Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (9 page)

“No, but unless
you’re a mind reader, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to what
Colby’s thinking.”

“Unfortunately,
I’m not, but I do think you leaving with me made him jealous.”

Interesting.
Since I could use a male perspective, I decided to fill him in on the bet. “So
you see, regardless of having the opportunity for a kiss: nada, zilch, zippo.
It’s a great self-confidence booster, incidentally. In case you ever want to
feel truly pathetic with a crush, bet them to kiss you and have them refuse.
And because that’s not humiliating enough, puke your guts out in front of him
directly after. Then bring the bet up again and have him use the little sister
excuse—you guessed it—yet again. Good times. I can’t remember what number of
seduction fail that was.”

He threw his
head back, laughing at my self-deprecation, and then took me into a shop which
smelled like doughnut heaven. “He hasn’t brought it up since then?”

“Nope, and I’m
never doing so again.”

“Given that
everyone else seems to have you little-sister-zoned, and considering Brian’s
death glare at the restaurant when he found about Vegas, I’m guessing Colby
feels as though he needs to keep you there, too?”

I thought back
to his comment at the hot tub. “He’s certainly trying.”

After Will
ordered a dozen freshly-made doughnut holes and two milks, he led me over to an
empty spot.

We took seats at
high-top table for two, and I dug in. “Oh, my God, these are amazing,” I said,
popping a second one into my mouth. I’d never had a problem about being
completely myself when out with a guy.

“I love that you
appreciate dessert. Hanging out in the model world is pretty boring when most
of the girls wouldn’t dream of eating anything with this many calories.”

“That bad, huh?”
I adored food. If given the choice between it and modeling, there’d be a clear
verdict, which at the moment was the bit of powdered heaven I was chasing with
milk.

He shrugged.
“Sometimes. There are exceptions, but I try to keep it all professional.”

“No one special,
then?” It was hard to believe the gorgeous man sitting across from me didn’t
have a love interest.

He shook his
head. “I’m not in a position currently where I can have anyone serious in my
life. Lots of travel and work, but that’s only for a couple more years.”

“Then what?” I
couldn’t help licking the sugar off my fingers from the doughnut, which made
him laugh.

“Truthfully, I
don’t know, but I’d love to work with people, especially kids. Maybe become a
counselor or advisor. What about you? Where does McKenzie, Kenzie, Kenz see
herself a couple of years from now?”

It was my turn
to shrug, noting that for the first time in my life I didn’t give the automatic
answer of ‘go to business school.’ Instead I gave him the abbreviated version
of my internship opportunity and being pressured to move back home.

“Sounds like
music is your passion.”

I smiled. “It
really is. Although it may not be something I could ever make a living doing.”

He looked
thoughtful. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but maybe shaking things up a bit
and not being on your parents’ path isn’t such a bad thing, whether or not you
choose music. In my case, I didn’t start to think about my future until I’d
traveled away from home and started relying on myself. The world is a large
place, but people sometimes get wrapped up in their own version and forget
that.”

I nodded,
thinking that’s exactly what had happened. I’d been on my parent’s road so
long, I didn’t know how to make my own. “Thanks for that. You’re right. Damn. I
hadn’t meant to make this a therapy session, future counselor Will.”

His eyes twinkled.
“You haven’t, and if you want to talk about Colby, I won’t charge you.”

Oh, boy. “Why
not? Clearly, me sitting across from a handsome, amazing guy and not flirting
with him is a sure sign I’m hopeless.”

He smiled. “That
was kind of flirty, and for the record, I think you’re awesome. It’s kind of
funny, though, that I seem to have an affinity for meeting cool girls who also
happen to be hung up already on one of the Singer brothers.”

“Oh, you’re
referring to Haylee?” Josh’s wife had modelled with Will, which is how they’d
originally met and become friends.

 “Yeah, when I
first met her, I could tell she had it bad for someone else. Then Josh came to
a model shoot and made it quite obvious to any casual observer that he felt the
same even if he wasn’t admitting it yet. If Colby is anything like his brother,
he’ll be thickheaded when it comes to recognizing what’s right in front of him.
My advice for you is to stop trying to be seductive and keeping track of your
failures. Because you know what’s sexiest about you?”

“I’m guessing
it’s not the fact that I’ve polished off over half of those doughnut holes
unapologetically after eating three slices of pizza?”

He shook his
head, grinning. “Actually, I think that’s impressive. But in general, it’s you
being you. No pretense, no effort, simply pure, unfiltered Kenzie. First she’s
sassy and then she’s sweet.”

My eyes rolled.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve just described fucking sour patch kid candy.”

He laughed until
he couldn’t breathe and then finally got out. “See? Sexy as hell.”

I grinned. “Oh,
yeah, is it my self-deprecation or sarcasm that does it for you?”

“All of the
above, and I guarantee it does it for a lot of guys. I’d be willing to bet you
have some text messages or missed calls by now from at least one.”

I pulled out my
phone and as Will predicted, I had five text messages. All from Colby. The
first couple were about logistics regarding the doorman letting me into the
building in case I didn’t want to wait for him to get there first. The next one
said he was on his way, with the message that followed indicating he was home.
The final text made it clear how irritated he was.

“Where the hell
are you?”

My eyes widened
and then looked up into Will’s smug face.

“Told ya.”

I typed back I’d
be on my way shortly then Will and I walked out into the beautiful spring
night, to the bustle of Times Square. I’d only been in New York City a handful
of times, so I was still in awe of all the activity at night.

“I can’t believe
we were there so long.”

He shrugged.
“That’s what happens when you’re having a good time. Come on, I’ll walk you to
the building.”

“Are you sure
you’re not going out of your way?”

“Nope. By the
way, I’m traveling to Los Angeles in a few weeks. We could meet up if you
want.”

“I’d love that.”
Will was fun to be around and even easier to talk to. It did make me wonder though,
how many terrific guys I might have missed out on because of my crush on Colby.
Despite dating, did I ever really give any of them a real shot?

A few blocks
later, we strolled up in front of Josh’s address, and Will turned, giving me a
hug. “I’m rooting for you, sour patch kid.”

I giggled in
response, and then my gaze followed his towards the big glass doors.

“Someone waited
down in the lobby for you.”

Huh. I hadn’t
expected that.

Will moved me
out of Colby’s line of sight, kissing me on the cheek. “Don’t forget to mention
you’ll see me in LA soon.”

I laughed and
headed inside to meet an irritated Colby.

“I thought you
were just getting doughnuts until I texted you,” he started off once we were in
the elevator.

“I lost track of
time. We were having fun, and the doughnuts were amazing. Did you get to see
your niece when you went back to the hospital?”

His features
relaxed as he stepped off on the top floor and then unlocked the front door to
his brother’s penthouse suite. “Yes, briefly, before Haylee had to feed her.
She’s beautiful like her mother, but has all this dark hair like my mom said Josh
and I had when we were kids. I’ll visit again tomorrow.”

I smiled,
thinking of him meeting little Abigail. “Good. Look, I feel bad I got you in
trouble with both Josh and Brian over taking me to Vegas.”

He sighed
heavily. “Some of my most notorious party days happened there, which means they
wanted to ensure I hadn’t influenced you to make bad decisions.”

After we walked
into the spacious living room, I took a seat on the sofa, turning towards him. “It’s
kind of ironic, considering you did exactly the opposite.”

“I took you to a
strip club, then got you drunk enough that I had to undress and put you to
bed.” He sat down on the other side of the couch, facing me.

My eyes got
wide. “You didn’t tell them that, did you?”

“I’m a living,
breathing person right now, so no.”

“I’m a grown
woman whether Josh, Mark, or Brian want to see it, capable of making my own
good or bad decisions. And whatever happens between us, stays that way.”

The look on his
face indicated he got the double meaning. “What was with you practically sprinting
out of the restaurant door tonight with Will?”

I grinned. “He
opened the escape hatch from having you, Brian, and Mark sit there talking
about me as though I was an eight-year-old child you guys needed to figure out
what to do with. At least he sees me as an adult.”

“You’re into
him, I take it?”

I decided to
answer vaguely. “Who wouldn’t be? He’s gorgeous and sweet, not to mention your
brother and Haylee seem to think highly of him.”

“Yes, they do.”
He said it as though he had asked them.

“Geographically,
it’s not very convenient, although he mentioned he’d be out in LA in a few
weeks.”

“Did you let him
kiss you?”

My eyes searched
his for a moment as I tried to gauge where this was coming from. “Why are you
asking?”

He shrugged,
obviously not ready to answer the question. “When are we doing ours for the
bet?”

Shock didn’t
even begin to describe my reaction. “Uh, I got the impression you didn’t want
to. And since I’m quickly finding out the only thing worse than having to bet
someone into kissing you is confirmation they don’t want to, you’re totally off
the hook.”

He shook his
head. “No, a bet’s a bet, but you aren’t going to act weird about it after, are
you?”

“I’m already
weird, but no, I’m reasonably confident there’s life after kissing Colby Singer—life
which doesn’t involve dotting your last name with a little heart and planning a
wedding.”

“Leave it to you
to ensure my ego is always in check. That’s not what I meant. I only want to be
sure the expectations are understood. Obviously, it goes without saying this
would stay between you and me.”

“Of course it
would, and I already offered an out. If you’re that concerned about it, then
don’t kiss me.”

“I’m not
worried, but I’d like to get it over with.”

I got up from
the couch, quickly turning my head away from him, not wanting him to see the
hurt his statement conjured up. “Where’s the guest room?”

“That’s what I
mean. You’re already acting strange.” He stood up and led me down the hallway.

I fought my
temper. “No, you are. You’re all anxious about something that isn’t a big deal.
I haven’t thought about it once since Vegas.” Nope, not one time, more like one
hundred times. “Do me a favor, and let’s forget I ever made the bet.”

“I didn’t mean
it to sound as though I was dreading it. I just—”

“It’s fine. Good
night.”

He opened the
door to my room, and when I turned to go in, tugged my arm, pulling me flush
against his chest.

My body hummed
with the contact of his body.

He swallowed
hard. “Okay, maybe I’m the one a little weirded out. I’m not a big kisser. I
normally prefer to get to the good stuff.”

“Oh, yeah?” I
enjoyed watching his face drain of color. “Dude, the bet was for a kiss, not a
fuck.”

“Nice language.”

I quirked a
brow. “What am I, ten? Fine, I won’t say ‘dude’ again. Now, are you going to
kiss me or what?”

“Not out in the
hall I’m not. There may be cameras, and I definitely don’t need my brother
seeing this on the security feed.”

 “You’re such a
smooth talker, getting yourself invited into my room.”

“Ha. Funny.”
When the door closed, he started to look nervous. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Wow. A charmer
he wasn’t. I licked my lips as he leaned in. This was it. This was the moment
in which unicorns would sing on a rainbow, and I’d float away on a cloud. But
when his lips met mine and his tongue moved immediately into my mouth, wet and
sloppy, it was all I could not to gag on the taste of cigar smoke and whiskey.
And those were the high points. After another few seconds of the worst kiss
ever, he pulled away, looking smug.