so competitive with games, sports, with anything for that matter, that I expected him to have a mopey face and go grab another beer or three.
Ben seemed to be enjoying this almost as much as I was.
Once back at the table, the guys set me down and I straightened out my dress.
Ben grinned and held out his balled-up hand across the table. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I gave him a fist-bump and then studied him for a moment.
“What?” He asked.
“You’re being a very good sport about this.”
Ben shrugged. “You won, fair and square.”
He was up to something.
The master of ceremonies approached me, microphone in one hand, and an envelope in the other. “Let’s hear it one more time for our new champion, Lori Martin.”
The people applauded.
“I would like to present you with the grand prize, a trip for two to Cabo San Lucas!”
More applause and cheers.
“Thank you.” I reached out to grab the envelope and—
Ben held up his hand. “Not so fast!”
The man pulled the envelope back.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you now object to my winning.”
He shook his head. “No, not at all. Like I said, you won fair and square. We just haven’t settled the bets on the table.”
I glanced down at the table. “What’s to settle? I won everything.”
“Exactly. That’s my point.”
I crossed my arms, more confused than ever. “For a man who doesn’t like to beat around the bush, you sure are beating around the bush a lot.”
Ben chuckled, reaching across and grabbing the piece of paper from the top of my stack of chips. He unfolded it and held it in my direction. “One kiss at the end of the tournament.”
I laughed. “Nice try. That’s what you bet, not me, so why do you think you get to collect?”
“I’m not collecting. You are.”
I froze. “Come again?”
“You won the kiss at the end of the tournament. Congratulations.” He turned to the master of ceremonies. “Am I mistaken or did the tournament end?”
The man nodded. “Yes, it has ended. Lori Martin is the winner.”
Ben nodded. “But don’t we need to settle all bets before it’s official?”
The man nodded again. “That is also correct. A kiss was bet, therefore a kiss needs to be collected.”
“And if she doesn’t settle?”
The master of ceremonies thought about it. “Well, then, I guess we would have to make you the winner by default, and then you would need to collect the kiss.”
I opened my mouth and closed it.
Ben set me up.
Either way, win or lose, he would’ve gotten a kiss out of the deal.
And his grin was so wide I was pretty sure his face was going to snap in half.
“And there you have it,” Ben said. “Totally up to you.” He glanced around the room. “Does anyone have some spare lip balm?”
An enthusiastic man raised his hand. “I do!”
Ben waved him off. “I’m kidding. Don’t be gross.” He turned back to me and waited. “Well, lovely Lori?”
“Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!”
Ben grinned. “Here we go again.”
I held up my fist. “You’re going to get it.” I didn’t mean it.
He came around to my side of the table. “What do you think I’ve been hoping for? And by the way, you smell absolutely delicious, as usual.”
I shook my head. “Be quiet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I felt my left eye twitch.
“Oops, sorry,” Ben said. “You don’t like that word. Sorry, m’lady.”
I gave him another look.
“You don’t like that either. Okay.” Ben winced. “I’ll just be quiet.”
“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all night.”
I stepped closer, still not believing that I was about to kiss Ben in front of everyone. Truth be told, I was reluctant at first, but now I couldn’t wait.
I would be crazy not to want another one of those kisses. Kyle’s warning popped into my head, but how could he get mad at me for this? This was a bet, and the radio station would have a lot of enemies if they stopped it from happening.
At least, that was what I kept telling myself.
There was no stopping me now.
The question was, would I be able to make it home before someone posted a video of the kiss on the Internet again.
Probably not.
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
I sighed, playing it off like I didn’t want his luscious lips on mine. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
“You’re a trooper.”
I held up my finger as a warning, trying to maintain a poker face, even though the game was long over.
He nodded. “I forgot. Silence is golden.”
I laughed at the ridiculousness of this beautiful man.
I reached up