Page 95 of If Tomorrow Never Comes

“It was perfect.”

“Mary take all his money?”

“Of course.”

Yuka shook her head. “That woman, I swear.”

“You should come play next time.”

Yuka snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m saving up to buy a house, remember?”

“You’re good at poker, though. Haven’t you beaten my mom before?”

“Once, and it was after her eye surgery and she was having trouble reading the cards.”

Elliott laughed. “I forgot about that.”

“Even then it was close.”

Jamie came back and slid a paper bag across the table.

“What’s this?” Yuka asked.

“Just a little something.”

Yuka opened the bag and stood to peer inside. Her eyes bugged out, and her hands went to her cheeks. “Cookies!”

“And one chocolate mousse brownie. Better eat that one soon, though—it’s been out of the fridge for two days.”

She clapped her hands and ran around the table to hug him. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

The second she got back to her chair, she dug around for the brownie.

Elliott grabbed Jamie’s sleeve and pulled him close for a kiss, her heart full at the gesture for her best friend. Then she laughed at Yuka. “You’re not gonna at least wait until after lunch?”

“You heard the man,” Yuka said, taking a bite. “Gotta eat it now.”

A server came to take their drink orders, and Jamie and Elliott watched in amusement as Yuka devoured the brownie.

“You gotta tell your sister to open a store in Lincoln,” Yuka said. “Put it right next to campus, and she’d be rolling in cash.”

“Only if she never meets Mary,” Jamie muttered, adjusting his glasses.

Elliott snorted and nudged him with her shoulder. “You ever gonna get over that?”

“Probably not.”

“Anyhoo,” Yuka said, wiping her hands off. “How’s it going with you two? I mean, I know it’sgoodbecause Elliott tells me stuff. But how’s it going, like, with Carly and stuff?”

Jamie leaned close, his eyes twinkling. “It’s good, huh?”

Elliott rolled her eyes. “You know it is.”

He rolled his shoulders back in a show of confidence before his expression took on an air of gravity. “Carly doesn’t know about us. She told me she was moving, but other than that we’ve barely spoken since we broke up. No one else knows.”

“Aren’t you worried she’ll find out at some point?”

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