Her Best Bet (a novella)

CATHERINE

My art is bold, provocative, and sometimes involves giant sculptures of anatomical parts that make city officials squirm. So, when I bet Eric he couldn’t survive forty-three days in a giant nest, I was only trying to make a point about gender roles—not end up swooning over his charm. I’m here to change minds, not my relationship status. But with Eric perched in my nest like some kind of sexy rhea bird, I’m caught between proving a point and admitting that this engineer might just engineer his way into my heart. Can I keep my art and my independence, or will Eric turn my carefully constructed world upside down?

ERIC

Being an engineer means solving problems and finding the most efficient solutions, but living in a giant nest for a month? That's a new one, even for me. I agreed to Catherine's bet to prove I can think outside the box—or nest, in this case—not because I'm a glutton for punishment. But as much as I want to win this game, what I really want is to win over Catherine. My goal was to show her that I’m not just a cocky engineer, but perhaps the man who gets her like no one else does. Can I outlast this challenge and convince Catherine to see me as more than just an amusing temporary roommate? Or will I end up as the punchline in Catherine's next art exhibit?