“Good afternoon.” Seth was waiting for me at the back of the auditorium by the door. He met my eyes but then his gaze swept down my body in a way that made me blush. But his words just made me confused. “I’m glad you wore that. Pants, I mean. Low heels or whatever the correct term is in girl-land. You look hot in a skirt, but today is definitely a good day for pants.”

“Why?” My mouth formed the word, but my brain was fixated on several different things. First, he’d said I looked hot sometimes. Second, he’d noticed what I was wearing. Third, holy crap, he thought I looked hot. Me!

“What’s your favorite charity?”

“What?” With effort, I made myself focus on Seth, but it was hard. He’d said I looked pretty before but hot was another thing altogether. Did he really think that?

“Favorite charity.”

“Oh. The SPCA.”

“The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Good choice. Too bad they weren’t around when you named your guinea pig Cupcake.”

“Hey!” It was hard to sound indignant while laughing, but I tried my best.

“At any rate, you’re in luck today, Newbie. You have a chance to earn money for the SPCA.”

“I do? How?” Nothing he said was making sense, but I didn’t care. He was in his playful mode, and he was so much fun like that. The twinkle in his blue eyes made me long to reach out and stroke the side of his face.

“Because I’ve enrolled us in a charity run.”

“What? When? I don’t run.”

“A charity run. Now. And that’s a shame.”

“What’s a shame?” This was a confusing conversation, but I couldn’t help smiling anyway.

“It’s a shame for all those puppies that’ll be put to work in a sweatshop because you didn’t run to raise money for them.”

He said it with a grin, and it was an absurd statement to begin with, but guilt stabbed me anyway. Because puppies. “I never run.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” he said with a wink. And then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded stack of money. My eyes widened as he fanned the cash out. There were dozens of hundred dollar bills there. “How many puppies could be rescued from a life of drudgery with $5,000?”

Words escaped me for a long moment. “Is that for the SPCA?”

“It is if you win the race. If not, this money goes to an entirely different charity. Let me find one…” He set the hundreds down on a chair next to him and pulled out his phone. I was torn between looking at him and the money. It really appeared to be five grand. Who carried $5,000 on them?

“Ah, here we go. If you don’t win the money, then I’m going to give it to the IHCF. The International Hangover Cure Fund. They’ve got a website and everything, it looks like a very worthy cause.”

“Seth…”

“And here’s another one. The Centers for Louise Control. Hmmm, not sure what that one is, but I’m sure it’s as worthwhile as puppies.”

Unable to resist, I moved next to him and looked at his screen. I only saw the search term he’d entered “absurd charity names” before he snatched his phone away. “Now, now, no time for that. The charity run is about to begin.”

“What? When?”

“In about thirty seconds. By an amazing coincidence, you’re standing at the starting line.”

I was beginning to see where he was going with this. “And where’s the finish line?”

“The podium. The first person standing at the podium wins the money for their charity.”

It was obvious what he was doing. This was a ridiculous ploy to get me up at the podium without thinking too much about it. It was blatant, and obvious… and I was going to win it. “I need a head start. Your legs are longer.”

For a moment, Seth looked surprised. Then his cocky grin returned. “I’ll give you a one-second head start.”

“Two.”

“One, but I’ll count the full ‘One-Mississippi.’”

“Okay, but speak slowly.” I kicked off my shoes—I’d do better barefoot.

I assumed what felt like a runner’s starting stance, one foot in front of the other, knees slightly bent. Seth moved behind me and put his hands on my waist, holding on. “What’s that for?”

“Because I don’t want you to take off early.”

“What difference does it make as long as you start a second after me?”

“Good point. Maybe I’m just making sure you’re using proper form.”

I saw over my shoulder that he was grinning. It was impossible not to return that grin. But then I faced forward and mentally revved up. We were playing for puppies, and I wasn’t going to lose.

“On your mark…” Seth’s fingers squeezed my waist where my silk blouse met my dark slacks. “Get set…” His grip loosened. “Go—one Mississippi!”

I was already two steps ahead of him as I raced down the aisle toward the ramp to the stage. But his legs were long and I could feel him right behind me.

Running faster than I ever had, I hit the base of the ramp and flew up it. Seth was even with me now, but he wasn’t on the ramp. Instead, he was running straight toward the podium itself. Uh-oh.

I reached the stage and tried to angle left, but I was moving too fast and overshot it. Arcing around, I raced for the podium. On the far side, Seth was feet from the stage, about to smack right into it. But then he lifted his front leg and jumped.

He slid onto the stage, one leg pointed forward and one bent sideways like a hurdler.

I reached the podium and gave a cry of triumph, but I was moving too fast to stop.

So was Seth.

I kept going, tripping over him as he slid past.

Down I went, my arms and legs flailing every which way. Seth twisted on the floor and grabbed me, pulling me onto him, protecting my body with his own. I came to rest on top of him.

I waited a beat, expecting pain to flood my body, but it didn’t. I was still in one piece.

“Are you okay?” I asked him. I tried to extract myself, but he had his arms around me and didn’t let go.

“Of course, I’m okay. I won.”

“What? No, you didn’t. I reached the podium first.”

“Oh, that? Yeah, you won that. The five grand goes to the Society for the Promotion of Cruelty to Animals.”

“Prevention,” I said, absently, noticing how close our heads were together. His lips were so pink. So inviting.

“But this…” he continued, one hand stroking up and down my back. “Having you here on top of me—feels like a win to me.”

He winked when he said it and I smiled back.

It felt like a win to me, too.