The Dating Dare Read online

  With a glare that threw a thousand daggers, Tara tilted back her beer and slammed down the empty glass.

  “Your turn.” She wore her game face, but she was having a fantastic time. Seth had somehow chased away her restlessness to the far corner of her mind, and she felt happy and relaxed.

  “Truth,” he said without hesitation.

  “When was your first kiss?” He probably started his playboy ways early. Maybe at the tender age of six. But she should rule out the innocuous pecks. “With tongue.”

  He pulled at an earlobe that was turning an interesting shade of red. “When I was eighteen.”

  “Eighteen?” she practically yelled, eyes bulging. She clamped her mouth shut before she repeated herself. Eighteen? She’d assumed that he’d lost his virginity before then.

  “Yeah, I was a late bloomer,” he said, shrugging sheepishly.

  It was endearing, and she wanted to hug him and plant kisses all over his face. She liked him. She really liked him, and it wasn’t because she was drunk. Then again that was exactly what a drunk person would say.

  Besides, she couldn’t forget that liking him was a bad idea. Chaos and annihilation. Remember? She should focus on why she agreed to have a drink with him in the first place. Because she didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to be sucked into the hollowness left by Aubrey’s wedding. And like Seth had said, he made great company. That was all this was.

  “Cool, cool. I’m down with that.” That was probably the least cool thing she could’ve said.

  “Okay. Moving on. Truth or dare?” he asked, putting an extra dose of challenge into his words.

  “Dare.” She could handle dares. They were harmless.

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” A warm, seductive smile spread across his face.

  “Stop playing mind games with me.” Her stomach fluttered at his smile, but Tara crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Do your worst. I can take you.”

  “I want you to go out on four dates with me—”

  “What?”

  “I wasn’t finished. I want you to go out on four dates with me, and not fall for me.”

  She stared at him slack-jawed for three seconds before busting out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Not at all.”

  “Aren’t you leaving for a new job in Paris soon? And how do we fit in four dates when you’re in Santa Monica and I’m here?”

  “I volunteered to house-sit for Landon and Aubrey while they and the baby are off on their extended honeymoon. I’ll be your neighbor for a month, so meeting up should be easy enough.”

  Go on four dates with him. Pfft. It was a ridiculous proposition. She should just drink the beer and be done with it. Then why wasn’t she reaching for her glass? Why? Because you’re seriously tempted. That’s why.

  “Why do you want to date me anyway?” she asked on a spurt of annoyance.

  “Are you fishing for compliments?” he teased with a charming grin. “Because I’ll gladly oblige.”

  “Oh, quiet, you.” She glared at him for being so annoying yet so good-looking. “Were you planning on doing this the entire time we were playing truth or dare?”

  “Yup. That’s why I suggested the game. It was a stroke of genius,” he said excitedly, so proud of himself. He needed to quit being so adorable.

  How did his eyes twinkle when he smiled? It shouldn’t be possible. Maybe it was the lighting at the bar. She tested out a smile to see if she could do it, too.

  “Um … you okay?” Seth asked, his gaze skimming her face with concern. “Your eyes are twitching.”

  “Of course, I’m okay.” She whipped away her smile, abandoning her failed experiment.

  “I think you’re stalling.”

  “I don’t need to stall.” She was stalling.

  Temptation sang its siren’s call to her. It would be for a short duration with a hard end time, so it couldn’t become anything serious. And there was no chance her love life and real life would collide into each other if they were discreet. They would keep their dates completely under wraps for a month. No one needed to know. There. Chaos and annihilation avoided.

  She was obviously oversimplifying things, but she wanted this. Besides, Seth Kim was a player. He was just looking for a fun fling while he house-sat in a sleepy little town. That was exactly what she wanted, too. There was no doubt she was attracted to him, and he was fun to be with. And she really wanted to be not-alone for a while. Of course, she wasn’t going to jump into bed with him right away, but she wasn’t adverse to considering it. Her vagina cheered.

  She briefly thought about Roger, but their arrangement was flexible and nonexclusive. They had paused their arrangement while he was in a relationship for a few months a couple years ago. This would be something like that but even shorter. There was no deterrent there.

  As for the last bit about not falling for him? That was laughable. Tara hadn’t made the mistake of giving her heart away since college. She was a quick learner. Love warped some people into jealous, possessive, and manipulative assholes, while it turned others into simpering putty who desperately molded themselves to fit the person they loved. Soon the relationship felt like a cage without light. She valued her autonomy too much to risk falling in love. And she never wanted to become the one to stifle another person’s spirit.

  Plus, Seth was Landon’s younger brother and Aubrey’s brother-in-law. Hell, he was practically her little brother by default. A sexy-as-hell, mama-would-like-some stud of a little brother, but there was no way she would fall for him.

  Are you done convincing yourself? Yes.

  * * *

  His sobriety test assured him that Tara was the one making the decision and not the alcohol. No matter how much he wanted to date her, he wanted her to choose him because she wanted to, not on a drunken whim.

  “So what will it be?” he prodded. Her prolonged silence was fraying his nerves. “I understand it’ll be challenging not to fall in love with me.”

  “Honey, please.” Tara snorted. “You’re pretty to look at, and I might be a smidgeon attracted to you, but love is definitely not on the horizon.”

  A smidgeon attracted to me? I’ll take that. He liked having room to grow.

  “That’s perfect. I’ll be moving out of the country in a month. What’s the harm in going out on a few dates with me?” It would be short and oh so sweet. A perfect pastime to keep his stay in Weldon interesting. “At the very least, I’ll make certain we have fun.”

  “What’s up with the absurd condition anyway? The chances of me falling in love with you is a big fat zero.” She stared at him as though he was an alien species. Then her expression turned wily. “Maybe you’re afraid of someone falling in love with you. Have you sworn off love and happily ever after? Is that why you hate weddings?”

  Seth blinked rapidly as her words triggered unwanted memories. He’d been burned. Very badly. And love wasn’t something he intended to give another try. But in this instance, he’d placed the condition mainly to coax Tara into accepting. With her competitive edge, she would no doubt love the chance to prove him wrong. But maybe he’d inadvertently revealed too much of himself as well.

  “Not believing in love and being afraid of it are completely different things,” he said lightly. “I just wanted to ensure that no one’s feelings got hurt in our little month of fun.”

  “So does the condition apply to you as well? Can you go on four whole dates with yours truly and not fall for me?” Tara fluttered her eyelashes at him. “I don’t know. I think your chances are pretty slim.”

  “I’m willing to take the risk.” His stomach did a funny little dance. Was he underestimating the risk? No. He’d vowed to never fall in love again after Jessica, and his heart hadn’t been in the remotest danger since. And it wouldn’t be now. “Okay. Let’s stop playing around and get to the point. Do you accept the dare or not? There’s no shame in chickening out, Tara. All you have to do is say uncle and drink that love
ly glass of beer in front of you.”

  She worried her bottom lip, drawing his attention there. Damn. She had the most kissable lips he’d ever seen, and he’d seen many beautiful women in his line of work. There was just something about them. He wet his lips, imagining how they would feel against his own. They were the perfect shade of deep pink, and the bottom lip was just a little fuller than her top one with a light split down the middle, plumping up the two halves. Heat spread through his body, and the need to kiss her became almost unbearable.

  “I accept your dare,” she said, slapping her hand on the counter as though she was calling his bet at a poker table.

  Seth stared blankly at her, struggling to disperse the fog of desire clouding his mind. More than anything, he was shocked by her acquiescence. He didn’t think he had a real chance with her. Even though he was the one who’d suggested the dare, a flash of nervousness hit him. He had no idea what he was getting into, did he? She wasn’t just any other woman. She was Tara. He was already well on his way to being infatuated with her. Taking his eyes off of her when she was nearby was a study in discipline.

  Could he say with confidence that he wouldn’t feel more for her as the month passed? It was a solid maybe. Well, fuck it. He was moving to Paris in a month. He intended to make it a month to remember with this incredible woman who made him dizzy with desire. Call it a farewell gift to myself.

  “Good choice,” he said, unable to hold back his wolfish grin. “You won’t regret it.”

  A soft blush climbed to her cheeks, but her words were as dry as the Mohave Desert. “There’s that inflated ego again.”

  “Come sit down,” Seth said, patting the seat beside him. He still could hardly believe that she’d agreed to his dare. He wanted her close by to assure him that it was really happening. “You’ve been standing behind the bar this whole time. Don’t your legs get tired?”

  “Nah. I’m used to it. But I’ll join you to celebrate our ridiculous arrangement.”

  She filled up a pitcher and set out some beer nuts before coming to sit beside him.

  “To the dating dare.” He raised his glass with a happy grin, and forced aside his unease. He would have Tara to himself for four whole dates. How could that be anything but fun? “It’s going to be a wild ride.”

  “You’re so corny. Is this what I have to look forward to in the next month?”

  “This and so much more awesomeness,” he said, hamming it up.

  Tara rolled her eyes, but her smile was blinding. “You certainly won’t be boring.”

  Since their drinking game had come to a very satisfactory conclusion, Seth switched to water, being mindful that he had to drive back to his hotel later. While Tara appeared to be in a lighter mood than before, she continued to drown her lingering sorrows in her beer.

  Her alcohol tolerance was impressive. Her gaze was focused and she enunciated each word perfectly even after drinking all the penalty beer, as well as from the pitcher in front of them. The woman could probably drink him under the table. But with a suddenness that startled him, Tara’s eyes went from sparkling with humor to clouded with alcohol.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Seth asked. “We should call it a night.”

  She seemed to be trying to focus on his face, but ended up staring at the tip of his nose, making herself cross-eyed.

  “Don’t be such a … um … party pooper,” she slurred, drawing her brows down. Then she burst into a fit of giggles. “Party pooper. It’s funny because … poop. Quit pooping on the party, Seth.”

  “All right then.” He chuckled under his breath. Potty humor was a clear indication that sobriety was far gone. “Let’s get you home.”

  He stood from his seat, and tidied up the best he could, rinsing the cups and pitcher in the bar sink. Seth worked quickly, but Tara began slumping on the stool.

  “Whoa.” He got to her side just in time to prop her up. “You need to tell me where you live.”

  “I live over yonder with my faithful parents and overprotective big brothers.”

  Overprotective? God, he had to get her home if he didn’t want his ass kicked by Jack and Alex. He’d had no idea she was this drunk. She literally went from sober to hammered in a hot second.

  “And where might yonder be?” he asked.

  “The street where the houses are,” she whispered as though she was telling him a closely held secret.

  Oh, boy. Seth wiped a hand down his face. “Okay, let’s get you to my car.”

  “Onward ho,” she hollered, pointing toward the ceiling.

  “No, not that way. This way.” He redirected her arm toward the back entrance, and led them out through it. “We need to lock up. Where are your keys?”

  She waved vaguely at his arm where her purse hung. With a heavy sigh, Seth rummaged through it, trying not to notice what was in there. When his hand wrapped around a jingling set of keys, he pulled it out and held it up to Tara.

  “Which one?” he asked. She laughed in his face, and leaned her forehead against his shoulder, shunning the keys he held in front of her. He huffed a defeated sigh. “I guess I’ll have to try them all.”

  After several failed attempts, Seth finally found the right key, and locked up the brewery. Why does the woman have so many keys anyway?

  “Here.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her arm over his shoulder. She was practically dead weight in his arms, bogged down by a vast amount of beer. “I need you to help me walk you to my car. Otherwise, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.”

  “French fries. Mashed potatoes. Tater tots. Mmm … I love tater tots.”

  “We’ll get some tater tots on one of our dates.” Seth laughed despite his frustration. How could he not have known how drunk she was? Regardless, she was adorable.

  Turning his attention back to the task at hand, they stumbled slowly to his car. When they arrived at last, Tara whispered with awe, “Look. A car.”

  “Yup. It’s a car all right,” he agreed, opening the passenger-side door. “Please get in.”

  “Okie dokie.” She made an awkward dive for the seat.

  “No, no, no. Don’t climb in that way. Your bottom goes there not your knees. Here, let me help you. Wait. Watch your head.” He inserted his hand between her head and the roof of the car just in time to stop her from banging her head against it, and crushed his hand instead. “Ow.”

  He grunted and cursed as he maneuvered her onto the passenger seat, but finally had her safely ensconced in her seat. When he came around to the driver’s side and reached over to buckle her in, her eyes were drooping.

  “Tara, you can’t fall asleep now.” He gave her shoulder a gentle shake. “You need to focus and tell me where you live.”

  She snored softly in response.

  “Wait a minute,” he said to himself. “Her driver’s license.”

  He reached for her purse and searched through it with a mumbled apology. He saw her giant set of keys, her phone, a tube of lipstick, and some crumpled up cash in there, but no license. Then he remembered her telling him that she had driven to the wedding with her family. She must’ve left her driver’s license at home.

  Seth grabbed fistfuls of his hair and groaned. He had no idea where she lived, and taking her to his hotel wasn’t the best idea for his sanity. She was so breathtaking, especially when she’d relaxed and laughed with him. He’d been tempted to kiss her all night until she went from zero to drunk in the blink of an eye. Sleeping next to her soft warm body was going to be torture.

  But what choice did he have? He wasn’t going to leave her alone at the brewery. Nor was he going to spend a night in the car with her when he had a warm bed waiting for him. Well, for them.

  “Shit,” he said, which helped marginally with his frustration.

  He pulled out of the brewery’s parking lot and drove the few blocks to his hotel. Lola’s Inn and Trattoria was a charming Italian restaurant with a few welcoming, thoughtfully appointed rooms on th
e second and third floors. He loved everything about it. The warm, dark wood of the décor in the restaurant to the cozy, farmhouse-style rooms. This was his go-to spot to stay when he visited Landon. His brother let him get away with staying at a hotel since Seth wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep with Morgan waking up several times during the night.

  It was past two o’clock in the morning, so there was no one watching the front counter, which made sneaking into the hotel with Tara a bit less nerve-wracking. Even so, he scanned the parking lot to check that there was no one around. She was a local, and he didn’t want her subjected to prying eyes while she stumbled out of his car dead drunk.

  “Tara. Tara,” Seth said, unbuckling her. She mumbled something and opened one eye.

  “Wassit? Who’s you? Seth?” Then she closed her eye again.

  “I don’t know where you live so I brought you to Lola’s. I need you to walk up with me to my room. Okay?” Seth shook her lightly by her arm. “I’ll make you a cup of coffee, and take you home once you sober up.”

  “Mar-ma-lade. Orange marmalade,” she said with gravitas as though her words were of great importance.

  “Yes. Marmalade. Sure,” he said agreeably. He just needed to work quickly while she was conscious. “I’m going to help you out of the car, and we’re going to walk a few small steps at a time. Easy peasy, right?”

  “No, peas. Hate. Much hate.”

  Despite the predicament he found himself in, Seth couldn’t help but laugh. She was so fucking cute. There wasn’t a hint of her signature sarcasm in sight. Not that he didn’t enjoy her prickly side, too.

  Even though her eyes were open, she was far from alert. When he rounded his car and hefted her out of the passenger seat, she sagged against him. He wrapped her waist tightly with his arm, and held her hand over his shoulder so she wouldn’t slide down. He took a careful step forward. Her foot moved a step as well. Thank God. One step at a time, they reached the entrance to Lola’s. He dug around his pockets, holding Tara up with one arm.