Page 34 of The Love Wager

“Oh,” I rub my chest with my right hand. “I needed that laugh.”

“Why? Did dancing go badly? I can’t imagine it did. I’ve seen you dance.” Nick starts shining the bar with his rag as a group of local college kids walks in, their laughter loud enough to have Butch turning in his booth and giving them a look that saysbehave or I’ll bounce you out.

I smirk. “No. Dancing was fine. Had to go into Gatesville, though, with Indie to get some boobineers or something like that.”

Nick stops, eyeing me with an eyebrow quirked. “You did what to Indie’s boobs?”

“No! It’s some kind of table favor or something. I don’t know. Someone canceled at the last minute for delivery, so Taylor needed us to pick them up.”

“And?” he prods.

He’s not going to let this go.He can sense when something is up with me, just like I can with him.

“Was the ride awkward? Being you did something to her boobs and all?”

This pulls another snicker from me, and I roll my eyes.Pulling a beer from the ice bin, I pop the top and shuck it into the bowl Nick and Travis have going for the night.

“No. I just… we talked about Caroline.”

Nick stiffens, pausing his fake cleaning. “Damn. Haven’t heard that name in… what, fifteen years?”

It’s true. Once she and I were done, I never looked back.

“Yeah.”

“So, stuff with Indie is really getting serious, huh?”

“What? No. It was just a long drive.”

He narrows his eyes at me.

“I’m going to get some of the accounting done. I’ll see you later. I’ll buy food?”

He nods. “Oh, hey! The bank called again. I got the info and all that on your desk.”

My heart palpates, and I swallow my beer. “Oh, what did they say?”

“Nothing to me. It’s not my name on the business they called about.” His tone changed a bit as he spoke, but I wrote it off as nothing and turned for the office.

I’m going to have to figure out how to hold the bank off until this bet with Indie is in the bag, and I can pay them.Or shit with Nick is going to get hairy.

Taylor’s family estate is massive. The house is reminiscent of a farmhouse style, even though I don’t think they have an animal on the property other than Bo. I sip my beer as I watch Taylor’s chocolate lab wander beneath lawn chairs and people, looking for fallen food or the chance scratch behind the ear.

Taylor and Spencer are near the bonfire. She’s on his lap, whispering in his ear as his shit-eating grin splits his lips playfully before he tickles her. Her laugh carries down the small hill I’m on, surrounded by people from the bridal party.

Tonight was Taylor’s idea of giving us all a bit of reprieve from all the wedding festivities and being on my third beer after the catered meal we had inside has me relaxing, I will say.

“Can’t help but be envious of them,” Travis says from beside me.

Taylor told each of us we could bring a plus one, and Travis seemed like he could use a night out desperately. Though his sour mood isn’t making for good company.

“They’re tied to each other for the rest of their lives,” I grumble, turning my eyes away from the display of PDA as if I’m not thinking about just how much it would be nice to have that kind of comfort with someone.

A flicker of the fiery redhead I’ve had run-ins with dances through my brain, and I kick it away. I don’t have time to fall for a fling. Especially not one I have a deal with. If I’m going to saveThe Place,I need this to go as smoothly as possible.

“Sure. Whatever,” Travis says as if he doesn’t believe me.

“What’s with you?” I ask him, looking his way.

---