The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

            He nodded, and his eyes filled with tears again. “One of the reasons we wanted Labradoodles was because they’re very emotional animals, but that was what made telling them so tough, y’know?”

            Hallie nodded her head in an understanding way, but she was struggling. “I can’t even imagine.”

            She kept trying to find empathy, because she was a very empathetic person, but Dr. Stephen was literally crying at dinner because he was worried about the emotional scars he and his ex-wife might’ve left on their dogs.

            Dogs she’d thought were human toddlers five minutes before.

            Once he’d wiped his eyes and they’d moved onto a safe topic—the new movie theater out on the west side of town—she excused herself to go to the restroom. But as she crossed the restaurant and headed for the hallway that led to the facilities, she was filled with disappointment.

            Because the dog conversation, or maybe the misunderstanding about kids, had brought on the ick. She’d lost that initial attraction for the dentist, and she could tell it was lost forever.

            “How’s it going with the doc, TB?”

            She turned around, and there was Jack, also entering the bathroom hallway. He was giving her a grin, and she felt her face fall into a huge smile as she found comfort in her partner in crime. “Oh, my God, Jack, you won’t even believe it.”

            She grabbed his sleeve and jerked him closer to the ladies’ room so they were out of sight from the table. She looked up into those teasing blue eyes and quickly told the absurd story. “I mean, am I being a bitch? Is he a delightful dog lover and I’m just an ass?”

            He narrowed his eyes, and as he looked down at her, she was struck again by how tall he was. “Did he literally call them his kids, or was that you paraphrasing?”

            She squinted and recalled the conversation. “At first he called them the twins, but then yeah, he totally called them kids.”

            “You’re not wrong here; that’s bonkers.”

            “Thank you.” Hallie felt a little better. “How’s Carlie?”

            “Great, except she told me she wants to be ‘treated like a queen.’ ”

            “So?” Jack seemed like he’d treat a significant other well. “Is it that hard to treat a woman well?”

            “No, a fucking actual queen.” He glanced over his shoulder, like he was worried about getting busted, and said, “She wants a man who will put her on a pedestal, shower her with gifts, defer to her wishes—her words, not mine—and never look at another woman again.”

            “You are lying,” Hallie said, leaning her backside against the wall. “No one would say that on a first date.”

            “It was my fault.” He put his hands in his pockets and said, “I made the mistake of saying, ‘I would totally respect a woman who just straight up says what she’s looking for.’ ”

            “Well.” Hallie rolled her eyes. “You asked for it.”

            “Right?”

            “Stephen’s going to come looking for me or think I have diarrhea—I have to go.”

            “Do you want out?” Jack asked, looking concerned, and she wasn’t sure why the sweet expression on his face made her stomach flip.

            “What?”

            “Do you want out of your date early, or are you still feeling it out?”

            That made her laugh. “He refers to his dogs as ‘the twins,’ so I definitely want out. But I don’t want to be rude; Stephen’s a nice guy.”

            Jack took a step toward the men’s room door and said, “I’ve got you. Just blink three times when you want to ditch for tacos.”

            Hallie giggled and blinked three times with obnoxious obviousness.

            He gave her a chin nod before they both went into their respective restrooms. When Hallie got back to the table, Stephen was scrolling through his phone.

            “Sorry I took so long,” she said, feeling guilty, “but my mom texted and it was a whole thing.”