Page 85 of Fallen Hearts

“No.”

His answer was so confident. So immediate.

“Interesting.” Except it wasn’t. Not at all.

“Do you?” he asked.

Mine was just as easy. “Yes. Of course.”

“Despite the fact that a majority of marriages end in divorce. Or infidelity. Or loss, eventually.”

“First of all, I don’t know if that’s even true.”

“It is.”

I ignored him. “Second of all, that’s like saying I’m never going to take another risk in my entire life because something can go wrong. That’s not me. Didn’t think it was you, either.”

“There’s risk and then there’s calculated risk. Two different things.”

“Oh, here we go. Talk to me, Sergeant Bennett.” I was half-joking. But half-serious, too. His logic was flawed.

“Gladly. I?—”

“Two orders of hot.” Beck emphasized the wordhot. “Wings.”

Although he put them in front of us, napkins and all, Beck didn’t leave. He was obviously waiting for me to take a bite. Little did he know, I was competitive as hell, and even if my mouth was on fire, I’d never let it show.

So, with an eye roll, I grabbed a wing. Took a bite. And smiled. After a second, the heat kicked in. And he was right. These were more like extra hot. My drink beckoned, but I didn’t dare reach for it. Instead, I took another bite.

Both of the guys watched as I ate the wing, discarded it and picked up another. Meanwhile, my lips burned.

“Point made,” Beck said, moving away.

When his back turned, I grabbed my drink.

Mason smiled knowingly. “Hot?”

“So friggin hot. Dear lord.”

“No faces, Beck’s turned this way.”

I loved that he played along. But I didn’t love this whole bachelor pact thing or the discussion it brought up. I did love the wings, though, even though they were really hot.

Though part of me wanted to go back to the marriage/risk discussion, I also wasn’t interested in convincing Mason that hewantedto get married. You couldn’t make someone want what they didn’t, especially in matters of the heart.

Instead, I took it in another direction. “So besides you, who will be the last man standing? Beck?”

“Nah. He loves playing the field, but as long as Mae O’Malley sticks around, there’s a chance for him to settle down.”

“Who’s Mae O’Malley?”

“His boss’s daughter. Grew up next door to him.” Mason lowered his voice. “He’s had a crush on her his entire life. Even Beck knows she’s too good for him. They’re friends but…” His voice trailed off.

“Does she know that he likes her?”

“Oh God, no. Beck won’t even admit that he likes her himself. I think the bunch of us are damned fools. Even when we made one of the rules just for her, he still won’t admit it.”

I groaned. “Rules?”

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