THE BET by Rachel Van Dyken (April 29, 2014; Forever Trade Paperback; $12.00)
"I have a proposition for you." Kacey should have run the minute those words left Seattle millionaire Jake Titus's mouth. It's been years since Kacey's seen her childhood friend Jake, but the minute Jake mentions his ill grandmother, Kacey is ready to do anything for the sweet old woman. And if that means pretending they're engaged for her sake—so be it.
But Kacey wasn't counting on Jake's older brother Travis still being there. She calls him "Satan" for a reason: she's never forgotten the way he teased and taunted her. Yet when they meet again, Travis's gorgeous smile is a direct hit to her heart . . . and Kacey's more confused than ever. As the days pass, only one thing starts to become alarmingly clear-she never should have accepted Jake's deal . . .
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Excerpt from The Bet:
“Kace!” Travis strolled into the room, absolutely
shirtless and wearing nothing but pajama pants. Was her tongue hanging out of her
mouth? Oh God, she was beginning to sweat. Geez, at least turn the air on in
this place.
Averting her eyes, she managed an awkward laugh.
“What’s up?”
“Movie night.” He threw a pillow at her and went to
the DVDs.
“Um,
is it naked movie night? I’m not sure I got that memo.”
She
looked him up and down when he turned around.
“I’m
sorry. Does my masculinity frighten your prudish nature?”
She
snorted. “Please. I just don’t want to get last night’s skank on me. I hear
diseases travel through too much skin contact.”
He
rolled his eyes. “I’ll put on a shirt if you take off yours.”
How
tempting that was . . . “Take off my shirt? So you can finally see my boobs? Oh
gosh, Travis. Let me think. Give you the fantasy you’ve been dreaming of for
years or keep my pride? Yeah, I think I’ll keep my pride.”
He
shrugged. “Suit yourself, but it really isn’t a slumber party if you’re not
naked.”
“What
the hell kind of slumber parties were you subjected to as a child?” Kacey
asked.
Travis
grinned shamelessly. “Only the good ones. Now seriously, go change into sweats.
I’ll wait.”
“Fine.” She hopped off, her heart beating
erratically out of her chest.
This witty banter had to stop. For crying out loud, they were adults! Not teenagers! She grabbed
some short Victoria’s Secret shorts
and a black tank and put on her slippers to make it look less . . . seductive. Not that she was seducing him. Her stupid
skin betrayed her in the mirror
as it turned a very nice crimson color.
She
really needed to start dating more.
Taking
the stairs two at a time, she went back down to the living room and saw Travis
opening a bottle of wine; thankfully he had put a shirt on. She wasn’t sure she
could handle any more of his glistening muscles that evening. “Thought you
could use this, even though it’s not good for the baby.” He winked.
“I
would drink that whole bottle if I knew it wouldn’t get me completely drunk. I
miss wine.”
“Um,
you haven’t had it for one night, and you miss it?”
“Clearly, you underestimate my relationship with
wine and what I do on the weekends when I’m by myself reading.”
“You wild thing, you.” Travis nudged her and filled
her glass to the brim. He should be sainted, immediately.
Their fingers brushed slightly as he handed the wine
over. His eyes flickered to her shorts, and he cleared his throat. “Those are nice.”
“Thanks.” She inwardly smiled.
“Are they shorts or underwear?”
Was
he being serious? “Shorts, you ass. Now, what movie are we watching?”
“Guess.”
“Not
in the mood, not near enough wine in my system for me to embark on such a
strenuous activity.”
“Ah,
pregnancy brain, it does it to ya; it really does.” Travis got up and turned
off the lights, then pressed Play. “I thought you might want to watch a horror
movie.”
“Horror
movie?”
A
cartoon popped up on the screen. Kacey blinked as the music came on, then
nearly fell out of her seat. “Oh my gosh, we can’t watch this, Travis. I can’t
watch this. It’s been forever and . . .”
“Conquer
your fears, Kace.”
Kacey
scooted a little closer to him, just in case some of the cartoons did in fact
decide to pop out and devour her.
He
pressed Pause and laughed. “Kace, really? I thought you’d be over this fear by
now.”
“It’s
not a fear.” Kacey drank her wine faster. “It’s a scary movie!”
“It’s
Alice in Wonderland.”
Kacey
shook her head a few times and drank some more wine.
“Damn
that Cheshire cat.”
Travis
held up his wine. “To conquering old fears?”
Something
shifted between them then. His eyes, though it was dark, seemed to be hiding
something, as if he were talking about more than her stupid phobia. She leaned
in, now completely relaxed from downing half her wine already, and whispered,
“To conquering old fears.”
Awesome excerpt!! Thanks!
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