King of Hearts, Queen of Distraction
Maisie
From the other side of the card table, Franny gave an exasperated sigh. "Oh, Maisie. Not again ."
My brow wrinkled in confusion. "What?"
She pointed toward the cards on the table. "It's diamonds, not hearts."
As our two opponents looked on, I stared at the card I'd just played. The king of hearts. "Oh. Sorry." I reached out to take it back.
Beverly spoke up. "Touch that card and you're dead."
I froze. "But I've got to touch it. I need to follow suit." I let out a nervous laugh. "Those are the rules, right?" I knew the rules just fine, but I was looking to make a point.
Beverly's eyes narrowed. "Do you have any diamonds?"
I glanced down at the remaining cards in my hand. "Not really."
She gave me a no-nonsense look. "You either do or you don't."
I snuck another glance. "Okay, then I don't." I pointed vaguely toward the king. "So actually, I'm good with that one." This was a slight exaggeration. I wasn't that good. I'd wasted a perfectly good king for nothing.
Beverly snorted. "You bet your ass, you are." She tossed an ace of diamonds onto the pile before sweeping all four cards into her winning stack, scoring a trick for her and Darleen.
Across from me, Franny grumbled, "Well, someone's distracted tonight."
She wasn't talking about Beverly.
With a sheepish smile, I confessed, "Yeah, maybe a little."
Or a lot.
To my right, Darleen giggled. "And we all know why."
If she meant Griff, she was absolutely right. But even aside from him, today had been one of the best days of my life – and not only because I'd sold Shark Bike for a staggering sum.
I hadn't made a profit, not technically. But I had managed to recoup every cent my dad had spent to buy the crazy thing.
And that wasn't all.
Just before closing, I'd gotten terrific news from the financing company – the same one that had been giving me the runaround for weeks. They'd practically guaranteed approval on a new loan at terms that were so favorable, I'd had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
And then, just as I'd been about to knock on Franny's door, I'd received a call from the security company that Griff had mentioned just this morning.
On the phone, the salesman had offered to install a full system for absolutely nothing except a few promo shots and a nice testimonial, assuming I liked what they did.
I still thought it was overkill – the system, not the testimonial. For years, the shop had survived just fine without any system whatsoever. But I also knew that better security would ease Griff's mind and keep the two of us from having the same debate over and over.
He was concerned for my safety. And me? Well…I hated to see him frown whenever the subject came up.
So yeah, I guess I was doing it mostly for him.
Even so, I felt guilty and just a little suspicious. Maybe Griff's paranoia was rubbing off on me, but I still didn't understand how the security company could make it work for its bottom line.
As a business owner myself, I'd questioned the caller up and down, only to hear him insist that it was me doing him a favor and not the other way around.
Still, there had to be a catch. And the possibilities were endless – ranging from hidden fees to an aggressive upsell down the road.
I'd been so concerned that I'd called Griff to ask his opinion, and he'd promised to make sure it was legit. It was so nice to have somebody to call, and it struck me all over again how alone I'd been until now.
Even during that scene with Sierra, Griff had made it blatantly clear that I was the one he wanted. And he'd done it right there in front of Devon, the guy who'd dumped me for somebody new.
Even hours later, the whole thing was making me feel warm and happy all over – and yes, just a little vindicated.
Was I being petty?
Maybe. But I couldn't bring myself to care, even after Sierra had said that ridiculous thing about Griff being a billionaire.
Sure, at one time, I'd thought something similar. But unlike Sierra, I knew where Griff was living – in a dump no billionaire would touch. Plus, I'd heard about his childhood – the trailer, the busted hot water heater, and more.
Sierra hadn't.
Take that, you slithering snake.
But it wasn't merely my own logic that told me Sierra was a liar. It was Griff himself, who'd said flat-out that Sierra's statement wasn't true. First, he'd told her – and then he'd told me.
What a crazy day. And now, I couldn't stop smiling.
Across from me, Franny started drumming her fingers on the table. When I looked her way, she asked, "So…are you gonna play a card or what?"
My smile faltered. "Me?" Oh, crap. "So it's my turn? Already?"
Franny looked heavenward. "Honey, it's been your turn. Try to keep up, will ya?"
"Sorry." Quickly, I tossed out a nine of clubs – an easy throwaway card, or so I thought until Franny said with a little groan, "But I already trumped it You do know I'm your partner, right?"
Of course I knew. That's why she was sitting across from me. Still, I got what she meant. "Wait… clubs are trump? I thought it was spades."
Franny pointed to the center of the table. "You see that ten of clubs? That's my trump. Beverly's out, so the trick was ours already."
"Oh." I winced. "So I wasted a trump?"
Her mouth tightened. "Yes. Unless you're swimming in them."
I stared at the remaining cards in my hand and felt heat rush to my cheeks. That pathetic nine had been my only remaining club, and I'd wasted it like a rookie. "Sorry," I said for the umpteenth time. "I'll do better next time, I promise."
Darleen reached out and gave Franny a playful swat to the arm. "Oh, go easy on her," she laughed. "You'd be distracted, too, if you were dating a hot billionaire."
I almost groaned out loud. This again?
I knew exactly who to blame for all of these wild rumors. And for once, it wasn't Franny.
It was Sierra.
After the events of today, it was the only thing that made sense. But that didn't mean I had to like it.
It was time to squash this latest rumor like a bug – except that's not what happened.
Not at all.