The Non Proposal: What Stays in Vegas, #3

By Juliet Jake

What happens when you make a bet about a marriage proposal?

But cupid has other plans...

 

Maxine:

My single friends need help, but they won't listen. So, I bet them I can make a guy fall in love with me within 30 days, hook line and sinker. Marriage proposal and all. You see, it's all about the chase. You have to do everything the opposite of what you think you should do. In other words, think like a man. Problem was the man I chose as an example, who happened to be infuriatingly hot, wasn't complying. And he wasn't exactly fitting into my expectations...

Little did I know, the man I'd chosen, Kit Mayfield, had his owns plans, in direct opposition to mine. He was an expert at the game... and he never followed the rules.

The Non Proposal is a romantic comedy that is sweet with heat and a whole lot of heart. No cliffhangers or cheating, just a hilarious, sizzling romance with a delicious happily ever after. Novella length, delectably yummy for binging.

What Stays in Vegas is series of funny romances with heat and a whole lot of heart, all with a hilarious wedding theme. You'll find everything from grumpy bosses to jilted brides to bets that backfire, and everything in between.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Love Smitten Books
• Release date: Oct 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215322512

Juliet Jake

Juliet Jake writes sizzling romance with heart, humor and heat. When she’s not writing, you can find her on the beach with her toes in the sand, drinking a Margarita and watching the world go by while she plans her next romantic adventure story.

Book preview

The Non Proposal

Juliet Jake

Books by Juliet Jake

What Happens in Vegas Series

That Night in Vegas

Four Weddings and a Baby Shower

The Non Proposal

My Royally Grumpy Boss

Shadow Force Series

Redemption - Rum Harbor

Reckless - Rum Harbor

Chestnut Grove Christmas

Her Bossy Christmas Grinch

Her Grumpy Christmas Hero

Crushing with Colton

My Spirit of Christmas - A Christmas Romance

Visit Juliet at JulietJake.com

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher and author. For more information regarding permission, contact the author.

Copyright © 2022 Juliet Jake

All rights reserved.

Love Smitten Books

Description

What happens when you make a bet about a marriage proposal?

But cupid has other plans...

Maxine:

My single friends need help, but they won’t listen. So, I bet them I can make a guy fall in love with me within 30 days, hook line and sinker. Marriage proposal and all. You see, it’s all about the chase. You have to do everything the opposite of what you think you should do. In other words, think like a man. Problem was the man I chose as an example, who happened to be infuriatingly hot, wasn't complying. And he wasn’t exactly fitting into my expectations...

Little did I know, the man I'd chosen, Kit Mayfield, had his owns plans, in direct opposition to mine. He was an expert at the game... and he never followed the rules.

The Non Proposal is a romantic comedy that is sweet with heat and a whole lot of heart. No cliffhangers or cheating, just a hilarious, sizzling romance with a delicious happily ever after. Novella length, delectably yummy for binging.

Chapter One

Max

There is some kind of crazy that happens when girlfriends get together for happy hour at a sport’s bar. I swear, it’s like the stroke of midnight, the witching hour, and Halloween on Friday the thirteenth combined. Men and women are thrown into an alternate universe that is inside out and upside down. This was stranger than Stranger Things, folks. And much bigger.

I’d see otherwise perfectly respectable women with serious careers become gawking teenagers, preening in front of the opposite sex like peacocks while the men surround them like prey, all while gated in by enormous televisions blasting out game scores and beer commercials displaying virile masculinity. We were in man territory now. Outnumbered. Out drank. Out manned. And out testosteroned.

But never outsmarted.

Maxine Grant! We’re over here, girl! Lexy called out, waving ecstatically from the bar.

I straightened out my dress and tossed my long hair across one shoulder before taking the walk across the bar where I knew I would be assessed, judged and decided upon by every man in the bar, single, married or gay. I held my head up high, trying not to make eye contact with anyone with a penis as I made my way through the crowded bar. Why on earth had Lexy chosen a sports bar for our girl's night out? Didn’t she know? Football season had started. And Thursday night football was a thing.

Mm-mm. The mysterious guy she’d been crushing on the last few months must be here. Made me want to scope out the room, but no, better not. All eyes and thoughts needed to be on us: me and my gal pals. This was me-time, and I was not about to waste my energy on some drunken man with a fetish for sports that included war paint and ill-fitting nylon shirts. I was relieved when Lexy’s face came into view, beaming at me. Yep, her mystery man was definitely here.

Since newlyweds Silver and Liam were in town, I was meeting her and my friend Lexy, the googly eyed one. I gave them each a hug when I finally reached our table and sat down. I set my purse down and ordered a chardonnay of questionable vintage, then turned my attentions to Lexy. My poor, heart-wringing girlfriend definitely needed help.

Lexy, why don’t you go walk by his table and give him your sexiest, most sultry pout? And then turn around and walk away. Men are like animals. They love the hunt. They absolutely live for the chase.

Lexy sighed as she discreetly stared across the room. If he liked me, he would come and talk to me.

This might be the worst place to get a man’s attention if he’s a big sports fan. Look at some of these guys. They are watching those televisions as if their lives depended on them, Silver said.

A lot of them bet on the games too, Lexy said. That’s probably why they yell so much when someone scores.

I turned to Lexy, who looked glum as she nursed a warm beer. Is the mystery man a big sports guy? I asked.

I don’t know, she said with a wistful exhale. But I don’t think he knows I exist.

Then go walk by the table. Liam’s over there. Why don’t you go and say hello? Just make sure to ignore the one you are interested in.

I don’t like playing games, Lexy said. It seems disingenuous.

The waiter set down my wine in front of me and skittered away. I looked past Lexy’s sad face to Silver, who was sitting next to her. Then back to Lexy. I gave her a major eye-roll. If you don’t like games, then don’t bother dating. Dating is a game, I said. And how can he come talk to you if he doesn’t know where you are? I took a sip of my wine, giving Lexy a chance to clear her mind. What was it about a crush that sent an intelligent woman’s mind into an endless pit of white noise?

I’m pretty sure he knows I'm here. I saw him looking this way, Lexy said.

And I’m pretty sure Liam has pointed us out by now, Silver added.

Good. Then let him come and introduce himself or lose his chance at the best woman he’d ever be lucky enough to date, I said.

Aww, thanks Max. But I don’t think he’s even noticed me. She shrugged. Maybe I’m just not his type.

Every woman is any man’s type. I’m telling you, Lexy. You have this whole dating thing wrong. Men love the chase. They live and breathe for it. They thrive on it. They are still the cavemen who want to conquer the cave woman and drag her back to their caves, I said.

Lexy gave me a wide-eyed stare. You know, Max, that doesn’t sound very appealing to me. I would have thought being a wedding planner would have made you an incredible romantic. I guess dealing with all those bridezillas has made changed your idea of what love is.

I brushed off the imaginary offense from my shoulder with a dramatic gesture. Weddings do not necessarily equate love. Especially here in Las Vegas. I admit, some of the more vicious bridezillas had turned me a bit sour on weddings, which wasn’t the best thing for a wedding planner to feel. But I did wonder how long