Page 117 of Light My Fire

“Hell, no.” Luke sets down his coffee mug. “Bring it on. What are we doing? Arm wrestling?”

“Let’s not get violent,” Brooke says, sounding a little alarmed.

“Arm wrestling is not violent,” Luke assures her. “Especially not the way these two do it.”

I finish my croissant and dust off my hands. “Let’s go.”

“Just relax,” Jackson says. “I have a better idea.” He smiles at Brooke. “No violence.”

“I’m listening,” she says.

“We line up and whoever Henley goes to wins.”

“No way. You’ve been taking care of her for two weeks. She’ll pick you.”

Jackson grins. “Why do you think I suggested it?”

“I agree with Wyatt,” Luke says. “I call bullshit.”

“Well, we can’t do the puppies. Their eyes are barely open at this point. They just wiggle and crawl.”

“So put the puppies on the floor mat and see which one gets to the end first. If the puppy you named gets there first, you win,” Luke says.

“Or we could arm wrestle.” I turn to Brooke. “What do you think?”

“What do I think? I think it’s sexy that I have three incredibly hot men who want to spend time with me.” Her words are flirty, her mouth turned up in a sexy smile.

God, this woman.

“But the puppies are sleeping,” she says. “Let’s leave them to it. Arm wrestling opens the door for allegations of cheating. I have a competitive brother, remember? How about we keep it simple and I pick a number between one and twenty?”

Simple but effective. I’d prefer to kick their asses in a physical showdown, but I’ve protested enough.

“Great idea.”

The other guys nod.

“Okay, I have a number.”

“One,” I say instantly, because it feels right.

“Seventeen,” Jackson says.

“Ten.”

Brooke’s face gives it away the second Luke speaks. Her face lights up. “Luke, you guessed it exactly! How did you know?”

I pick my coffee back up and take a sip to hide my irritated expression. If Brooke’s number was ten, that means I came in last.

Luke smiles at her. “Guess I’m just a lucky man.”

She beams at him. “So Luke first, then Jackson, then Wyatt. Are we all good with that?”

No.

But it was fair, and this is what Brooke wants.

“Sounds good to me,” Jackson says.

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