Page 43 of Snowed

Teleporting.

Reading people’s minds.

Talking to animals.”

“This is a hard one,” Patrick said. “I think it could be A, B, or D. Not sure I’d want to read people’s minds. That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

“You can only pick one.”

“I guess I’d go with B. I really like to travel.”

I could tell from his first three answers that he was not going to score well. Yet I soldiered on. “Number four. What is your love language?

Physical touch.

Words of affirmation.

Acts of service.

Gifts.”

“Probably acts of service.”

“All right. Last question. Which kiss is your favorite?

In the middle of an argument.

Outside in the rain.

During sex.

After saying I love you.”

Patrick chose C, and then I tallied up his results. “You scored an eleven.”

“Does that put me in the winner’s circle?”

I offered a conciliatory smile. “No. You’d have to be seven points or under.”

“Oh man…”

I laughed. “It’s okay. You actually got one of the lowest totals out of everyone I’ve ever quizzed. I’m not sure there is such a thing as a man who can score a seven or under.”

An hour later, I yawned and said it was time for me to call it a night. Patrick offered to walk me home.

“Umm...” I glanced over at the bar. “Would you excuse me for a minute, please? I just need to check on something.”

“Of course.”

Patrick stood when I got up from the table. What a shame I didn’t feel a spark. He had such nice manners.

“Hey, Tuck.” I leaned my elbows on the bar and tried to sound casual. “Do you know if Maggie left?”

“Yep. About a half hour ago.”

Of course I already knew that, since she’d stopped by my table to say goodnight. But I’d been invisible to Tucker all evening, so he wouldn’t have noticed. Plus, I didn’t care if he did at this point. Him ignoring me had gotten under my skin, and I felt the urge to make him bristle.

“Oh, okay. I was just going to say goodbye before I left with my date.”