The Bet — Rebecca King

When five friends, Rufus, Elijah, Sam, Robard, and Myles, watch one of the most celebrated rogues of their time marry, a bet is placed. The stakes are high. Nobody can afford to lose.

The bet is to avoid marriage for the next twelve months. It sounds simple enough, but with desperate relatives and conniving and relentless matchmaking mamas determined to trap them at every quarter, and Fate throwing them in rather unusual and adventurous circumstances, the men realise that winning the bet is considerably harder than they ever imagined.

When Myles, the instigator of the bet, receives devastating news he has to abandon his friends and race home. What happens on his journey alters the course of his future and suddenly a lifetime is not enough to put right the damage he causes.
Estelle's life is changed forever during one dark and stormy night, especially when she crosses paths with an arrogant oaf who seems to believe the countryside belongs to him. In a bizarre series of events, she is drawn into a dark and dangerous world of lies and subterfuge which makes seemingly innocent local folklore become something far more sinister.

Unable to leave Estelle to face the dangers surrounding her home alone, Myles is drawn into a fight for survival. However, with more than his fair share of problems surrounding him, can he reach home before death takes its toll on a loved one, or will he have to face losing Estelle forever?

Whatever the case may be, this marriage wager may not all be what is expected by the men who make it, or the women who stumble into their lives. Can happy endings ever be possible for any of them, or does Fate have other ideas?