“All better,” he mumbles, his voice deep and gravelly, the sound sending my blood buzzing.
I release my breath, chest caving in. “Thanks.”
After the first two rounds, we’re tied with Joanie’s team, The Queen’s Reign.
“Last question for round three, and then we’ll take a brief break to tally the scores and refill those drinks! Here we go:Sitcom Theme Songs. Listen carefully to the theme song clip. Then,name the showandprovide both the year it premiered and the year it ended. You can earn up to three total points for this question.”
The crowd inside The Tavern hushes as the theme song rings out across the speakers.
“Okay, well, that’sFamily Matters, obviously,” Viv announces proudly.
“Obviously,” we all agree, waiting for her to answer the rest of it, but Viv is curiously silent.
“Wait, wait, wait, hang on a second. You don’t know when it aired or ended?” Josh scrutinizes Viv, who is looking down into her glass. He rubs his hands together as if ready to throw an answer into the game.
“I’m pretty sure it ended in 1999,” Rachel adds.
“Are you sure? I thought it was 1997,” Jimmy says, draping an arm around his fiancée’s shoulder.
“I think Rachel is right. 1999,” Josh adds.
“It premiered in 1989 and ended in 1998,” Luke says very matter-of-factly. There’s no sign that he’s unsure. In fact, he seems confident.
“Are you sure?” Viv asks, skeptical of the guy who’s said very little this whole round.
“Positive.”
“How do you know?” I ask, curious to gather a little more information from the man who seems to know so much more about me than I do about him.
“It was my dad’s favorite show.” And that’s all he says about it, like it's answer enough, and to the rest of the table it seems to be.
A pang of jealousy washes through me wondering what it might be like to know your parents well enough to say something with such confidence. All I’ve ever been able to say with confidence is that I wasn’t wanted—I was left behind by the people who brought me into this world, to be raised bymy grandparents. I swallow the feelings that attempt to disarm me and refocus my attention on the group.
Rachel writes the answer and hands the card to Jimmy, who walks it up to the announcer.
“Well, that was exciting. I’m gonna get a refill.” Josh grabs the empty beer pitcher and wiggles out of his seat at the high-top table.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom,” I say, scooting out of my chair.
Thirty-Two
LOST IN A MOMENT
Liv
When I emerge from the bathroom, a figure is leaning against the wall of the dimly lit hallway.
“Your girlfriends back there suggested I come check on you,” Luke says. His hands are in his pockets, one shoulder pressed against the wall.
“Did they? Why is that, I wonder?”Scheming little…
“Couldn’t tell you. Didn’t care to ask. If they felt their friend may have been in distress, in this dark”—he pushes off the wall, stalking toward me, a predator and I’m his prey—“secluded”—he’s in my space now, forcing me to step back, until my back is flush against the wall—“hallway, who am I to ask questions?” We are in the darkest corner, away from the light and chaos of the main room.
If this were any other man, I’d probably be nervous by the way he’s cornering me here. But with Luke? I’m pretty sure I’m living a fantasy.
Luke braces his frame above me, hands on either side of my head, caging me in.
“I’m glad to find you safe,” he growls, low and seductive.
