Page 45 of First Bride to Fall
“I like qintar,” she said. “I’m going to use that.”
He shook his head. “Then there was Z and obscure words she came up with like ZA.”
“Meaning pizza! Not so obscure. That’s a great two-letter word.” Nell smiled. “It’s really helpful when you play online—”
“If you’re talking about those tabs you can click to get acceptable two-letter-word choices, there’s no such luck here.”
“Ooh, we’re playing hardball, are we?”
He got his game face on. “Yes, ma’am. Not only that…” He lifted a thick paperback dictionary off the table. It was dog-eared, and the worn cover had seen better days. “If it’s not in this book, it doesn’t count.”
“Wait a minute. How old is that dictionary?”
“It’s an official Scrabble one.”
“Yeah, but from when?”
“That’s not important.” He leaned toward her. “Are you backing down from the challenge?”
She leaned toward him as well. “Not on your life.” Heat stirred in her eyes. “Are you?”
His pulse thrummed in his ears. “Nope.”
She set her chin. “Good.”
“Nice to see I’m not the only competitive one around here.”
“So, you love a challenge, huh?”
The twinkle in her eyes sent heat skittering through his body. “Sure do.”
She squared her shoulders. “Same here.”
Now he was curious. He leaned back and studied her. “What’s the biggest challenge you’ve ever tackled?”
“You first.”
He though on this. “Doing the Overland Track in Tasmania.”
“Whoa.” She stared at him, impressed. “You were in Tasmania?”
“Yeah. I studied in Australia my junior year of college. Jordan did, too. That’s how we met.”
“That’s so cool.” She viewed him admiringly, and he liked it. A lot. “I didn’t know you’d traveled. I mean, I remember you going to college in Chicago.”
“Yeah. And you studied where? In Vermont?”
“How did you know?”
He chuckled at her slack-jawed expression. “Bumper sticker on your car.”
“Aha!” She laughed. “Yeah, I majored in accounting. You?”
“Environmental Science.”
“That makes sense. Did you always want to open your own camping store?”
“It was my dream.”
