Page 55 of The Love Wager

The party inside is winding down, and a few people are stumbling to their cars, their attention catching on us as Nick turns and tugs his hair into his hands, breathing heavily.

“It was the only way to get you the help you needed, Nick. What did you expect me to do?”

Storming toward the house, he rips the door open and strides inside, leaving me on the tailgate, wondering how bad this meltdown is going to be.

I follow him, not knowing what he’ll do once he’s inside.

I glimpse him heading into the bathroom as I catch up to him. When I get inside, he’s splashing his face with water.

I silently close the door behind me. “You would’ve done that same thing.”

“The fuck I would’ve, Brooks. That’s our family legacy. That’s everything Dad left behind. We’re going to lose everything. All so, what, I could get a little better?”

A little?

I swallow, unable to bring myself to ask him what that means. It would break me to know we’ve gone through so much, that we’re going through so much still, and he’s not fully healed.

“It’s going to be fine. I’ve got something going that’s going to fix it.”

“Excuse me? We have five days to pay the bank.Five!”

He’s gotten louder as he’s gone on, and I motion for him to be quiet as I look toward the bathroom door. “Calm down, will you?”

“There’s no fucking way I’m calming down. This is serious!”

“I know it’s serious, Nick. Goddammit, I’m the one who fixed it all! I’m doing the work, not you! So, get the fuck off your high horse!”

“Doing what work? Because if you had the money, you’d have paid the bank already.” He crosses his arms over his chest as he stares me down.

There’s this odd sensation in my stomach, coiling tightly and telling me to keep my mouth shut. I ignore it. “Indie and I have a deal. Taylor has a bet with her to give love a shot, and I’m helping her make it look real. We’re going to split the money in the end. She needs it for her business. I need it to save our asses.”

He laughs. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?!”

His reaction makes me angry and livid, but I try to remain calm. I don’t want this shit to trigger anything dark in him to surface.

I can fall apart later. This is what I didn’t want. I wanted this to go smoothly so I could collect the money and fix it all before Nick ever found out.

“So earlier, in the truck, that was you making shit look real to win Taylor’s bet with Indie?”

“Yes.”

“So, tomorrow, when she leaves…” Nick trails off, giving me plenty of space to give him the truth.

But the truth is, Indie and I, while it feels amazing to spend time with her, can’t be more than we are. A wager with an eventual end. Though I was hoping it wouldn’t have a messy ending, it seems inevitable.

“When she leaves, she leaves. She’s nothing more than a means to an end. I saw an opportunity to save our asses, and I did so.”

“Wow. That’s fucking cold,” he accuses, his eyes narrowing on me as he whistles.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had fun with her. But we both knew what this was when it began. We both know tomorrow is the end of this. I just have to make it through tonight, which you’re not making it easy on me.”

“I can’t believe that all this time, I thought you finally found someone. It was all a ruse.” He shakes his head. “It’s like I don’t even know you at all.”

“Don’t be like that. I did all this for you.”

“Did you? As much as you think you’re being noble right now, you’re using her. Not only that, but you’re playing Taylor. That’s fucked.”

“I—”

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