The Wager Read online

  “Women are the best kinds.” He turned over his shoulder and gave her a wink just as she threw a pillow at his head. Drat, he ducked.

  “You’re a pig.”

  “At least I’m not a tease,” he sang.

  “What!” Char marched over to his side of the bed and poked him in the chest. “I’m the tease? At least I don’t run around kissing people saying it’s okay because it’s their birthday!” She made fake quotes in the air with her fingers and scowled.

  “You liked it. Admit it. And you’re still a tease. At least I was honest about what I was doing. So I like kissing you? Sue me. I like kissing my grandma, too, doesn’t mean I’m going to—” His face contorted.

  “No, don’t stop.” Char crossed her arms. “I really want to see where you were going to go with that one.”

  “Oh shut up. It’s early and I’m horny and you’re taking your life into your own hands by even standing that close to me in nothing but a t-shirt and boxers.”

  “So now I’m not a tease, I’m just available?”

  He shrugged. “If the shoe fits—Cinderella.”

  Low blow.

  Seething, she made a move to slap him, but he caught her hand and pulled her onto the bed, then rolled on top of her. “Admit it. You were thinking the same thing. Oh look, man-whore of the century wants me; I’ll just have a little bit of my birthday cake early…”

  His eyes took on a different color, almost as if he was angry. She tried to push against him, but Jake was like an immovable rock. Every single plane of his body felt like it was carved out of stone, but he was warm, so damn warm it was killing her slowly to even be touching him. He was singeing her to within an inch of her life.

  “Fine,” she lied. “I just wanted one taste.”

  His eyes flared with anger.

  “Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it, too?”

  Eyes wide, he swore under his breath and released her, rolling onto his back. “I’ll take you home.”

  “What? No snappy retort?” Char asked innocently.

  He was silent for a moment, then mumbled something about grandmothers and their manipulative ways before he whispered, “No. Nothing.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine!” he yelled.

  “Fine!” She pushed him back against the bed and ran toward the door to open it, but it opened before she could get her hands on it.

  “Everything okay in here?” Kacey asked, peering around Char to give Jake the glare of death.

  “Peachy,” Jake sang from the bed, still lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. “I’m friggin’ fantastic. Just waiting for Char to get ready to I can take her back to the city.”

  Char pasted a smile on her face. “I’m just going to go wash some of the man-whore from my body and I’ll be ready to go. Some of us still have jobs to go to in the morning.”

  “Heard that!” Jake yelled from the bed.

  “I’m surprised you can hear anything at all after how loud you snore!” Char fired back and stormed out of the room.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Mad as hell, Jake continued to stare at the ceiling.

  Something kicked his foot.

  He refused to move.

  “What did you do?” The mattress sunk as Kacey sat next to him. “Seriously.”

  “Nothing,” Jake grumbled. “That’s the damn problem.”

  “The problem is you didn’t do anything?”

  “Right.”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “Why is that always the first thing people ask me? Have I really been acting like an alcoholic these past three years? Seriously?” He sat up and sighed.

  “Do you really want me to answer that?”

  “No.”

  “Seriously.” Kacey nudged him. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I think the tin man discovered he had a heart.”

  “Was that before or after you didn’t do anything?”

  “Both.” Jake rose from the bed and stretched. “Not that it matters, but I took the higher road and now we’re fighting again.”

  Kacey shrugged. “Higher roads have better rewards.”

  “Says the happily engaged woman.” Jake turned around and winked. “No offense, but I think I like the other road better.”

  “Probably because you like easy.”

  “Not true.”

  “Um,” Kacey snorted, “very true.”

  “Karma.” Jake pressed his lips together in a firm line. “For the first time I think I may actually want something that I know I have no chance in hell of getting, no chance of deserving or winning, and it just makes it that much worse.”

  Kacey stood. “Why is it worse?”

  “Remember when I gave you that turtle for Christmas?”

  Kacey laughed. “Speedy? Yeah; best gift ever.”

  “And you ended up setting him free in the pond because you said it was better that he be a turtle with his family?”

  Kacey felt Jake’s forehead. “Seriously.” She whispered. “Are you on drugs?”

  “No.” He swatted her hand away. “I’m trying to communicate.”

  “Try harder because you’re freaking me out.”

  “You love something, you let it go.” He swallowed and looked away.

  “I don’t think that’s true.” Kacey pulled Jake in for a quick hug and kissed him on the cheek. “Since when have you ever backed down from a fight?”

  Char came back in the room, interrupting their moment. “You ready?”

  “Yeah,” Jake called. “Be there in a minute.” Char walked out of the room, leaving it emptier than before. Which was ridiculous. Maybe he was just exhausted. Instead Jake shrugged at Kacey and answered. “I’m not backing out of the fight. I’m just choosing not to participate in it, especially when I know I don’t deserve to even participate, let alone win.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Kacey kicked Travis awake. He was still snoring on the couch. Poor guy. He was going to be exhausted for their little flight home.

  “What?” He jerked up and cursed. “Seriously? You kicked me? Why not wake me up with a kiss or sex or—”

  “We have a problem.”

  “There is no ‘we’.” Travis rubbed his eyes. “Only me. I have a problem. I slept on the damn couch. I have two kinks in my neck and if I’m not able to share the same bed with you soon I’m going to lose my damn mind.”

  “Find your morals.” Kacey punched him in the leg, forcing him to move to a sitting position so she could grab a spot on the couch.

  “Lost them. Don’t want to find them.” Travis yawned. “Why’d you wake me up again?”

  “The problem.”

  “Oh, right.” He sighed. “Do I get coffee first?”

  “No,” she snapped. “It’s serious!”

  “Holy shit. Are you—?”

  “Why does everyone keep asking if I’m pregnant? How’s that even supposed to happen with you sleeping in a separate bed?”

  Travis seemed to actually think about this.

  Rolling her eyes, Kacey grabbed his hand. “Focus. I think something’s wrong with Jake.”

  Travis snorted. “If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me—”

  “Shut up. I’m serious! He actually looked sad! He was all depressed and—”

  “Morning, Jake!” Travis called as Jake came bounding down the stairs.

  “Yup.” Jake waved. “Char already in the car?”

  Kacey nodded.

  Jake licked his lips and headed for the door. The minute it clicked shut, Travis spoke. “Damn, I think something’s wrong with Jake.”

  Reining in her withering patience, Kacey managed not to groan in frustration. “Like I said, we have a problem. What if he actually likes her?”

  “Impossible,” Travis said. “The guy hasn’t been in a serious relationship, ever. I mean the closest he ever got was with you and we both know how that ended.”

  Ignoring him, Kacey continued. “I
t just seems like he’s really upset over her. Did you say anything to him last night?”

  Travis didn’t answer.

  “Baby?”

  Travis looked at his hands.

  “Did you say something about Char?”

  “I may have given him a little… warning.”

  “Warning?” Kacey said. “What type of warning?”

  “You know… one where I tell him to put on his big boy pants, stop eating where he shits, and leaving Char the hell alone.”

  “And he listened to you?”

  “Weird, right?” Travis smirked. “At any rate. We both know Jake better than anyone. He doesn’t like her; he just thinks he does because she’s probably the only girl that won’t toss up her skirts for him. Jace is better for her, I promise.”

  “But—”

  “Kace.” Travis grabbed her hand and kissed it. “Remember, if we lose, Grandma sings at our wedding. I guarantee that if you push Char into Jake’s hands, he’ll bang her and leave her just like every other notch on his bedpost.”

  “Okay.” She slumped back against the couch.

  “Baby.” Travis chuckled. “I know you have a big heart and want both of them to be happy, but there is no way that Jake’s turned over a new leaf that fast. No chance in hell. And you don’t want to see your best friend hurt like that, especially right before the wedding. Trust me, okay?”

  “Okay, but if you’re wrong…” Kacey pulled her legs onto Travis’s lap. “No sex for a week.”

  “You do realize we’re not even having sex now?”

  “Once we’re married.”

  “You’d withhold sex from your husband?”

  “To win a wager?” Kacey winked. “Absolutely.”

  “Heartless.”

  “No.” Kacey kissed his cheek. “That would be Grandma. She’s the one who’s banned you to the couch.”

  “I’m only listening to her because she bought a shock collar the other day.”

  Kacey gave him a confused look.

  “She doesn’t have a dog, Kace. She bought a collar. If I don’t listen, she may use it on me. I put nothing past that woman.”

  “Kacey! Travis!” Grandma called from the back room. “Time for breakfast! I’m hungry!”

  Groaning, Travis put his face in his hands. “Do you think she has a quiet button? Forget dying from lust. I’m going to go deaf.”

  It was quiet for a second then, “Heard that!” From Grandma.

  Travis wordlessly lifted his hands into the air in frustration, then got up off the couch. He held his hand out for Kacey and pulled her in for a hug. “Seriously, Kace, don’t worry about it. I promise. Jake’s just being Jake, okay?”

  She nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. Because for the first time in years Jake actually looked… sad about the way that his night had gone. He looked anything but happy and, that was the thing: he’d never let a girl affect him like that before. Not even when she and he had been together. Which really made Kacey wonder if he was falling for her best friend.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “Can you drive faster?” Char asked, a bit annoyed that it was taking them so long to get back into the city. She had exactly forty minutes to get ready and be at the office.

  “Sure. I’ll just get a speeding ticket,” Jake said.

  “It’s not like you can’t afford it.”

  “What is up with you?” He pulled into the carpool lane. “Everything was fine last night and then all of a sudden you’re a cold b—”

  “If you value your life, you won’t finish that sentence.”

  “Brat.” Jake grinned and sped past another car.

  Char ignored his ridiculously flashy smile and looked out the window. “It’s fine; everything’s fine. I just have a lot to get done if I’m going to take all that time off from work for the wedding.”

  They fell silent.

  After a few minutes, Jake asked. “Is it something I did?”

  Something he did? Was he really that dense? He was toying with her feelings! Making her fall for him when he really had no interest beyond friendship. “No,” she lied. “I’m just tired.”

  “I’m sorry.” He pulled the car on to Queen Anne Hill. “You know, if it was me, I didn’t mean to upset you with your parents or get us arrested or—”

  “Jake.” Char interrupted. “It was the best birthday ever. I promise. I just have to return to reality, you know?”

  Gosh, how depressing did that sound? Returning to reality, where she wasn’t a princess, Jake sure as hell wasn’t her prince, and she worked at a job where people still snickered behind their clipboards.

  He seemed satisfied with that answer because he didn’t say anything, just parked the car and let her walk away without as much as a good-bye.

  It was better that way.

  It had to be.

  * * *

  By the time Char made it to work, she was already ten minutes late and had missed her morning coffee.

  A few people whispered when she walked by, which really wasn’t all that odd. She made her way to her desk amidst all the stares. Please! It wasn’t as if she was doing the walk of shame, not that she’d been opposed to the idea last night. Ugh, how could she be so stupid! The man was her kryptonite! One kiss and she was powerless. The man needed a warning label or an act of government to warn unsuspecting women.

  “Hey.” A man she’d never seen before stopped her. “Happy Birthday, Char. Hope it was awesome.”

  “Um, yeah, thanks.” Self-consciously, Char looked around the room and noticed every eye on her. Keeping her head down, she made a beeline for her desk.

  It was covered in roses.

  Hundreds of yellow roses.

  With shaking hands she picked up the card. Written inside was a simple note: “Sorry you cried. Hope you had a great birthday. I’ll pick you up at five to finish the list—Jake.”

  “Damn.”

  “Who are those from?” Her boss, Mark, walked up behind her and smiled. “And why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?”

  “I, uh—”

  “You don’t have to tell me. But I need to see you for a few seconds, okay? When you’re ready.” He lifted his coffee cup in the air, giving her a waft of the caffeine she so desperately needed, and walked off.

  Char set her purse down inside her desk and stomped off toward Mark’s office. After closing the door, she took a seat.

  “You didn’t tell me you were going to be in the Titus wedding,” he began. No hello, no hi, how are you? Nothing. Just a simple fact. She’d failed to mention she was going to be in the wedding of the century. Whoops?

  “I, uh, was trying to respect their privacy.” The lie came swiftly; really she was just trying to push the attention away from her and Jake, again. Eventually, word would get out and she didn’t want to be hounded by all her female co-workers, asking what he smelled like.

  “I want you to cover it.”

  “But I’m in it.”

  “Exactly.” He leaned forward and folded his hands across the desk. His gray eyes gleamed as the fluorescent lights drew attention to a vein in his forehead. “Ever since the incident—” That’s what he called it. The incident where she showed up for a news report completely wasted after a one-night stand with Seattle’s infamous bachelor. Would she never live that down?

  Mark paused and cleared his throat. “You’ve been doing a few stories for us here and there, but have yet to gain your spot back as one of our premier reporters. It’s not you. It’s our reputation that’s at stake. We can’t have a girl with your type of—”

  Oh, this should be interesting.

  “Reputation, being the face of KOMO news, but I’d be willing to give you another chance if you did a good job covering this wedding. Every news station wants the story, but we’re the only one with the in. We have you.”

  “I’d have to ask permission, Mark. You know that.”

  He shrugged. “Ask permission or don’t. It’s up to you, but if they
say no I still want you to do it.”

  “But—”

  “This is your career, Char. Do you really want another chance or not? Because if you don’t, the door is behind you.” He turned on his computer and didn’t give her another glance. “We’re done here.”

  Char rose carefully. “Yes, sir.”

  “And Char?”

  She turned.

  “I would think very seriously about your future. Maybe KOMO news isn’t the right place for you. There are plenty of other eager college graduates willing to take your place.”

  Fighting back tears, Char stalked out of the office and made a beeline toward her desk. The scent of the roses literally choked her. Or maybe that was fear. She wasn’t sure.

  With shaking hands, she picked up the phone and dialed Kacey’s number.

  Voicemail.

  Of course.

  They were probably flying.

  The thing was, Char knew that Kacey wanted privacy. It was one of the prime reasons they’d chosen to get married at Titus Abbey rather than in a big church. Their house was private property, therefore they could control the paparazzi. Granted, Travis wasn’t as famous as Jake, but their family owned basically half of Seattle and had been featured in Forbes more times than Char could count. The wedding was big news. They were millionaire business moguls. And people were obsessed with the Titus brothers, almost as much as they were with the Seahawks.

  It was a cranky start to Char’s day; she worked through lunch and by the time five arrived she was so ready to leave she almost bolted out the door the minute the big hand hit the twelve.

  “Ready?” a voice said behind her.

  More whispering and gasping, a few swear words, and then a moan. Yes, one woman had actually moaned out loud.

  “Jake.” Char swallowed and turned around, ready to face the god himself. He had on tight ripped jeans and a white t-shirt. Sweet mother of God, he was beautiful.

  Now she understood the moaning.

  Pretending not to be fazed as his hazel eyes met hers, she reached for her purse and stood. “I’m ready if you are.”

  A few cell phones were lifted in the air, pointing in their direction. Jake’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, he looked almost… angry. Licking his lips, he gave a small wave to the people standing around them and turned away. A few women began talking loudly next to Char’s cubicle.