Page 18 of Meet Jon, the Billionaire

Jonathon laughed and offered the reverend a coin. “Would you like to call heads or tails?”

“Just a moment, son, let us pray to our everlasting heavenly father.”

Aw, that’s adorable, the way he and his wife pray together. What nice people.

“All right, we’re going to call… heads.”

Jonathon tossed the coin and slapped it on the back of his hand. “Heads it is.”

“Great.” He arched his brows. “Did you want to switch sides?”

“No, not really,” Jonathon replied.

“Are you sure? That’s the advantage given to the team who receives. Seems silly to pass up on it—”

“We’ll switch sides,” I said quickly, seeking to curry Jackson’s favor.

Jonathon gave me a look, and I soon found out why. When we went to the other side of the net, I discovered that the sun was now directly in our eyes.

Those dirty… I can’t believe a reverend set us up like that.

Jackson smiled at me one last time, gave the tennis ball a few experimental bounces, and prepared to serve. His face went from genial to predatory in a quarter second flat. Features twisted into a snarl, he pounded that ball with the fury of a thousand erupting volcanoes.

I was totally unprepared for it, and so was Jonathon. We both watched as the ball rocketed over the net, clearing it by the barest inch. Jonathon scrambled to intercept, stretching out his long, powerful body, but he was a split second too late. The ball bounced a second time and flew out of bounds behind us.

“Point,” the Reverend said, his genial smile back.

I passed by Jonathon as we switched places for the serve. “These two are playing for keeps!”

“Yes, and they’re going to be offended if we don’t play at our absolute best level.” He glared pointedly at me, and I frowned. What did he know?

Jonathon smashed the serve, and Barb stumbled on the return just slightly enough that I had a chance to intercept. I lobbed it back over, trying to catch the reverend unawares as he was halfway across the court. He hustled to intercept, his grace and speed believing his bulk.

It was a heck of a match, but at the end of the day the Reverend and his wife were too much for us. They won the match, though we made it hard for them.

As we shook hands at the end I spoke to Barb in particular. “Listen, I’m sorry about the mix-up with the lemon custard filling. If you come into the shop, we’ll give you two dozen donuts of whatever kind you wish on the house.”

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.”

Ouch. I wonder if she’d have said yes if we’d won?

Chapter Ten

Jonathon

After our defeat, Amelia and I had about twenty minutes until our next match. We meandered into the tearoom, a strange sort of calm over us. I don’t know if it was the post-exercise endorphin rush, or the fact that I really was into Amelia, but I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.

Amelia had a great way of seeing the world, unique to say the least. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and her constant witty quips kept me on my toes.

“Just a moment,” she said as I was recovering from another of her verbal barbs. Amelia dug into her purse and withdrew her phone. “I’m sorry, it’s the bakery, I have to take this.”

She stood up and wandered a short distance away, speaking to someone named Pedro. I didn’t catch what the nature of the conversation was, but Amy didn't look happy. I decided to avail myself of the men’s washroom while I waited for her to finish the call. I caught her gaze and then pointed at the door to let her know where I would be.

As I exited the washroom, I almost ran into a woman who was coming out of the women’s door.

“I’m sorry,” I said, catching her by the arms. “I should have been watching where I was going.”

“No, it’s fine, I was distracted,” she said, bending to pick up her phone. She straightened up and I realized I recognized the middle-aged blonde. It was Lucille Madden, a member of the zoning board. What luck! Her eyes narrowed as they regarded me. “I saw your last match. You’re good, but you tend to hog the ball instead of letting your partner assist.”

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