Page 12 of Shamrock Kisses

“You’re a savage,” I tease, surprised she didn’t savor it.

“Not a winner.” She giggles, shrugging.

“I like to take my time,” I say, pulling each tab slowly. She winks, and I can’t help but smirk.

“Fifty dollars!” Rachel squeals.

“No way!”

She waves the winning card to me, and sure enough—fifty bucks. I finish pulling the tabs on my last one and chuckle. “One dollar.”

“You’re a winner too!”

“So, do we cash these in or roll the winnings into more pull tabs?”

“Are you serious?! You doubled your money—cash out.”

“There’s still a five-hundred-dollar winner in there. We could have fifty-one more chances to get it.”

“It’s too risky.”

I run my hand through my beard, enjoying this new insight into her risk tolerance. “Whatever you want. But if it were just up to me, I’d go big.”

“I don’t want us to be big losers. Right now, we’re winning.”

We exchange smiles. “I’ve never really explored Lake Geneva before,” I share, taking another sip of my beer.

I’m trying to focus on her and how easy everything feels, but Nicholas’s words linger. I don’t want to feel like I have something to prove—but I do.

10

Patrick has been such a good sport, hanging out with my friends, laughing at their jokes, even fitting in like he’s known them for more than a few hours. As much fun as this is, I want to get to know him without other people around.

“How about I give you a tour of Main Street after this beer?”

He smiles. “I’d love that.”

We hold a flirty gaze, and I ask him, “Tell me more about some gray hacking you’ve done.”

He bites his lip before sipping his beer. “I once redirected a politician’s website to a gay porn site.”

The girls and I all laugh.

“It feels like you have more stories like this,” Emily encourages.

“I have a lot of stories like this …” He trails off, and I see the assuredness. He’s not showing off—he’s justhim,and I’m being drawn in by every word.

“Tell us!” I demand.

“In college, my friends and I would do something every weekend.”

“Stop being coy.” I playfully swat his arm. “He told me he hacked the company he works for and that’s how he got his job,” I share with the girls.

“So, Patrick is cute and clever.” Sarah smiles. “What else should we know about you?”

“I’m getting into powerlifting,” he says and my friends exchange glances that don’t go unnoticed by me. Yeah, I know—guys that lift, another box he’s checking.

“What can you deadlift?” I ask, curious and also challenging.

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