Page 49 of Reluctantly Married

Megan held in a giggle. “Do tell.”

“Ms. Starkbaum was the math teacher. Except everyone called her Stink Bottom. When she called me up to the board, I said, “Yes, Ms. Stink Bottom.” Of course, the entire class erupted in laughter, and I got detention.”

“You poor thing.”

“Yeah, wasn’t fair at all. Everyone called her that. I just slipped up in front of her.”

Megan bit her lower lip. “Mine was in middle school.”

He raised an eyebrow and his dimples appeared. “Can’t wait to hear it.”

“My gym bag’s zipper had broken. It wasn’t a big deal until I dropped it on the cement and my clothes dumped out. My underwear caught a breeze and flew across the school parking lot.”

A pained look crossed Adam’s face. “Ooh, that’s bad.”

“I wish that was the worst of it. Billy Holt caught them and proceeded to show everyone where my mother had written my name on them.”

It was obvious he was trying not to laugh. “Yeah. That’s worse.” A snort erupted and they both laughed.

He nudged the box toward her. “Your turn.”

“Oh, all right. That one was a freebie.” She reached in and grabbed the first paper that touched her fingers. “Share your earliest betrayal.”

Adam froze, his gaze flickering to the camera. Without a word, she understood. He was glad she had gotten that one. There were some things he didn’t want to share in front of America.

She cleared her throat. “That’s easy. First grade. I was best friends with Erin Williams. A new girl moved in. Shelly Fry. A cutie with red curls all down her back. Erin hated her, but I wanted to be friends. I convinced Erin she wasn’t so bad. The next week, I came to school and they were talking about me behind my back. All of a sudden, Erin and Shelly were best friends, and I was left out.”

Adam scoffed. “Girls are so fickle.”

She opened her mouth in mock indignation. “Hey, don’t blame our entire gender. It was Erin’s fault.”

“She missed out.” His words were light, but his eyes darkened and his face turned serious.

She pushed the box toward him. “All yours.”

He reached in and grabbed one. “Tell your date the thing you fear the most.” A look crossed his face, but vanished before she could put a name to it, and a smile replaced it. “Easy.” He took her hand, warmth spreading through her. “Losing you.”

18

Adam hadn’t meant to makea joke out of it, but he could tell by Megan’s face that’s how it came across. She scrunched up her nose and pulled her hand back. “Fair enough. I guess it’s my turn again.”

He’d made her mad. Stupid. Why did he always fall back on that fake macho persona Leon pushed on him? Regret filled him.

She reached into the container, shuffling around the strips before selecting one and uncurling it. “Reveal your deepest secret.”

Her face drained of color, and he instantly felt bad for her. Nothing like revealing your deepest secret on national television. Trying to keep the mood light, he said, “This should be interesting.”

She narrowed her eyes. “That’s easy. Everyone already knows I’m secretly in love with my co-host.” She scrunched up the paper into a tiny ball and tossed it over her shoulder. “Next.”

The question had gotten to her, obviously. But she successfully side-stepped it. Maybe they could get this game over with if they went quickly. This time he drew from the bottom. “Name one thing you always wanted for Christmas, but never got.”

He lifted his gaze to meet hers, and saw compassion behind her eyes. He couldn’t answer this truthfully, either. Not with the cameras rolling. So he picked something out of the air. “Probably what every kid wants. A pony.” He flashed a fake smile.

“Me too. Why does every kid want a pony? They’re a lot of work to take care of.”

“Kids don’t think about the work. Only the fun.” He placed his hand on her arm.

“Too bad the fun only lasts a short time, but the work goes on.” She stared at his hand until he removed it. “I guess it’s my turn again.”

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