Page 118 of Marrying Off My Husband

I groaned as I pulled a card from the pile.

“Give me all your sevens.”

“Are you kidding me? I think you can somehow see my cards,” I complained as I handed two over.

She squealed with excitement, laying down four sevens in front of her and taking another turn. “I can’t see your cards. I just have excellent Go Fish strategy.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yep,” she said with a nod as she scrambled back to a sit. “My skills are unparalleled.”

“Apparently, so is your Gin strategy. I think you won eighty percent of those games.”

“I don’t think it was that high,” she said with a shake of her head, her messy bun flopping around.

“I think it was. I think…Eve Dawson, I think you’re a card shark.”

She burst into laughter at the words. “Oh, is that right? Well, maybe we should change games again. You pick this time.”

“Yeah?” I asked as she emptied her hand, winning the game. “Okay, how about…hmm, war. You can’t have a strategy in war. It’s just luck of the draw.”

“Okay,” she said with nod as he shuffled and dealt the cards.

We spent twenty minutes on the game before I found myself left with a single card. I played the blasted two and Eve swept it away with a seven before she shot me a tentative, yet amused grin.

“I can’t believe you just won…again. In a game with no strategy.”

“Or I just have a really sneaky war strategy.” She shot me a coy glance before we both burst into laughter at her words.

I’d never laughed so much as I did at that moment. She doubled over, her hand falling on my forearm.

Once again, we found our faces only inches apart, and this time, after the chocolate, the champagne and the shared laughter, I couldn’t resist or stop myself from leaning closer.

Our lips met in a soft kiss that lingered before it deepened. I reached for her, cupping her cheek in a hand as she slid her arms around my neck.

My heart banged out a frenetic rhythm against my ribs as I enjoyed the tender moment.

Our lips parted, but we remained close before we both scrambled backward, embarrassed and nervous.

“I’m so sorry,” Eve gushed. “I think I had too much to drink.”

“Yeah, same. Really sorry, I didn’t mean to do it. It’s just the champagne–”

“Right, and the chocolate.”

“Uh-huh, yep,” I said with a bob of my head, hoping I wasn’t bright red. “And the laughing, and just…it was just…”

“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head and a dismissive wave of her hand. “Just two friends who drank too much.”

“Yep,” I answered as I collected up the cards. “So, uh, another round?”

“You know, I think I’ll go to bed. I’m sorry. I’m suddenly really tired.”

“Yeah, me too,” I answered with a bob of my head. “Exhausted, actually. Let’s head to bed. We have a tall order making certain Theo does everything right for Louise once he gets here tomorrow.”

“Yep,” she answered as she cleared the plates off our bed and pushed the room service cart into the hall.

We hurried to climb under the covers and shut off the lights, making certain we each faced away from one another.

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