“Not taking any chances.” Blaise straightened. “I will win.”
“You’ve said that before.”
Confidence flowed through him. “It’s true.”
“There’s more to life than winning.”
Easy to say for a guy who’d been born into money and never had to work a day in his life. A man with parents who loved him and a mansion full of staff who made sure he was clean and fed and safe. Henry didn’t know what going hungry was like. Or being left alone when Blaise’s parents went off on a binge. Or sleeping under a box in the pouring rain because he was too afraid to be at home when his parents invited their druggie friends over.
“Like what?” he asked.
Henry scratched his cheek. He started to speak and then stopped himself.
Knew it.Blaise laughed. “Winning is everything.”
“Godchildren.”
“Excuse me?”
“Godchildren are better than winning,” Henry explained. “Little Noelle is the most precious human to grace this earth. She will grow up to be president or win a Nobel Prize or do both.”
Henry was known for his hyperbole, but no one could deny the guy’s love for Brett and Laurel’s daughter. Not that Blaise understood the infatuation. “Children are sticky and dirty. Their noses are always running. They don’t know how to be quiet or sit still.”
“Because they’re kids.”
“I’ll stick to winning.”
“Being in love is better than winning.” Henry beamed with pride. “Or so I’ve been told.”
“I wouldn’t know.” Blaise was too busy working to get wrapped up in a woman. Casually dating when he had time or wanted company was enough. “But I’ll take winning over love any day. Saves me from paying lawyers to write an iron-clad prenup. Which is why I’m winning the bet.”
Henry cocked a brow. “Wes and Dash might have something to say about that.”
Neither man appeared interested in dating, but Blaise doubted the bet was the reason. At least not for Dash, who had forgotten about it until tonight. Wes, however, might care and be a worthy opponent. The man had decimated companies with his take-no-prisoner attitude to get where he was today—the wealthiest of the six. Bragging rights would mean more to him than the money. They were fifty-fifty for Blaise.
Winning was a way to prove he was one of them. That skinny kid, who qualified for free breakfast and lunch at school, lurked inside him, still hungered for acceptance, that ever-elusive sense of belonging, and security.
That was why Blaise needed to convince his two friends marriage was the best—the only option—they wanted to pursue. Seeing Henry gave Blaise an idea on how to make that happen.
“Want to play matchmaker?” he asked. “If anyone could accomplish the task, you could.”
Henry laughed. “Thanks for the compliment, but I promised Brett I would only play matchmaker on my birthday. April first is nearly seven months away. Unless you want to wait until then.”
Blaise didn’t have that much patience. Especially with so much money to be won. “I’ll find someone else.”
“If you want to hire an official matchmaker, I can recommend someone.” Henry tilted his head. “They call her the wife finder.”
“Sounds perfect since I need to find Wes and Dash wives.”
“If anyone can help you do that, Hadley can. She works differently than other matchmakers, but she’s the best around. I’ll text you her number.”
“Hadley?” Blaise asked.
“Hadley Lowell,” Henry replied. “She lives in San Francisco and also has an office in New York. She’s thorough. Discreet. Successful. And expensive.”
“Sounds like she’s exactly what I need.”
“Oh, she definitely is.”
