Her praise made him both proud and uncomfortable. To change the subject he pointed to the deck of cards in her hand. ‘‘Still up to getting your fanny whipped at poker?’’
‘‘Absolutely, although I should warn you I’m something of a card shark.’’
‘‘Yeah, right.’’
She rose to her feet and laughed. ‘‘You’ll see. In a matter of a few hands, I’ll have you begging for mercy.’’
He followed her into the dining room. They took seats across from each other. She opened the package of cards, then shuffled them expertly. Mitch eyed her flying fingers and realized she might not have been kidding about her abilities.
‘‘We’ll start with something simple,’’ she said as she dealt the cards. ‘‘Five card draw, one-eyed jacks wild. Oh, and Mitch? I want to head over to The Sunshine Home tomorrow. I’ve heard back from the owner and they’re finally ready to let me go through their old records.’’
He studied his hand. Two ladies and a pair of fives. Not bad. ‘‘If you can wait until the afternoon, I’ll go with you.’’ He passed her his lone three, facedown.
‘‘You don’t have to do that.’’
She dealt him another card. A third five. He had to hold back his grin of pleasure.
‘‘I don’t want you going alone.’’ When she gave him a questioning glance, he shrugged. ‘‘I know, it’s a little town and nothing is going to happen. But I would feel better if you weren’t by yourself. Besides, with the two of us there, the work will go faster.’’
‘‘Thanks. I appreciate that. Your help will be welcome.’’ She spread her cards on the table. ‘‘Three tens.’’
He tossed his hand down. ‘‘Full house.’’
When she pressed her lips together in minor irritation, he laughed. ‘‘Could be worse, princess. This way you’re only losing money, but if I’d set the rules of the game, you’d be taking off that dress right about now.’’
She looked at him calmly. ‘‘Strip poker?’’
‘‘Game?’’
‘‘Why don’t you see how the next few hands go. Then you can ask me that question again.’’
* * *
‘‘I can’t believe how much money you won from me,’’ Mitch grumbled the next afternoon as they drove into the parking lot of The Sunshine Home.
‘‘Ican’t believe you’re still complaining,’’ Alex told him good-naturedly. ‘‘I warned you that I was very good.’’
‘‘But I won the first three games.’’
‘‘It takes me a while to warm up.’’ She tried to control her expression so he couldn’t tell she was secretly gloating. ‘‘Now aren’t you glad we didn’t play strip poker? That chair would have been very cold on your bare bottom.’’
‘‘You’re forgetting you lost the first three hands. I might have been the first one to get naked, but you would have had to undress some yourself.’’
‘‘Shoes and earrings,’’ she said as she stepped out of his car. ‘‘Actually, just one earring. After all, I only lost three games.’’
‘‘That’s cheating,’’ Mitch complained.
‘‘No, it’s sensible.’’
He muttered something she couldn’t hear and led the way to the front of The Sunshine Home. She smiled at him as he held the door open for her to allow her to enter first. ‘‘And here I thought you’d be a gracious loser.’’
‘‘I’m gracious about many things, but not that, princess.’’
‘‘Want a rematch?’’
‘‘Maybe.’’
They were, she realized with a start, flirting. She wasn’t sure she’d ever allowed herself to flirt with a man before. There were so many times when she had to be careful, so that a casual remark wasn’t misunderstood. Her belief that she would marry for the good of her country had kept her from forming close friendships with many men. To make the problem even more complicated, very few men felt comfortable just being themselves around her. Mitch was a rare and very special man. She was fortunate to have met him.
