NORA
“Okay, everyone.” Lia clapped her hands, the sharp sound cutting through the low hum of conversation and laughter drifting across the yard. “I thought it might be fun to play a few games. We’ll need to split into teams of four.”
A few groans rose immediately, followed by laughter.
“Relax,” she said, waving a hand. “Nothing intense. Just a little friendly competition.”
“Friendly competition?” Miles said under his breath, like the two words didn’t belong in the same sentence.
Which, honestly, tracked since the man made a living throwing a football while other grown men tried to flatten him for it.
“You’ll split into teams of four,” Lia continued, gesturing toward the lawn where a few stations had already been set up. “Complete the task at each station. The fastest team wins.”
“Wanna be on my team?” Miles turned toward me, his signature easy smile already in place.
“Of course.” I grinned. “Who else do we recruit?”
“Someone competitive.” He twisted in his chair, scanning the backyard.
“Lucy and Owen?” I suggested. Lucy was one of the most competitive people I knew.
But when I followed his gaze, Lucy was already tucked against Owen’s side, clearly pairing off with Ian and Maddie. Which made sense. Lucy might be my best friend, but Ian was Owen’s.
Miles noticed it, too, and kept looking.
I glanced across the yard at Alessi and Bash. “What about them?”
“Nah.” He shook his head immediately. “I’d rather beat them tonight.”
“Really?” I furrowed my brow, slightly confused since Bash and Miles were best friends, and Alessi had always been close with both of them.
But instead of explaining, he just shrugged and tipped his chin toward the playset and said, “What about Theo and his friend?”
I followed his line of sight. Theo was standing near the swings with a woman I didn’t recognize, kids darting around their legs.
“They seem to be getting along,” Miles continued. “And if any of these games involve logic or arguing a point, our fancy lawyer friend might come in handy.”
I chuckled. “Sounds good to me.”
Truthfully, I didn’t care half as much as he did.
Which was probably a good thing. Between the professional athletes, successful businessmen, and college professors in the yard, I had a feeling this competition wouldn’t be typical.
Nothing like standing in a backyard full of accomplished people to make my currently unemployed status feel a little more pathetic than I’d like.
Before I could go too far in that line of thinking, though, Miles raised his arm and waved. “Hey, Theo. Want to be on our team?”
Theo looked up, blinking like he’d just tuned back into the present. “Sorry, what?” he called back, looking confused.
“We’re doing teams,” Miles called. “Games or something. You and your friend should join us.”
Theo glanced at the woman beside him, said something quietly, then nodded. A moment later, the two of them headed our way.
“So,” Theo said as they reached us, amusement tugging at his mouth. “What exactly did you just rope us into?”
“We’re actually not sure yet,” I admitted. “Lia just said she had something planned and that we needed teams of four.”
“That checks out.” Theo nodded. Then he glanced at the woman beside him and seemed to realize we hadn’t all been introduced. “Oh, sorry. This is my new friend, Amanda. We literally just met.” He gestured between us. “And Amanda, this is my friend Miles and my sister’s best friend, Nora.”
“Nice to meet you,” Miles said easily.
“You too.” Amanda smiled. “I should probably pretend I don’t know who you are, but as a pretty big New Haven Sentinels fan, that would be a lie.”
Miles laughed. “Well, thanks for supporting the team.”
“Of course,” she said. “It’s been fun having a professional football team so close. I’m also proud to say I got the season tickets in my divorce.”
“I see you have your priorities straight,” Miles said with a wink.
“I do,” Amanda agreed without missing a beat. “Though don’t worry, I fought for custody of the kids, too. It’s not all about football.”
“A devoted fan and a good mom,” Miles said, amused.
I noticed the quick glance he gave her, the way his attention lingered on her curves. And before I could stop it, something tight flickered in my chest.
Which was ridiculous since we weren’t anything.
Still, after our little fake-dating talk earlier, I’d kind of hoped his focus would stay on me tonight. Even if it wasn’t real.
“Anyway,” Miles said, rubbing his hands together like he was gearing up. “If this game involves parenting skills, I think we’ll let you two take the lead. But if it has anything to do with athletic ability, Nora and I have it covered.”
Theo scoffed and lifted a brow. “You don’t think I’m athletic?”
“I’m not saying you’re not,” Miles said quickly. “Especially for someone who spends most of his time in a courtroom. It’s just that Nora and I kind of train physically for a living, so… odds are we might have a slight edge.”
“Trained.” I coughed. “As in past tense, since my gymnastics career ended about two months ago.”
Miles’s gaze flicked over me. “You still look just as strong as ever to me,” he said with a flirtatious wink.
Heat crept up my neck, and I felt slightly less bad about the way he’d been looking at Amanda a second ago.
“Fine.” Theo waved his hand. “Say whatever you want about me and my athletic abilities since yes, I’m lucky if I hit my home gym more than once a week. But for all we know, Amanda here could be running marathons every weekend.”
“Very true,” Miles said quickly, turning to Amanda.
“My apologies for assuming. You do look great for having what… two kids?” The second the words left his mouth, his eyes widened.
“Um… I mean… you look very strong. Athletic.” He shook his head, groaning softly.
“Sorry. I remembered a little too late that I’m not supposed to comment on women’s bodies.
You’re beautiful. Just—” He sighed. “Wow. I’m making this worse. ”
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to laugh.
“You’re fine.” Amanda laughed lightly, clearly unfazed. “I definitely don’t mind a compliment or two these days. Especially coming from the Miles Hawthorne.”
“Oh good,” Miles said, his shoulders sagging with relief.
“And as for running marathons, I’d like to say I enjoy running, but that would be a huge lie.
” She laughed. “Pretty sure if you ever saw me running, you’d need to look for who was chasing me with a knife.
But I will say,” she said, raising a finger, “that carrying a toddler around for the last few years has helped me win a few arm-wrestling matches at family holiday parties.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You actually have arm wrestling matches at your family parties?”
“Oh yeah.” Her smile widened. “Leg wrestling, too. And just so you know, you’re looking at the reigning leg wrestling champion. Flipped my six-foot-one brother over in about five seconds flat last year.”
“I stand corrected.” Miles held up his hands in surrender. “If this competition turns into leg wrestling, you’re our MVP.”
“All right!” Lia called, clapping again to pull everyone’s attention back. “Let’s go over the first station.”
We followed her toward the lawn, where a blindfold and a stack of oversized wood blocks sat waiting.
“This one’s called Blindfold Builder,” Lia said, gesturing to the setup. “Two people from each team will be blindfolded and work together to build a tower ten blocks high without knocking it over. The other two teammates will watch and give instructions.”
Miles immediately snatched up the blindfold. “I’ll be a builder.”
“You think you’re up for being bossed around by me?” I asked, hoping it landed as flirtatious and not weird.
“I don’t know.” He flashed me an easy grin. “I kind of like being told what to do.” And when he winked, my cheeks immediately burned.
Yeah, flirting with Miles was always fun.
“I’ll build, too,” Amanda said, lifting her hand. “I’m basically a professional at building things with blocks at this point, thanks to my kids.”
“Sounds perfect,” Theo said, smiling at Amanda in a way that said he understood the parenting grind. “You two can be our blindfolded builders, and Nora and I will try to guide you.”
“Yay for getting to boss someone around for once,” I said, lifting my hand for a high five.
Theo met it, our palms connecting for a brief second before he smiled at me. The contact sent an entirely unwarranted little flutter through my chest, which I promptly ignored because having butterflies around both of my male teammates tonight would definitely not bode well for my concentration.
“Anyway,” Lia continued, completely unfazed by the strategic whispering breaking out across her yard. “Once your tower stands for ten seconds, you’ll head to the second station… the wheelbarrow relay.”
“A wheelbarrow relay without wheelbarrows?” I murmured to Miles as Lia gestured toward the open stretch of grass with two long lines of caution tape about twenty feet apart.
“I think we’re the wheelbarrows,” he murmured back.
“Each team member will take a turn walking on their hands from one line of caution tape to the other while a teammate holds their legs,” Lia continued. “When you reach the line, you’ll switch out with the next pair. First team to get everyone across moves on.”
“Think you’re strong enough to hold my legs up?” Miles asked, flashing me a grin.
I looked him over. He was six-four and all muscle. And while I was pretty strong for a girl, my five-foot-one stature was much more adept to help someone like Amanda over either of my male teammates.
“I’m thinking you and Theo should be partners,” I suggested instead. “Might be easier to match up by size instead of… chemistry.”
“Chemistry, you say?” Miles grinned, arching an eyebrow. “Well, if you notice any sparks between Theo and me, try not to get too jealous. Turning off my magnetic charm isn’t something I can just do.”
“Oh, don’t I know it.” I laughed, because he was the kind of attractive that really should come with a warning label.
“And finally,” Lia said, pulling our attention back to her as she stepped beside three tables set up on the patio. Each held four silver domes, the kind you’d expect from room service. “You’ll finish with the mystery food challenge.”
I narrowed my eyes, my stomach tightening at the thought since I had a feeling this competition might be about to take a disgusting turn.
“Each team member is required to eat the food item under one of the domes on your team’s table,” Lia continued cheerfully. “And let’s just say that some options are more palatable than others.”
“As in we’re probably about to eat something gross,” Theo muttered beside me.
“You think?” I looked up at him with wide eyes. I graduated from the kids’ menu years ago, but my idea of adventurous eating still had very firm limits.
“Just look at the glee in Lia’s eyes,” he said, nodding toward her. “This is torture disguised as fun.”
“Anyone on our team secretly into bugs?” I asked, glancing between Theo, Amanda, and Miles, hoping one of them might shock me with a sudden love for unconventional snacks.
Both guys shook their heads immediately.
“The closest I’ve come is gummy worms,” Amanda said apologetically.
“So we’re doomed,” I said, eyeing the other teams and wondering if any of them had more adventurous palates.
Ian’s dad was a billionaire. For all I knew, this was a normal Tuesday for him.
“Well,” I said with a sigh, “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Yeah,” Theo added. “Maybe it’ll be gummy worms instead of chocolate-covered scorpions.”
I crossed my fingers. “One can only hope.”
Lia glanced around at the group. “Any questions before we start?”
No one spoke.
“Okay, then.” She smiled, clearly satisfied. “Let’s get this competition started. On your mark… get set… go!”