The Bet (The Bet #1)(35)

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.” Kacey’s legs suddenly felt weak.

“You’re not fine, Kace. You’re shaking. What aren’t you telling me?”

Oh, just about everything, she wanted to say.

Defeated, she just hung her head and remained silent.

Travis cursed. “Fine, don’t tell me, but I’m here, if you ever want to talk.” He began walking away then turned around. “Listen, Kace, I don’t know what happened between you two. I know it’s none of my business, but it had to have been bad for you guys to have such a falling out. Promise me you’ll talk to someone, even if it’s not me.”

She would do no such thing, but she nodded her head anyway. Nobody knew. Well, except her one girlfriend, but her parents died thinking Kacey was eventually going to be marrying into the Titus family.

God, it felt like the ultimate letdown.

Her parents were so proud of her going to school, and they loved Jake like a son. They always joked about taking family vacations together and spending all the holidays baking cookies.

What do you do when the life you thought you were supposed to have is stolen from you? What do you do when it’s your fault and you can’t even tell anyone the reason why? What do you do when the one person that caused you the most pain in your entire life is suddenly offering you everything you’ve ever wanted on a silver platter? She was facing the ultimate in golden handcuffs, because she knew Jake possibly better than anyone. It wouldn’t take much to convince him to truly marry her. His parents would see to that, especially if he broke things off.

What was she doing? Did she really want to be with a guy who couldn’t keep it in his pants?

Her hands were still shaking from the encounter.

It was too real. Smelling a foreign perfume on him had successfully transferred her into the past. When she’d seen him the first time after their night together.

He’d been wearing a worn Abercrombie sweatshirt and tattered jeans. He’d looked gorgeous.

When their eyes had met, he’d smiled and walked up to her. Within minutes they’d hugged, but he hadn’t smelled like Jake.

He’d smelled like another girl, and then someone had appeared at his side and asked if he was ready to go. Another girl, a beautiful girl. She’d squeezed his butt and they’d walked off.

So started the first day of the rest of her life.

Lost in thought, she walked into the house where the family was, no doubt, planning her future marital bliss and nearly tripped over Jake, who was lying on the floor yelling.

“What happened?”

Jake was cursing up a storm, his mother was fighting a losing battle with the wine cork — no doubt trying to drown her sorrows, and his dad was trying to put ice on Jake’s eye.

Grandma Nadine was smirking, and Travis was clenching his fist.

All in all, a normal scene for the Titus house.

“He ran into the wall,” Travis said simply.

“A wall did that?” Kacey pointed at Jake’s eye. It was puffy and already starting to change colors.

“It was a big wall.” Jake moaned from the floor. “Damn wall. I hate walls.”

Travis smirked, and Grandma Nadine began to choke and fan her face.

“Okay.” Kacey wasn’t really sure what to do next, so she crouched down at eye level with Jake. Taking the ice from his father, she slapped it onto his eye as hard as possible.

Bets gasped while Grandma Nadine burst into laughter.

“Sorry,” Kacey said sweetly. “It slipped.”

Jake glared, but said nothing.

“Can we have a minute alone?” she asked.

Slowly the family trickled out of the room, leaving them alone. Kacey leaned in, wanting to whisper so nobody could hear her, just in case they were waiting to hear fighting from the kitchen.

“Never again, Jake.”

He opened his mouth to speak.

“No.” Kacey shook her head. “No, you don’t get to talk. You get to listen. Difficult task for you I’m sure, but try.”

He nodded once.

“If I’m here doing this giant favor for you, then you better learn some self-control. You can’t run around sleeping with your skanks and expect not to get caught. Cameras are everywhere, and one of these days you’re going to get careless. Do you honestly think those girls care for you anyway? I guarantee they want nothing but your money, status, and hot body. If you don’t stop grinning, I’m going to slap you.”

He swallowed convulsively and stopped smiling.

“I know it’s important to you to have your parents’ approval. And I can even respect that underneath all that selfishness you want what’s best for the company. I think I, of all people, understand that, but you can do all those things without manipulating people you love. After this weekend, I’m done. Just know that I’m done.”

Shaking, she rose to her feet.

Jake reached out and grasped her wrist. “Kace.” His eyes were uncertain, and he cursed under his breath. “I messed up.”

“Story of your life.”

He gave a half-smile. “Only when it comes to women I care about.”

Kacey believed that. She shook her head and began to walk away.

“I loved you, you know.”

She stopped in her tracks, her heart pounding out of her chest. Kacey took a few soothing breaths, then turned to face him, the man she had loved for so many years. No longer her childhood friend, but a selfish man who thought only of pleasure. “I loved you too, Jake. But this, the man you are now, not so much.”