The Wager

  Never in his life had Jake ever felt so low. He’d just yelled at Grandma that morning for fixing him eggs. In fact, he’d told her to eat her own damn eggs and leave him the hell alone. Then he’d taken it a step further and actually asked for his job back. And here Char was, alone on her birthday, and apologizing for being bad company. What the hell was wrong with him? He deserved her reprimand and more, though to be honest, nobody had ever reprimanded him other than Grandma.

  And that’s when he saw it.

  The pull, the reason he was so unable to leave well enough alone—her strength. He craved what he saw in her so much—his subconscious, moral compass, everything about him was so screwed up that he craved her the same way an alcoholic craves whiskey.

  Regardless of his feelings, he needed to tread carefully. The last thing he wanted was to get involved with anyone when he knew his own life was on such shaky ground. But he could—no, he would—make it better. He was being given a second chance, to be the hero, to be the good guy, and he was going to take it.

  He stood very slowly and walked around the table to where Char was standing. With fluid movements he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. “Do you know where your parents are staying?”

  She cursed into his chest. “I could always text them; that is, if they even answer their phones. Why?”

  Jake laughed, though on the inside he was cursing a blue streak for her parents’ selfishness. “Well, I have a plan. We’re going to visit them, right now. Call work.” His heart beat a little faster in his chest, almost like a rush of adrenaline as a plan began to form in his head. Maybe it was pride, not selfish pride, but him actually being proud of a decision he was making on someone else’s behalf.

  “But Jake.” Char pulled away. “What are we going to do? Go to their little bed and breakfast and demand they wish me a happy birthday?”

  Jake laughed. “You’ll see.”

  “Jake, seriously, I’m not in the mood for games and I don’t even know where they are.”

  “We may not know, but I think I know a woman who used to work for the CIA.”

  “Huh?”

  “Let me give my people a call.”

  “Your ‘people’?” Char repeated. “I think being jobless has already addled that sexy brain of yours.” With a gasp she covered her mouth. “It was the wine! Crap!”

  “You think I’m sexy?” He baited her with a wink; old habits die hard. And he hadn’t participated in said habits for over a week now. The fact that she said he was sexy both terrified and excited him. Blood pumped to all the wrong places. Easy, his brain told him, it would be so easy just to bag her and then you could forget about caring. Forget about trying. The truth? He was scared shitless that the minute he took a chance on someone actually worth taking a chance on, they’d laugh in his face. He wasn’t good enough for Kacey; why the hell would he be good enough for Char?

  “No.” She turned away and shook her head as if trying to understand where saying “sexy” had come from.

  “It’s okay.” Jake came up behind her. “Lots of women do.”

  “I needed to hear you say that.”

  “Why?” He tensed as she turned around and ran her fingers up and down his chest.

  “It helps me remember what a selfish ass you are.”

  “You may change your tune after this afternoon.”

  “I have my doubts.”

  Jake leaned in until their lips were a breath apart. “I live to prove you wrong.”

  Char sighed. “Fine, make the call. I’m worthless at work anyways.”

  Grinning, Jake pulled out his phone and dialed Grandma’s number. She answered on the second ring. “This better be good, Jake. I’m winning.”

  “I need you to find someone.”

  Grandma was silent.

  Jake groaned. “It’s for Char.”

  “Text me specifics.” Grandma said in a low voice, “I’ll see what I can do.”

  The phone clicked off and Jake shoved it into his back pocket. Char was glaring at him through long lashes. “That’s your people?”

  “Sweetheart, you have no idea.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grabbed the food with his other hand. “Now, run home, change into something sexy, grab an overnight bag and meet me back here in an hour. We have some celebrating to do.”

  Char’s shoulders slumped beneath Jake’s arm. “You don’t have to do this. Seriously, I’m fine now. See? All better.” She pointed at her face and managed a pathetic smile.

  He didn’t have the heart to make her feel worse by telling her how sad she looked, so he went another route. The one that made him look like an ass. At least he knew how to default into that guy. The type of male who knew exactly what to say to push a woman’s buttons. Only this time, it was to save her from herself, not to selfishly convince her to be with him. Odd, how past weaknesses could turn into strengths. He gave her a crooked grin and eyed her up and down, then reached for her face and tilted it as if examining it for age lines. “Fine. Have it your way, but if I was turning another year older—you know, approaching thirty as fast as you were—I’d want to be with someone who knew how to have a good time. Besides, I’ll buy you dinner.”

  Her eyes narrowed, “But you’re jobless.”

  “And as you pointed out… still a millionaire.” Jake set the wine bottle down on the table and grabbed Char’s hand and kissed it. “Let me make up for it. Please.” The last time he’d said please and meant it had been a year ago when he’d begged Kacey to go with him to see his parents. Great; so basically the last time he’d said please and actually meant it for non-selfish reasons he’d been eight and wanted a popsicle for his invisible friend.

  Her eyes darted back and forth between the door and the floor. “Fine, but just… don’t be too nice. I may mistake it for pity and get mad at you all over again.”

  “Deal.” He nodded toward the door. “Now drive your sexy ass home and put on something…” He stepped back and looked her up and down. “hot. Put on something hot.”

  “This isn’t hot?” She twirled in front of him, her good humor seeming to return. He chuckled as she twirled like a little kid. Damn, she really was beautiful. He cleared his throat and looked away.

  “You’d look beautiful in anything, but you need to be wearing a birthday outfit.”

  Char’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Okay. I’ll be back soon.”

  Jake nodded as he watched the sway of her hips as she walked off. Once she reached the door, Char turned. “Jake…”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Yeah, well, I still don’t like you.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I don’t like you either.”

  The door clicked shut and Jake had to take a seat to gather his thoughts. The problem was, they were all over the place. He was growing a bit too attached to Char’s smiles.

  And it killed him inside to know that she felt that alone. What kind of person did that make him? That he would sit there and complain about his lot in life when she barely had an oven that worked and a family that could care less that it was her birthday?

  If anything, his family cared too much.

  And he’d never appreciated it until this moment.

  With a shaky hand, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Travis’s number.

  “Hello?” Travis answered gruffly.

  “I’ll do it.”

  “Huh?” Travis coughed. “Did you mean to call me?”

  Jake rolled his eyes. “Stop being difficult. I said I’ll do it, and I’ll stand by that.”

  The phone went silent.

  “You still there?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah.” Travis laughed. “I was just checking the time to see if it was happy hour or something. You drunk?”

  “I’m not drunk!” Jake yelled, getting more irritated by the minute. “I just wanted you to know I thought about it and I want to do it. I want to walk Kacey down the aisle with Dad.” He hadn’t meant
for his voice to crack at the end. Hell, how many times would his past haunt him? He envisioned Bill’s smile, the way he’d looked at Kacey, and his gut clenched again. It was the least he could do for family—for hers and for his.

  “Thank you.” Travis’s voice was hoarse. “It’s… it will just mean a lot.”

  Needing to lighten the subject, Jake laughed. “Yeah, well, consider my good deed done for the year.”

  “Done.” Travis sighed. “Everything else good?”

  “Yeah.” Jake looked around the empty house and for the first time in his life felt guilty about what he had. Guilty that he had taken it for granted. “It will be.”

  “You okay?”

  “Great.” Jake cleared his throat. “Listen, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Bye.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Char took more than an hour to get ready. Nothing looked good, and she at least wanted to look good if she was going to be seen with a celebrity. What was she supposed to wear, anyway? The way Jake had been looking at her made her shiver. Well, everything was confusing the crap out of her, and making her suddenly thankful that she took an hour rather than her usual twenty minutes. She had to keep reminding herself that he probably just felt sorry for her. He wasn’t really that altruistic. He was Jake Titus, for crying out loud. When he passed mirrors they got jealous if he didn’t look at least once.

  She drove her beat up Ford Escape down the driveway to his house, alternating between full-out panic, wanting to turn around, then determination. It was her birthday. She should have fun. She deserved that much and right now the only future she had was a four-book series on her Kindle and a bottle of wine.

  If she turned around she’d just fall asleep to Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake doing their seventh history of rap, and then awaken to Carson Daly’s two o’clock in the morning ramblings.

  Depressing. To say the least.

  Jake was already waiting for her when she pulled the car to a stop in front of the house.

  Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground. What the—she’d only seen a car like that on TV and even then she wasn’t sure they were actually real.

  One thing was for certain: she was clearly in over her head. Suddenly it felt wrong to have her old Ford parked next to his car.

  She grabbed her purse and stepped out of the SUV.

  Jake had on fitted jeans, aviator sunglasses, and a pale blue shirt with a few buttons opened at the top. He completed the effect with a fitted camel-colored leather jacket and well, to be honest, he was almost too much to stare at. But it wasn’t as if she could look at the car. It was practically blinding her. It was… it was incredible. No words would come.

  “You like the car?” He asked, throwing the keys in her direction. She nearly stumbled as she caught them out of the air.

  “Is it real?”

  Jake laughed. “Is what real? The car?”

  Char could only nod.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you start it and find out?”

  Eager to get inside the alien-looking thing, she quickly pulled open the driver’s door and sat down in the plush leather seat. It fit her like a glove. It was as if the car was molding around her body, fitting her like a dress. “What is this?”

  “A Bugatti Veyron.”

  “It’s—” Char ran her hands across the steering wheel and looked at Jake, who was now sitting in the passenger seat. “It’s beautiful. Can cars be beautiful?”

  Laughing, Jake reached across and caressed the seat next to Char’s leg. “You feel this?”

  She’d have to be dead not to feel the heat from his fingertips as they caressed the leather right next to her thigh.

  “It’s hand-stitched. Amazing, isn’t it? That a car could feel sexy. But.” His hand moved to her leg. “I wanted you to feel sexy on your birthday. You look beautiful, by the way. I love red.”

  She’d chosen a tight-fitting red halter-top dress and gold heels. That was after she’d made a hurricane out of her bedroom.

  “You ready to go?” Jake pulled back. “You can drive if you want.”

  Char shook her head and edged out of the driver’s seat. “No way. It’s too expensive for me to drive. I’d be going ten down the freeway for fear someone would hit us.”

  Jake walked around the car and helped her get the rest of the way out of the low seat, but she ended up stumbling into his arms looking all kinds of clumsy. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” His eyes focused on her lips for a brief second before he stepped back. “First rule of birthdays… you never have to be sorry. Now, get in the car. We have some parents to find.”

  “Jake, I doubt you’ll ever find them—”

  “Already did, or should I say Grandma did? They’re staying at the first place Grandma called. She said it was one of the nicer places on Alkai and would be a good place to start. All she did was call and say she was on her deathbed and needed to talk to her son. She gave him your dad’s name and well… hung up.”

  “She’s an evil genius.”

  Jake put the car in drive. “One day she’ll rule the world. Mark my words.” He reached across her seat and buckled her seat belt. “Hold on. I’ve only driven this thing once and it’s fast.”

  ***

  He wasn’t kidding about the car being fast. Or the fact that he’d only driven it once. A few times they got so lost in their conversation that he didn’t even realize he was doing over a hundred miles an hour.

  For once in her life, Char felt like she was in a fairy tale. When she was younger she’d been the girl that Jake didn’t fall for, and now… She stole a glance at him while he changed radio stations. She was his Cinderella. It felt good, even if it was out of pity. For once, someone had picked her.

  She’d never realized how much she needed it. Until now.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jake pulled the car into the first parking spot. “This looks like the place. They think they’ve won some sort of contest put on by the bed and breakfast. I had to time it right so that we’d arrive when they were seated for cocktails.”

  Char laughed. “Wow, you’re just as bad as your grandma with all your plotting.”

  “Good to know that if I never get my job back I can at least manipulate people for a living. Glad that’s the only thing my grandma passed down to me.”

  “That and impeccable taste.” Char murmured, looking at the car.

  “I think so, too.” Jake said, but when Char looked at him he wasn’t staring at the car; he was staring at her. It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real. He held out his arm. “Shall we?”

  Giggling, she took his arm and walked with him into the large bed and breakfast. It was attached to a really high-end restaurant nestled right on Alkai Beach. The sun was still perched high in the sky but it wasn’t too hot to go for a walk on the beach or have dinner outside. Char wanted to do both. That was, if she didn’t turn into a pumpkin first.

  “You ready?” Jake whispered in her ear once he opened the door for her.

  Unable to find her words, she gripped his arm and nodded.

  The smell of rich food flooded her senses as they walked arm in arm into the building.

  “Ah, Mr. Titus!” An elderly gentleman in a full tux stood in front of them. “We have the table set to your specifications. Would you care to start with champagne?”

  Jake looked at Char as if waiting for her opinion.

  “C-champagne’s fine.” She swallowed the nervousness in her throat as her gaze scanned the restaurant and finally landed on her parents. They were sitting in a corner in deep conversation.

  Char’s breath hitched. Suddenly losing her nerve, she made a move to back away but Jake held her firm. When both of her parents looked her way with curiosity, Jake pretended not to care who they were; he merely nodded in their direction as the waiter led them to their own private section of the restaurant.

  Char almost cried when she saw the table. It was littered with rose petals and on the plates, d
rawn in chocolate, was “Happy Birthday.” Strawberries were formed around the message. In the corner there was a giant present.

  She had to hold back the tears so they didn’t stream down her face and ruin her makeup. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. It was inconceivable that Jake could even think to do something like this, let alone plan it in an hour! It had to be Grandma’s work. No way did he possess that big a heart… Either that or he just felt guilty that she’d accused him of being selfish.

  He went to pull out her chair and whispered again in her ear. “Happy Birthday.”

  Char felt herself blush as she focused on breathing. It was damn difficult, considering she’d just felt his lips on the tips of her ear, causing her heart to pound like crazy.

  Jake took his seat as the waiter popped the cork on the champagne bottle. When Jake excused him, they were left alone with their appetizers and champagne.

  “Char?” Her mother’s voice was tinged with excitement and surprise. “Is that you, honey?”

  With a tight smile, Char greeted her mom and dad as they made their way to the private table, their eyes taking in every single detail and then finally landing on Jake.

  “Jake Titus?” Her father held out his hand. “Heard you were just let go by your own grandmother. That’s gotta hurt. How ya holdin’ up?”

  Char had to fight to keep her mouth from dropping open.

  With a smooth elegance, Jake stood and shook her father’s hand. “Obviously, I’m doing fantastic. A job’s a job. All that matters is that Char’s here to help support me. As long as I have her, I’m fine.”

  Had she not known he was lying, she would have believed him. Her mother looked between the two of them. “Are you… dating?”