Page 30 of Perfectly Wedded

“What?” I frown.

“I can’t tell you yet,” Brax says, keeping his face guarded. “Just don’t lose.”

“This should be good,” Rourke yells, rubbing his palms together.

Sloan leans toward me and whispers, “How are we going to win this?”

I shake my head. “Hope we get lucky?”

Now that we know there’s a punishment if we lose, there’s no other option. We have to win.

“Leo’s acting as referee to make sure there’s no cheating,” Brax adds as he shuffles through a stack of cards. “Leo crowdsourced questions from the team and filtered out the inappropriate ones.”

A few guys in the back boo.

Leo looks at us. “You can thank me later.”

Brax holds up the first question. “The team wants to know who made the first move in your relationship?”

I can’t see Sloan since she’s seated behind me, so I have to go with my gut feeling. I shift in my seat, wishing I had an answer. I’ve never made any intentional moves on Sloan, but if we were dating, I think Sloan wouldwantme to make the first move. She’s old school like that.

“This shouldn’t be that hard,” Leo urges. “Hurry up.”

I can feel Sloan’s arm move, but I can’t see which glove she’s holding. I pick the black glove representing me, hoping Sloan’s choice is the same.

“They both agree,” Brax says with a smile. “One point for you.”

“Spill the details, Sloan,” Lucian, the team captain, says. “We want to hear the story.”

Sloan shifts on her seat behind me. “Well, a few months ago, we were at the beach, taking a walk. That’s when he held my hand.”

“Awwwww,” Rourke says in a fake sweet voice. I glower at him while everyone laughs.

We did walk together on the beach several months ago, but I only grabbed her hand when she stumbled over a rock. It wasn’t intentional. And it certainly wasn’t a “move.”

“Next question.” Brax flips through the cards. “Who said ‘I love you’ first?”

“What’s with all the firsts?” I ask.

“This is almost like a freebie, it’s so easy,” Leo says. “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten?”

Would Sloan say I love you before me? I don’t talk about my feelings openly.And saying I love you?I’ve never said it to any woman I’ve dated. That’s because I don’t want to make the same mistake my father did and make promises I can’t keep. When I say I love you, it will be to the one woman who is my forever.

“We don’t have all day,” Leo grumbles. “And your wife has made her decision.”

I hold up the black glove again. The whole room breaks into laughter.

Leo clicks his tongue at our error. “Looks like the newlyweds don’t agree. Vale, when did you say it?”

“In Vegas, of course.” I didn’t actually say this in Vegas, but I remember thinking that Ishould. If Sloan was going to become my wife, whywouldn’tI say it? Her smile lit me up as bright as thecity lights. But it didn’t feel right to admit something out of obligation.

“Sloan?” Brax asks. “Is that correct?”

“Ah, yes, I forgot,” Sloan says with a laugh. “We say I love you so much, I couldn’t remember who said it first.”

“That means one for the Crushers,” Brax adds.

I shoot him a look. “How many questions are there?”

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