Harley straightened. “I did not. We agreed the bet was null and void so that Rosalie wouldn’t be offended.”
I made a scoffing noise but no one heard me.
“Yes, but…” Conner looked so smug I almost felt bad for Harley. “Now that Rosalie and I are together and we’re able to laugh about that bet—”
“Nope, not laughing,” I interjected. “We are definitely not at the laughing-about-it stage yet.”
“Fair enough,” Conner replied without taking his eyes off Harley. “But that doesn’t change the fact that technically I won the challenge since Rosalie is technically going to homecoming with me.” He glanced over at me and his smile warmed me from head to toe. “As my date.”
I’d heard enough about this bet to know what Harley had at stake, and part of me felt a little sorry for her as she squirmed in place, clearly trying to find a way out of this bet.
Part of me wanted to help her out, but also…she had issued the challenge, and she had agreed to the bet, and more than all of that—I’d seen the way she looked at Tristan when she thought no one was looking.
“He’s right,” I said, hopping off the counter and slipping an arm around his waist.
Harley’s eyes widened with horror. “You’re taking his side?”
I lifted a shoulder. “A bet is a bet.”
“But…but…” Harley’s eyes darted between us, a hint of panic in her eyes. I exchanged a quick look with Conner and was pretty sure his knowing look matched mine. She was scared. Not because Tristan was a bad guy…but because he wasn’t.
I’d have bet anything that she liked Tristan, and I knew Tristan well enough to know that if he said he wanted to go out with her, he wasn’t messing around. Unlike Danny and his friends, Tristan was mature.
And I was pretty sure that’s what made Harley so scared.
“That’s…” She stopped to swallow and her accusatory gaze landed on me. “That’s basically asking me to do to him what Conner did to you.”
I shrugged. “No one said you had to lie to him. You can tell him whatever you want, but…” I winced as if it really pained me to say it. “Pretty sure the rules state that you need to uphold your end of this bargain.”
“Rules? What rules?”
Conner was choking on a laugh as Harley threw her hands up and headed back toward the living room where it sounded like the twins were engaged in another epic battle for the controller.
“Thanks for that,” he said quietly into my ear.
“My pleasure.”
“I think Harley needs a push out of her comfort zone,” he said.
I nodded. “Just like us.”
“Exactly.”
I smiled up at him. “Here’s hoping her step into the unknown will make her as happy as it’s made me.”
He sighed happily and brushed some hair out of my face. “If it doesn’t, I’ll kill him.”
“Spoken like a brother,” I said.
He gave a little grunt that was part amusement, part acknowledgment. “Don’t tell Harley.”
“It’ll be our little secret.”
“Seal it with a kiss?”
I was already going up on my tiptoes to press my lips to his. “Happily,” I whispered.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed Charming the Cheerleader, reviews are always appreciated. Be sure to check out Harley and Tristan’s story next in Dating the Quarterback:
Harley lost the bet and now it’s time to pay up. This loner will have to face her greatest fear...and say yes to a date with the quarterback.
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MAGGIE DALLEN IS a big city girl living in Montana. She writes romantic comedies in a range of genres including young adult, historical, contemporary, and fantasy. An unapologetic addict of all things romance, she loves to connect with fellow avid readers. Subscribe to her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bFEVsL
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Charming the Cheerleader (The Bet Duet Book 1) Page 15