The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

            A blonde said, “We can assign a number to each participant, and when the bell rings, each person moves on to the next number up from theirs.”

            “No, this is too confusing and we’re scheduled to start in two minutes,” the organizer said, raising the microphone to her mouth and almost shouting at this point. “We’re sticking with our original plan. I’m sorry.”

            Hallie looked at Jack and he couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

            “Thank you for trying,” she muttered.

            “Fuck that,” he whispered. “Now I have to stand the whole time.”

            That made her start laughing.

            Which made the organizer glare even harder and say, “Maybe we can make the number thing work. Take five, everyone.”

            Hallie threw a closed-mouth smile at the girl to her left, who just rolled her eyes like Hallie was a moron, and she said “Hi” to the girl on her right, who gave her a very terse “Hello.”

            “This is going swimmingly,” Jack heard her say to herself, under her breath.

            Jack wondered if it was strange that he was having a great time just watching Hallie be Hallie. “You little troublemaker.”

            “I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

            “No, this is funny shit right here,” he said. “And what you said makes sense. Why should the ladies get to sit and choose? I want to sit and have them come before me like the king I am.”

            “That is not what I was requesting,” she said with a laugh, rolling her eyes.

            God, she has a really great laugh.

            “Okay, everyone,” the organizer yelled through the microphone, her voice tense. “We’re running behind, but I think we have it figured out.”

            She quickly explained the numbering system and how it would work, then shouted out numbers that determined who would sit and who would stand.

            In the end, Hallie was still sitting.

            And so was Jack, who took the table right beside her. He watched as she stuck her purse under the small table, pushed back her hair, and straightened her posture. She looked nervous as she took a deep breath, and he had no idea why he felt like squeezing her hand in reassurance.





Hallie


            “I dare you to use an accent,” Jack said out of the corner of his mouth.

            “You’re not getting the baseball, so knock it off.”

            “We’ll see,” he said.

            Before she was even ready, the bell rang. Hallie took a deep breath, and a guy sat down in the chair in front of her. He had a nice face and curly blond hair, and as she smiled and tried to think of something to say, he said, “Hi, I’m Blayne.”

            “I’m Hallie.”

            “Oh my God, I used to love The Parent Trap.”

            She forced herself not to roll her eyes. “Same.”

            “So what’s your thing, Hal?” The guy smiled and put his chin on his hand. “Tell me every little thing about Hallister McHalliegirl.”

            “Nope.” She fake-laughed and tried thinking of an answer. “I’m a tax accountant, but you first. Tell me about Blayne.”

            “I’m a financial planner who lives out in Westfield. I like camping and hiking, anything outdoorsy, and I’m super into yoga right now. Do you like yoga?”

            She tilted her head and tried to picture Blayne doing yoga. She could totally see it. “I’ve really only tried it a couple times.”

            That was apparently a green light for him to spend the entirety of their micro-date telling her the who/what/where/when of the yoga class he facilitated in a strip mall. He gave her the promo code to get a friends and family discount, and she realized as he expounded upon the benefits of yoga that this speed dating thing wasn’t actually a bad promotional idea.

            She glanced to her right, and wow, Jack’s current date was stunning. She was smiling and talking, and he looked absolutely enthralled by her. Hallie wondered—feeling slightly panicked—if he’d already found his love connection.