Page 32 of The Beachside Rental
She didn’t believe him.“If you need to go take care of something, I understand.”
He shook his head.Then he picked up his phone and let her see the screen.She didn’t see anything at first.She tilted the phone upward so she could get a better look.
“Is that your living room?”
He nodded.“I hooked up a nanny cam so I could keep an eye on Gus.”
“Aw...That’s sweet.”Her gaze scanned the screen, and then she spotted the dog on the couch, belly up.“Is he sleeping on the couch?”
“He is.I’ve told him repeatedly that he’s not supposed to sleep on the couch, but that dog has a mind of his own.”
“He’s really cute.”
“Don’t tell him that.He already thinks highly of himself.”
She laughed.It was touching the way Simon doted on his dog.She sipped her cola.“We have to figure out our team name.Any ideas?”
“Beach bums?”
She shook her head.“How about the Know-it-alls?”
He shook his head.“Couple of friends?”
She paused and thought it over.“What about the Sitting Ducks?”
He laughed.“I like it.”
She typed their name into the controller.It appeared up on the board right beneath her brother and Ethan Walker’s team: The Smarties.They were officially entered.
And none too soon.The owner of the High Tide Pub climbed up onto the stage.It was time to get this game started.
She glanced across the table.“Are you ready?”
Simon nodded as he reached for his coffee mug.
“Ladies and gentleman, thanks for joining us for trivia night.Everyone make sure your controllers are turned on.We don’t want you to miss out on answering the first question because of a technical issue and no, we can’t redo the first question.”The man looked around.“Is everyone ready to start?”
“Yeah,” the crowd cheered.
The guy waved for everyone to calm down.“Glad to see everyone is so enthusiastic.Let’s see how many of you are experts at eighties rock.”He looked down at a card in his hand.“First question: What band can’t tune a fish?”
She looked up at the board.She didn’t have a clue.When she glanced over at Simon, he’d already grabbed the remote.There was a little smile on his handsome face.
“You know the answer, don’t you?”she asked.
He sent her a big grin.
“And the first team to answer is Sitting Ducks.”The answer flashed up on the digital board.“And they are correct.Sitting Ducks are the first to take the lead.”
Her gaze met Simon’s.“Good job, partner.”
“Glad you like that because it’s your turn to answer the next question.”
Her heart beat faster.“But what if I don’t know the answer?”
“Guess.After all, this is a game.If you get it wrong, who cares?”
Her gaze moved across the room to her brother.She knew Simon was right.She was making too much of trivia night.Even if she could best her brother at one of his favorite pastimes, it didn’t mean he’d hear her out at work.
