Leah opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Geoff called for everyone to gather in a circle.
“This next activity happens to be one of my favorites,” he said. “Thankfully, it tends to be a huge hit with participants, as well. We call it ‘Two Truths and a Lie.’ The object of the game is to see how well youreallyknow your significant other.”
“This will be harder for some of our long-timers, but that’s what makes it so much fun,” Katherine injected. “No matter how long you’ve been together, there is always something new to learn about the person you’re with.”
“That’s right,” Geoff said. “For instance, after thirty years of marriage, I just discovered that Katherine doesn’t like my snoring. Who knew?”
His line was delivered which such corny precision that Leah knew it was one he’d used a thousand times, but she still laughed. She couldn’t help it. Despite their schmaltzy jokes, she found the Mumfords endearing.
“That has never been a secret,” Katherine said of Geoff’s snoring comment. Then she clapped her hands together as if she were rounding up a classroom of preschoolers.
“I want each couple to find a quiet spot and start sharing. Remember, there is no winner with this activity, and there aren’t any right or wrong answers, either. This is a way for you two to gain even further insight into each other. Oh, and for added fun, make sure your lie isn’t too obvious. Make it really hard for your partner to figure it out.”
“I don’t know about this one,” Leah said as she followed Caleb to the right side of the large conference room Katherine and Geoff had commandeered for this morning’s activity. Leah took a seat in one of the stick back chairs that had been brought in from the main hall. Instead of joining her, Caleb folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall.
“Let me have it,” he said. “Two truths and a lie.”
“You really want to play along?”
He shrugged. “Why not? We had fun putting together the puzzle, didn’t we?”
Leah cocked one brow with deliberate skepticism, but acquiesced, shrugging her shoulders.
“Okay.” She tapped her bottom lip with her thumb. “Let’s see. Two truths and a lie.” She tipped her head to the side, then pointed at him. “I was on the varsity volleyball team in college. I once stole ten dollars from the collection plate at church. I have a tattoo somewhere on my person.”
“Hmm, interesting.” Caleb massaged his chin, then posed as if recreating Rodin’sThe Thinker. “Well, I know the volleyball thing must be true.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“You like to workout. I figure that athleticism didn’t just pop up out of nowhere.”
She shrugged again. “Okay, I can see how you would come to that conclusion. So, which one is the lie? The tattoo or stealing from the collection plate?”
“I really want you to have a tattoo, so I’ll go with stealing the ten bucks,” he said.
Leah couldn’t help her smile. “Wrong,” she said.
Caleb’s mouth dropped opened. “You stole while in church? While actuallyinthe building?”
She nodded.
“So the tattoo is a lie?” The disappointment in his voice made her laugh harder.
“Actually, being on the volleyball team is a lie. I played in high school, but I’d given up the sport by the time I entered college.”
“So the one statement that I just knew to be true turns out to be the lie.” Caleb shook his head. But then he stopped short and stared at her, his eyes narrowing. “That means you reallydohave a tattoo?”
“Yes, I do.”
He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as his gaze drifted down her body. “I’m having a really good time guessing where it is.”
“Get you’re mind out of the gutter.” Leah laughed. “It’s on my shoulder blade. I got it in honor of my grandmother, Margaret. Orchids were her favorite.”
“That’s sweet, but it totally messes up my fantasy.”
Leah listened to the little devil tapping her on the shoulder. With a decidedly sexy grin, she said, “I never said it was my only tattoo.”
She heard the sharp breath Caleb inhaled. He dropped his hands to his sides and rubbed them against this pants. “Don’t put these kinds of thoughts in my head, Leah. At least not when we’re in public. Unless you want me to embarrass the both of us.”
