Page 45 of Win Big

“It was a good day. Just... stuff. Anyway, I feel a lot better now.” I hold her gaze. She makes me laugh. Gets me out of my own head.

“I must not be annoying you enough. Want to talk about the call the refs missed in OT the other night?”

Immediately, my blood runs hot. “That was a fucking travesty!”

She smiles and sits back in her chair. “It definitely was a hand pass.”

“It definitely was! I can’t believe they didn’t see that!”

“Did you see it on the ice?”

“I was on the bench, but the replay clearly showed it.”

“See, that’s the problem. We all see a million replays from different angles, in slow motion. The refs are on the ice and have a split second.”

“What the hell? You’re supposed to be a Condors fan!”

She laughs. “I am. Okay, I agree it was a hand pass, but you can’t totally blame the refs for missing it.”

“Oh, hell yeah, I can.” I lean forward, lowering my voice, pretending to look around for hidden microphones. “I mean, I can say that in private, in front of you. Not for the media.”

“Of course not.”

We bicker back and forth as we eat our meals, which are, in fact, amazing, and not so huge that we don’t have room for dessert, which we agree to share. Once again there’s stuff on the menu I don’t recognize. “What is vacherin?”

“Gonna have to google that one too.” She pauses with her phone. “Oh, it’s a kind of cheese. I’m guessing a soft cheese... since it’s a dessert?”

It comes with meringue and ice cream, so yeah, that makes sense. “Let’s try it.”

She eyes me. “You sure you don’t want the chocolate cake?”

“Let’s be crazy.”

It’s crazy delicious, so creamy, with a lemon taste and the sweet meringue.

“Yum,” Everly agrees.

I can’t stop watching her as she slides the tines of the fork through her lips to get every last taste. Our eyes meet. She knows what I’m thinking.

We take our time and when we’re done, we step out onto the sidewalk into the cool night air. The area is still lively. “How about we walk a bit?”

“Sure.”

We stroll along the sidewalk, taking in the energy of the nightlife—restaurants, bars, and shops still open. When I see Big D’s Pleasure Emporium, I stop. “Let’s go in.”

Everly eyes the sign and bursts out laughing. “Nuh-uh!”

“Why not?” I nudge her with my elbow. “It’s a sex shop.”

“I realize that.”

“You don’t like sex?” I look her up and down. “Pretty sure you were into it that night you had your tongue in my mouth.”

“I like sex.”

Christ. Just hearing her say that makes my dick thicken.

“Fine, let’s go in.”

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