Page 61 of Must Love Flowers
He glanced away from the road. “Does Kurt’s nickname for me amuse you because it annoys me?”
“It isn’t your nickname I find laughable, it’s your humility,” she said. “I suspect you invited me for my medical knowledge.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, and then grinned as if hiding a secret. “The truth is it was a good excuse to spend the evening with you.”
Maggie had her suspicions. “Are you really down a team member?”
He hesitated before answering. “Okay, confession time. Each team is allowed four members. The three of us are pretty competitive and show up every week. Not so much with Tyler. He’s more of a floater and comes when he feels like it. He hasn’tshown up for the last two weeks. We can’t depend on him, so I called him earlier and said we had a fourth person this week.”
“You did not!”
“I did,” he confessed. “Besides, when it comes to anything having to do with medicine, Kurt, Bruce, and I are at a loss.”
“Now I understand. You invited me for my brain?”
“Rest assured there are other parts of your body that interest me as well.”
Maggie blushed and let the comment pass. She wouldn’t say it aloud, but there were parts of him that interested her, too, and more than his apparent intelligence.
“Obviously your input on medical questions will certainly help the team,” he said, briefly looking away from the road and at her. “On the other hand, I wanted a chance to get to know you better and this felt like the perfect opportunity. Are you upset?”
“I’m actually flattered.”
“Good.” He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Within a few minutes, Nick pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant and angled into an empty space. “The trivia game is played in the bar. We order a few appetizers and beer, but if you want anything else, let me know.”
“Appetizers and beer sound perfect.”
“Kurt insists beer sharpens his intellectual skills.”
“I’ll have to give that a try, then,” she said, her good mood rising with each minute. Maggie hadn’t gone out for a fun evening like this in ages. She couldn’t recall the last time she felt this carefree without the burden of her father weighing her down. She’d struggled for so long, and it felt heavenly to relax and be with friends.
Helping her down from the truck, Nick claimed her hand andled her through the restaurant to the bar in back. Several high-tops were situated around the room in front of what looked to be a small dance floor. A table was set up there with a microphone resting on the top. People of various ages milled around, waiting for the competition to start.
Kurt saw them from across the room and raised his arm, indicating that he already had a table. When Nick led them over, he introduced her to Bruce.
“Do you work with Nick and Kurt?” she asked, sliding onto the raised chair at the high-top.
“Yes, but I’m in the engineering division of Harbor View Construction.” He reached for the pitcher of beer in the middle of the table and poured himself a mug.
Nick claimed it next and filled both his and Maggie’s mugs.
“Nachos and chicken wings are on their way,” Kurt mentioned, sipping his beer.
A server stopped by and delivered pencils and papers. One sheet was for the answers, and there were several smaller ones, which Maggie guessed were provided for them to share their responses without any other team overhearing.
“Are there prizes?” Maggie asked, surprised she hadn’t thought to ask earlier.
“First place is light-up shot glasses.”
Maggie had no idea such a thing existed.
“Second place is Washington state lottery tickets.”
“You mean to say the shot glasses are more valuable than lottery tickets?”
“A bird in the hand,” Bruce said, setting down his beer.
