Page 11 of Why Not Both?

“It’s been driving me crazy,” she says. “What is that line from?”

I lean toward her. Why did I sit all the way on the other side of this table? I should be sitting next to her. I want to be touching her. “Guess.”

Her eyes sparkle and she leans forward as well. “Let’s play a game. Twenty questions.”

I narrow my eyes. “Twenty is too many. If you’re who I think you are, you’ll guess long before twenty.”

“Five then. But they don’t have to be yes/no.”

“Fine. But one-word answers only.”

She nods. “You can’t ask about actors. That would make it too easy.”

“But you can ask the gender of the speaker.” I drum my fingers on the table. “To win the game, you have to guess right within… twenty-four hours.”

“What do winners get?”

“One favour of any kind.”

Her smile grows and I can see her thinking of all the favours she’s going to ask me for. Instead of feeling nervous, I’m excited.

“Movies and shows only? Or books as well?”

I consider the question for a moment. “We can do books, but they won’t count toward winning or losing.”

“Okay. Your quote. First question. Movie or show?”

“Show.”

She regards me for a long moment. “Fantasy or Sci-fi?”

I grin. “Sci-fi.”

She holds my gaze, and I can see her thinking. Then she smiles. And then it gets wider. “Malcolm Reynolds. Firefly.”

She has never been hotter than she is at this moment.

“Will you marry me?”

She throws her head back and laughs. She knows I’m joking. I know I’m joking.

But if she says yes, I will be an engaged man.

Our food arrives and we eat, a breakfast sandwich for her and a chili and cheese omelette for me.

“Your quote,” I say after the first few bites. “Movie or show?”

“Movie.”

“Genre?”

She taps her lips, thinking. “Action/adventure. Maybe a little bit horror?”

“That was more than one word.”

She smiles sweetly at me. “Freebie.”

“Is the speaker a man or woman?”

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