The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

            “Are you serious?” Alex’s face fell, and Jack immediately regretted telling him. Regretted it, but still felt the tiniest twinge of satisfaction.

            “Hundred percent.”

            Alex rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, “Huh.”

            Dammit. Jack sighed and said, “I mean, it sounds like she really likes you, so it still worked out, right?”

            Alex looked distracted and upset. “I suppose so.”

            “If I were you,” Jack said, backtracking because he wanted to respect Hal’s relationship regardless of his feelings for her or his utter annoyance with Alex, “I’d forget you ever heard this and enjoy the ride.”

            “That’s probably good advice.” Alex smiled half-heartedly and handed Jack a grocery bag. “Here are Tigger’s toys.”

            “Thanks.” Jack took the bag, turned, and had only taken one step when Alex spoke up again.

            “So . . . you and Hallie.”

            Jack stopped and turned back around. “What?”

            Alex put his hands in his pockets and gave Jack a knowing look. “Is there something going on? Something more than friendship?”

            Jack wanted to hit him again, which was weird because he rarely wanted to hit people. He gave his head a shake and said with total honesty, “No.”

            “Do you want there to be?”

            “If I did,” Jack said, exhaling, “I would talk to Hal about it. Not you.”

            Jack left Alex at his car and went back inside the building. He felt bad about getting in the guy’s head and being a general asshole, but he’d apologize next time he saw him.

            Right now, he just needed to see Hal.





Hallie


            “You really need to buy a couch.”

            Hallie and Jack were sitting side by side on the floor with their backs resting against the wall, their legs stretched straight in front of them. They’d been watching another episode of You on Netflix, and it had just ended. She looked at him and said, “Is this hard on your old man back?”

            “Funny girl.” He put his hand on top of her head and tousled so hard she kind of tipped over, making her squeal and laugh. “It’s hard on my one-year-older-than-you ass when your chunky boy won’t get off of me.”

            Tigger had plopped his huge body on Jack’s lap the minute he’d sat down and hadn’t moved since.

            “So I didn’t even ask—did you have any fun at all in Minneapolis?” Hallie felt a little bad that she knew almost nothing about his job, but they had so much fun when they hung out that neither of their careers really ever entered the conversation.

            “It sucked.” He scratched behind Tigger’s ear with one hand while grabbing the remote and flipping through Netflix with the other. “The work was fine, but usually when I go up there, I stay with my uncle and it’s a whole big family thing. He passed away since my last trip, though, so it was just, I don’t know, weird now.”

            His uncle Mack. She remembered his sister mentioning him. She didn’t want to pry or make him sad, so she just said, “That really sucks.”

            He nodded and looked like he was casually watching the TV as he scrolled for something to put on, but his Adam’s apple moved around a big swallow before he said, “I kind of wasn’t prepared for what a gut-punch it would be, honestly.”

            She reached out a hand and squeezed his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

            He shook his head, like it was nothing. “It’s no big deal, so quit looking at me like I’m a weepy little kid.”

            That made her pinch the arm she’d been softly squeezing. “I’m doing no such thing.”

            “Bullshit.” He grinned at her and said, “By the way, Kayla dumped me over the phone yesterday.”

            “Oh, no.” Poor Jack. “The PhD candidate?”

            He nodded.