Page 12 of The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos

Dalisay shakes her head. “No. At the end, you don’t even have to follow through. I just want to see if you can do the Five Stages. Call it an experiment.”

“No strings attached?”

“None.”

Well, this would at least take the pressure off.

She starts to say, “The first stage—” but Evan finishes for her.

“Teasing of friends. Like I said, I know.”

“So you know what the others are too?”

“Nah, didn’t ask.”

Her smile curls higher. “Good. Knowing more would make things too easy, Mr. Saatchi.”

“And we can’t have that.”

Dalisay steps closer to him and he catches a whiff of lavender. “Once I feel you’ve adequately completed each stage, I’ll give you further instructions.”

It sounds like something out of a spy movie, and excitement begins to course through Evan’s veins. This is starting to feel fun. “So, what’s in it for me?”

“Besides learning what it feels like to lose?”

Evan can’t help but feel turned on by Dalisay’s smirk.

“Do all Five Stages—just like it’s supposed to play out, fair and square—and you win …” She thinks about it a moment, humming, then says, “The tour. The all-expenses-paid cross-country tour from Kyoto to Bangkok that Overnight’s sending me on. I know you wanted to go. So do all Five Stages and you get to go in my place. I’ve already been to most of the cities anyway.” She crosses her arms over her chest and juts out her chin, as if daring him to take the bet.

There has to be a catch, Evan can feel it. “What’s in it for you? What do you get if I fail?”

“The satisfaction of proving you wrong.”

He scoffs. “Come on, there has to be something you want. Make it an even trade.”

Dalisay considers him for a moment, looking him up and down. “I don’t know. What do you have?”

“Honestly?” He holds out his hands, gesturing to his reasonably priced clothing. “Not much. I’m not exactly in the lap of luxury.”

“Then how about something you care about? Your car or—”

With a laugh, he says, “You don’t want my car. Trust me.” He wouldn’t thrust Bettie upon anyone, even his worst enemy.

She seems to believe him, and rightly so. “Fine. How about if you lose, I get to go on one of your trips, since you seem to love Europe so much.Ooh, Vatican City! You go to Italy all the time, right? I can check that off the bucket list. Finally see what all the fuss is about.”

“Deal.” Evan’s smile widens. “What about the rules? It sounds too easy.”

“Easy?” Dalisay laughs. “The only rule is you have to play fair. Really convince me. Go through all the stages like you’re supposed to, no cheating or half-assing it.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I will full-ass it. Whole-ass.”

“ ‘Whole-ass’?” Dalisay almost laughs again, and Evan feels a touch of accomplishment.

“So when do we start?”

“Right now. The second we’re done here, it’s no contact.”

“No contact?”

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