Brendan turned his head to look at Deirdre. She was momentarily stunned when she felt Brendan's earnest and burning gaze. She then heard his confident voice saying, "Deirdre, do you want to take a bet?"

"Bet?" Deirdre was puzzled. "What are you betting on?"

"If I miss even 1 of the 30 rounds this time, I will stop playing this game. If I succeed… you must agree to one condition."

Deirdre was stunned. At this juncture, he was still thinking of betting with her. But it would be better to only l