Page 59 of The Love Wager

Right now, he just needed to see Hal.

Hallie

“You really need to buy a couch.”

Hallie and Jack were sitting side by side on the floor with their backs resting against the wall, their legs stretched straight in front of them. They’d been watching another episode ofYouon Netflix, and it had just ended. She looked at him and said, “Is this hard on your old man back?”

“Funny girl.” He put his hand on top of her head and tousled so hard she kind of tipped over, making her squeal and laugh. “It’s hard on my one-year-older-than-you ass when your chunky boy won’t get off of me.”

Tigger had plopped his huge body on Jack’s lap the minute he’d sat down and hadn’t moved since.

“So I didn’t even ask—did you have any fun at all in Minneapolis?” Hallie felt a little bad that she knew almost nothing about his job, but they had so much fun when they hung out that neither of their careers really ever entered the conversation.

“It sucked.” He scratched behind Tigger’s ear with one hand while grabbing the remote and flipping through Netflix with the other. “The work was fine, but usually when I go up there, I stay with my uncle and it’s a whole big family thing. He passed away since my last trip, though, so it was just, I don’t know, weird now.”

His uncle Mack.She remembered his sister mentioning him. She didn’t want to pry or make him sad, so she just said, “That really sucks.”

He nodded and looked like he was casually watching the TV as he scrolled for something to put on, but his Adam’s apple moved around a big swallow before he said, “I kind of wasn’t prepared for what a gut-punch it would be, honestly.”

She reached out a hand and squeezed his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, like it was nothing. “It’s no big deal, so quit looking at me like I’m a weepy little kid.”

That made her pinch the arm she’d been softly squeezing. “I’m doing no such thing.”

“Bullshit.” He grinned at her and said, “By the way, Kayla dumped me over the phone yesterday.”

“Oh, no.”Poor Jack. “The PhD candidate?”

He nodded.

“Did she say why?” She couldn’t imagine anyone not being into Jack. He was hilarious, charming, and damn pretty to look at; what the hell was wrong with Kayla? Even though he hadn’t said a lot to Hallie about her, she suspected he’d kind of been hoping it would pan out into a real relationship.

“Ah, you know,” he murmured, his eyes still on the TV.

“No, I don’t know.”

He shook his head and made a dismissive noise.

“Well, what did she say exactly?”

“Hal.” He started laughing, and the sadness in his eyes went away when he looked at her, thank God. “Settle your ass down—she just wasn’t feeling me. It happens.”

She laughed with him, because regardlesss of everything else, she was so incredibly happy Jack was back that it was hard to stop smiling. She liked Alex as a romantic partner, but she realized she had the most fun hanging out with Jack. They’d gobbled down ice cream as they watched TV, and he hadn’t even judged when she’d licked the bowl and then helped him finish his ice cream as well.

Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Alex, but she didn’t feel like texting him until after Jack left. But when she looked at the text, it read:Can I call you? It’s important.

Hallie swallowed and wondered what was up. Was he regretting saying yes to the weekend in Vail? She responded:Of course.

“I have to take a call—I’ll be right back. Just sit and watch the movie,” she said as she stood and went into the bedroom.

“Like this guy will let me do anything else,” Jack muttered, scratching Tigger’s big head.

She went into the bedroom, closed the door, and sat down on her bed. When the phone rang, she answered with, “Tigger loves his toys.”

“Oh. Good.” Hallie heard Alex clear his throat before he said, “Listen, I’m really bad at this stuff, so I’m just going to say it. You seem really great, but I don’t think this is going to work.”

Hallie’s heart started beating in her neck as he continuedto speak uncomfortably. “Some guy is going to be really lucky, because you’re an awesome girl, but I just don’t think I’m that guy.”

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