The Bet (The Bet #1)(21)

He shook his head but ended up grinning like a fool when she picked up a second piece. It was still hot, and she blew on it to cool it off. He found himself so damn distracted by the way her lips pouted over his chicken that it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to take her on his family’s dinner table.

Ah, lust by chicken. How humiliating.

Travis looked longingly at the table again. Maybe if he just pushed all the dishes to the ground. Too bad she wasn’t wearing a skirt. What was wrong with him? Was he really weighing his options here on where best to screw his brother’s fiancée?

His parents would be livid.

Grandma, however, would probably applaud then take pictures for the scrapbook. Though he wasn’t so sure that scrapbook would be legal, considering its pornographic nature.

Grandmothers made grandsons so proud at times.

Travis sighed and quickly grabbed the fork from Kacey’s hand. He couldn’t take much more.

“So, Kacey…” His mother shoveled more food into her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and winked. He groaned. She didn’t know how to converse over dinner and eat at the same time. It made for very long dinner conversation and even more torture for everyone around them.

“…I was just wondering…” She took another sip of wine.

He eyed his dad, trying to give him a private message of stealing his mother’s plate and wine so she would spit it out faster.

“…Are you guys going to move into Jake’s place once the wedding is over, or buy something new?”

His dad elbowed his mom.

What were they getting at?

Kacey looked to Travis for help. He gave a slow shake of his head.

“Uh,” Kacey said as she pushed food around her plate. “The thing is, I have a really small apartment, so Jake’s would be best, but I kinda don’t want to live downtown.”

“Perfect!” His mother clapped her hands and nudged his father. He jumped out of his seat, grabbed an envelope, then brought it over to Kacey.

“Just consider it an early wedding present.”

It was like Leave it to Beaver threw up at the table. His father stood behind his mother, holding her shoulders, and both their heads were tilted with frozen smiles on their faces.

Travis glanced at Grandma. At least she was acting normal, drinking her fourth glass of wine, bless her heart.

Kacey’s hands were shaking. No doubt they were giving her something ridiculously expensive. Travis leaned over and nearly choked. He really shouldn’t eat in front of these people ever again.

A house.

They’d bought a house.

And it wasn’t just any house. It was nestled quite nicely on Lake Washington, in prime real estate.

“We thought you might want something close to downtown but not too close that you can’t enjoy everything Seattle has to offer.” His mother squeezed his dad’s hand, and they sighed simultaneously.

Wescott patted Kacey’s hand. “It’s been in the family for years. Lots of homes, lots of investments, but it’s yours if you want it.”

Kacey still hadn’t looked up from the deed.

Travis didn’t know what to do, so he changed the subject. “Hey, is it cool if Kacey and I go start cutting the pie for dessert?”

His mom and dad nodded in unison.

He practically had to drag Kacey out of her chair. Once they were in the kitchen he very gently pulled the deed from her hands and made her sit in a chair.

She promptly burst into tears.

****

Kacey felt like such an idiot for crying. But since her parents had died a few years back, she’d always wanted to have a home. A real home.

A home like the one Jake’s parents had just given them.

And it was all a lie. She felt violently ill in that moment and placed her head between her knees, trying to take large gasps of air.

“Hey, hey, it’s fine, it’s okay.” Travis rubbed her back. “Just breathe. You’re just having a panic attack. You’ll be fine. There’s my girl. Just breathe.” He rubbed slow circles around her neck until she finally calmed down and laid her head on his lap.

“Wanna talk about it, Kace?”

She shrugged. She didn’t really want to talk about it to anyone, least of all Travis. She still wasn’t sure what alien species had taken over his body to make him both gorgeous and nice, but part of her felt like she couldn’t completely trust him.

After all, he did throw rocks when he was little.

Kacey shook her head as another sob escaped her mouth. This house was full of so many memories. How many family dinners had they shared together? The food was always catered by her parents’ restaurant. Her mom and dad would drink wine with Jake’s parents, and then all the kids would watch Disney movies in the living room. And now that she was back, it was as if a huge chunk was missing. She sat in the same chair, talked with the same family she adored, but a giant piece was missing. She wasn’t sure it would ever be okay. Not after repressing the pain for so long.

She shrugged. “I feel horrible. Your poor parents think it’s real and then to make everything worse, they give us this.” She hit the packet on the table next to her. “And it’s tempting, so tempting that I hate myself for it.” It was partially the truth. She did want it, but more than that, she wanted her parents to be alive.