Page 20 of Shotgun Spouse
“Which makes you the problem solver.”
All he got was a raised brow.
Teddy played his next card. “I'm an only child myself. My mom raised me on her own.”
Bunny’s hand paused over her stack. “Your dad wasn’t… around?”
“He was killed in action when I was ten.”
The weight of his words hung between them. For the first time since they’d started the game, Bunny’s poker face cracked. Her eyes softened. Her lips parted slightly in an expression of quiet sorrow.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Me too.” Teddy leaned back, resting an arm along the back of the couch. “Mom stopped everything to take care of me after that. She was this tough, no-nonsense soldier who could take onthe world—until we lost him. Then I realized I needed to take care of her.”
Bunny’s gaze lingered on him, her hand hovering over her next move. “That’s a lot for a ten-year-old.”
“Yeah, well. She went back into service eventually, when she saw that I was a capable young man. She retired with a full pension a few years ago. Now she’s bored out of her mind, which means she’s made it her life’s mission to meddle in mine.”
Bunny’s lips twitched. The faintest trace of a smile formed on that heart-shaped mouth. “She must adore you.”
“The feeling’s mutual. But I’ll tell you this—strong women like her? They never ask for help. And they definitely don’t like accepting it. They prefer to give, not realizing how much it takes out of them.”
His words laid themselves bare between them. It was an ace thrown down. A final bet pushed to the center of the table. No bluff, no pretense, just the truth.
Bunny’s fingers hesitated over her next card. For the first time tonight, her mask slipped. Teddy saw it in her eyes, the exhaustion she rarely let anyone witness, the way she was finally letting herself be at ease.
She looked like she might respond, like she wanted to match his honesty with her own. Instead, she lowered her gaze and played her next card, as if that move alone could steady the unspoken weight between them.
“Your turn,” Bunny said, her tone almost defiant, flicking her remaining cards toward him like she was throwing down a gauntlet.
“I call your bluff.” Teddy leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind his head with an insufferably smug grin.
Bunny narrowed her eyes, the glint of a challenge flashing in them. She flipped over the first card he requested. Safe. Then the second.
The skull stared up at her like it was mocking her.
She groaned, flopping dramatically against the back of her chair. “I hate you right now.”
“No, you don’t. I’m your favorite person in the world. You’re relaxed, rested, well-fed, without a care in the world except for a game.”
Bunny scoffed, but didn’t immediately fire back. That alone told Teddy he wasn’t wrong. He watched as she absently ran a finger along the edge of one of her remaining cards, her brows knitting together.
“I do have other cares in the world aside from you, Teddy Carter. I’m worried about my sisters.”
The shift in her tone made Teddy straighten. “What’s going on?”
Bunny exhaled, looking down at the cards she wasn’t playing anymore. “Kitty’s on the verge of a divorce. Birdy’s convinced she doesn’t need anyone. They’re both too stubborn to ask for help, but they need it. I should be there, helping them figure it all out.”
Teddy watched her carefully, noticing the way her fingers twitched like she was itching to grab her phone, to check in, to fix everything like she always did. He reached across the table, covering her hand with his own. “And what if they figure it out on their own?”
Bunny looked up, her expression unreadable once more.
Teddy squeezed her fingers, his thumb brushing over the top of her hand. “You’re allowed to take a break, Bunny. They’ll be okay. You can’t control everything.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t pull away from his touch. “That’s rich, coming from a man who just spent ten minutes trying to control the outcome of a game based entirely on bluffing.”
He smirked. “And yet, I won.”
