The Dare (23 page)

"Oh, this I gotta hear. After three days? Did
Grandma slip something in your drink?"

"Easy, Viagra." Travis patted me on the back.
"Before the wedding, you and I went golfing. It was freakishly hot,
so we called it a day and went to get drinks."

This story wasn't going to end well.

He smirked. "I asked you about the one that
got away."

"I think Grandma's calling me." I stood.

Travis pulled me back down.

With a grunt, I jerked away and waited.

"You said
—
"

"I know what I said."

Travis ignored me. "You said there was only
one girl whose kiss you couldn't forget. One girl you compared all
the rest of the girls too, even Kerry. In fact, didn't you call
Kerry
Beth
one time?"

"No." I lied. Yes, I'd done that. She'd
slapped me., Then again, she'd been sleeping with my best friend,
so she really wasn't one to judge.

"You cried."

"I did not cry." I winced. I think I had
cried. Or at least shed one drunken tear. So what? Sue me! "I was
dehydrated, Travis!"

"Good excuse, man. See if that holds up in
court." He took another long swig of beer and then set the empty
bottle back onto the bar. "You said, and I quote, 'If second
chances were possible, she would be mine.'"

Blood roared in my ears. My body felt
absolutely numb. Was this what a panic attack felt like? "So you
sold me out? To that one?"

I pointed to Grandma as she did the hula
around the table where the girls were sitting at. She pulled a fire
dancer down into a chair and started chanting, "Light it up!"

Travis chuckled and then winced when the fire
dancer started crying. Apparently his outfit wasn't fireproof. "I
can neither confirm nor deny your suspicions."

"You did this to me." I pushed against his
chest.

"Misery loves company."

"If this is miserable, sign me up," I
grumbled, and then immediately wanted to take it back.

Travis grinned. "My point exactly."

"You don't get it. I have to choose." I
sighed. "Beth or my career. And I'm sorry, Trav, I really am. I
know she's your sister-in-law, but I've known adult Beth for only
three days. Why would I throw away my entire life based on
sixty-four hours?"

Travis' frowned. "Who the hell told you that
you had to choose?"

"But
—
"

"Nobody said choose your career or Beth. In
fact, the best thing for your career is to choose Beth. You, my
friend, have your priorities way screwed up, and if my point hasn't
just been proved at least four times, check it out." He pointed to
the stage, where Beth and Grandma were being handed fertility
necklaces, just like the one that I'd been given on arrival. Though
hopefully, these weren't plagued with curses.

"Jace," Grandma screeched into the
microphone, "come up here. Grandma has a blessing for you."

"Or curse." Travis coughed. "It's all in how
you look at it."

"Funny." I pushed past the crowds and made my
way up to the stage, hoping I wasn't about to have to do any sort
of hula dancing.

Once I was on the stage, Grandma put the damn
necklace over my neck and then gave one to Beth.

"A blessing to the happy couple. Love is the
combination of life's treasured moments tied together in the
infinite circle of life. It never ends. It's a constant reminder
when you're weak and tired, and it never fails. When you want to
quit, love continues. When you want to cry, love uplifts, and when
you want to run away, love remains. Each of you are wearing a
symbol of fertility, but it's more than that. They are love beads.
They bring good luck and favor in your relationship. May you wear
them wisely, and may your lives always be filled with love."

I turned to give Beth a kiss but was hit with
the sensation of the wind shifting. Ever so slowly it picked up
Beth's hair, wrapping it around her shoulders. Her eyes glowed in
the moonlight, and I couldn't have looked away had someone paid me
to.

I had to touch her face. My fingertips grazed
the soft part of her neck as I leaned in and whispered, "You look
beautiful."

She smiled and ducked her head.

"Look at me."

Swallowing, she lifted her head, meeting my
gaze with a piercing one of her own. Grandma had spoken of moments.
If I could just hold onto this one, I'd be happy for an eternity. I
wanted to keep it for myself. I wanted to remember the way Beth
smelled. I wanted to remember the way she felt in my arms.

"Cheers!" People lifted glasses in the air,
and a camera flashed. It may as well have been an electrical shock
to my nervous system. I snapped out of the spell and remembered my
predicament.

I could fix things for Beth.

And I would.

She deserved the fairytale. She deserved the
chance to have a happy ending.

I walked her back to the table we were
sharing with the rest of the family, more determined than ever to
make things right.

"Beautiful speech, Nadine." My father clinked
Grandma's glass and kissed my mom's forehead.

Maybe my curse was to be surrounded by happy
people until I got my head out of my ass and made a choice.

"Great party." I licked my lips
nervously.

"It's a luau," Grandma corrected. "We
Hawaiians do not party, we feast."

"You're not Hawaiian," Jake pointed out.

"Am too."

Jake sighed, "How do you figure?"

"I visit every year."

"Which would make you a tourist," Travis took
a sip of his drink, "not a local."

"I joined a local tribe."

"Do they call them tribes here?" I asked. "I
don't think that's politically correct."

"Thank you, Mr. Senator," Jake said
crisply.

"What the hell is your problem?" I pushed
back my chair. "Do you really want to fight again? Do you want to
get your ass kicked in front of your entire family? I'll do it,
Jake. Don't tempt me. I'm sick and tired of your pompous
attitude!"

The table fell silent.

My chest heaved.

I looked around for support. Jake was
grinning like a fool, as if he'd done it on purpose. What the
hell?

And then he clapped. "Finally."

"Finally?" My voice was hoarse. "Get there
faster, man, before I strangle you."

"It's not normal to be calm all the time,"
Jake said in that same calm, irritating voice. "If I wasn't
convinced earlier, I sure am now."

"Convinced?"

"You need a wife."

"You need to stop talking. Now."

"Why would I stop talking when I know it
pisses you off so much to fill the air with my voice?" He stood.
"Let's go talk."

"Do you really trust me not to kill you and
build a sandcastle over your dead body?"

"Of course." He shrugged. "Politicians hate
prison."

With a sigh, I stuffed my hands in my pockets
and followed Jake, the ass, out onto the beach. Great, another
heart-to-heart from a Titus brother. I was cursed all right, or
maybe just haunted.

Once we reached the beach, he took a seat on
the sand. I followed, waiting for the gauntlet to fall.

"We all have our shit we need to deal with.
Nobody's perfect, Jace."

"I know."

"No, you don't." Jake grimaced. "Because if
you knew that, you wouldn't be acting like such an asshole to Beth.
You wouldn't be thinking about what this situation is doing to your
polls. You wouldn't be planning out your entire workweek, while
she's sitting there staring at you like you hung the moon and
freaking stars. You sure as hell wouldn't be sitting around the
table with your parents watching, while you played pretty with our
family."

"Wow, you know me so well," I said dryly.
"You done?"

"Nope." Jake laughed out loud. "I know I'm
not usually the voice of reason, but hear me out."

"Five minutes."

"You like Beth."

"Yes."

"You want Beth."

"Yes."

"You want to spend time with Beth alone?"

"Yes."

"Yet you're letting people control your
decisions because you want to make everyone happy. Because you
can't stand the fact that you may let your parents down, or even
Grandma, who you've only known for a year."

"Are you telling me to come clean?"

"Not at all." Jake shrugged. "I'm saying only
someone truly stupid would worry about what everyone else thought,
when the woman of his dreams was sitting right next to him. So you
want to kiss her? Kiss her. You want to touch her? Touch her. You
want to run away with her? Sneak out? Get crazy? The only person
stopping you right now is you and your damn ideas about
perfection."

"It's like you're giving me permission to do
drugs or have sex."

Jake let out a bark of laughter. "Well, drugs
aren't the way to go, just look at Grandma."

I smirked.

"And while I wouldn't suggest another
one-night stand… it wouldn't hurt to kiss her instead of making her
cry."

"She was crying?" My heart slammed against my
chest.

"Grandma told Char who ended up telling me.
What you do with this information is all you. But word to the wise?
Grandma's never been wrong."

"Why do people keep telling me that?"

"Because it's true."

We sat in silence.

Groaning, Jake smacked me on the shoulder.
"Go on, Thor, steal her away."

"Not you too."

"It's a catchy nickname." He snickered.

"Everything okay out here?" Grandma nearly
fell on her face as she maneuvered through the sand like a drunken
sailor.

"I'm sick," I blurted.

"Was it the fish?" she said in a low voice.
"Cause I'll tell you one thing, that ladies' restroom won't be the
same after I went in there and
—
"

"He should go to his room. I'll send Beth,"
Jake said, coming to my rescue.

"But what about the party?" Grandma moved her
hips from side to side.

I coughed wildly.

"Quick, Grandma, he's going to puke!" Jake
put his arm around me and walked me briskly toward the opposite end
of the beach. "Better make a run for it. I'll send you Florence
Nightingale. Oh, and P.S., you owe me for distracting Grandma
tonight."

"Thanks." I jogged off toward the hut,
smiling. Who would have ever thought Jake had a thought in that
brain of his?

"So your grandson pulled the wool over your
eyes?"

"No," Grandma said. "I allowed him to think
he did. I purposefully told him about Beth, hoping to get him to do
something about it. I knew Travis would intervene, bless his heart.
He's always been the softie. But Jake? Jake has a way about wording
things. He's honest, and he's brutal about it. I think the senator
needed to hear it from Jake."

"Hear what?"

"To get his head out of his ass."

Beth

I ran to the hut. Jake came back without
Jace, claiming that he was sick and was puking up fish.

Not a mental picture any one of us needed,
considering we were all eating the same fish.

"Should I go see him?"

"Someone needs to!" Grandma started toward
the direction of the huts, when Travis began choking on his
food.

A few things happened in that moment. All of
which, I am one-hundred-percent convinced were planned
strategically by the Titus family.

"Oh no!" Kacey hit his back. "Travis!
Grandma, help him!"

Travis's eyes widened as Grandma yelled and
pushed people out of the way to reach her grandson. Much like a
cheetah flies through the brush, in a flash of spots, Grandma was
there, arms around Travis as she started the Heimlich.

Of course, that was at the exact time that
Jake spilled rum punch all over Jace's dad, pushed out of his
chair, and ended up smacking Jace's mom in the face with his
cup.

Chairs fell.

People were shouting.

I could have sworn I saw a few tears.

And in the midst of it all, Char leaned over
and whispered, "I don't think they'll notice if you leave."

Which was why I ran to the hut. It wasn't for
fear that something was wrong with Jace. It was a fear of Grandma
Nadine. A healthy fear. The type of fear that keeps people from
getting eaten by bears. I was running so I wouldn't get caught.

I scurried to a halt in front of our door,
slid the key in and entered, then slammed the door behind me,
breathing heavily as I leaned against it.

"Being chased by wild donkeys?"

"No," I heaved. "I didn't want Grandma to
follow me."

"Ah, that explains the panic."

"She's faster than she looks." I leaned over
and took a few deep breaths through my nose. "I think I need to
start doing more cardio."

"Or eating less cookies." Jace felt the need
to say.

"And to think I came here to nurse you back
to health." I lifted my head long enough to give him a glare then
stretched my arms above my head.

"Take off the necklace, and you can nurse all
you want."

"The necklace? Why?" I fingered the brown
necklace and tugged it over my head.

"I have a theory."

"Oh, this should be good."

"Do you want to hear it or not?"

"Yes." I took off the necklace, placed it on
the nightstand, and sat on the bed.

"If you wear the fertility necklace at the
same time I do, and we sit on the same bed, we'll
—
" He waved his hand in the air.

"Sleep?"

Jace rolled his eyes. "You know… we'll… you
know."

"Do your speeches always go this well, Mr.
Senator?"

"Have sex." he coughed, "and we should
probably not, not with the sex."

"Not with the sex?" I repeated.
"Eloquent."

"I'm sick. Bad fish." He coughed.

"You're a liar, and you're going to
hell."

"Funny, I told Travis that exact same thing
today."