Her eyes go so wide, I can see white all around her irises. Oh, yeah. She’s impressed, even if she hates herself for it. I puff up my chest, preening a little.
“Maybe if you gave me your winnings, I’d consider it.” She laughs, because she doesn’t think I’d ever actually do it.
So naive. She’s seriously underestimating how much I love winning.
“Fine. You win, you get 75 thou. But ifIwin, you have to leave your dating profile like that until the new year.”
She tilts her head like a confused puppy. “That’s it? That’s all you want for winning?”
I shrug. “I can make back my money playing online poker for a few days. But the feeling of beating you? Priceless.”
“Fine.” She snatches her phone back out of my hand. I don’t even make her fight me for it. “I’ll keep the profile for a day. I look forward to you writing me a check.”
With that, she scoops Waffle up in her arms and stomps back to her bedroom. I flop down on the couch, grabbing a Playstation controller. If Pippa’s sulking all night, that means I get the living room all to myself. I can playGrand Theft Autountil the sun comes up if I feel like it.
It’s only a little annoying that now, the couch smells like Pippa’s cherry perfume.
6
PIPPA
Waffle purrs and rubs her face against mine. Apparently, she’s decided I shouldn’t go to Mom and Jack’s holiday party tonight, because she’s been laying on my chest for twenty minutes, and I don’t have the heart to move her.
Maybe I’ll stay home with the cat, since I’m already dreading the very idea of getting out of bed.
After Ryan gave my profile a makeover, over two hundred guys marked me as a Keepr. At this rate, I’ll probably get a hundred more by the time the party’s over. It’s nice to have options, obviously, but I’m not sure it’s worth Ryan lording this over me for the rest of my life.
Ugh, men suck.
I’m trying to come up with an excuse to stay home that Mom would accept when my phone dings.
Cat
How’s it going, Pipsqueak? Do you need me to come rescue you yet?
It takes me a minute to maneuver my phone so I can type an answer without dislodging Waffle from her place on my chest.
Pippa
You can hold off on sending in a SWAT team, but maybe keep them on standby.
How’s wedding planning going?
Cat
Work has been so busy, I’ve barely started. Nate and I are leaving for a quick trip to Spain tonight.
I’m not in a huge rush, anyway. You’ll be the first to know when I’m ready to start thinking about venues and dresses. <3
Pippa
Good. You’ll need my dress advice, because I don’t think Nate would settle for you pulling your dress out of a thrift store discount bin.
Cat
I’ll get him to appreciate a good thrift one day.
I’m about to reply when two notifications pop up simultaneously. The first one is a text from Dad, a selfie of him grinning and holding the hot pink hammer I bought him for his birthday a few years ago. It has little unicorns prancing up the side, and I thought it would be hilarious for him to have to bring it to a job site.
