Page 448 of The Doctors Will See You Now

He was right. I’d said those exact words to him the first trivia night I’d ever brought him to.

My heart warmed at the thought and damn near grew three sizes inside of my chest.

All I’d wanted was for Lex to like me, to feel comfortable spending time with me, and so far, it had been nothing but smooth sailing.

“Okay!” the MC called out. “Question number one! Who was the Vice President of the United States when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated?”

Shit… Uh… I racked my brain for the answer. One I most definitely should have known, but when I looked across the table, Lexi was already writing something down in our number one spot.

1. Andrew Johnson

"It’s Andrew Johnson,” she whispered. “He became America’s seventeenth President when he took over in 1865.”

Damn. This girl was good.

I looked at Nick and then back at his daughter, before meeting his amused gaze again. “I think I want Lexi to be my new partner. She’s way better at trivia than you.”

He just laughed it off and took a bite of a mozzarella stick.

“Question number two! Who painted the Sistine Chapel?”

Lexi looked up, and I whispered, “Michelangelo.”

She nodded, wrote the answer down, and then stared at her father. “You know, statistically speaking, as a brain surgeon, most people would probably think you were a lot better at trivia. But considering the mental capacity that is needed for neurosurgeons to compete and exceed in their highly competitive field, those assumptions would be wrong. While normal people, without careers that have such a demanding and rigorous course and intern schedule, are able to absorb various facts, most neurosurgeons are solely focused on the human brain. So, I guess I do understand why you’re not very good at trivia, Dad.”

“Finally,” Nick announced with a grin. “Somebody understands me!”

Lexi and I both laughed.

“Question number three!” the MC shouted. “In the play now called ‘The Miracle in Motown,’ how many yards was the completed pass that Aaron Rodgers threw into the end zone, giving the Packers the victory over the Lions?”

Eeek. No way I was getting this one. I glanced at Nick, who was obviously zero help, but by the time my gaze made it to Lexi, she was already scribbling something down.

3. 66 yards

"You even know sports trivia?” I questioned in surprise, and she just shrugged.

“Wes has shown clips of that play to the Mavericks’ offense at least ten times,” she explained. “Plus, numbers and statistics are my favorite.”

Her brain was an anomaly, filled with an extensive amount of knowledge that most adults would never achieve in their lifetime. One day, when she was older, she’d be doing something amazing with that brain like trailblazing research to cure diseases or working for NASA or some other job I didn’t even know existed because it was too highly advanced for normal people like myself.

Lexi Winslow was a gifted little girl. There was no doubt about it. The only doubt I had was whether I was making the actual cut or not. She had to tolerate me while I was on her trivia team, but what about when I wasn’t? All bets would be off.

“Question number four! A little bit of Friends trivia!” the MC added with a grin. “What is the ‘Joey special’?”

Hell yes. My strong suit. I held in the urge to fist pump the air.

Lexi’s big blue eyes met mine. “Do you know this one?”

“Ordering two pizzas at one time.”

“Awesome,” she muttered as she jotted the answer down.

“Yeah, next time,” I whispered toward Lexi, “we’ll just leave your dad at home, and we’ll come to trivia night by ourselves.”

“Deal.” She smiled, wide, happy, and big enough to melt my heart.

I swallowed back the relieved emotion clogging my throat as Nick reached across the table to gently tap the top of my hand. When our gazes locked, no words needed to be said. His smile was tender, knowing, and filled with love, and I knew my expression mimicked the same.