The Bet (The Bet #1)(9)

“Yes,” Kacey said forcing her eyes to stay closed. I will not look into his hypnotic eyes. I will not look into his hypnotic eyes. “Let’s talk about the fact that you’re manipulating me as well as asking me to convince your entire family that I love you. As if that was possible. And seriously, how are they going to fall for this? Don’t you go home, ever? Aren’t they going to be suspicious when you miraculously show up with me in tow?”

Jake cleared his throat. “Not really. Say, do you need something to drink? Water? Scotch?”

Hmm, deliberate change of subject. What the hell was up Jake’s sleeve? “Jake?” Kacey used her sweet voice. “What makes you think they’ll fall for it? Really, I think I deserve to know.”

Kacey opened her eyes to see Jake staring straight ahead, no movements, just staring. In all honestly she wondered if he was breathing at all, he seemed so tense. The flight attendant showed up in time for Jake to motion for a drink.

He downed two shots of scotch but continued to stare, and the plane hadn’t even taken off yet.

“Jake?”

“Shit…” He looked down at the floor. “They don’t know… about us.”

“What do you mean?” Kacey truly was concerned he was drunk at this point. What the heck was he talking about?

Jake cursed again. “Kace, they don’t know we had somewhat of a falling out. Okay?”

“Okay?” Kacey repeated as she mumbled a curse underneath her breath. “So tell me, what do they know?”

Jake exhaled. “All they know is that we’ve grown apart, yet still managed to stay in touch over the last few years of school, okay? It’s possible I’ve led them to assume we still hang out once a week. I update them about your life and work at the coffee shop, and that’s basically it.”

Kacey laughed. “But how would they know that? I mean, you didn’t even—”

Jake gave her a guilty look and fidgeted with his hands.

“Jake? How do they know all that?”

Grandma Nadine had always sworn that she wouldn’t update the family on Kacey’s life. It was inconceivable that she would break that promise.

“I told them, alright?” Jake all but yelled. “Geez, Kace, stop with the third degree, okay? So what? I’ve kept tabs on you. I know all about you. Just leave it be. It would have killed them to know I screwed—”

“—Your best friend,” Kacey finished.

Jake refused to make eye contact, just continued to stare straight ahead. He said nothing, not that it was all that surprising. It was what he was good at. Saying nothing when she needed him to be saying something — anything to make her feel better.

“This is your captain, we are first for takeoff, so if you’d just sit back and relax, we’ll have you in Portland within the hour.”





Chapter Four




He was a rotten bastard.

The photographer he’d hired to spy on them got a few clicks in before turning back around.

It shouldn’t have been that easy to get Kacey to kiss him, and now he felt like the biggest ass on the planet. But they had to look in love! It needed to look serious! The hand holding wasn’t enough.

So he went in for the kill.

And then opened his big fat mouth again. What the hell had he been thinking? Their past history created a giant chasm between them, one that he wasn’t sure he could fix.

The silence was going to kill him. He needed to think fast, but the only words that seemed to come to mind were. “I’m sorry, I’m an ass. All men should burn.” And truly that just seemed like he was traitor to the male population as a whole.

Plus, Kacey had plenty of opportunities to talk to him as well. The phone did work both ways. So what if he kept tabs on her? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t kept tabs on him.

He smirked and gave her a chilling glare. “Tell me you haven’t done the exact same thing to me, and I’ll let you fly back to Seattle.”

Kacey shook her head and looked down at her hands.

“What?” He nudged her. “No answer?”

She shook her head one more time and sent him a seething glare. “Curse you, Jake Titus. A hex on your fancy car, your apartment, and your little dog!”

“Um, Kace, if you’re going to include all my worldly possessions in your little hexing to make yourself feel better and all, well, maybe you should include my yacht, three summer homes, twenty-seven cars, and goldfish Sid.”

He gave a smug wink and folded his arms across his chest.

“What the h—”

The woman was trying to kill him! Kacey pinched the underside of his arm with such force he thought he was going to lose vision in his left eye.

“Don’t!”

Kacey twisted the flesh and released it.

Yes, a nasty bruise would definitely make itself known soon.

“Don’t you ever throw your money in my face like that. It isn’t polite, it isn’t nice, and I remember you before you had it all!”

Jake shook his head. “Kace, I’ve always had money.”

The plane began to taxi and Kacey reached for his hand. “Not as much money as you have now. Admit it. I knew you when you had zits.”

He felt his face burn crimson. “I never had zits.”