Page 20 of The Dating Dare

“There,” she said to her perfectly pleasant reflection on the closet mirror. “Why did that have to be so hard? Is this Seth guy a big deal or something?”

She laughed at herself. He wasnota big dealorsomething. Seth was the guy she was going out with on four dates. He was also the one leaving for Paris in a month. In a nutshell, he was like any other man she casually dated but had an even shorter shelf life. With no option of extending the arrangement. Her stomach dipped ever soslightly at the thought, and she ignored it. She was going out to be not-alone for an afternoon with a fine-ass man. Stomach dipping of any sort was not included. And definitely not recognized or analyzed.

She picked up her favorite lip stain but hesitated before putting it on.Stop it with the overthinking.She wore lip stain all the time. Tara wasn’t doing it to look good for Seth. It just made her feel good.

“Relax. Quit analyzing every breath you take.” With those parting words to her reflection, she grabbed her purse and jacket and walked out to the living room.

“You look nice,” Jack said, wiping sweat off his brows with a small towel. He must’ve just come back from a run. “Going out?”

“Nice? What? Going out? No,” she replied, cool as cucumber slices on ice.Oh, for Gollum’s sake.“I’m just wearing what I normally wear on my off days when I run errands. That’s where I’m going. To run errands.”

“You are so weird sometimes.” Her brother crinkled his nose with a hint of concern on his face.

“Weird? No… I’m always like this.” She was freaking out. She didn’t want her brothers to know that she was seeing Seth, but she was doing the opposite of not acting suspicious.What the hell?Sneaking around was her forte. That was how she kept her love life shrouded in mystery for her family.“This is me being normal.”

“Yeah… normal. Okay. I’m going to my room now.” Jack hurried away with a wary glance over his shoulder.

Tara raised her eyes to the ceiling. What was wrong with her? She was a single woman going on a date with a single man. It was ridiculous how nervous she was. Embarrassingly ridiculous. She yelled a loud “bye” and shot out the door before she gave a repeat performance of her bumbling-jackass act.

She was five minutes early, but Seth’s car pulled up to her house. She should’ve told him to meet her a block away. He opened the driver’s door and stepped out of the car.Crap.He was going to slow down their getaway.

“Get back in the car,” she yelled as she jumped into the passenger seat. “Drive.”

“Woah. What’s the hurry? Did you just rob your own house?”

“Drive now. Ask questions later.”

“All right.” Seth shrugged, his lips quirking to the side. “Who knew a picnic could be so exciting?”

In response to her urgency, he floored the pedal and shot away from the curb with enough speed to shove her back into her seat. She laughed with unexpected exhilaration, and her heart flipped when Seth’s deep laughter joined hers.

Once her house was out of view, he slowed down to something close to the speed limit and quirked an eyebrow at her. “So. What was all that about?”

“I didn’t think this through very thoroughly.”

“What? The picnic?”

“Yes. No. The fact that you and I are having a picnic together.” She snuck a peek at Seth’s face. A small frown formed between his brows. “It’s not you. It’s me.”

“Seriously? I pick you up for our first date and you give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ spiel?” He kept his eyes on the road, but a smile played around his lips.

“It’s just that I don’t want my family to find out about our dating arrangement. We’re only seeing each other four times, and I don’t want to complicate things.”

Seth nodded, pursing his lips. “So you’re having second thoughts about having a picnic at the park?”

“No. It’s highly unlikely I’ll see anyone I know there.” She offered him a wry smile. “It’s more about having you pick me up at my house. Silly little mistakes like that could blow our cover.”

“I guess you’re right. I don’t need Landon to lecture me when he comes home. He thinks I’m a player, too.”

“Hethinksyou are?” Tara cocked her head to the side and stared at his profile. “Are you saying you’re not?”

“I’m saying there’s more to me than you think. At any rate, he probably doesn’t think I’m suitable for Aubrey’s best friend.”

“Well, tell him to mind his own freaking business. Aubrey’s best friend can take care of herself just fine. Even with a renowned playboy.”

“I’m not as bad as you think.” Seth half groaned and half laughed. “I don’t go through women like they’re single-use items. They’re human, real, and fascinating. Many of the models I’ve been seen with are truly just friends.”

Tara waved aside his words. She didn’t mind if he was a player. In fact, she preferred it that way. They were both looking for a good time. No complications. “Anyways, we’re in agreement that the dating dare will stay between us, right?”

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