The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

            Her heart started beating faster, but then she saw him laugh and noticed he was laughing with her sister. Her vision panned away from him and she saw that Ben, Lillie, and Chuck were all laughing at something Jack was saying.

            She swallowed. Might as well get this thing started. She saw Jack notice her as she headed toward him, and damn, he was good at being a fake boyfriend.

            Because even though he kept up with the conversation, his eyes landed on her with a focus so intense that even Lillie and Ben turned to see what he was looking at.

            “Hey, you,” she said, wrapping both of her arms around his right one and going up on her tiptoes for a quick kiss.

            His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, like a question, before his lips kicked up into a smile and the question was replaced with his teasing, knowing glint. He kissed her back, a cute, normal-couple peck of hello, but instead of letting her go, he grinned at her and said, “Your glasses are smudged—here.”

            He gestured for her to hand them over, and she bit down on a giggle as he took the glasses from her fingers and did the whole hot-breath-smudge-wipe thing with the bottom of his shirt. So chivalrous. Instead of handing them back, though, he placed them on her nose and gave her an intimate grin that she felt in her toes.

            “Better?” he said in a quiet voice.

            “Much,” she breathed, half hot and bothered, half trying not to laugh. All of a sudden, she was glad she’d decided to go with glasses for traveling instead of her contacts.

            “Hey, Hal,” Ben said. “Long time no see.”

            Hallie felt Ben’s voice like a punch, and she shifted her gaze to his face. He looked beautiful and just like the boy she’d loved with her whole heart, and her throat was tight as she turned her lips up into what she hoped was a casual smile. “Right? How are you?”

            “Fantastic,” he said without a hint of awkwardness, like it was easy to face her.

            “Great,” she replied, suddenly unfamiliar with words. She didn’t love him anymore, but his face was like a song: One look at it and she felt every single bit of sad emptiness from their breakup. “That’s really great.”

            He nodded and smiled.

            “Do you have our room key, babe?” Jack asked, knocking her back into the present.

            “What?” Hallie tucked her hair behind her ears as Jack gave her a knowing look, like he was absolutely sure of where her head had just been. She nodded and said, “Yes. Key. I have it.”

            “Where are you guys?” Jamie asked. “We’re in 326.”

            “Everyone’s on three,” Lillie said. “We blocked off the whole floor.”

            Chuck asked Hallie, “What’s your room number?”

            “Um.” She bit down on her lip before muttering, “I’ll text you.”

            “What?” Her sister put her hands on her hips. “Why are you acting all secretive? What room are you in?”

            Hallie glanced at Jack, who was giving her that sexy smirk, before saying, “Can’t a girl and her boyfriend move to a quieter floor without it being a criminal offense?”

            “You’ve never been to this hotel. Why would you assume three is noisy?” Hallie could tell that for some reason, this pissed her sister off. Lillie asked her, “Did you change the reservation?”

            “I did,” Jack said, picking up his carry-on and putting it over his shoulder. “We, uh, just wanted a little privacy.”

            “Privacy?” Her sister looked confused. “You have your own room, for God’s sake.”

            Jamie started laughing, and when Hal looked at her, it was obvious what she thought.

            She glanced at the rest of the group and she could tell that they thought the same thing now, too.

            They all thought that Jack had reserved a room on a different floor so he and Hallie could have a weekend of wild sex. She felt her cheeks get hot as they all stared at her, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

            Suck on that, Ben.