Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(14)

“How can one game have different worlds?”

“Okay, imagine creating a series of complex mazes on multiple levels with trapdoors and tunnels connecting them. You can change how it feels to move through those mazes simply by changing the graphics. Like changing wallpaper. From a code-writing standpoint, the structure stays the same. Changing the graphics, though, gives the player a different experience. We have everything from knights in medieval England to special ops troops in modern day Middle East.”

“Yes, but if the layout of each world is the same, wouldn’t that get boring?”

“Not at all,” he insisted. “Because it’s not a fixed maze. How you get from one section to another changes each time you play depending on the choices you make. Plus, we keep adding new booby traps and obstacles for higher skill levels. You’re also not in this world alone. There are other characters, both combatants and allies. Whether those characters are controlled by the program or by other players depends on whether you’re playing solo or with others. That makes every quest completely unique.”

“Quest?”

“Well, yeah.” He looked at her as if she should have known that part. “You don’t just wander around, aimlessly exploring the world you chose. Each game has a quest object. From the moment the game starts, you face one adrenaline-producing, life-threatening challenge after another. It’s non-stop action from beginning to end.”

“That sounds fabulous. I can’t wait to play.”

Seeing her excitement, Luc nearly suggested they finish dinner and go back to her cottage so he could fire up Vortal on his laptop.

One thought stopped him dead.

The second he booted the game, she’d see the portal a player had to pass through to enter the gaming world. The portal that looked exactly like the pendant she’d found. And wasn’t that the whole reason he’d even brought up the game in the first place? To lead into the topic of the necklace?

Except, he hadn’t expected her to show so much interest in Vortal. Her enthusiasm had totally sucked him in, distracting him from the point of the conversation. The purpose of the evening. The entire reason for him being in Galveston. As soon as he told her about the necklace, the rest of his story wouldn’t be far behind.

“Well?” she prompted at his long pause. “When can I play your game?”

Looking into her eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her. He didn’t want this to end. He saw the waitress heading toward them, and breathed a sigh of relief. “First, we need to eat.”

All through dinner, Chloe peppered him with questions about Vortal. Under different circumstances, he would have reveled in it. Instead, he wanted to groan in frustration.

“Which world do you think I’d enjoy most?” she asked him as she forked up a bite of fish.

“I have no idea,” he said, since he still couldn’t wrap his brain around her wanting to play Vortal at all. Women like Chloe were supposed to think gamers were social losers. They were not supposed to jump on the chance to become one. “Our two best sellers are Vampires in New Orleans and Pirates on the High Seas.”

“Pirates?” She brightened. “That would be perfect. Did you know we have a pirate ghost on Pearl Island? Well, privateer.”

“Yes, I read something about that online.” He welcomed the potential topic-changer. “You have two ghosts, right?”

She nodded as she swallowed. “Marguerite, an opera singer known as the Pearl of New Orleans, and Captain Jack Kingsley, our star-crossed lovers.” She sighed dramatically. “Their story is very sad, and ended tragically, but at least they’re together now, and apparently quite happy. So I guess they got to die happily ever after. If you believe in that sort of thing.”

“Ghosts?” His brows shot up. “Absolutely.”

“No.” She laughed. “Happily ever after.”

“I take it you don’t believe in happy endings?”

“That depends on how you define happiness.” She dredged a final bite of asparagus through the sauce left on her plate.

“How would you define it?” he asked.

“Now that is a complicated question.” She chewed thoughtfully. “I will say that falling in love is generally not the way to get there.”

Before he could ask her why, the waitress stopped at their table. “Are you finished with your dinner?”

Luc looked down and realized both their plates were empty. They’d finished eating and he still hadn’t worked up to his confession.

“Yes, thank you.” Chloe smiled up at the woman.

“How about dessert?” the waitress asked as she cleared away their plates. “Our bread pudding is to die for.”

“Bread pudding?” He sent Chloe an eager look, hoping to buy himself more time.

“Oh no, I’m too stuffed for anything that heavy.” Chloe patted her stomach.

“Oh.” Seeing no choice, he asked the waitress to bring the check.

“I’ll tell you what I could go for.” Smiling, Chloe crossed her arms over the cleared table. “How about ice cream and a stroll down the Strand?”

“Ice cream is lighter than bread pudding?” he asked before he could stop himself. He should be silently cheering over her suggestion since it gave him more time.