Page 38 of Wild Mistake
“Ugh.” Maeve glances around the room. “We’re splitting into teams. When I point and assign you a number, don’t forget it.”
“Right.” Jackson winks at Alex. “Wait. What are we doing again?”
Maeve is busy assigning everyone a one or a two, but when she walks past her younger brother, she gives him a punch to the arm. “You’re a one.”
“Damn!” He rubs the spot she hit. “I hope you didn’t hit your students like that!”
Maeve ignores him. walking over to our side of the room.
I catch Aiden smiling at me as I’m assigned a two. He anticipates Maeve’s direction and discreetly moves to the other side of Val so we’re placed on the same team. He winks.
Maeve explains the rules to reverse charades. Thankfully there aren’t many, because several people are three sheets to the wind. If anything, this should be entertaining.
We split into our assigned teams. Unfortunately, Rosalie is also on our side, but I refuse to give any indication her presence bothers me.
The first round is a little rough, but after that everyone starts to have a good time. There’s so much smack talk, especially amongst the Wilder siblings, and they keep everyone entertained. I start to relax, until it’s my turn in the hot seat. I’ve never been a center of attention kind of person, even in my youth. That, along with the desire to not appear a complete and total idiot compound the anxious energy in my body.
“You’ve got this.” Aiden winks.
But I don’t think I do.
Our team huddles together, taking their place in the front of the room. The opposing team gathers on the large sectional sofa behind me.
“Ready?” Maeve stares at me and then my team before flipping the timer. “Go!”
My goal is to guess as many words as possible while my team acts them out.
The first one is easy. “Bat? Baseball bat?”
Cheers go up when I guess correctly. Aiden reaches for the next card in the deck.
Lion. Chair. Laugh. I’m on a roll. My chest lightens, just enough I no longer feel as if I might pass out.
Someone flips the next card. The group turns to each other, stumped. Except Aiden.
He rushes to my feet, gets down on one knee, and offers me an imaginary ring.
My mouth goes dry. I can’t move. Hell, I can’t even breathe.
“Oh, my God!” Jackson cackles. “This is so easy.”
Ring! Engagement! Proposal!The words jump out in my mind, but I can’t make myself say them. The memories associated with them hurt too much.
The rest of our team begins miming their own proposals, but my gaze is caught up in the dawn of disappointment that causes Aiden’s smile to fade.
Maeve shouts out, “Time!”
“Proposal,” Aiden whispers. He won’t look away. Neither can I.
“Oh, my God!” someone shouts. “That was so fucking easy. I can’t believe she didn’t guess it.”
“Four points,” Maeve says, writing them on her paper and moving the attention off us. I could hug her. “There’s still time for a comeback! Next up is Jackson.”
I still haven’t moved.
“Didn’t they used to be engaged?” someone mutters from the back of the room, but it’s loud enough for me to hear. A few others, too. My cheeks flood with heat. I get up from the chair and move back to the sofa. It feels as though everyone is staring at me. Laughing at me. The fool who waited on a man for years, only to watch him break his promise.
Laughter and conversation fill the room again as the next round begins. I can’t find the courage to lift my gaze from where my hands are pressed together in my lap. I don’t have to look to know Aiden is watching me. I feel his eyes on my body from across the room.
