant wooden blocks wobbled in the wonky tower on the table between them. Damn, he hadn’t meant to make her feel uncomfortable.
“I was kidding, Lilly.” Kind of. Sort of. Not really, but if it made her feel better, he could pretend.
A sad, wistful glint entered her eyes. “I didn’t mean… We can’t… I don’t date clients. I told you that.”
She had, but he did feel the need to remind her, “You did, and I told you I’m not your client.”
“But I also said I don’t date members of the wedding party. It’s just…it’s not good for business.”
Hmm, the way she said that… He wondered if there was a story behind her decision. No. He didn’t wonder that. He shouldn’t, because the more he learned about Lilly Walsh, the more he liked her. And lusting after her was fine, but liking her? That could fall into dangerous relationship territory, and Lincoln did not want to risk that heartache. Not again.
