8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jessica

I grudgingly admit that I'm having more fun than I should. The game is going horribly wrong, and I should be upset, but – I'm not. Instead, I'm vividly aware of the constant warmth on the side of my face from Sean's stare. He thinks he's slick, but his gaze seems to tingle when it hits my skin making it impossible for me not to notice when it's being directed at me—which it has been for the whole night. My heart beats wildly in my chest, making me feel like a teenager all over again.

Jamie answers their question correctly, and with their full pie they begin their journey to the center of the board. They need to only answer one more question correctly, and they'll win. As for my team, only half our pie is filled, and there's no one to blame but Sean. The dice finally reach us, and I graciously hand it to Sean.

"Your turn."

He tentatively takes it from me and throws it, coming up with a two. I move the wedge two spaces ahead, and my dad asks us a question. I answer it correctly. Then I get two more questions right before missing the third. Jamie and Evelyn's turn finally comes, and luckily for them, they answer correctly.

"Yes!" Evelyn throws her arm around Jamie. "We did it!"

Jamie freezes to the spot, his eyes wide. Evelyn notices what she's done and quickly pulls away from him, her cheeks rosy. I narrow my eyes at them, forgetting I should be upset about losing. Something is definitely up with those two, and now I'm interested in finding out what.

"Let's go another round," Evelyn says. "This was fun."

"I'm not doing another round." I fold my arms across my stomach while frowning at my best friend. "This was awful."

"Oh, you're such a sore loser," Evelyn counters.

"I didn't lose," I argue. "It's all Sean's fault."

"Hey." Sean narrows his eyes at me. "I'm better at this game than you."

"What?" I cackle. "In what world is that true? I'm sorry, but no one at this table plays this game better than me. I only lost because I'm paired with you."

"Wow." Sean's eyes narrow. "Now we are definitely playing a second round. We'll remain on the same team. This time, any of us who answers a question incorrectly is the loser. Agreed?"

I contemplate Sean's words, taken aback by his confidence. He sucks at this game. Why does he think he can beat me?

"Okay, then. Let's go again."

Evelyn rearranges the board, repeats the instructions, and we start. This time, my parents' team throw the highest dice, so they start the game. No one answers a correct question until it gets to our turn. I throw the dice and move the wedge. Jamie rats out a question, and before I can even think, Sean responds with the correct answer. I gape at him, and he winks at me before turning away.

The competition in this round is a little tougher than the last, mainly because Sean and I put up a formidable front. We've had four turns and have gotten more correct answers than any other team.

"When did Sean become this good at this game?" Jamie groans after getting a question wrong.

Sean bursts into laughter, and to my shock, I find myself laughing with him.

"If I knew you were this good, I never would've agreed for the two of you to be on the same team," Evelyn says, frowning.

"Who is the sore loser now?" I tease, throwing the dice and moving our pie to the center of the board.

My dad asks my team a question, and this time, I panic. It's a difficult question, and I have no idea what the answer is. Yet, when I look at Sean, he's smiling. He arches his brows as if to ask my permission to answer, and when I nod, he turns his attention to my dad.

"The answer is 1759."

I hold my breath, hoping he gets it right so we win. My father stares at the question card for a few seconds before saying. "Correct."

"Yes." I throw my arms around Sean. "We did it!"

"I told you I was good at trivia."

"Wow. Jessica and Sean are hugging?" Evelyn's question cuts through my consciousness, and I immediately withdraw from Sean, my face flaming in embarrassment.

"If I knew it'd take winning at trivial pursuit for this to happen," Jamie says. "I'd have let your team win the first time."

"Shut up, Jamie," I growl at my idiot brother. "Big mouth."

"Upset that you lost, Jamie?" Sean adds.

"They're right." My mom points a finger at Jamie. "Don't ruin this win for them. Especially Jessica. It's been so long since I've seen her happy and excited about something."

I whip my head in her direction and narrow my eyes in warning, but my mother isn't looking at me because she's busy warning Jamie.

"Oh?" Sarah O'Connell shakes her head at me, her gaze soft and pitiful. "Why? What's wrong, honey?"

"Nothing." I smile at her. "I'm perfectly fine. My mother is just exaggerating, as usual."

"No, I'm not." Mom says to me before turning to Sarah, "Jessica has been having the worst spell of writer's block. And I think it's caused by all the relationship problems she's been dealing with recently."

"Mom!" I shout, appalled. Jamie and Sean dissolve in laughter, and I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. Evelyn throws me a pitiful look, although I can see she's trying to hide her laughter out of loyalty to me.

"What?" My mom sighs. "Jessica is such a beautiful girl. I don't know why she hasn't found a stable boyfriend yet."

"Mom!"

"No one wants to date a grump," Jamie says. "Maybe if she stops frowning all the time, she'd have an easier time getting a boyfriend."

"I don't need your advice," I snarl at Jamie. "You haven't had a serious relationship since high school; who are you to give me relationship advice?"

Jamie gasps. "Well, I'm not looking for a serious relationship; you are. I'm not the one going on blind dates; you are!"

"Jessica has been going on blind dates?" Sarah shakes her head. "Oh, dear."

"What's wrong with blind dates, Mom?" Evelyn asks.

"Nothing, really. But Jessica deserves a well-planned out date with a man she loves."

"Your blind date can turn into a man you love," Evelyn argues. "It's only called a blind date because you're meeting the man for the first time without having ever laid eyes on each other. If you like each other, you can always plan another date."

Sarah nods, but it's evident she doesn't buy her daughter's explanation. "Okay. So what happened with the blind date?" She asks me. "Did you like him?"

"Yes," I lie. But I should have known that Jamie and Sean would not let me get away with it.

"That's not true." Jamie laughs. "She hated him. He only wanted to talk about himself."

"Oh, dear." Sarah shakes her head. "You'll hardly find a wonderful man on a blind date. They're always men that other women want nothing to do with. That's why it's called a blind date."

"Mom, where are you getting this information? I don't agree," Evelyn says. "But that's fine."

"You guys, come on—" Sean suddenly raises his arm to calm the room. "Can we stop talking about Jessica's love life? Or the lack of it?"

The whole room bursts into laughter again, and I glare at Sean.

"Look, you're frowning again," Sean shakes his head. "You must learn to smile if you want to keep a man, okay?"

"If I have to smile like a Cheshire Cat just to keep a man, then maybe I don't want him," I fire. "I'm fine on my own." My attention is now on my mom. "Okay, Mom? I'm fine being alone. Thank you very much."

My mom is about to respond when a shrill noise cuts through the conversation. "That's my phone," Sarah pushes up from the floor and walks to the dining table. Her face lights up when she picks up the device.

"It's Liam." She takes the call. "Hi, Liam."

Sean and Evelyn quickly scramble to their feet and rush toward their mother. Although I'm annoyed with Sean, as usual, I find it cute that he's so excited to talk to his younger brother. Sometimes, I wonder how they cope without Liam. Growing up, Liam was the favorite child, the baby everyone doted on, until he grew into a teenager and refused to be babied anymore. Jamie can be the most annoying human being in the world, but one thing I know is that I couldn't live without him being in my life. He's been a significant pillar of support, and I'd be a mess if he disappeared for one day, let alone years.

"Liam, the Stewart's are here too," Sarah says, and I look up to see her waving the phone in our faces. Liam is on the other end of the screen, in casual army wear, looking handsome and more mature than I'd ever seen.

"Jessica?" He calls, grinning. "Is that you? You look so beautiful. I haven't seen you in ages."

Laughter bubbles out of me before I can stop it. Liam has always been the younger brother I never had, but right now, it looks like I'm the younger sibling. There's a wisdom and weariness in his eyes that calls out to me.

"Liam?" I take the phone from Sarah. "Are you okay?"

Liam sighs heavily and stares at me silently for a moment. "I'm fine now, Jess," he says. "That's all that matters."

"We all miss you," I tell him. "So much. You're always in our hearts, and we can't wait for you to return home."

"I can't wait to be home, either," he laughs. "Why's everyone gathered? Now I'm jealous."

"We're celebrating Sean." I roll my eyes, and Liam arches his brows.

"You and Sean still going at it?" He asks. "It's been years, come on guys."

"I'll let it go when he grows up," I tell Liam. "He's still the same old Sean."

Before Liam can respond, the phone is snatched out of my hand. I look up to see Jamie waving at Liam through the screen. Sean sits across from me, and our gazes meet briefly before he turns away. I'm grateful for Liam's call taking the attention off me and my love life—or lack thereof. I know how much his family misses him and it's obvious they are relieved to hear from him and to know that he's safe.