Page 58 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
Emma nodded and bit down on her lip. Probably to keep from bursting out laughing.
With only ten seconds left, one woman called out, “Happiness.”
“Jesus. It’s about time.” Beverly snatched her envelope off the table and tromped to her seat.
Clapping came from the left. “Very good,” a voice said.
When I turned, Robyn was standing there with a huge smile. Beverly glared at her, but Robyn continued to smile. “I finally made it. Vera asked if I could monitor this group.” She glanced at our team and winked. “Make sure nobody cheats.”
“Well, that’s good,” Beverly said. “I still don’t think it’s fair with them having twins.”
Robyn corrected her, just like Vera had, but I doubted it mattered to Beverly. “So where are we at?” Robyn asked.
“Last person of the first round,” Annie answered. “Score is four to three. No steals.”
“Ah, yes, the first round is always the easiest,” Robyn said.
“Tell that to these idiots.” Beverly pointed at her teammates.
“Now, Beverly, Vera wouldn’t approve of that attitude,” Robyn replied.
Apparently, everyone knew Beverly.
“Whatever,” Beverly said.
“You play nice with these ladies, and I’ll save you a copy of the new Taylor Jenkins Reid novel that’s coming out next month.”
“Free?” Beverly asked.
Robyn let out an exaggerated sigh and dropped her shoulders. “Okay, you win.”
“Exasperation,” I called out.
Everyone laughed, except Beverly, who pointed at me. “Are you going to tell them to play nice, too?”
Robyn shot me a look, but I saw the amusement dancing in her eyes, so I muttered an apology, which seemed to appease Beverly.
“Who’s up?” Robyn asked.
I raised my hand and moved from behind the couch into the center. I tore open my envelope and read the word. This should be easy. I reached for the timer, but Robyn had it.
“I got it.” Robyn held out her hand. “I’d like the word, so I can listen for it.”
I handed her the envelope before taking a deep breath. Then I put my hands up under my chin and wiggled my fingers, while putting an exaggerated expression of excitement on my face.
“Excitement,” Annie called.
“Enthusiasm,” Katlynn said.
I bounced on my toes and glanced from side to side.
“Anticipation,” Emma said.
“Got it!” Robyn held up her finger and made an imaginary tick mark. “That’s a point. Score is tied.”
“Twins,” Beverly muttered, but stopped at that when Robyn looked her way.
Robyn was right, the second-round clues were harder, and both teams fumbled twice, which left us tied. Still, there’d not been a single emotion that nobody had gotten.
