The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

            “Hallie?”

            Hallie stopped and turned. It was Alex.

            “Oh. Hey. What are you doing here?” She stood there as he ran to catch up with her, but she was surprised at how unaffected she felt. Not even her bruised ego cared anymore about this blond man, smiling and approaching cautiously like he was afraid she’d slug him.

            “Last-minute work trip—talk about a small world. Do you have a quick second, since we both ended up in the same place?”

            She looked behind him, then back at his face. “Well, I mean, I kind of have to go—”

            “Just one second. Please? Obviously the universe wanted us to meet up.”

            She shrugged and stepped out of the foot traffic, settling beside the airport bookstore. She knew she looked rough with no makeup and a messy bun, but she really didn’t care.

            “I just want to apologize,” he said, looking incredibly serious. “I am so sorry, Hallie.”

            What was with all the men from her past apologizing to her all of a sudden?

            She waved a hand and said, “It’s okay.”

            “I regret it so much, and I don’t know if you’d ever consider it, but I’d love to take you out to dinner.”

            She gave a tiny shake of her head. “That’s very nice, but I don’t think so.” She paused, and because she was genuinely curious, she said, “Can I ask, though, what’s changed since you thought we weren’t meant to be together last week?”

            He swallowed and said, “I was an idiot. Remember how we talked about dating apps and organic chemistry, and how—”

            “How you thought fate was more important than anything else? Yeah.” Hallie was starting to get impatient because she knew Jack was waiting for her. Also, she still needed to use the restroom. “I remember.”

            “Well, when your friend told me about the bet, I got mad, to be honest, because things were going so well that I wanted to believe it was fate. When I found out it wasn’t—”

            “What?” Alarm bells started ringing in her head at his mention of the bet. “What are you talking about?”

            “Jack. I ran into him when I was leaving your place, the day he brought you the cat toys I had in my car . . . ?”

            “Oh, yeah.” Hallie felt a little confused by what he was talking about, but she remembered Jack bringing up the toys Alex had gotten for Tigger. “Um—”

            “We were shooting the shit in the parking lot, and when I gushed about you and it being fate, he told me about the bet.”

            “What, um—”

            “Your bet on who’d find someone first.”

            “Oh.” Hallie felt like she was missing something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. “He mentioned that to you?”

            “I think he just wanted to set the record straight that you and I were definitely not fated.”

            Hallie narrowed her eyes and looked at Alex. Why would Jack tell him about their bet? Jack had known how much she had liked Alex. Why would he interject that into a conversation with a guy he barely knew?

            And why hadn’t he mentioned it to her when Alex had dumped her?

            “Listen, Alex, the bet was just our way of motivating each other to keep trying to find someone. There was nothing—”

            “Oh, I know—that’s what he said, too,” Alex said. “Honestly, I got the impression he was trying to make something happen with you, and I was in the way. But that doesn’t matter.”

            She smiled even though she felt unsettled by their entire conversation. “It doesn’t?”

            “No, the screwup was all mine. Listen, can I text you later?” He leaned in a little closer and said, “This is a weird place to chat, and I would really like to finish this conversation.”

            She nodded and said, “Sure.”