The Bet (The Bet #1)(5)

So basically she wasn’t going to act at all. She just had to make sure her heart didn’t get broken into a bazillion pieces by the billionaire himself.

“I can’t do this.”

“Of course you can’t do this,” Char repeated, her voice rose a few octaves. “Do you have any idea what that man did to you in college? Are the memories still fuzzy? Because I’m pretty sure he slept with you and then pretended like it didn’t happen.”

“I know.” Kacey’s voice was shaky. “But in his defense, I never tried to talk to him either…”

“Don’t defend the devil, Kace. Seriously. You guys were best friends your whole lives! Remember? I was the third wheel. I saw your love drama play out quite nicely and then get run over by a truck that night. Don’t do it.”

Kacey knew what Char was saying made sense, but… “I already told him I would.”

“Then get out of it!”

Kacey shook her head and said in a small voice, “I can’t.”

Char’s eyes narrowed. She took three deep breaths then motioned for the waitress.

“Yes?” the waitress asked.

“We’re going to need tequila, stat.”

“Char, this is hardly the time for tequila,” Kacey protested.

“Really? You just got engaged to the most famous bachelor in Seattle in order to play nice and do him a favor. Again, Exhibit A: HE LEFT YOU!”

“Keep your voice down!” Kacey hushed her friend and offered apologetic smiles to the people staring at them from their booths. “It’s only the weekend.” Besides, Char had no idea Kacey was still in so much debt from school. She had pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes about her graduation claiming she was only a class short, not seven.

“Right.” Char snorted. “If I know Jake, and I think I do, this isn’t just for the weekend. He has something up his sleeve. The more handsome they are, the more manipulative. Believe me.”

The tequila was placed on the table, and Char took a shot before saying anything more. “Besides, just because you agreed to this farce of an engagement, he’s going to be thinking he can put his hands all over your hot body.”

Kacey rolled her eyes. “He dates models and, apparently, strippers. Look at me, Char. Do I look like either? I’m not a whore. I’m not going to let him take advantage of me.”

Char grunted. “Hmph! Haven’t let anyone take advantage of you since that night and you know it. You’re still hung up on him and it’s taken you all of college to get over it! And now you’ll be back to square one.”

Ignoring Char’s obvious slight to her inability to trap down a man, Kacey looked away and huffed. Her fingers touched the edge of the tequila bottle, and thoughts of Jake poured in on their own accord.

“What the hell am I doing?”

“Now, she says it.” Char shook her head and took another shot.

“I mean…” Kacey looked down at her hands. “I have to be alone with him for more than three days, and even then I have to lie to his entire family!”

“And let’s be honest,” Char interjected, her speech slightly louder than normal. “You’re like the worst liar on the planet.”

“Am not.” Travis, Jake’s spawn of a brother was. But Kacey refused to think about Travis. The last time she saw him, he yelled at her for running over their mailbox during Christmas break. She cried, he yelled some more, and then refused to speak to her the rest of the time she was visiting. That was three years ago.

“Are too!” Char poked her manicured finger across the table. “Remember that one time we tried to sneak out of the house and go to Jake’s birthday party in high school?”

“No,” Kacey lied, trying desperately to swallow the giant lump of guilt in her throat.

“Really? Out of all the times during this day that you would say no, you choose now? Seriously? What happened to no when you were talking to Jake? Or no when he was propositioning you for—”

“Totally different and you know it. Besides, I would like to point out that I didn’t tell my mom a terrible lie. If the dog had stopped barking, then…”

Char threw her head back and laughed. “Let’s not blame the dog. Even if the dog had stopped barking, you used that as an excuse to admit all to your mom. And later told me it was a sign from God that you were sinning.”

Kacey looked away. Just because her friend was totally right didn’t mean she had to actually acknowledge the fact. So what? Yeah, she was a little bit of a prude, but the one time, the one time she had decided in her life to go for it…

She was royally screwed.

In more ways than one.

Kacey let out a large sigh and motioned for Char to pour her a shot. “Regardless, I said yes, and you know how I am with commitment.”

Char swore. “You’re more loyal than my dog, and he’s blind, meaning he depends on me for everything, including when and where to go pee.”

“Your encouragement is astonishing.” Kacey smiled sweetly and followed her shot with a large gulp of water. She needed a clear head if she was to adequately plan how the weekend was going to progress. One thing was for sure. Jake couldn’t touch her — he couldn’t put one of his hands on her. If he did, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to say no.