The Deadly Nightshade | { BOOK 1 of The Flower series }

[30] Boca Raton

Jade studied the chessboard very carefully. She wasn't going to cheat and scan for clear shots. She was going to play the game fair and square. Plus, she wanted the challenge to go against one of the smartest people on the team. She shifted her attention to her opponent with a raised eyebrow as he, as well, thought about his first move. He had the white pieces, and he had the first turn.

Jade flickered her amber eyes on her opponent, narrowing her eyes on him from behind her glasses. She was reading his blank facial expression, seeing if she could figure out his game plan from that, but she got no luck.

Vision moved his pawn, which was in front of the King, from the spot, e2 to e4. He was very intellectual about this. He had just created an open space for the queen to move out onto the chessboard and eventually capture the King. He could even tell that Jade never learned how to play the game of chess. Even if she already had a high IQ, he could still see that she had no idea what she was doing. She only knew the basics.

Jade's eyes shifted from Vision's moved pawn to her pieces. She sank her teeth gently into her bottom lip as she thought carefully about her move.

Wanda watched with amusement beside Jade, seeing the concentration on both of her friends' faces. "I don't want to distract you too much, but Kitkat, you look boiling hot when you concentrate hard."

Jade blinked, turning her head to look over at Wanda. The Sokovian smirked down at her, sending her a wink. Jade blushed, lightly looking back at the board. She cleared her throat as she focused back on the game. She countered Vision's pawn, moving her's to f5.

Vision mentally smirked from the little mistake Jade just made. Her move had just exposed her King, allowing him to precede toward winning the game in three moves. He doesn't hesitate as he moved his queen two spaces diagonally to f3. He hoped Jade would move her pawn in g7 so it would leave an opening to capture her queen.

And as an inexperienced chess player, Jade did exactly that. She moved her pawn from that spot to g5. Vision smirked, and Jade caught it.

She groaned. "I'm just going to accept my defeat now because I obviously lost already. You never smirk at all."

Vision chuckled, reaching to grasp his queen to move it to h5. Now the King was in checkmate. "Checkmate."

Jade huffed as she blew air out of her mouth to move a strand of hair from her eyes. "You won the game in three moves. I never thought that was possible."

"It is," Vision informed. "You can even win the game in two moves."

Tony waltzed into the lounge room with a grin on his face. He squeezed in between Wanda and Jade as he let one arm drape over his daughter's shoulders.

Wanda groaned from the separation, quickly rolling her eyes. Jade saw the gesture and chuckled at the brunette's attitude. She shifted her eyes onto Tony with a raised eyebrow. "Well, someone is very cheery."

"That's because I have great news to share with you," Tony replied, his dark eyes twinkling with happiness. "Your mother had a best friend who had bought the apartment that you were raised in as a child. She had called once she saw the press conference and offered if you would like to fly there to spend a week or two in Florida. She wants to help you get your memories back."

Jade sucked in a breath, lowering her gaze. "I never really thought about my mother after what Vincent told me," she whispered.

Tony easily caught onto her facial expression, and he quickly backtracked. "If you aren't ready, we don't have to go. It was just a suggestion."