Page 127 of The VIP Doubles Down

When they all had champagne in their hands, Nathan looked at Gavin. “You’re the writer, so you propose the toast.”

Allie remembered the days when Gavin would have flinched and made a snide remark about his writer’s block. ButChristmas Bestwas finished, and being rushed through production for release this holiday season. Even better, he’d started the next book and had ideas for three more.

Now he slipped his arm around her waist and stood considering for several seconds before he lifted his glass. “First, I’d like to toast the surprising friendship that began that night at the Bellwether Club. I hate to admit it, but you, my fellow gamblers, have become important to me.”

Tears welled up in Allie’s eyes as the three men touched their glasses together. She’d come to understand the loneliness they’d all felt at a time when they had reached the height of their success. As they tilted their heads back to drink, she could find nothing of that despair in their faces. Instead, a deep contentment radiated from them.

Gavin swallowed his champagne. “And I will deny I ever said that.”

“No one would believe it anyway,” Luke said.

“Now,” Gavin said, “let us drink to the women who saved us, not just from losing our bet, but from becoming cynical, joyless men who no longer believed in one of the most powerful feelings on earth. When we made our wager, we were bluffing, but our hearts called our bluff.” He lifted his glass. “I most humbly salute Chloe, Miranda, and Allie, the only women in the world who could love us for who we are.”

After they drank, he raised his glass once more, his face lit by a flashing smile. “A CEO, a quarterback, and a writer walked into a bar ...”

Gavin waited for the ripple of laughter to die down before he said, “And they came out better men.”