Stroke of Luck - Opal Carew Page 0,23
she wasn’t.”
Quinn nodded. “Okay, but that’s still luck. They could be staying at the hotel on a clandestine romantic weekend, so they would have gone back to the room together.”
“True, but I also saw the man at breakfast this morning with his wife. They were sitting at the next table, and I overheard them making plans to meet for a show in”—he glanced at his watch—“about ten minutes from now.”
Quinn shook his head. “You and your crazy memory and attention to details.”
Austin chuckled. “Which is one of the things you love about me.”
Quinn smiled. “So true.”
“April,” Austin said, “now it’s your turn. I bet you the same amount that—”
“No, I can’t,” she broke in. “I don’t have any money. Remember?”
He smiled. “No problem. We don’t both have to wager money.”
Quinn’s eyebrows arched. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
Austin’s gaze shifted to Quinn, and he expected to see sparks flaring in his eyes, but instead his friend seemed amused.
“Nothing untoward, I assure you.” He turned back to April. “Here’s the deal. If you win, I give you a hundred dollars. If you lose, then you…” He shrugged. “I don’t know … how about you answer a question?”
“Something personal, you mean?”
“Sure, it wouldn’t be much fun otherwise. But not intimate personal. I’m not going to try to embarrass you. Just something that’ll help us get to know each other better.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Quinn said. “I like the idea of you and Austin getting to know each other better.”
The look Quinn and April exchanged confused Austin, and he wasn’t used to the feeling. Usually, he could read people pretty well.
April’s cheeks flushed again, which confused him more. If he didn’t know that Quinn had it bad for her, he’d almost think Quinn was trying to push Austin and April together.
“So what’s the bet?” she asked.
“How about that the last two digits on our dinner bill—and to be clear, I mean the cents—are thirty-seven?”
Quinn leaned in close and whispered in her ear, then she gazed at Austin.
“So if it’s thirty-seven, you win and I lose?” she asked.
“That’s right.”
She smiled. “How about I accept the bet, but only if we turn it around? I win if it’s thirty-seven.”
He kept his expression even. “I don’t know.”
Just as he’d thought. Quinn had told her that Austin probably knew the amount, since he could do quick calculations in his head. His friend figured he’d set her up to lose.
The fact was he hadn’t even bothered to look at the prices.
“Maybe we should choose another bet,” Austin said.
He actually wanted her to win, and she was practically guaranteed to win the other way around.
“Come on, buddy,” Quinn said. “Give her a chance to win some money.”
Austin shrugged. “That’s what I’m trying to do, but okay. You’re on.”
Quinn flagged the waiter and asked for the bill.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t realize you’re in a rush,” he said.
“No rush. We just have a wager on the final amount,” Quinn said.
The waiter grinned. “Of course, sir.”
The man had probably seen a lot stranger bets than that. He returned moments later and handed them the bill.
Austin glanced at the amount. The final two digits were sixty-eight.
He smiled. “I’m afraid you lose, April.”
Even though he had tried to set it up for her to win, and the bet got turned around so it was wildly in his favor, he still got a rush from winning.
April sighed. “Okay. So what’s the question?”
“We all know that your ex is an ass,” Austin said, “but you thought you loved him once. What about him or your relationship made you think you were in love?”
April’s eyes widened. “Wow. You don’t pull any punches, do you?”
“I think that examining the bad things that happen to us—the good things, too—helps us understand ourselves better and helps us make better decisions going forward.”
“Not repeating history, you mean,” she said.
“It’s more than that. You believed you loved this guy. There were things about him you were blind to. There’s a reason. There was something in the relationship that fed something inside you. If you understand what you wanted, then you’re better equipped to see the next relationship more clearly.”
She pursed her lips. “You’re right, but I’m not sure I could avoid the same pitfalls again.”
She turned her gaze to his, and in her wide sapphire eyes he saw a deep sadness and loneliness that tore at his soul.
“Then tell me about it.” At her hesitation, he smiled. “You did lose the bet. And it’ll just stay between the