The Bet (Winslow Brothers 1)

For the most part, I know what I want, but I still open the menu to get a look at what their side specials are today—since they like to focus on semilocal seasonal items—and take a deep breath. Man, it feels good to relax.

Between the club openings and family shit, I’ve had a tremendously busy few weeks. After a couple of minutes and a brief visit from the waiter to take my order, my body finally starts to unwind. My shoulders drop down from around my ears, and my breath steadies.

I love a party, but time to myself really is a godsend. Sometimes, it’s just good to sit in the silence and contentment of your own company.

Once I’ve finished my first beer, I pull my forgotten phone out of my jacket and sit back down to read the text I received on the way here.

Vivian: Hey, sexy. Want to meet up on one of your nights off?

I smile. Sex doesn’t sound like a terrible idea, honestly. It’s been a few weeks at least, so the opportunity this message presents isn’t a bad one.

I take a minute to think about how I want to answer her and scour the restaurant for my waiter, Blake, to order another beer. I search all the white shirts at the edges of the tables, but I don’t see him anywhere. Hmm. He must be in the kitchen.

Resolved to go ahead and answer Vivian before looking for him again, I swing my gaze back down to my phone, only to have my eyes snag on something across the room.

In a bright-blue dress and dangerously high heels, the bride of my dreams sits at a two-top table across from a man who’s gesticulating wildly with his arms. She smiles and listens, before glancing down toward the floor and tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. Her lips are painted red, and her skin glows in the soft light of the restaurant.

That’s her, right? Belle, the bachelorette from Club Craze? It has to be. I can feel the sizzle and spark of our weirdly powerful connection all the way across the room in both the burn in my chest and the tingling in my pants.

Fuck. I cannot believe I’m actually seeing her again in a city of over eight million people.

Maybe fate is that cruel.

Phone forgotten again, I sit back in my chair and watch her for a minute. Her smile, her laugh, the way she bops her foot up and down on the floor.

Maybe I should go say hello, right? Just to be cordial. She hasn’t noticed me yet, but if she does and I don’t say hi, I’ll feel bad.

I’m a nice guy, and she’s a nice gal. I’ll just go over and say hello.

I mean…what’s the harm in that?

Sophie

I chew nervously on my lip as my date pours me a glass of wine from the bottle he ordered for us and try to smile as he meets my eyes.

His name is Nathan, and we matched on TapNext about an hour after I created my profile. To say I’m apprehensive to be implementing Dr. Winters’s homework is an understatement.

Hell, I didn’t even give myself time to make a pro-con list about the guy. Or to run a background check. What if he’s a murderer or something?

Swallowing thickly, I force myself to focus on Nathan again as he speaks.

“Honestly, I was a little shocked to see a woman as beautiful as you are on TapNext. Normally, they’re…” He laughs a little, and my eyebrows draw together. He’s trying to give me a compliment, I know he is, but I can’t help but wonder where he was going with that statement about the rest of the female population. Sure, I never thought I’d end up on a dating app myself, but it’s not because there’s anything wrong with them. The problem is with me and how awkward I am.

Funny you should mention it, Soph, because I’m pretty sure you’re being awkward right now.

Subtly, I shake my head to clear it of all my rambling thoughts and focus on my date again.

With jet-black hair and a strong jaw, he’s not exactly hard to look at. And he’s been nice, too. He pulled out my chair when we got to the table and asked me about my wine preferences before selecting a bottle. And he hasn’t been staring at my breasts or anything any more than expected. All in all, he’s been a gentleman. I don’t have a whole lot of tingles or the urge to jump him immediately, but that could come with time. Obviously, I just need to get out of my own way here and let the date happen.

I clear my throat and force a smile to curve the corners of my lips upward. “Thank you.”