Page 89 of The Trouble with Tigers
Kitty briefly, and none too warmly, explained the rules of the game to Zeke.
Caden spun the globe.
“Manitoba, Canada,” Kitty read.
Caden thought a moment. “So named in 1870, after the Canadian confederation purchased the land from the Hudson’s Bay Company—a company in which we had shares, for a time, if you recall, Zeke.”
“True,” Zeke said.
Caden conceded the point.
Zeke winked at Kitty, which she pretended not to notice, but the flush stealing up her neck gave her away.
He flicked the globe and set it spinning. “Time.”
Kitty stopped the globe, then peeled back her finger. “The River Nile.”
Zeke considered what he knew about the river.
“Today, if you please,” Caden said.
“The longest river in the world,” Zeke blurted. Instantly, he regretted his choice of facts. Everyone knew that much.
“It’s supposed to be—” Kitty began.
“False,” Caden said, his expression smug.
“—little known,” she finished lamely, before fixing Caden with a bemused gaze.
“False?” Randall aped, looking at Caden as if he’d grown another head.
Zeke couldn’t believe his luck. “It’s true,” he said, before Caden could try to change his answer.
“Damn,” Caden said with a scowl. “I was sure the Rhine River was longer. I suppose you win. What prize do you claim?”
Zeke concentrated on ignoring Randall and Kitty, who both continued to gawk at Caden in a most irritating manner. “I claim your prize. A kiss from my lovely fiancé.”
Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Kitty’s head snap in his direction. “But…I didn’t lose to you.”
“You lost to Caden, however, and I believe he’d already named the forfeit.”
She frowned. “Is that legal?” she asked, glancing from Caden to Randall.
Not really, but he’d challenge anyone who said so.
Randall shrugged, his eyes bright with humor, the cad.
“I’m afraid so, darling.” Caden aimed a you-owe-me look at Zeke.
Zeke ignored him. “I reserve the right to claim it later, however.”
“Do you, now?” She asked dryly.
He smiled down at her, just an adoring groom-to-be, gazing at his intended.
Abruptly Kitty rose, forcing Zeke to straighten quickly or risk toppling the armchair with his weight.
Only then did she grace him with a smile, the vixen. He almost laughed aloud.
