Ben shook his head and laughed, his eyes never leaving mine.
Was Ben happy for me?
It certainly wasn’t the reaction I expected.
Men were 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.”
