Page 53 of Bride Games

Fifteen minutes later, Paige and Trent were both sitting at a booth inside Uncorked. Trent had taken it upon himself to ask—no, demand—a corner booth, a bottle of chilled white wine, extra chilled, to be exact, plus a charcuterie board.

Paige was grateful for the food and wine. She desperately needed both after the airline debacle. A server brought their wine and poured two glasses. Grateful for alcohol, she glugged too-large a sip.

“Hey, wait a sec.” Trent raised his glass. “We should toast. I haven’t seen you in forever.”

He wants a toast. After cheating on me and causing our breakup.Okay. Whatever.Paige stared at her former fiancé and for the first time in nearly a year, really looked into his eyes. He had a few new crinkles around his eyes and a bit of graying around his temples. Nothing to distract from his good looks, nay, hison-air talentgood looks as he told anyone within fifty miles. But she wondered if he had changed. Grown up. Probably not.

Paige held her wineglass in the air awaiting his toast. “Go ahead, Trent. What would you like to toast? A new girlfriend? A raise? A bump in ratings?”

His face softened. “No, Paige. I’d like to toast us. The us from the past. The us that I miss. The us that I remember before I ruined ev?—”

She watched in near horror as his eyes reddened.This isn’t the Trent I remember. Not at all.Paige clinked his wineglass with hers before he had a chance to break down. She couldn’t take it when a man cried. “To us.” She paused and added, “Us from the past where we belong. Sorry, but you know it’s true.”Why did I say sorry? It’s all his damn fault. Why do women always do that?

Both of them began to speak at once, only stopping as the server set a charcuterie board between them. Paige’s stomach growled as she examined the delicious spread featuring several types of cheese topped with blackberries, balsamic vinegar, and pecans, a cluster of grapes, hummus, multiple types of crackers, smoked almonds, olives, and strawberries.

“Would either of you like to order more food or are you on a tight schedule?” the server asked.

Paige laughed far too long as she pointed toward the customer service counter with miles of unhappy-looking people, piles of luggage, and squalling babies and toddlers. “What do you think? It seems all flights are canceled tonight. At least on this airline.”

Shrugging, the server said, “More tips for me, but don’t worry. I’ll keep the wine flowing and even offer you a complimentary desert and coffee later for your troubles.” He grinned. “I’ll find a way to get the airline to reimburse me.”

“We’ll stick with wine and appetizers for now,” Trent said, as he drained his glass. Once the server left, he locked eyes with Paige and extended his hand, palm up, across the table. “Do you believe in second chances, Paige? Everyone deserves a second chance. Even dictators, okay, maybe not them, but even slimy politicians deserve one. Why not me?”

Paige kept her hands in her lap as she stared into his eyes. She knew she had to be abundantly clear. Leaning forward so he didn’t miss a word, she said, “It’s over, Trent. We’re over.” Paige noticed his mouth was set in a grim, straight line. He looked like a kid whose dad told him the family puppy had run away. Paige hated hurting anyone and swallowed past a lump in her throat.Don’t feel badly. Don’t cave. Don’t give in. He cheated on you.Seeing Trent’s crestfallen face, which was a first for this egomaniac, she added, “I suppose we can be friends.”

“Friends?” Trent perked up a tiny bit and raised his almost-empty glass again. “I’ll take it. That’s a start. A good start.”

Paige noticed he eyed her hungrily. She glanced around hoping no passengers would recognize either of them and suddenly glad he had insisted on a corner table. I mean, everyone is traveling to different destinations, but both of their stations had a wide reach geographically. Her back was to the room, just the way she preferred it after the brouhaha about her sports knowledge—or lack thereof. Incognito was her middle name. Paige scrunched down in her chair trying to make herself smaller, wishing she weren’t wearing a bright purple turtleneck. She was tempted to put her mammoth black sunglasses on but refrained. Instead, she reached for a strawberry and glanced at her watch.

“Do you have to be somewhere, Paige? I thought we had all night.” Trent waved the server back over and ordered a second bottle of wine.

Paige knew if she told him she wanted to watch the game she’d hear about Zach-y boy all night. She had another hour until the game started and was famished, so she requested a Caesar salad and a Diet Coke.

Scrunching up his nose, Trent said, “Why did you order soda? I just ordered another bottle of wine.”

“I heard you. I want soda. I also want a Caesar salad.”

“I guess since you aren’t on the air, you aren’t worried about calories.”

There’s the old Trent. The jerk I broke up with.The last thing she wanted was to get into a public fight. “Stop it, Trent. You’re not my boss. Not my…anything.”

“Ouch. You really know how to hurt a guy. So, is Zach-y your anything?”

Paige wanted him to be but honestly wasn’t sure since Zach was on the road so much. And now with her new position, everything was up in the air—not to mention hot-to-trot Marie crowding in. Taking her time slathering cheese and the blackberry mixture on a cracker, Paige asked, “Do you really think that’s any of your business? How’s everything at your station?” She couldn’t keep from adding, “How does it feel being number two in the market, Trent?”

Trent eyed her over his wineglass. “It won’t last. We have a lot of great stories coming up next quarter. They’re going to blow ATV 10 out of the water. Blow you guys right out of Appledale, just like a freaking tornado. Sorry, but it’s inevitable. Number two isn’t so bad but I’m—we’re—not made for that.”

That’s what you think. No one knows about the fabulous exclusive I’m going to cover for Emma and Eli’s wedding, put on by none other than elementary school students.It was going to be the best scoop the station had ever aired. The most heartwarming one, for sure. She was sure several major networks would pick it up. Paige simply smiled and bit her bottom lip.

Trent’s eyebrows shot up. “Someone looks coy. Got a great story up your sleeve, Paige? Care to share with your, uh, friend?”

“Nope. You couldn’t crowbar this story out of me.”

“Is that right?” Trent refilled her wineglass. “Maybe a little more vino will do the trick.”

The server brought her salad. Paige pushed her wineglass aside for the soda. Hungrily stabbing lettuce and a crouton, Paige watched as Trent studied her. “I know this is killing you.” Paige knew a story scoop was something Trent dreamed about almost nightly.

Trent checked his phone, which had vibrated a dozen times. After he got up and excused himself, Paige shouted, “Tell your girlfriend hi.”

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