Page 112

“My friend Mona said you paid her a thousand dollarsnotto bowl tonight,” Tami told him, hands on her hips.
Christian had given her a big smile that made him even more handsome. I’d watched Tami blink and her frown fade a little just because of that smile. I’d rolled my eyes. I’ve been around guys who have those kinds of smiles for years. Torin has a smile like that.
“The owners of the alley said everything was booked.” He’d looked down at me and then back to Tami. “But I needed a lane so I could spend time with this beautiful woman. You understand, don’t you? She’s worth it. I promise.”
Tami had looked me up and down. “Four thousand dollars?”
Dang, he’d paideachof the bowlers scheduled for that lane a thousand dollars?
But Christian had nodded.
She’d whistled. “So are you a hooker? Or the queen of England?”
I’d simply laughed. “Not either of those.” Though when I looked up at Christian, he’d given me a cute wink.
“A lot closer to one of those than the other,” he’d teased.
“Well, honey,nowI need to know more about you.” And Tami had linked arms with me and taken me over to talk with her and the other three women she was bowling with.
I’d looked back and seen Christian just grinning after us. Then I’d looked for Jonah. He’d been watching me with a much different look. A warmer, more intense look. But he’d definitely been watching me. Just as I’d known he would be.
“Christian was really good about the bowling. And he was charming with Tami. And about her monopolizing me for the first thirty minutes,” I say to Jonah now.
He nods. But his eyes are soft as he says, “I’m sure he was thinking that he’d pay twice as much if that’s what it took to get you to go out with him.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “So you heard that?”
“I did.” He pauses. “But I knew about it ahead of time. Scott told me the alley was booked. I told him that they just needed to show up and offer one of the groups an incentive. It’s not league night, so they weren’t bowling for any standings or anything. I thought Waite could finagle concert tickets or a White House tour or something, but they just went straight to cash.”
“It wasyouridea?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Yeah.”
“How did you know it wasn’t league night?”
“Saturday night is for families and dates and stuff. Leagues are during the week.”
I study him. “And you wanted to see how much Christian wanted this to work out. The bowling was my idea and he could have used the booked alley as an excuse not to do it, but instead, he found a way to make it happen.”
I know Jonah. When I first suggested bowling tonight, Jonah could have told me the chances were good the alley would be booked. Instead, he wanted to test Christian.
“Well, his people did anyway. With help,” Jonah says with an eye roll, tipping a bottle of soda back.
I smile as I watch him swallow, the strong muscles of his throat mesmerizing me. I want to lick him right there. “But he still did it,” I say absently. “I’m sure it’s his own money. It’s not like they can use campaign donations for something like this.”
Jonah looks at me again. “You’re right, Duchess. He clearly really wanted to make this happen for you.” His tone is sincere.
That makes me feel…squirmy. Good, because it’s nice that Christian wanted it to work and wanted to make me happy. But also weird to have Jonah agreeing that Christian clearly wanted to make me happy.
“And I know he’s glad this worked out,” Jonah tells me, his voice a little softer. “You have been, as usual, charming as hell.”
He sounds like he’s reassuring me, and I feel squirmy again. I shift on my seat. “Me? I haven’t even talked to him much. And I’m a terrible bowler.”
Jonah shakes his head. “This is definitely not about how you are as a bowler.”
I wiggle on the hard plastic again, then I reach for his soda, plucking it from his hand and taking a long drink. I don’t know why, but the idea of Christian wanting me and working to be with me makes me feel strange. Maybe it’s because Jonah seems to think it makes sense. And is okay with it. Is helping with it…
But this is why we’re here, I remind myself. It’s the reason for this entire trip. This was part of his plan with Torin.