Page 72 of Before It Was Love

“Holy cow!” she shouts and yanks her hand from mine before racing across the room. “Will you look at this?” She slams her hand against the claw machine.

“It’s a claw machine.”

“I know it’s a claw machine. I meant this.” She presses her finger against the glass.

“What is this?”

“The stuffed mermaid.”

“The island prides itself on its mermaid legends. Think of the Mermaid Hotel and the Mermaid Mystical Gardens. Naturally, there’s a stuffed mermaid.”

She grunts. “I know. I’m an islander, too, you know.”

“Then why are you excited about a stuffed mermaid?”

“Do you know how much money I spent trying to win this as a teenager?” She scowls at the machine. “It’s impossible.”

“Challenge accepted.”

I dig a quarter out of my wallet since this machine is old-fashioned and doesn’t accept card payments. Sophia tugs on my arm.

“No. You can’t. It’s a waste of money.”

I raise my eyebrow. “Are you saying I can’t win you a stuffed mermaid?”

“No one can. The machine is rigged.”

I remove her hand from my arm. “I got this.”

“It’s your quarter. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I kiss her forehead before slotting my quarter into the machine. I use the joystick to move the claw until it’s above the mermaid. I lower it and capture the mermaid in one go. Sophia gasps but I concentrate on moving the claw to the opening. I’m almost there when the claw suddenly opens and drops the mermaid on top of the other stuffed animals.

“I told you this game is rigged.”

I dig another quarter out.

“Don’t waste your money.”

I ignore her. I’m winning this stuffed mermaid for her even if I have to spend all night at this damn claw machine.

My second try goes exactly the way the first one did. I can easily pick up the mermaid but when I get close to the opening, the claw opens and drops the mermaid too early.

“Damn it,” I mutter. I dig out my wallet and hand a dollar bill to Sophia. “Can you get some change for me? I can’t leave the machine. I have the mermaid right where I want her.”

She snorts. “Sure, you do.”

She snatches the bill from me and I watch as she walks to the change machine. I notice several men watching her as well. I glare at them to let them know this woman is not available. She’s all mine.

I frown. Except her brother’s my best friend and he’d skin me alive if he knew all the filthy things I want to do to her. All of the filthy things I’ve already done to her.

I don’t want to keep Sophia a secret. I don’t want to sneak around behind Weston’s back. But I can’t lose his friendship. Weston and his family are the only family I have.

I shove those thoughts away when Sophia returns. She hands me a fistful of quarters.

“This is more than a dollar.”

“I pitched in since you’re never going to get the mermaid in four tries.”

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