Across the room, Declan caught my eye and made a tiny helpless gesture toward Josh, like even he had no idea how he'd dated the man. I sure didn’t have a clue.
Josh muttered something under his breath about the whole town being unhinged, turned and stalked back out, leaving damp footprints across the floor behind him.
The room slowly settled again, conversations picking back up around the tables.
I had about decided Donny wasn’t going to show and I wouldn’t get an opportunity to try and figure out what the issue was between him and Fletcher, but finally, just before the first deal, Donny walked in. He dropped into his seat with the ease of someone who'd sat down at a lot of poker tables. He smiled at Fletcher, but in a self-satisfied way, not a friendly one.
"Fletcher." He stacked a column of chips with one hand. "Didn't know you were a card man."
"There's a lot you don't know about me," Fletcher said. His voice was even. His hands were not. He'd picked up his chips twice and set them back down.
"Mm." Donny leaned back in his chair. "Hope you're luckier at cards than you are at picking the winning team."
Fletcher's jaw tightened. "Just deal the cards," he said to the dealer, without looking at Donny again.
The dealer dealt.
I picked up my cards. Seven of clubs. Two of diamonds. I set them face down and watched the room instead.
Declan had positioned himself near the small side table Rue had set up along the wall that held the food. He'd said he didn't know enough about poker to be useful at the table, and he needed to be free to move around and take pictures for the town's social media.
Sandy was with him, wearing a t-shirt that readA PINT OF ALE BEATS A PAIR OF ACESin bold letters across the chest.He was working through a plate of something from Rue’s spread like eating was a competitive sport.
She’d provided sliders, pretzel bites, and a spiced nut mix. Declan had his own table on the far end with neat rows of cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting, some kind of small pastry I didn't recognize, and a basket of golden-brown muffins that smelled extraordinary from across the room.
Several people had already made their way to the muffin basket.
I’d snagged one of the chocolate cupcakes and a kiss when I first got here, but other than that, I'd been watching the table.
Az had a small plate with one of the muffins on it sitting beside him. He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, and said nothing for a moment. Then he set the muffin down and stared at it like something about it surprised him.
He glanced at me.
I raised an eyebrow.
He looked back at his cards.
For the most part, the table was uneventful. Fletcher won the first two small pots and lost a decent-sized one to Donny. Nadia folded three hands in a row.
Between hands, Avery decided to make a run to the food table. “Can I get anyone anything?” she asked.
“Only if there’s a gluten-free option,” Fletcher said. “I can’t tolerate it.”
“I’ll take something,” Nadia said. “I swear that whole eating for two thing is no joke. But maybe something savory instead of sweet.”
Az looked up with a calculated smile on his face. “Grab her one of Declan’s muffins. They aren’t too sweet, and they are quite good.”
Avery nodded and went over to the table. She returned with muffins for herself and for Nadia and a cup of nuts for Fletcher.
Play resumed, and Avery won the first hand. “Maybe Declan is my good luck charm,” she said, taking another bite of her muffin.
The second hand after that, she raised a sizable amount, and Ivan asked her if she was bluffing. "Yes, I totally am. I have absolutely nothing, but the odds justified it," she said in a tone of mild surprise, like she'd answered before she'd meant to.
The table laughed. Avery looked faintly puzzled.
Three hands later, a festival visitor who was sitting at the table next to ours said, "Snowmen. I've got snowmen, and I don't know if I should raise or fold.” He said it loud enough for most of the room to hear him as he held up a pair of eights.
"Why would you say that out loud?" another man asked.
