The Bet (The Bet 1)

“Can we have a minute alone?” she asked.

Slowly the family trickled out of the room, leaving them alone. Kacey leaned in, wanting to whisper so nobody could hear her, just in case they were waiting to hear fighting from the kitchen.

“Never again, Jake.”

He opened his mouth to speak.

“No.” Kacey shook her head. “No, you don’t get to talk. You get to listen. Difficult task for you I’m sure, but try.”

He nodded once.

“If I’m here doing this giant favor for you, then you better learn some self-control. You can’t run around sleeping with your skanks and expect not to get caught. Cameras are everywhere, and one of these days you’re going to get careless. Do you honestly think those girls care for you anyway? I guarantee they want nothing but your money, status, and hot body. If you don’t stop grinning, I’m going to slap you.”

He swallowed convulsively and stopped smiling.

“I know it’s important to you to have your parents’ approval. And I can even respect that underneath all that selfishness you want what’s best for the company. I think I, of all people, understand that, but you can do all those things without manipulating people you love. After this weekend, I’m done. Just know that I’m done.”

Shaking, she rose to her feet.

Jake reached out and grasped her wrist. “Kace.” His eyes were uncertain, and he cursed under his breath. “I messed up.”

“Story of your life.”

He gave a half-smile. “Only when it comes to women I care about.”

Kacey believed that. She shook her head and began to walk away.

“I loved you, you know.”

She stopped in her tracks, her heart pounding out of her chest. Kacey took a few soothing breaths, then turned to face him, the man she had loved for so many years. No longer her childhood friend, but a selfish man who thought only of pleasure. “I loved you too, Jake. But this, the man you are now, not so much.”

With that, she walked out of the kitchen, directly into Travis who actually had been eavesdropping.

Funny, she expected it of Grandma, not her nemesis.

“So, that was a special moment.” He tensed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“You punched him.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and his curly hair fell across his forehead. “I did.”

“How’d it feel?” Kacey wanted to know.

“Not as good as I thought.”

Kacey laughed and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Maybe next time let me fight my own battles?”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

Panic crossed Travis’s face, as he looked out the window then back at her. “I said no. Why do you get to have all the fun anyway? I think I have just as many reasons for wanting to punch my brother.”

“Like what?”

****

Travis froze. Should he tell her? Should he say it? Golden opportunities don’t always present themselves. He opened his mouth to speak just as Grandma came sauntering in.