Rachel laughed. “Connor’s probably too old. He only knows about the Triassic period when all the other dinosaurs lived.”
He looked at her, shaking his head. “Are you an amateur historian?”
“No, but I listen to a lot of podcasts.”
“Ah, because you’re so often alone in the evenings?”
She smiled sweetly and leaned forward with both hands on the desk. “Because I educate myself.”
He almost laughed. Almost.
“Oh man. Get a room or finish the quiz,” someone shouted from the back tables, and Tara snorted.
“Please, don’t get the wrong idea, Rachel,” Connor replied lightly, looking at his opponent mockingly. “I know you romantics sometimes tell yourselves this, but just because I’m mean to you doesn’t mean I’m into you. It just says you’re annoying.”
“No,” Rachel replied calmly. “It says you have a bad personality.”
“Can’t it be both?”
“No. Because I’m delightful, and you’re an asshole who profits from other people’s suffering.”
“You’re wrong about that,” he replied darkly. “I end suffering for many people.”
“Ahh… So marriage issufferingnow.”
His jaw clenched as he felt her getting under his skin. With every single word. Again! Today, he had wanted to keep himself pulled together. “A bad marriage is painful, yes,” he said tensely.
“What about a perfectly functioning marriage?”
“There are no perfectly functioning marriages.”
“Goodness,” she drawled. “A cynical divorce lawyer who doesn’t believe in love, how inspiring.”
“Who says I don’t believe in love?” he asked roughly. “I just don’t believe you have to prove it with a scrap of paper. Separation without marriage is easier, and some people aren’t cut out for long-term relationships.”
“Nonsense. Humans are wired for intimate relationships. You just have to find the right one.”
“Oh, I’ve found quite a fewright ones.”
“It’s about falling in love, not securing the hottest one-night stand,” she hissed.
“Iknowthat,” he growled. “Although, God knows, you need an invigorating orgasm ASAP to make you fucking relax.”
Furious, Rachel opened her mouth, but Tara beat her to it.
“Okay, guys,” she interrupted loudly. “My question wasn’t: Who’s better at getting on your nerves? Spoiler alert: You’re both winners. We’re getting to the final, decisive question.”
Rachel bit her full lip and glared at Tara. Connor, on the other hand, fixed his gaze on the teeth Rachel was pushing into the soft flesh of her lip…
“What’s the name of that so-called sailor’s disease that occurs with acute vitamin C deficiency?”
Rachel smiled broadly and hit the buzzer.
Scurvy.
“Scurvy,” she shouted out.
“Correct! Bedtime Game Night is the winner of the night.”
