One
I don’t lose bets.
So when I declare I can make Ethan Parker fall for me in ninety days, I mean it.
Love isn’t magic. It’s timing, attraction, compatibility—people pretending instinct is more mysterious than it is. Put the right two people together often enough and eventually they start calling coincidence fate.
Across the bar, Ethan Parker laughs at something one of his friends says.
Jade follows my line of sight and groans immediately. “Oh, absolutely not.”
We’re at The Harbor, our usual place near campus, all sticky tables and dim amber lighting. The marina’s close enough that the air smells faintly like salt underneath the beer and citrus.
Ethan’s near the bar in a white button-down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, looking offensively well-lit for a random Thursday night.
Some people just look expensive in low lighting.
“You’re staring,” Callie says.
“I’m observing.”
“You say that like you’re conducting field research.”
“I basically am.”
Jade snorts into her margarita. “Who is it this time?”
“Ethan Parker.”
Both of them react instantly.
Callie lets out a low laugh while Jade actually drops her head onto the table for a second. “Summer. Be serious.”
“What?”
“He’s, like…” Jade waves vaguely toward him. “Golden retriever boyfriend final boss.”
I grin. “Exactly.”
“That’s not a normal response.”
“It makes perfect sense.” I lean back in the booth. “He’s attractive, emotionally available, consistent—”
“You sound like a woman explaining cryptocurrency to me.”
“I sound correct.”
Callie swirls her martini once. “You talk about dating like you’re assembling patio furniture.”
“Because people overcomplicate it.” I shrug. “You build familiarity. Create emotional intimacy. Positive reinforcement, shared experiences, sustained attention—”
“Oh my God,” Jade interrupts. “You absolutely read psychology articles for fun.”
Before I can answer, a voice slides in behind me.
“You’re exhausting.”
I close my eyes briefly.
Of course.
Liam Carter drops into the booth beside me without asking. The seat shifts under his weight hard enough to bump my shoulder against his for half a second.
Warm.
Annoyingly warm.
He smells faintly like cold air and cedar, like he came in from outside five minutes ago instead of living in the same overheated world as the rest of us.
“Fantastic,” I mutter. “Now the evening’s ruined.”
“Aw.” Liam stretches an arm along the back of the booth. “And here I thought you missed me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Too late.”
Three years of this.
Shared classes. Group projects. Mutual friends. Liam showing up exactly where I don’t want him and acting delighted about it.
The worst part is that he always looks entertained before I’ve even said anything.
Like he already knows how the argument’s going to end.
Callie points lazily between us. “You two have the energy of people who got divorced in their late twenties.”
“We are not flirting,” Liam and I say at the same time.
Jade nearly chokes.
Liam ignores her completely, looking back at me instead. “So let me understand this. You think you can make Ethan Parker fall in love with you in ninety days?”
“I don’t think,” I say. “I know.”
“That’s deeply concerning.”
“It’s psychology.”
“It’s manipulation.”
“It’s confidence.”
“That sounded rehearsed.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Which somehow makes it worse.”
I hate that Jade laughs at that.
Liam watches me for another second, thumb tapping once against the side of his glass. “Alright, then.”
Something in his tone makes me straighten slightly.
“Alright what?”
“Prove it.”
The table goes quiet.
Even Callie looks interested now.
“You want me to date Ethan Parker to prove a point?”
“I want to see if your little theory actually works.” Liam tilts his head. “Ninety days. Make him fall in love with you.”
There’s a challenge sitting underneath the words now. Not playful anymore.
Personal.
“And if I do?”
His eyes stay on mine a beat too long before he answers.
“Then I admit you’re right.”
“Which is?”
“That love is predictable.” He shrugs once. “Controllable. Whatever you’ve been trying to sell us for the last ten minutes.”
“And if I lose?”
A slow grin pulls at his mouth.
“Then you admit I’m right.”
I cross my arms. “Which is?”
“That people are messy.” His gaze flicks briefly to my mouth before returning to my eyes. “And you don’t get to choose who you fall for.”
Something uncomfortable shifts low in my stomach.
Not butterflies.
More like the feeling of realizing you missed a step going downstairs.
I ignore it immediately.
“I’m not losing.”
“You sound nervous.”
“I sound right.”
“Mm.”
I should let it go.
Honestly, I probably would if he looked even slightly smugger about this.
Instead, I hold out my hand. “Deal.”
Liam glances at my hand, then takes it.
His grip’s steady, rougher than I expect.
For one stupid second, I become hyperaware of the fact that his hand is warm and mine suddenly isn’t.
His thumb brushes once against my knuckles before he lets go.
Tiny movement.
Still enough that my brain completely loses its train of thought.
Which is humiliating.
His eyes flick to my face immediately like he noticed.
Of course he noticed.
“Hope you’re ready to lose, Wilder.”
His voice lands lower now, quieter beneath the noise of the bar.
Too close.
I pull my hand back first. “Please. You should be more worried about embarrassing yourself.”
His grin deepens slightly, like he knows something I don’t.
Which, irritatingly, happens a lot.
“Game on.”
The second he slides out of the booth, Jade exhales hard. “Okay. Weird.”
“What?”
“That.”
She points vaguely in the direction Liam disappeared.
Callie smirks into her drink. “You two have something deeply unresolved going on.”
“We absolutely do not.”
Neither of them responds to that, which feels rude.
Across the room, Ethan glances over and catches my eye.
Right on cue, my phone buzzes against the table.
Ethan: Hey, Summer. Didn’t know you were here. Come say hi?
Excitement sparks immediately.
Because this is what I wanted.
Ethan is easy to picture a future with. Beach trips. Shared playlists. Christmas photos where everyone in the comments says you guys are disgustingly cute.
Simple. Stable. Safe.
Exactly the kind of relationship that lasts.
I start typing back.
Then fingertips brush lightly against the small of my back as Liam passes behind my seat toward the bar.
Barely there.
Still, every muscle in my spine tightens.
“Careful, Wilder,” he murmurs near my ear.
I hate that my pulse reacts instantly.
“Some games don’t end the way you think they will.”
Then he keeps walking.
No pause. No look back. Just disappears toward the bar like he didn’t say anything weird at all.
Jade watches me over the rim of her drink.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“You felt that.”
I let out a short laugh. “Felt what?”
Callie just keeps smirking.
Annoying.
I straighten in my seat and finally hit send on the text to Ethan.
Ninety days.
A perfect plan.
A guaranteed outcome.
So why does it suddenly feel like I agreed to the wrong bet?
