I shake my head. “Whatever she told you was probably an exaggeration.”
“So you’re not that good at the game?”
“No,” I say, then add, “I’m the best one here.”
He laughs, and something about it sends a faint prickle across my skin.
“Luke Thompson,” he says, extending his hand.
“Ellen,” I reply simply, placing my hand in his. He gives it a gentle squeeze, his thumb brushing lightly over the back of my hand before he lets go.
He keeps his eyes on me, and I look away, continuing my slow walk through the room.
When I notice he’s following me, I say, “You do know Regina keeps these games women-only, right?”
I hear him chuckle. “Yes, I’m aware. I’m one of her lawyers. I was on my way out when you and your sister arrived, and I figured I should come say hello. Regina said I could stay and watch you ladies play, if I wanted to. See if you’re as good as they say.”
I straighten my posture.
“You’re wasting your time,” I say, meeting his gaze.
His eyes drop to my hands wrapped around my purse. I know exactly what he’s looking for, and I also know he won’t find it. I stopped wearing my engagement ring and wedding band a year after we moved to Houston.
Without another word, I choose a table and take a seat, motioning for Emma and waiting for her to join me.
“How about this,” Luke says, pulling out a chair on the other side of the table. “I’ll stay at the bar and watch you play. If you win, I’ll take you out to dinner at your favorite restaurant in town.”
I narrow my eyes. “You’ve already been told I always win. So where’s the bet in that? And I’m perfectly capable of going to a restaurant on my own.”
“Of course you are. But I make excellent company. You’ll agree with me after I take you out to dinner.”
Before I can respond, he stands and heads back to the bar.
It isn’t long before the game starts, and I quickly lose myself in the laughter and the hands we play. But that lingering sense of being watched never quite goes away.
When I glance up, Luke is still there, watching me intently. I drop my gaze back to the game in front of me.
He’d better get comfortable waiting,I think to myself, just as I win another round.
Epilogue 03
August,Pisa
an entire universe
Cecily
“You need to stop kicking your mom so much and let her sleep,” Alexander murmurs, his lips pressed reverently to my eight-months-plus belly. “She needs her rest if she’s going to keep loving me properly.”
I scoff, peering down at him with mock offense. “I’m the one carrying a human being and riding a hormonal roller coaster, andyou’rethe dramatic one?”
He looks up at me, grinning unabashedly, but immediately returns his attention to my belly, still whispering as if our son is in on the joke.
“Yourmamagets a little cranky sometimes,” he says solemnly. “But yourpapaknows exactly how to fix that.” He pauses, thoughtful. “It’s one of my many...superpowers.”
I can’t help but laugh. Even Alexander chuckles at himself. He presses one last kiss to my stretched skin, then shifts up beside me, pulling me close. His mouth finds mine in a deep kiss while his hand resumes its gentle caress over my belly.
“So,” I murmur over his lips, smiling, “what you do with your tongue, fingers, and other parts of your body are considered superpowers now?”
