Piper rolled her eyes. “She’s kidding. My genius niece just realized she’s been studying way too hard.” Piper rose. “But I’ll take the flowers. So pretty.” She accepted the flowers and walked past him to put them in water.
Grant met Jenna’s gaze.
She gave him a grin and a thumbs up.
“Great.” He smiled. “I know just how to get Jenna in a happy mood.”
“Oh, how?” Jenna asked.
“With a game.”
“Oh boy. Don’t tell me. You want to play Uno or checkers?”
Piper scowled. “Hey. Uno’s fun.”
“Yeah, if you’re old.” Or goofy like Simon.
Grant cleared his throat. “Ahem. I was thinking of something a little more exciting. Like Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat 11, or maybe Super Smash Bros.”
Jenna’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Oh, maybe you don’t have a Nintendo Switch. But you have to have some version of Call of Duty.”
“I do.” Jenna liked playing with Simon and her friend, Jayden, especially. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Are you sure you know how to play?”
Grant huffed. “Jenna, the reason video games are so expensive is for all the grown man-children—who can afford them—to play. They’re not just for kids.”
Aunt Piper snipped stems and readied a vase with water. She brightened and glanced at Jenna. “I know. You should play Tetris. Or how about Donkey Kong? I played that a long time ago.”
Jenna exchanged a sad glance with Grant. “Never mind, Aunt Piper. Grant and I got this. But don’t worry. I won’t take up all his time. I’m sure Grant would much rather spend turkey day peeling onions or chopping potatoes with you.”
“Traitor,” he muttered.
Jenna grinned, not sure how her aunt couldn’t see what a great guy Grant was without help. Grownups, she thought, and shook her head.
“Tetris,” Grant carped, mistaking her disgust with her aunt. “I know, right?”
“I can hear you,” Piper said. “And I’ll make sure to save all the onions for you, Grant.”
“Bring it, Mason.” Grant winked at Jenna. She winked back.
And after Jenna and Grant mowed through a bunch of bad guys on the big screen while doing their best to explain the game to Aunt Piper, the holiday was back on track.
Now if only Grant would get a little more game, something that her aunt would understand.
Chapter 15
Grant didn’t know what he’d walked into when he’d arrived back at the house. Obviously some girl moment with her aunt, but Jenna had recovered quickly enough. Sarcastic, crafty with the controller, and a master strategist in the game, Jenna was a joyous little viper to play with. He had to say he liked that about her—she played to win.
It didn’t hurt that he’d salvaged his pride by crushing her kill count. Afterward, he danced around, announcing himself the victor, which caused Jenna to groan and Piper to laugh, calling him a sore loser.
“Yeah? At least I don’t cheat to win, like some people I could name.”
Piper frowned. “Hey, that was a clean Uno game. And your witness” —she nodded to a giggling Jenna— “is biased. And a cheater herself! Don’t get me started on what a terror she is at Clue.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny such baseless accusations,” Jenna said. “Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom.” She raced away.
“Nice escape,” Piper muttered then pointed a wooden spoon at Grant. “Okay, buddy, time to chop some onions.”
