Page 68 of Another Christmas from Hell

“What are the terms?” Brian asked, sounding intrigued.

“A hundred dollars says that she wants me,” Bryce said, meeting his brother’s curious gaze.

“And how exactly do you plan on proving that?” Craig asked, looking thoughtful as he glanced over his shoulder at Cayley.

“By going over there so that she can climb onto my lap and give me a kiss that proves once and for all that she wants me,” Bryce said, watching as his brothers shared a look before glancing back over their shoulders and-

“We’ll take the bet,” Craig drawled, gesturing for him to get on with it. Biting back a smile, Bryce pushed his chair back and made his way across the busy diner, only pausing long enough to shove Sean out of his chair before dropping down on the freshly vacated seat across from Cayley.

“Why didn’t you sit with me?” Bryce asked, ignoring the pained grunt as Sean reluctantly climbed onto the chair next to him with a muttered, “Bastard.”

“Because your table’s full,” Cayley said, reaching for her glass of juice, only to sigh when Sean, who was back to glaring at them, snatched it out of her hand and finished it off.

“I would have made room,” Bryce murmured, unable to take his eyes off her.

God, she was so fucking beautiful.

He-

“You told me that there wasn’t any room, you bastard!” Sean bit out as he shifted that glare back to him.

Ignoring his brother, Bryce asked, “How’s the apple pie?”

“It’s the same apple pie that you just had,” Cayley pointed out with a teasing smile.

“Watching me?” Bryce asked as his gaze dropped to her beautiful lips.

“I learned to keep an eye on you and your brothers years ago or risk starvation,” Cayley said even as she reached over and-

“Ow!”

-slapped his brother’s hand and grabbed her fork, taking another bite of that apple pie that he was debating stealing.

“There’s a bet, isn’t there?” Cayley asked, looking curious as she glanced over at his brothers.

“Maybe,” Bryce said, feeling his lips pull up into a smile because she knew them so fucking well.

“What will you give me if I help you win?” Cayley asked, shifting those beautiful eyes back to him.

“What do you want?” Bryce asked, leaning back in his seat as he considered her.

“You. Tonight. Activity of my choice,” Cayley said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Sean muttered, stealing the rest of her burger with a heavy sigh.

Ignoring his brother, Bryce said, “I think that can be arranged.”

“What do I have to do to win this bet?” Cayley asked, sounding intrigued.

“Give me a bite of that pie,” Bryce said with a pointed look at the pie that he’d planned on ordering another slice of, “and then crawl onto my lap and I’ll tell you the rest.”

“And you can’t tell me the rest now?” she asked, looking thoughtful.

“No, it’s a secret,” Bryce said, only to decide that he should probably sweeten the deal. “If you come over here, I’ll think about letting you boss me around in your new supervisory position.”

“I mean, I think that was implied,” Cayley said with a helpless shrug and a heartfelt sigh.

“Was it?” Bryce asked, watching as she pushed her chair back and made her way around the table.

---