The Wager (9 page)

“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.”

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.

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, drawn 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?”

Char opened her mouth to speak but Jake cut her off. “Of course. Why else would we be here?”

Her mother’s mouth pinched into a tight smile as she glanced down at Char’s outfit and then at her plate. “Oh, sweetie! Of course, it’s your birthday! How could we forget again?”

“Not sure,” Char croaked, reaching for her champagne. “I’m twenty-three today. Cheers.”

Jake lifted his glass and clinked it against hers.

“Oh, that’s so nice.” Her mother tilted her head at Char. “Jake took you out for your birthday then, so it’s not really serious.”

“Serious?” Char repeated. Were they insane? How did this go from them lamely apologizing for forgetting her birthday to not being convinced that Jake would actually date her? She bit down on her lip and looked across at Jake. All her insecurities came flooding back. Why would he be with her? He was one of the most famous bachelors in Seattle. He’d even dated a few models.

She made a move to stand. Birthday or no birthday, she couldn’t take it anymore. But as she stood, Jake pulled her to his side and down onto his lap. “Maybe it is best that they hear it from us, Char.”

“Hear what?” Her father seemed totally oblivious to the underlying tension.

“About us.” Jake ran his hands slowly up and down her arms. “We’re dating, and it’s quite serious.”

Char tensed.

Her mother laughed.

Her father joined in.

Char tried to pull away but Jake held her firm. She could feel the anger radiating off of him.

“You know what, sweetheart?”

Char turned in his lap.

“Why don’t we celebrate somewhere else? I have a condo right on the beach… We can celebrate your birthday with the rest of the family.” Well, he’d gone and done it; he’d rescued her and turned from assy frog into a prince. Her breath quickened when his fingertips grazed her cheek. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. Insecurity from junior high came rushing back. A whale. She’d been a whale, and now she was sitting on his lap. Char told her heart to stop beating so fast. She needed to remind her body that the physical reaction was what Jake was good at. That’s why he was so well-known. He’d made her love him twice in her life; hell if she was going to fall for him again. And then he moved his other hand and rubbed up and down her back. She gave an involuntary shiver. Hadn’t she always wanted Jake to stand up for her? Granted, she was a lot older now, and of course it was too late, but she could almost believe he had the potential to be the man she’d always dreamed of. The one who didn’t just take every single easy route thrown at him, but the hard ones, too. And she needed that quality in a man desperately, especially after seeing her mom and dad again. She didn’t want the type of relationship they had. The type where they lived in their own special bubble. Char wanted love, excitement, a hero, a best friend. Damn, maybe she was just projecting all of her needs and desires onto Jake because he was the one giving her the time of day. Which just brought her back to insecurity number one: Why would he of all people, suddenly want her? He wouldn’t. The truth stung, but she needed to stay strong in front of her parents so they’d believe the lie even though she wished to God it was the truth. He was there because for some reason he was trying to do what was probably his one yearly good deed—not because his heart had suddenly broken away from its icy cage and beat after her.