The Bet (The Bet #1)(47)

Kacey stood there stunned. She knew the marriage wasn’t real, but for some reason his words still stung, as if he was breaking up with her all over again. And what was worse was that she was watching the entire exchange almost naked.

“What was the point of bringing her down here if it wasn’t real anyway? And why was Grandma faking a stroke!” Travis shoved Jake, causing him to fall onto the floor with a thud.

“How should I know? I was being the dutiful grandson!” Jake pointed at himself and sneered.

“Um, guys?” Kacey raised her hand.

“Not now!” they yelled in unison.

“Guys.”

They ignored her and continued to fight over whether or not Grandma was sick, Jake was lying, and why it was so important to bribe Kacey to come down to Portland. All in all, it was the worst five minutes of her life.

And then…

Bets, Wescott, and Grandma burst into the room.

Lovely.

Kacey prayed for lightning to strike.

No such luck.

“What is the meaning of this?” Wescott roared then turned a bright purple when he glanced at Kacey in the towel.

“She was naked!” Jake pointed to Kacey.

Travis rolled his eyes. “In the shower, where people usually are naked.”

Jake sneered. “And you were staring at her because you find human anatomy fascinating?”

Travis lunged for Jake’s throat, but Wescott pushed between the two. “Stop! Now I don’t know what has you boys so upset, but you’re adults. Sit down and discuss it. Don’t start throwing punches, especially when Kacey’s standing there in nothing but a towel.”

Both Travis’s and Jake’s eyes flashed to her. She wanted to die of embarrassment.

“I’ll just, um… I’ll be in my, or his…” She pointed to Travis and shook her head. “…The guest room.”

****

Travis was shaking with rage. It didn’t help that every time he closed his eyes to try to calm himself down all he saw were mental images of Kacey without any clothes, standing in his bathroom.

Jake was grumbling next to him.

“Both of you,” Wescott said, pointing. “Speak. Now.”

“At the same time?” Jake sneered.

“Smart ass,” Travis muttered.

Grandma stood behind their father, her arms folded. A tiny smile formed across her lips.

“I’ll take it from here, Wescott,” she instructed.

Their father lifted his hands in the air and walked out, pulling their mother with him.

“Listen here!” Grandma snapped, making both men jump. “I needed Kacey to come down here and that’s my business and mine alone. I told Jake to bribe her if necessary. Obviously he used my stroke as an excuse as well as money, which was fine by me, as I plan on leaving that girl an inheritance anyway. Though I’m honestly disappointed that Jake used a fake engagement to save face in front of the board. Grow a pair, son.”

Travis opened his mouth to speak.

“Don’t,” she snapped. “I’ll deal with you later, Travis, but right now my scorn is for your little brother.” He tried not to look pleased when Grandma’s eyes blazed in Jake’s direction.

“How could you! I asked one simple task of you, and you’re running around lifting skirts!”

Travis cleared his throat. “In his defense, some of the girls were wearing pants.”

Jake glared.

Grandma continued to lecture. “Now, Jake, I think it’s safe to say you’ve made a mess of things, especially in front of Kacey. I want you to pack up your things and stay the night in the condo downtown. You don’t fly out until Monday, and that will give me adequate time to do damage control with your parents. Besides, from the looks of it, the newspapers have enough photographs of you two running about that they’ll be satisfied you’re settling down.”

Travis was only half-listening. He still didn’t understand why they needed the pretense of a fake engagement. If Grandma wasn’t dying, the only people who were getting duped were his parents and Kacey. Well, them and the rest of the Twitterverse who followed Jake’s updates religiously.

Grandma said some more choice words to Jake and told him to leave.

He did, much like a dog with his tail between his legs.

“And you!” Grandma poked him in the chest. “I was counting on you!”

“Counting on me?”

“Yes, you fool! I gave you every opportunity, and you were doing so well the other night!” Grandma plopped onto the bed next to him. “Do you know how difficult it is to fake a stroke when you’re in your prime? If I have to lie down one more time…”

“Pardon?” Was she insane?

“You’ve loved her a long time, my boy.” His hands began to shake in his lap as his Grandma patted his back. “I know it was hard for you growing up, and no girl has piqued your interest since. I just thought, well… I thought having her here with your brother would make you jealous enough to finally do something about it.”

“Well, you got the jealous part right. You’re lucky I didn’t kill him the other night when I punched him.”

Grandma shook her head, and suddenly Travis felt like she was very frail. “What aren’t you telling me, Grandma?”