The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

            “Yeah.” Hallie didn’t care about Ben and just wanted to know how quickly she could be up in the hotel room with Jack. She asked her dad, “How long do you think it’ll take?”

            He sighed. “You know your mother.”

            “Ugh.” Hallie turned back to Jack and said, “Just head up to bed. God only knows when I’ll be done.”

            “Can I help?” he asked, and as their eyes met, she realized it was their last night there. Their last night fake dating. Their last night sharing a room.

            The look he gave her said he was thinking the exact same thing.

            They were down to mere hours.

            “It’s not your problem, man,” Ben said, giving him a charming smile. “You’re just a wedding guest. If I were you, I’d take that excuse and run. Make the wedding party do their jobs.”

            Jack looked at Ben like he wanted to hit him.

            Then he looked at Hallie—really looked—almost as if he was searching for her decision.

            She had no idea what to say. She wanted Jack by her side no matter what she was doing, but she didn’t want him to feel forced to help, either.

            “Do you have your room key?” Jack asked, his eyes unreadable.

            “Oh.” She narrowed her eyes and tried to remember if she’d grabbed it while also trying to analyze the nuances of their situation. “I don’t know.”

            “No worries. I’m a light sleeper.” He cleared his throat and said, “I’ll hear when you knock.”

            They exchanged another look—lust and longing and something else she couldn’t put her finger on—before he said good night to her dad and then left the ballroom.

            Hallie hadn’t even made it to the prep room when her phone buzzed.

            Jack: I miss your mouth already.

            She smiled and typed: My words of wisdom?

            Jack: No, your gorgeous lips and the way they feel when you suck my tongue into your mouth.

            Hallie: Damn, Marshall—this is a PG-13 show.

            Jack: Then someone’s going to be pissed when I tell you that I can’t stop thinking about the way your ass looked when your hands were on that cooler door.

            Hallie felt that in her stomach.

            She texted: Confession: that might be the hottest I’ve ever had.

            Jack: MIGHT? Hal.

            Hallie: I just mean I can’t decide between up-against-the-freezer-door and on-top-of-the-hotel-room-desk.

            Jack: Confession: My favorite part of hotel night was actually your Rumple Minze lips.

            Hallie: Mere kissing??

            Jack: That falling-off-a-building feeling the first time you kiss someone is just perfection.

            Hallie set her hand on her stomach when she read that. God, Jack was a heady drug. He would be a lot to recover from, and it was terrifying. She texted: So you’re saying it could’ve been anyone.

            Jack: Anyone who knew how to make a perfect Manhattan, tell a ridiculous joke about the Kansas City Chiefs, climb on my lap to get my attention, and have the name Hallie Piper.

            Hallie: Nice save.

            Jack: Thank you very much, TB.

            She was about to drop her phone into her pocket when she saw texting bubbles. She stared at the screen as she walked, and when the text finally came through, she felt breathless as she read his message.

            Jack: It couldn’t have been anyone but you.

            As she followed Ben and her dad, Jack’s words kept playing through her head, over and over on a loop.

            I miss your mouth already.

            My favorite part of hotel night was actually your Rumple Minze lips.

            It couldn’t have been anyone but you.