by Tawna Fenske
Aislin’s jaw twitched as she finished packing up the Pictionary pencils and pads. “And here we go,” she murmured, so quietly Grady could barely make out the words. “Time to prove she’s the smartest, most sophisticated person in the room, in case we forgot.”
Grady stifled a laugh as Willa finished pulling the cork from the bottle. Her posture had gone rigid, so he reached over and squeezed her knee. “I’d be happy with Two-Buck Chuck out of sippy cups as long as the company’s good.”
Willa flashed him a shaky smile, and Grady let go of her knee. He wanted to kick himself for bringing the fancy wine. He’d been trying to make up for being late, but he’d only made her self-conscious. He jotted a mental note to dial back romantic gestures that could leave her feeling less-than or fretful about money.
“No wine for me,” Tony said. “I’m driving.”
Kayla smiled beside him. “I’ll sit it out, too, in a show of solidarity.”
Everyone else wanted some, so Grady took charge of passing glasses around while Willa poured. He was conscious of her beside him, aware of the warm floral scent of her shampoo and the soft tickle of her hair against his arm.
“What should we play next?” Kayla asked.
“Let Grady pick,” Aislin suggested. “He’s the newcomer, plus we can all judge him for his choices.”
Everyone laughed except Bronwyn as Grady scanned the stack of game boxes off to the side. Scrabble, Scattergories, Life, Pay Day…
“How about Monopoly?” he suggested. “That’s a classic.”
He looked back at the group in time to see Aislin and Kayla exchange a glance.
“Uh…” Kayla’s gaze shifted to Willa. “I’m not sure that’s such a—”
“I love Monopoly.” Tony grinned. “It’s my chance to be the ruthless capitalist my grandfather always wanted me to be.”
Bronwyn sighed. “I’ll be the banker.”
Of course she would.
Grady glanced at Willa, who was chewing her bottom lip. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She offered a weak smile. “I, um—sometimes take this game a little too seriously.”
Grady laughed and slid an arm around her. “In that case, we’re definitely playing,” he said. “It’ll make me feel better about the whole mini-golf situation.”
Aislin shook her head, looking nervous. “Not like that,” she said. “She’s not cutthroat about it. She’s just—”
“Intense,” Kayla supplied.
“It’ll be fine,” Willa insisted, tilting her chin up just a little. “I haven’t played in years, and that panic attack was probably just a fluke.”
Wait, what?
Bronwyn was already pulling out game pieces. “How much do we start with?” She folded out the board, then handed the dice to Tony. “Everyone has to roll for turns.”
While Aislin consulted the rules, everyone set about accepting their play money and choosing game pieces.
Willa chose the Scottie dog.
Grady wanted the race car but gracefully accepted the iron when Tony nabbed the car right out from under him.
“This must be an older game board,” Grady murmured to Willa.
Her eyes flickered like he’d yanked her by force from some memory. “It belonged to my mother,” she said. “It’s from the seventies, I think. My grandparents gave it to me after…after she was gone.”
Grady squeezed her hand. “I’m honored to get to play it with you, then.” He picked up the iron and rolled it around on his palm. “Some of the older game pieces have been retired. This one got the boot pretty recently.”
“I’ve got the boot,” Kayla said, giggling as she held up her game piece. “This one’s always been my favorite.”
Grady set his tiny iron on the board next to Willa’s Scottie dog. “They discontinued the iron after it got the lowest number of votes among Monopoly fans. Interestingly enough, the World Monopoly Champion—Bjørn someone from Norway—actually won using this game piece.”
Willa stared at him, and Grady couldn’t help noticing a little bit of tension had eased from her shoulders. Maybe having him here was helping.
Don’t flatter yourself.
Willa blew a lock of hair off her forehead. “I don’t know whether to be more impressed there’s a World Monopoly Championship or that you can actually name a winner and the piece he used.”
“The dude watches way too much television,” Tony said as he smacked his game piece on the table.
“Says the guy who usually grabs the remote and makes us watch weird reality TV shows,” Grady countered.
Tony just laughed. “Guilty as charged.” He shuffled his money into a pile. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Everyone else had their pastel paper cash divided into tidy piles by color or denomination. Grady glanced at Willa, who held hers in a death grip in her lap like she feared someone might snatch it away. Was this what her friends meant by intense?
He offered the dice to her. “Want to roll first?’
“You go ahead,” she said. “I like to see what I’m up against.”
Spoken in any other tone, the words might have sounded facetious or even flirty. But the way Willa’s brow furrowed seemed like a good indication that her blood pressure was already mounting.
Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
Grady shook the dice in his hand and tossed them onto the board. “A four and a six,” he said as he handed the dice to Willa, reveling in the warmth of her hand. “Beat that, baby.”
She scrunched up her face in concentration, shaking the dice in both hands. “Six and a five.” She let out a breath like she’d been holding it, then handed the dice to Aislin.
“How do you like the wine?” Grady murmured in her ear.
“I haven’t tried it yet,” she admitted. “I want to keep a clear head.”
“For Monopoly?”
Aislin met his eyes over Willa’s shoulder and shook her head. “We tried to warn you.”
The game kicked off with Tony going first—a three and a five. He ended up on Vermont Avenue and promptly bought it for one hundred dollars, then bought a little green plastic house to put on it. “I’m off and rolling,” he said. “My life as an entrepreneur is just beginning.”
Aislin went next and got a chance card that paid her a bank dividend of fifty dollars. “Must be my lucky day,” she said.
Kayla snapped up Reading Railroad after rolling a one and a four.
Then it was Willa’s turn. She rolled a six and a two, landing her right on Tony’s square. He clapped his hands together and hooted. “Hand it over, doll. That’s six dollars in rent.”
Willa frowned and stared down at the money in her lap. “Renting is such a waste of money,” she murmured. “If I could just own property—”
“It’s a game,” Grady assured her, giving her knee a soft squeeze. “And it’s still early. You’ve got plenty of time to amass your empire.”
Not looking reassured, she nevertheless handed her cash over to Tony.
“Thank you muchly,” he said as he stacked the bills in his pile.
Willa stared at them like he’d taken the last doughnut in the box, and Grady wasn’t sure whether to be amused or uneasy. Her handling of money in this game went beyond competitive. Even beyond the intensity her friends described. This was something else.
“Your turn,” said Bronwyn unnecessarily. “Roll.”
“Thanks,” Grady muttered, scooping up the dice. His five and a six landed him on St. Charles Place, and he went ahead and stuck a house on it. Hopefully, Willa wouldn’t roll a three and end up paying him rent, too.
The game proceeded, with Tony amassing more houses and properties while Aislin drew a Community Chest card that declared she’d won a beauty contest for ten dollars.
“How fitting.” Bronwyn smirked and sipped he
r wine. “Don’t they have any career cards in there?”
“I have a career,” Aislin said through gritted teeth. “Just because I’m not a lawyer—”
“More wine?” Grady offered, desperate to break up the tension.
Aislin shot him a grateful look. “Yes, please.”
Bronwyn stuck out her glass. “Of course.” She surveyed the board. “Why are we playing with an antique game, anyway? These prices are ridiculously outdated.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Did you miss the part about this being Willa’s family heirloom?”
It was Bronwyn’s turn to look annoyed. “A Monopoly game? Sorry to burst your bubble, honey, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing you on Antiques Roadshow anytime soon.”
Aislin had apparently had enough. “Show some respect,” she snapped. “Her mother left when she was tiny, and when her grandparents came to tell her she’d died, they brought this box of her mother’s things. That’s all she has left of her. How about you try not being a judgmental bitch for once in your life?”
Everyone fell quiet. Even Bronwyn was shocked into silence. Grady felt Willa go stiff beside him, and he leaned closer, hoping she could feel the heat from his body. That she knew he had her back and wouldn’t judge her for anything.
“Let’s all take it down a notch, okay?” he suggested.
Bronwyn seemed to realize she’d crossed a line. As she murmured an apology, Grady watched Willa. It was like her sensitivity about money had melded with grief over her mother and formed a steel curtain around her.
He squeezed her knee and tried to get the game back on track.
“Kayla, I think it’s your turn.” As everyone returned focus to the game, he leaned closer to Willa. “You okay?” he murmured in her ear.
“Of course.” She nodded, posture still ramrod straight as her hair tickled his lips. “This is fun.”
Her voice wasn’t very convincing, so Grady tried again. “We can choose a different game,” he offered. “Or take a break if you want.”
“I’m good, really.” She turned and gave him a smile that didn’t meet her eyes. “I need to do this every now and then, okay? To remember.”
He nodded, not sure he understood but not wanting to push. To remember her mother or something else? He’d never heard that story before, the one Aislin told to shut her sister up, but it definitely gave him more insight into Willa. Who she was and how she became the way she was. It was the first time he’d realized how fragile she was under the tough exterior, and it made him want to cover her in Bubble Wrap. Or his own body, making sure no harm could come to her.
Kayla rolled and landed her game piece on the jail square.
“Don’t worry,” Tony said, snuggling closer. “I’ll pay you a conjugal visit.”
Willa was up next. She rolled a pair of twos and took the card for the Electric Company. “The mortgage value is seventy-five dollars,” she said. “It’s a sound investment, but it makes more financial sense if I could get my hands on the water company, too.”
Tony nodded. “You could bankrupt someone in a hurry like that,” he agreed. “Rent is ten times the amount shown on the dice if you own both utilities.”
“I don’t want to bankrupt anyone,” Willa said quickly. “I’m just trying to have a solid financial strategy.”
Tony rubbed his hands together, still playing the greedy capitalist. “Tell you what,” he said. “If I land on the water company, I’ll sell it to you for a small handling fee and you can—”
“No!” Willa shook her head like Tony had suggested they take a break and go burn down the neighbor’s house. “That’s against the rules, and besides—I need to do this on my own.”
Tony’s eyes flickered with surprise, but he recovered quickly. “No problem,” he said. “Who’s next?”
They kept playing, with Grady buying a railroad and Kayla eventually getting herself out of jail. Tony built a few hotels, Bronwyn drank more wine, and Willa’s pile of money dwindled as she landed on a series of unfortunate squares that took her tidy pile down to just a few bills.
Aislin looked on in sympathy as Willa’s next roll landed her on a square that ordered her to pay two hundred dollars in income tax. “If you want, I can loan you some money, Wills,” Aislin offered. “Just temporarily, to get through this part.”
“Absolutely not.” Willa stroked Stevie’s ears, looking like she might be on the brink of having a stroke herself. “That’s not allowed. You can’t loan or give money to another player. It says so right in the rules. And I’m not accepting charity.”
Grady leaned closer so their shoulders touched, unsurprised to find her whole body tense as coiled wire. “You should roll again,” he said. “The dice landed partway off the board. Doesn’t that require a do-over?”
Bronwyn frowned. “She would have had to do it right away, before she moved her game piece.”
Grady resisted the urge to throw a handful of plastic hotels at her. “But if she didn’t know that’s the rule we’re playing by—”
“It’s fine, Grady.” Willa bit her lip and handed over the last of her cash. “It’s fine. I can get back on my feet with the next roll. I can do this.”
The determination in her eyes convinced him to let it go, so he gave her knee a squeeze and picked up the dice. “I’ll take St. James Place for one hundred and eighty,” he said as he moved his game piece to that slot. Leaning closer to Willa, he brushed her ear with his lips. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “If you land on it, you can pay me in sexual favors.”
She laughed, but there was a tightness to it. “That’s a considerate offer, but I’m not ready to turn to prostitution just yet.”
Aislin flashed him a sympathetic smile. “Don’t feel bad, Grady,” she said. “I once tried to sneak a fifty into her pile of money so she’d have enough to buy Atlantic Avenue when she landed on it.”
“What happened?” He was almost afraid to ask.
Aislin’s grin widened. “She socked me in the gut and knocked the wind out of me.”
“It was an accident.” Willa grimaced and shook her head. “I flinched when your hand brushed my ribs and my elbow sort of connected.”
Kayla laughed and shot Grady a look that held a hint of challenge. “Still want to keep going?”
He glanced at Willa, who looked tense enough to claw through the legs of her jeans. Her fingers dug into her knee, so he took her hand and lifted it to his lips.
“Hey,” he murmured.
She looked up with wide eyes, and Grady leaned close to murmur in her ear. “Want to treat my ass like your personal fidget spinner?”
She laughed, her body lurching forward and into his chest. Dimples pocked her cheeks, and her shoulders eased like someone had let the air out of them. “Yeah,” she said, reaching behind to pat his ass. “Thanks, I feel better already.”
…
Later that night in Willa’s bed, Grady lay back in sweaty, satiated exhaustion. “Wow.” He tried to catch his breath. “If I’d known Monopoly was such a turn-on for you, I would have brought a game board to our first date.”
Willa blew out a satisfied breath and snuggled against his chest. “It wasn’t the game,” she said. “The game’s actually the opposite of erotic.”
“Then what?” He kissed the edge of her hairline, grateful all the tension had gone out of her.
“Knowing you had my back,” she said. “Having you understand why I felt edgy and that you wanted to help.”
Grady wasn’t sure he did understand, but the compliment made his ego swell.
“I’m glad I could help.” His pulse kept hammering in his head, and he breathed in and out a few times to get it to slow. “We should do this all day tomorrow.”
“Have sex?”
“Stay in bed.” He trailed a finger down her spine and back up again, delighted to feel her shiv
er under his touch. “You and me, just like this.” He grinned in the darkness. “That would be new.”
“It would,” she acknowledged. “And…nice.” She met his eyes and smiled, and Grady damn near died with pleasure. “But I can’t,” she said. “I have some work to do for a client. It’s a big project.”
Grady digested that information, still stroking her skin. “Do you ever take a full day off?” he asked. “Like an entire day, no work at all.”
“Of course.” She shifted in his arms, hair tickling his chest. “Probably.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, I can’t remember when, but I’m sure I have.”
And that told him quite a lot about Willa. The Monopoly game had done plenty, and so had the insights from her friends. This was how it was, getting to know her, like a treasure hunt of sorts. He was gathering all the sparkly bits, still trying to know her as well as he could. If there was one thing he’d learned, it was that she didn’t let anyone in very easily.
He stroked a hand down her bare back and stared up at the stars scattered overhead, done in glow-in-the-dark paint. “I never noticed that before.”
“Noticed what?”
“The constellations.” He lifted a finger and pointed to her ceiling. “There’s Ursa Major. And over there, that looks like Orion.”
She rolled so they lay side by side, bare shoulders and hips touching as they surveyed her indoor solar system. “I stayed the night with a friend when I was nine.” Her voice seemed distant, though she was right there next to him. “She had these cool glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling, and I wanted them so badly.”
He reached for her hand under the covers, careful as he laced his fingers through hers. He was conscious of how rare this moment was, how unusual for her to let him in. “Did you ever get them?”
“Not like that.” Hesitation gave her voice a little hitch. “The stick-on kind like my friend had were way too expensive. But after I told my dad about it, he took me camping.”
He squeezed her hand. “That sounds nice.”
She was quiet for a long time. So long, Grady turned to face her.
Willa kept her eyes on the ceiling, covers pulled over her breasts. “It sounds like homelessness.”