Page 65 of Must Love Bees
Nova did want to nap but she didn’t want to do it upstairs. “Charlie is comfy.”
Charlie laughedandhe hugged her.
We can sleep, Scorpio. Charlie will keep us safe.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ASTRIDROLLEDTHEDICE. “Ha, ten spaces.” She hugged Nova against her side. “See.”
“You are the bestest teammate ever.” Nova sat up on her knees, watching their game piece move around the board. “We passed the Go.” She clapped her hands together.
“Another two hundred dollars.” Charlie counted out the bills and slid them to Nova.
“You landed on Chance.” Halley pointed at their game piece.
Astrid saw Nova frown. “Chance is bad.” Nova sighed. “It takesallyour money away.” She gave a thumbs-down.
“Maybe not.” Astrid took the Chance card Benji offered her. “Oh, Nova, you’re right. It does take money. But not ours. Every player must payustwenty dollars.”
Nova clapped her hands again. Her enthusiasm was contagious.
“We should give up.” Halley sat back in her chair, but she was smiling. “Astrid and Nova are totally kicking butt.”
“Halley,” Charlie murmured.
She rolled her eyes. “Astrid and Nova are totallywinning.”
For all the eye rolling, there was no edge to Halley’s words. Astrid suspected she was having a good time. It probably helped that she was interacting with people close to her own age.
“Never give up.” Benji handed over his twenty dollars and reached for the dice. “Underdogs have their day. Every once in a while.”
“You’re not under a dog, Benji.” Nova laughed. “That’s just silly.”
“You’re right, squirt.” Halley laughed, too. “He’s not.”
“It’s an expression.” Charlie leaned forward, reaching across the game board for a cookie. “Underdog. It means someone who isn’t likely to win but keeps fighting.”
“It was also a movie.” Benji looked like he’d tasted something awful. “It was really bad, though.”
“Your face.” Nova laughed.
Benji was good at making faces. He made another over-the-top expression, and both Nova and Halley were laughing.
Charlie stirred then, his gaze bouncing back and forth between Halley and Benji. Astrid could almost hear the wheels turning inside his head. The slight thinning of his mouth had Astrid wanting to reassure Charlie that it was okay. Benji was a good kid. He was responsible, funny and not girl-crazy.
“Benji is our resident film expert.” Kerrielynn hugged Benji. “He knows everything about movies.”
“Because he watches too many of them.” Leif shook his head.
“Can you watch too many movies?” Benji shrugged.
“Yes.” Nova sounded off. “Charlie says you can rot your brains out if you watch too many.” She looked gravely concerned. “Are your brains okay, Benji?”
Astrid glanced Charlie’s way. He was having a hard time not smiling.
Benji managed to cover his laugh. “I think so.”
“Are they? Are they, though?” Leif scratched his chin.
