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Grandpa pats me on the back. “Don’t forget about your promise.”
He walks away to join one of the younger men with a cribbage board and deck of cards on his table.
Miles excuses himself from the ladies he’s with, but I’m still standing in the doorway like a dork. He starts to cross the room, but before he can reach me, Owen steps in front of me.
“Are you joining us tonight, Georgia?” The Rumble Room instructor is decked out in a flannel, concealing his tattoos and muscles. It gives him a distinct loner lumberjack vibe.
Miles joins us with a downcast mouth, like he’s been caught doing something he didn’t want anyone to see. The slight black eye and bruise across his right cheek only add to the impression something here isn’t on the up and up.
“Oh, um…sure. What exactly is going on?” I mean, it seems obvious. It’s just that Fiesta Village doesn’t normally have this resident-to-attractive-young-man ratio.
“The team over at All Aboard has started volunteering here for game night.” Miles’s explanation comes out a little too fast. He looks to Owen as if searching for back up. “A few of us over at Rumble Room and other shops on Center got in on it, too.”
“That’s really cool.” I even spot Arlo setting up Battleship in the corner with one of the residents. “But why didn’t you tell me about it?”
My own grandpa lives here. Seems like I’d be an obvious choice for a project like this.
His eyebrows lift, and his mouth drops open as if they’re searching for answers in different places. “I just…it’s a new thing. It’s only been a few weeks. I’m sorry. I should have invited you right away.”
I’m nothurtI wasn’t invited to game night, just confused. I was kind of under the impression Miles involved me in everything in his life. Clearly, he keeps some things to himself.
“Harper would love it too. She’s crazy about games.”
He looks weirdly relieved. “I’ll have to mention it to her.”
“This is really great of All Aboard to do this for the residents. I’ve never seen the activities room this full.” They have a rotating list of games and events here to keep things interesting for the residents, but there’s not usually quite this much enthusiasm for them.
“Whoever put it together has a good heart.” Owen stares hard at Miles.
“Yeah, well…it’s a good cause,” he says.
Miles is acting weird, but I can’t quite put my finger on how exactly. The bizarre secret, for sure. But I don’t understand the guilty vibes, either. Before I can come up with a good guess, one of the ladies from his table joins us.
“Miles?” she says. “We’re ready to play.”
“Of course.” He looks to me. “I hope you’ll join in for a while. Excuse me.”
They return to their table, all set for a round of Scrabble. The ladies will be lucky if Miles doesn’t absolutely dominate the game.
Owen steps closer to me. He’s huge and doesn’t give off the friendliest aura, but he’s basically a big teddy bear. A grouchy one sometimes, but it’s all bark.
“I don’t know why he said that,” he says low. “Miles came up with the idea. He’s the one who invited the rest of us to join.”
“He did?” I watch Miles across the room, chatting with the women as they pull tiles. “He doesn’t even have anybody who lives here.”
“No.” Owen’s like me—his grandma’s a resident. I think that’s her over at a Parcheesi table. “But he cares about the people here. More than he wants to admit.”
He stares at me for ten whole seconds before he nods and slips away to join his grandma. After another minute of standing around like a dummy, I follow suit and take up an empty seat at a table getting ready to play Rummikub. I pull my tiles, still sneaking peeks at Miles like an amateur stalker.
Maybe I should have played Clue—I could sure use one right about now.
Chapter 14
Georgia
Romance book club is one of my favorite nights of the month. I’ve been excited all day, knowing my friends will start filing through the door soon, ready to talk about our latest rom-com pick. It’s a fun time to just relax, hang out, and discuss imaginary men. But that’s not the only thing that’s got me slightly breathless.
Miles is wearing his glasses today.
