Sadie shook her head, smirking. “Not even close.”
“Is it something fancy, like Sir Fluffington?” Dean asked.
“Nope.” Sadie grinned. “But I did consider naming him Dwight D. Meowsinhower. Double D for short.”
The men laughed.
“Is there a Thank You button?” Cooper asked. “Because I’m pretty sure he’d use it for not giving him that name.”
She nodded. “You’re not wrong.”
Mac, who had been observing quietly, took a long sip of lemonade before speaking. “I’m thinking something literary. Maybe… Mr. Darcy?”
Sadie tipped her chin. “Such a great guess, but no.”
The group turned to Dale, who had been watching the proceedings with a bemused smile.
“It’s up to you, Delta,” Cooper said. “You’re our last hope.”
Dale raised an eyebrow. “You guys all missed the most obvious one. Thesmartone. It’s gotta be Einstein.”
Sadie’s grin widened, and she clapped her hands. “You were so close.”
The guys groaned, and Dale shook his head.
“Then what is it?” he asked.
Still wanting to have a little fun with them, Sadie shrugged. “It’s Puddy Tat.”
A few snickers and several more groans echoed through the room.
“Seriously?” Dale blinked at her. “You did not name your cat Puddy Tat.”
Laughing, she held his gaze for a few seconds before nodding. “Okay, you got me. No, I didn’t name him that. I named him after another brilliant man.”
Dale expelled a breath. “I’m an idiot.”
“Truer words,” Cooper uttered under his breath and the others chuckled.
He ignored them, gaze twinkling. “You named him Tesla.”
Surprise raised her brows. “Yes.” She clapped. “We have a winner! Of course, it’s too bad you’d already used up your guess, though.”
Sadie had always admired Nicola Tesla and his inventions and brilliant mind, as well as how he wanted to help humanity with those inventions. In fact, she’d admired him so much, she’d once given a videotaped oral book report in front of her science class.
Nervous and excited, she had somehow breezed through to a perfect grade. Of course, it had helped to have Lyndsey and Emily in the class, cheering her on.
“How did you come up with that guess, Dale?” Mac asked.
He shrugged. “I saw her give a report on him.”
“What?” she muttered on an indrawn breath while her cheeks rapidly heated. “How? You weren’t in my class.”
A lopsided grin tugged at his lips. “True. But we did have the same teacher, and he had beamed about this freshman who had nailed the assignment better than anyone in any of his other classes.”
She slapped her hands over her face. “Oh, man. I am so glad I didn’t know he did that.”
“You should be proud,” Dale said, softly. “You did really good.”
