Page 79 of The Striker (Gods of the Game 1)

I burst into laughter, but it tapered off when he didn’t join me.

He couldn’t be serious.

“Are you daft?” I demanded. “What makes you think that’ll be a good idea? You don’t even like Clive!”

“I don’t have to like him to double date with him.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“No, it’s not. Think about it. First dates are awkward. It’s a small restaurant, and we’ll both be there anyway. This is the perfect way for us to get to know the other person without the pressure of a one-on-one.”

“Asher, darling, if you don’t have faith in your first-date skills, you should’ve just said so,” I said, deliberately throwing his nickname for me back at him.

His smirk indicated he’d caught it. “My dating skills aren’t the ones I’m worried about.”

“Are you implying I’m a bad date?”

Asher shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. But I knowI’mnot a bad date.”

“Please. I’ll have Clive eating out of my hand before the main course.” I hadn’t been on a date in a while, but I could turn on the charm when I wanted.

“He’s a guy,” Asher said. “He’ll eat anything you put in front of him.”

“Way to insinuate my date has no standards.”

“You’re the one who said it, not me.”

“You shouldn’t talk. You depend on your looks and money to do the heavy lifting.” I jabbed my finger at his chest. It was like poking a brick wall. “I bet you can’t carry a dinner’s worth of conversation to save your life. Your date will be bored to tears.”

“You want to bet on it?” Asher’s eyes glinted with challenge. “Let’s see who ends the night with a second date lined up. Winner gets bragging rights. Loser suffers eternal shame.”

“A bet? What are we, teenagers?” I scoffed. A beat passed. “What happens if we both get a second date?”

“Then we can sleep soundly knowing we’ve made it to adulthood with the proper social skills.”

It was a trap. A double date with Asher was the worst idea in the history of worst ideas, and my self-preservation instincts were screaming at me not to take the bait.

But if I backed down, he’d say I was afraid. That I wasn’t up for the task. And that was unacceptable.

“Fine. I accept your bet.” Even if we weren’t betting on anything material, I had no intention of walking away fromFriday night’s dinner without a second date locked in. “May the best man or woman win.”

CHAPTER 21

ASHER

I shouldn’t have suggested a double date.

I didn’t know what Monday Afternoon Asher had been smoking, but Friday Night Asher knew he was in deep shit the minute he arrived at the Golden Wharf.

“Wow.” Ivy took in the flowering plants and gilded doors, her eyes wide. “This place is amazing.”

“It’s one of the best,” I said, distracted.

It took one call for me to secure a table for four at the most exclusive restaurant in town. That wasn’t the problem.

Neither was finding a date. Contrary to what I’d told Scarlett, I’d spent last weekend at home. I hadn’t met anyone anywhere, but Ivy was a friend who’d been on board with a free meal and entertainment. She wasn’t interested in me romantically, so it was perfect. I didn’t want the complication of bringing someone who thought the date meant something.

I’d briefed her on how and when we supposedly met, so that wasn’t the problem either.