Page 62 of Playing Flirty

“It’s not that,” I said, but I didn’t want to tell him what had happened, so I added, “I just want to read the email.

Let’s go.”

Luckily, that won him over.

If Shaun noticed my silence during the walk to his building, he chose not to say anything. Each step that took me farther from our office lifted the nausea swirling in my stomach.The second we entered the safety of their apartment, Shaun told Neema and William about the unopened email in my inbox.

While he spoke my heart was raging in my chest, but I wanted to forget Mr. Markham’s compliment. That was all it was… right?

William’s eyes grew wide, and he sucked in a deep breath while I retrieved my phone from my bag.

“Okay, last chance for bets,” I deadpanned, but no one laughed. I handed my phone to Shaun and whispered a soft prayer.

Surprised, a smile lit up his face. “Can I read it out loud?”

I nodded and sat beside William. It was only when he slipped his hand between us and grazed my thigh with the backs of his knuckles that my shattered nerves settled back into place.

Shaun cleared his throat and read from my phone. “Hello, everyone! Thank you for your submissions. We loved seeing the passion and creativity poured into each and every game you created. Unfortunately, there can be only one winner.” He pulled in a deep breath and took a moment to gaze at each of us dramatically before continuing. “The following five board games will continue on to Round 2. Congratulations to the following people, in alphabetical order.”

I inhaled, and the sound of oxygen entering my lungs was the only sound in the room. Shaun stilled, and Neema was quiet for the first time in her life. Even William was, quite literally, sitting on the edge of his seat.

“A Princess’s Tale, submitted by Alia Ghoor.”

Okay.

“Cats versus Dogs, submitted by Lester Hanning.”

Okay.

“Overpower, submitted by Rose Marie Jones.”

I jumped to my feet and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t lie to me, Shaun!”

“I wouldn’t lie to you about this.” He beamed at me and pulled me in for a tight hug.

“Don’t lie to me,” I repeated, unsure of why I was crying. It didn’t take much, but even for me, it was excessive.

Neema sprang up and joined the hug.

Shaun glanced at my phone over my quaking shoulders. “Kaleidoscope, submitted by Anita Peterson.” He grinned. “And you know what? No one cares what the last game is because you’re winning this!”

A harsh sob erupted from somewhere deep inside me. I was entirely overwhelmed. The past few months had been too much, and this… this was something that held my heart for a lifetime.

Shaun spun us around, and my gaze met William’s.

Told you. He mouthed the words through a huge smile, following it with a wink. His hands were fisted and crossed over his chest as though he were stopping himself from grabbing me and pulling me into him.

I wanted to be there. I wanted to thank him for all the hours he’d spent helping me perfect my game. I even wanted to tell him about Mr. Markham.

I stopped my thoughts right there.

I’d been in a relationship with Patrick for so long that I didn’t know what to do in this situation with William. Had he signed up to hear about my every trouble?

My stomach curdled at the thoughts racing through me.

We never went out.

We never discussed what we are.

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