Page 8 of The Dating Dare

“Oh, quiet, you.” She glared at him for being so annoying yet so good-looking. “Were you planning on doing this the entire time we were playing truth or dare?”

“Yup. That’s why I suggested the game. It was a stroke of genius,” he said excitedly, so proud of himself. He needed to quit being so adorable.

How did his eyes twinkle when he smiled? It shouldn’t be possible. Maybe it was the lighting at the bar. She tested out a smile to see if she could do it, too.

“Um… you okay?” Seth asked, his gaze skimming her face with concern. “Your eyes are twitching.”

“Of course, I’m okay.” She whipped away her smile, abandoning her failed experiment.

“I think you’re stalling.”

“I don’t need to stall.” She was stalling.

Temptation sang its siren’s call to her. It would be for a short duration with a hard end time, so it couldn’t become anything serious. And there was no chance her love life and real life would collide into each other if they were discreet. They would keep their dates completely under wraps for a month. No one needed to know.There. Chaos and annihilation avoided.

She was obviously oversimplifying things, but she wanted this. Besides, Seth Kim was a player. He was just looking for a fun fling while he house-sat in a sleepy little town. That was exactly what she wanted, too. There was no doubt she was attracted to him, and he was fun to be with. And she really wanted to be not-alone for a while. Of course, she wasn’t going to jump into bed with himright away, but she wasn’t adverse to considering it. Her vagina cheered.

She briefly thought about Roger, but their arrangement was flexible and nonexclusive. They had paused their arrangement while he was in a relationship for a few months a couple years ago. This would be something like that but even shorter. There was no deterrent there.

As for the last bit about not falling for him? That was laughable. Tara hadn’t made the mistake of giving her heart away since college. She was a quick learner. Love warped some people into jealous, possessive, and manipulative assholes, while it turned others into simpering putty who desperately molded themselves to fit the person they loved. Soon the relationship felt like a cage without light. She valued her autonomy too much to risk falling in love. And she never wanted to become the one to stifle another person’s spirit.

Plus, Seth was Landon’s younger brother and Aubrey’s brother-in-law. Hell, he was practicallyherlittle brother by default. A sexy-as-hell, mama-would-like-some stud of a little brother, but there was no way she would fall for him.

Are you done convincing yourself? Yes.

His sobriety test assured him that Tara was the one making the decision and not the alcohol. No matter how much he wanted to date her, he wanted her to choose him because she wanted to, not on a drunken whim.

“So what will it be?” he prodded. Her prolonged silence was fraying his nerves. “I understand it’ll be challenging not to fall in love with me.”

“Honey, please.” Tara snorted. “You’re pretty to look at, and Imight be a smidgeon attracted to you, but love is definitely not on the horizon.”

A smidgeon attracted to me? I’ll take that.He liked having room to grow.

“That’s perfect. I’ll be moving out of the country in a month. What’s the harm in going out on a few dates with me?” It would be short and oh so sweet. A perfect pastime to keep his stay in Weldon interesting. “At the very least, I’ll make certain we have fun.”

“What’s up with the absurd condition anyway? The chances of me falling in love with you is a big fat zero.” She stared at him as though he was an alien species. Then her expression turned wily. “Maybe you’reafraidof someone falling in love with you. Have you sworn off love and happily ever after? Is that why you hate weddings?”

Seth blinked rapidly as her words triggered unwanted memories. He’d been burned. Very badly. And love wasn’t something he intended to give another try. But in this instance, he’d placed the condition mainly to coax Tara into accepting. With her competitive edge, she would no doubt love the chance to prove him wrong. But maybe he’d inadvertently revealed too much of himself as well.

“Not believing in love and being afraid of it are completely different things,” he said lightly. “I just wanted to ensure that no one’s feelings got hurt in our little month of fun.”

“So does the condition apply to you as well? Can you go on four whole dates with yours truly and not fall for me?” Tara fluttered her eyelashes at him. “I don’t know. I think your chances are pretty slim.”

“I’m willing to take the risk.” His stomach did a funny little dance. Was he underestimating the risk?No. He’d vowed to never fall in love again after Jessica, and his heart hadn’t been in the remotest danger since. And it wouldn’t be now. “Okay. Let’s stop playing around and get to the point. Do you accept the dare or not? There’s no shame inchickening out, Tara. All you have to do is say uncle and drink that lovely glass of beer in front of you.”

She worried her bottom lip, drawing his attention there.Damn. She had the most kissable lips he’d ever seen, and he’d seen many beautiful women in his line of work. There was just something about them. He wet his lips, imagining how they would feel against his own. They were the perfect shade of deep pink, and the bottom lip was just a little fuller than her top one with a light split down the middle, plumping up the two halves. Heat spread through his body, and the need to kiss her became almost unbearable.

“I accept your dare,” she said, slapping her hand on the counter as though she was calling his bet at a poker table.

Seth stared blankly at her, struggling to disperse the fog of desire clouding his mind. More than anything, he was shocked by her acquiescence. He didn’t think he had a real chance with her. Even though he was the one who’d suggested the dare, a flash of nervousness hit him. He had no idea what he was getting into, did he? She wasn’t just any other woman. She was Tara. He was already well on his way to being infatuated with her. Taking his eyes off of her when she was nearby was a study in discipline.

Could he say with confidence that he wouldn’t feel more for her as the month passed? It was a solid maybe.Well, fuck it.He was moving to Paris in a month. He intended to make it a month to remember with this incredible woman who made him dizzy with desire.Call it a farewell gift to myself.

“Good choice,” he said, unable to hold back his wolfish grin. “You won’t regret it.”

A soft blush climbed to her cheeks, but her words were as dry as the Mohave Desert. “There’s that inflated ego again.”

“Come sit down,” Seth said, patting the seat beside him. He stillcould hardly believe that she’d agreed to his dare. He wanted her close by to assure him that it was really happening. “You’ve been standing behind the bar this whole time. Don’t your legs get tired?”

---