Page 114 of Filthy Rich Brother's Best Friends

I roll my eyes but can't help smiling. The truth is, I knew damn well the word doesn't exist, but I didn't challenge him because I appreciated the creativity.

Jude chimes in. “Yeah, I knew there was no such word.”

"Oh please," Reid continues, pointing accusingly at Jude. "Like you're some brainiac, Massage Boy. What about 'frawn'? Remember that one? You tried to convince us it was a type of monkey."

Jude's face flushes. "That's different. 'Frawn' should totally be a real word."

"So I'm not the only one who occasionally comes up with words that aren't real," Reid says triumphantly. "At least mine sound like they could be real."

"Yours sound like you're having a stroke," I say, and Lola nearly chokes on a sip of water.

"Can we just play the game?" Lola asks. "And agree that any word has to be in the official Scrabble dictionary or it doesn't count?"

"Fine," Reid concedes, "but I'm protesting in advance.”

We each draw seven tiles to start. I stare at mine in disbelief. Six perfectly decent letters and one useless Z. Fucking fantastic.

"Who wants to go first?" Lola asks, arranging her letters on her rack.

"Youngest," Jude says automatically.

"That's me," Lola grins, placing down "HEART" for a solid opening move.

Jude follows with "TRAIN," building off her T. Reid adds "SIMPLE," using the P from Jude's play.

Reid puffs up, pumping his fists, since he used six of his seven letters.

It's my turn. I stare at my letters, mentally cursing the Z. I've got nothing that works with the board as it stands.

Wait. I see it. A slight smile crosses my face as I carefully place my tiles to spell "ZAIRE," connecting with the E in "SIMPLE."

Reid's head snaps up so fast I'm surprised he doesn't get whiplash. "That’s a proper noun," he declares, pointing accusingly at me.

"Challenge me, asshole, and you'll see," I reply calmly, crossing my arms.

"Oh, I'm challenging," Reid says, already reaching for his phone.

Lola and Jude exchange amused glances as Reid types furiously. His confident expression gradually morphs into confusion, then disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me," Reid groans, tossing his phone onto the table. "Zaire. The former basic monetary unit of Zaire—now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since when do you know African currency?”

"Since college," I reply with a smirk, tallying my score. "That's fourteen points, by the way."

"With the Z on a double letter," Lola points out. "It’s actually twenty-four."

Reid glowers at the board. "Fuck both of you."

The game continues with more trash talk than actual gameplay. When Lola manages to play "QUIXOTIC" on a triple word score, Reid nearly flips the board over.

"That's seventy-eight points!" she announces, beaming.

I pull her into me in a bear hug. “Way to go, Lo!”

Reid continues to sulk while Jude and I pump Lola up for the killer word choice.

Looking at all three of them—Reid with his competitive scowl, Jude's easy smile, and Lola's triumphant grin—I feel a warmth in my body. How the hell did this happen? How did I end up with these ridiculous people who make me happier than I've ever been?

"You okay?" Lola asks, nudging my shoulder.