Page 31 of Love in the Storm

11

LYRIC

“You did not win!” Lyric shouted.

“But I didn’t fall asleep.”

Asa was cute when he was trying to dig himself out of a hole. Who was she kidding? He was more than cute. Ridiculously handsome? Charming? Too hot for his own good?

“You didn’t read one hundred pages. You read thirty!” She picked up the book and flipped to the page he’d marked. She held the measly thirty pages between her fingers and let the rest of the book dangle. “This is pitiful.”

Asa pointed a stern finger at her. “Hey, I worked hard on those thirty pages.”

“I couldwritethirty pages in an hour and a half. Are you sure you didn’t fall asleep?”

Asa jerked back as if she’d slapped him. “Are you insinuating that I’m lying?”

Lyric took a step closer, bracing her hands on her hips. “You don’t even know what insinuating means.”

“That’s it. You’ve insulted my intelligence.” He threw his hands in the air and stalked off. “Bring out Monopoly. I’m taking you to the bank!”

Covering her mouth, she held her breath to dispel the giggle in her throat. Asa could somehow be the determined provider and a lighthearted jokester, and the way he read her like a book only served to stir the warmth in her chest whenever he was around.

“And I’ll tell you what insinuate means when I get back!” he shouted from the stairs behind her.

“No cheating!”

“I don’t cheat!”

With Asa out of sight, she let the laughter free. Her chest felt lighter than ever. Bubbles of joy burst in her middle, and she might as well have been floating on air.

Maybe it was the nap. She’d been exhausted after the constant storms, and knowing Asa was in the next room calmed her into the deepest sleep she’d had in ages.

She laid the book on the end table, careful to mark his page with the leather coaster. Seconds later, Asa’s quick steps thudded on the stairs.

He rounded the corner with the rectangular Monopoly box in his hands and a determined lookon his face. “Insinuating is like implying something indirectly.”

Lyric tilted her head and tapped a finger against her chin. “Is that what I did? I thought I was pretty direct.”

Asa huffed and tossed the box onto the area rug in front of the fireplace. “Stop messing with me and choose your game piece.”

Lyric sat on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest and her back resting against the couch. Thankfully, she was in dry clothes again. The robes were a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. “Should I be the banker?”

Asa pointed at her with wide eyes. “Insinuating.”

She hid her face in the gap between her chest and knees and giggled softly. She was having too much fun messing with him.

“What’s your piece?” Asa asked.

Lyric leaned over the board to study the pieces he’d placed in the middle. “I’ll take the car.” She reached for it and rubbed the worn metal between her fingers. The classic car sparked a memory that was comforting and dangerous at the same time.

“Really? I had you pegged for a thimble.”

“Why the thimble?”

Asa shrugged and picked up the ship. “I don’t know. You seem like the type who knows how to sew and do all those classic homemaking things.”

“You’re joking. I know nothing about sewing.”

---