Taking Chances (The Chances and Choices Duology - Book 1 of 2 - Contemporary Romance) by Ann Omasta

deciding not to let him push my buttons. “You know,
instead of rating me, you might think about how hurt Seth would be if he knew
about us.”

 
    “Us?” he asked. “So, now we’re an ‘us’? I didn’t
know you cared so much.”

 
    “You know what I meant.” I glared at him. This
man was exasperating.

 
    He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “When
I’m fondling my date’s fake tits tonight, I’m going to be thinking about your
real ones.”

 
    That did it. My mouth fell open, appalled. My
eyes felt like they might pop out of my head. I whirled away from him and
headed for the bar. I needed a glass of wine. Pronto.

 
    “Your brother is a pig!” I said loudly when
Jessie hopped up on the bar stool next to me.

 
    “I take it you’ve met Sam,” Jessie chuckled.
“Yes, he can be a bit of a pig. But he can also be generous and kind and
hilarious and a pain in the ass, but I love him to pieces. I love both of them
to pieces,” she gushed. She leaned in as if telling me a secret. “You
definitely picked the right one to date, though. Seth is the real deal, and Sam
leaves behind a trail of broken hearts.”

 
    By the way her words were slurring together, I
could tell the glass of wine she ordered wasn’t her first of the evening. “I
think that’s why Sam settles for the never-ending stream of gold-digging ‘I’
girls,” she continued.

 
    “What’s an ‘I’ girl?” I asked her.

 
    “Oh, you know,” she waved her hand around, “ Candi with an I, Terri with an I, Sandi with an I, Cami with an I. The parade of
leggy blondes with enormous jugs that he shows up with always introduce
themselves that way.” She mimicked shaking a hand and fluttered her eyelashes.
“Hi, I’m Bambi with an I.”

 
    She started cracking up at her own joke. Her
laughter was contagious, and I soon had the giggles as well. I was enjoying
being with her and laughing at her despicable brother.

 
    “You know what else,” she went on, leaning in
further. “He doesn’t ever kiss them on the lips. They all think they are going
to win him over and marry him and take his fortune, but he gets tired of them
after a few dates and sends them along their merry way. Then POOF,” she snapped
her fingers for added affect, “he finds another one just like the last 412.”

 
    I had the feeling she wouldn’t be telling me all
of this if she wasn’t tipsy. I wondered why Sam treated women like they were
disposable. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about figuring him out because I
had Seth, and he was wonderful. I decided to see what Jessie had to say about
him.

 
    “So tell me about your sweet brother.” I nudged
her elbow gently.

 
    “They are both sweet to me,” she replied, “but
since I know you’re talking about Seth, he’s one of the good ones, Abby. Please
don’t hurt him.”

 
    Her sudden rush of sincerity surprised me. “I
won’t.” I reassured her, and I meant it.

 
    “Speak of the devil.” Jessie smiled at Seth as
he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “I’ll let you
two be, since you’ve barely seen each other all evening.” With that, she hopped
off her stool and disappeared into the crowd.

 
    “I’m almost afraid to ask what you two were
talking about.” Seth slid around and plopped down on the stool Jessie had just
vacated.

 
    “You, as the matter of fact,” I answered. “Your
sister seems to think rather highly of you.”

 
    “Maybe I shouldn’t have interrupted then, but I
feel like my siblings have had more of you tonight than I have.” I attempted to
push the unwanted thought of Sam having a whole lot of me in the bathroom out
of my mind. “Is it my turn to get to hang out with you?” Seth asked, batting
his dark eyelashes playfully.

 
    “Absolutely,” I answered. “Can we get out of
here or do your family duties require you to stay longer?”

 
    Before I finished the question, he was