I’m promptly fidgeting in my seated position. ‘I don’t know how to play poker.’ I’ll lose, but is that such a bad thing? ‘It won’t be a fair game if I don’t know how to play.’ I decide that it will be a bad thing. He’s smug, and I want to wipe that cocky look clean from his face. My competitive side has just raced to the surface.
‘Okay,’ he says slowly, shuffling carefully to match his thoughtful word. ‘How about pontoon?’ He must catch my confused face because he smiles a little. ‘Twenty one? Stick, twist, burn?’
I look at him blankly. ‘Nope, sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ I stretch my legs out and lean back on my hands. ‘Snap?’
He laughs, that head thrown back, fanning temples laugh—the one I adore. ‘Snap?’
‘Yes, I’m really fast.’
‘Ava, let’s save snap for when the babies arrive.’ He chuckles to himself and deals us two cards each. ‘Okay, I’m the banker and you need to take a look at your cards.’
I shrug and pick them up, noting a ten and a six. ‘Okay.’
‘What do you have?’
‘I’m not telling you!’
He rolls his eyes. ‘We’ll call this a trial run. Tell me what you have.’
I hold my cards to my chest. ‘A ten and a six.’ I say suspiciously.
‘Sixteen, then?’
‘You add them together?’
He’s going to regret this. He might be already. ‘Yes, you add them together.’
‘Right. In that case, I have sixteen.’ I flash him my cards.
He nods his acknowledgment. ‘So the winner is the one who is the closest to twenty one when all players have made their move.’
‘What moves?’ I restrain my grin when he flops his head back, looking up at the ceiling in exasperation.
‘The moves I’m about to explain, Ava.’
‘Oh, okay. Explain away.’
His head comes back down and he blows out a tired breath. He’s definitely regretting this. I bet he’s wishing he’d have opted for bingeing. ‘Right. You have sixteen and you need to get as close to twenty one as possible, without going bust. Bust means over twenty one. Got it?’
‘Got it.’
‘Good. With a total of sixteen, you should twist, which means I deal you another card. Got it?’
‘Got it.’
He pushes another card towards me, and I pick it up stealthily, like he doesn’t already know what I’m holding in my hand. ‘What have you got?’ he asks.
‘A king.’ I’m not a card genius, but I know that makes me bust. I throw my cards on the floor. ‘I didn’t want to twist.’
‘You can’t stick on sixteen, Ava.’
‘But at least I wouldn’t be bust!’
‘No, but it’s likely I’ll beat sixteen, so you may as well risk it.’ He turns his own cards over, revealing a jack and a queen.’
‘Twenty,’ I confirm quickly.
‘Correct. And I’ll stick, so I win.’ He gathers the cards back up and starts shuffling them again. ‘Get it?’
‘Oh, I’m gonna whoop your arse, Ward.’ I rub my hands together and make myself comfortable.
He smiles at my competiveness, probably thinking that I’m deluded. After all, Jesse Ward is amazing at everything. ‘We need to talk about stakes, baby.’
‘I’m not hungry, thank you. You’ve fed me enough today.’
His head falls back again as he laughs really hard. I’m trying to keep a serious face, but I so love him when he laughs. ‘I mean what we’re playing for.’ His green eyes land on me. ‘God, I f**king love you.’
‘I know. What are we playing for?’ I’m liking this game more and more.
‘How many items of clothing do you have on?’ His eyes run the full length of my body, as if he’s mentally working it out.
Playing cards doesn’t seem so bad now. ‘Three. Dress, bra and knickers. Oh, and shoes, so five.’ I point to my flip-flops.
‘Take the flip-flops off.’ he commands. ‘I have two.’ He pulls at his t-shirt and his shorts.’
‘What about your boxers?’
‘They were too much of an obstruction.’ he flips casually, dealing us two cards each. I absolutely know where this is going. No obstructions. ‘The first one naked loses,’ he grins at me. ‘The winner takes the power.’
I gasp at his amused expression. ‘What happened to wherever, whenever?’
‘I’m being reasonable.’ He shrugs, nodding at my cards. ‘Don’t push it. I could always withdraw my offer of potential power.’
I snatch my cards up carefully and hold them close to my face. He’s as confident as ever, giving me an extra item of clothing. ‘There is nothing reasonable about bargaining for the power in our relationship.’ I glance down at my cards, seeing two sevens. ‘I’ll twist.’
He slides a card over to me, maintaining his grin. ‘It’s all part of our normal, lady. There you go.’