Poker Night
“This honey pot just got a whole lot sweeter.” Chance Robicheaux licked his lips and tossed in a few plastic chips. The cards in his hand were the best he’d held the entire night.

He peered around the table of friends as they partook in their newly minted Wednesday poker night. Rob Breyer, Chance’s closest friend and wrestling tag team partner, concentrated on his hand. Rob’s girlfriend, Emma MacLean, rolled her eyes at Chance’s comment, then winked at him when she glanced his way. The dealer and his new sidekick, Seamus De Lacy, took a sip of his drink while the rest of the players made their decisions.

Chance’s eyes landed on the last member of the table; he bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from moaning. Emma’s roommate, Nell De Lacy, stared at him with a slight look of awe mixed with determination, which he found fucking irresistible. The woman had driven him mad since their first meeting over a bowl of potato salad to his crotch. No matter what the situation, one glimpse of Nell, her auburn hair in those cute as hell space buns and perfectly pouty lips, had him hard in three seconds flat.

“I fold.” Rob placed his cards on the table and slumped in his chair.

“I’ve got nothing.” Emma tossed in her cards, then slid her arm around Rob’s shoulders. “This isn’t our night.”

Chance lifted his eyes to Nell’s. “What about you, Nell?”

The corner of Nell’s lips that Chance spent hours fantasizing about curled upward. “I’ll see you.” She tossed in enough to match Chance’s bet. “And I’ll raise you.” She counted out the rest of her chips and placed them in the pot.

Chance could tell she was confident about the hand she possessed. She had her tells as much as anyone else did. The smirk she wielded always made him pull out of the game. Not tonight, though. She’d gone all in, but he’d go a bit more.

“All right.” He determined the required chips to call but decided to raise to find out what she had to offer.

“You can’t do that!” Her confidence turned to anger.

“I sure can. I’m willing to make a deal if you think your hand is still as worthy as it was a moment ago.” Chance’s heart thumped in his chest while he stared her down, praying she would give in.

“What kind of deal?” she asked.

Chance grabbed the pad of paper and pen beside him and wrote down what he wanted. He slid it to her.

She picked it up and read his chicken scratch. “This…” The words clogged her throat as heat moved up to color her face.

“You place that in the pot. I win; you deliver. You win; you can rip it up.”

Nell opened and closed her mouth, then pressed her plump lips in a firm line. She pushed the slip across the table. “I call. Show me what you’ve got.”

Chance peered into her brilliant emerald eyes as he laid each card down one by one. Her face paled. “Royal flush.”

“Damn,” she murmured, and she laid her cards down face up.

“Full House. Not bad, but not good enough tonight.” Chance licked his lips in anticipation of his winnings.

Emma glanced between the two. “What did he win?”

Nell placed her palms on the table, her cheeks tinged pink. “A kiss.”

 

Family Dinner
Nell ended her conversation with her sister, Annie, and turned to look at the driver in the seat next to her. Brantley. She sighed. What was she going to do with him? Tonight was supposed to be the night he would meet the De Lacy/MacLean clan for their traditional Thursday night dinner. After the call she received, it looked like none of her plans would pan out.

“Who was it?” Brantley glanced at her before he focused back on the road.

“Annie,” she answered. “My parents’ flight was delayed, so they won’t be in Boston until late.”

“Um, okay. Maybe we can set something up in the city sometime soon.” He smiled and grabbed her hand.

“I’ll check with them once they get back. The house will still be full tonight. Annie, Harry, and the kids. Emma and Rob. Seamus. Mick and his mom, Moira. You’ll get a kick out of her; she’s a riot when she’s in her element. Oh, and Chance.”

“Wait, what?” He turned to her and squinted in confusion. “Why’s he coming?”

It wasn’t unusual for Chance to tag along to a multi-family dinner, but she invited Brantley after she’d double checked to make sure Chance wouldn’t be attending.

“He’s Rob’s best friend. He’s like another brother.” Nell shrugged and prayed he believed her.

“Hasn’t he got his own family?” Brantley sounded a little irritated to her ears.

“His aunt and uncle live in Boston, but his parents and siblings are outside of Atlanta. He’s joined us a couple of times before. He, Seamus, and Harry have become friends.” She attempted to sound like the presence of Chance would not bother her. She was being honest about Chance getting along with Seamus and Harry.

“It’s not unusual to have stragglers at these family dinners, then?”

“Not when they are at Annie and Harry’s house. Since he announced he’s running for mayor of Marblehead, a lot of people have been joining in. The city already sees him as a family man, but he likes to get to know people better. He knows the name of almost every person in Marblehead.” Nell smiled to herself. She was sure her brother-in-law would make an outstanding mayor, but the reason he wanted to step into the role was tragic. His mother, Elaine, ended her term as the small town’s mayor when she died from the injuries she sustained in a car accident several months earlier. An accident that Nell witnessed, and she held the woman’s hand in the last moments of her life.

Nell swallowed past the lump in her throat. “It’s just a fun night. Especially since Emma and I have moved to Boston full-time. This way, we will see each other at least once a week.”

“Well, I’m sorry I’m missing out on meeting your parents, but I’m excited to meet Annie. I’ve never dated a twin before.” His lips quirked up a bit on one side. The movement gave her a little flutter and reminded her why she liked him in the first place.

“It’s weird. We are identical in so many ways, but very different in others.”

Nell directed Brantley through the rest of their drive until they pulled up to Annie and Harry’s house.

“You ready for this?” she asked.

“More than.” He leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. “Let’s do this.”

As soon as the pair walked through the door, a toddling baby Sam, carrying his favorite stuffed dog, entered the foyer and waddled/ran up to his auntie.

A soft smile broke out across Nell’s lips as she picked up the precious bundle. “This is my nephew, Sam, and his puppy, Bash. Can you wave to my friend, Brantley?”

Sam waved his tiny fist in the air before shoving it in his mouth and resting his and Bash’s head on Nell’s chest.

“Hey, little man. My god, he looks just like you.” Brantley traced a fingertip over Sam’s rounded cheek.

“We get that a lot, especially when we are both out with him,” Annie said as she approached the couple.

Brantley’s eyes went wide as he took in the sight of Annie for the first time. It is a reaction Nell had seen hundreds of times in her life. People used to be amazed by how much the identical twins differed, but now that Nell lost over seventy pounds and Annie had some baby weight remaining, the two were more identical than they’d been in years.

“Hi, Brantley. Welcome to the madhouse.” Annie laughed and hugged Nell, squishing Sam a bit.

“Thanks for having me. I’m sorry I will miss meeting your mom and dad, but there is always another time.” He slipped his arm around Nell’s waist and bopped Sam on the nose.

“Couldn’t be helped. They said their flight from Heathrow won’t end up getting in until after midnight. Come on in and meet the rest of the family.”

Annie led them through to the kitchen, where the action took place. The smell of roasting chicken and veggies met their noses, and Nell calmed a bit. Sam became a security blanket as the introductions were made. She caught Chance looking at her from the corner of her eye as they spoke to everybody.

“And you probably know Chance already,” Annie stated to Brantley.

“We haven’t been formally introduced, no. Brantley Hollis.” Brantley held his hand out for Chance to shake.

“Nice to meet you, man.” Chance shook Brantley’s hand. Nell knew from the whitening of Brantley’s hand that Chance gripped it harder than he would another man.

Chance released Brantley’s hand, then swooped in to give Nell a kiss on the cheek. “Hiya.”

Sam lifted his head off Nell’s chest and reached for Chance. The little boy sailed into Chance’s arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Nell couldn’t stop the warmth overflowing inside her at the sight.

“Guess we’re not needed here anymore,” Annie laughed.

The kitchen filled with small talk until dinner finished cooking. When seated around the dining table, Grandma Moira said a quick prayer of thanks before they began their meal.

The night went well, if you discounted all the smiles and winks Chance flashed at Nell throughout the night. If Brantley noticed, he never acted any differently. He seemed to fall into line and become part of the family. Nell realized she was falling deeper into the relationship than she ever thought she would. After her kiss with Chance, she was sort of hoping he wouldn’t fit in as well as he did. She didn’t have that excuse anymore. Brantley was a wonderful man, almost perfect. Why couldn’t she be satisfied with that? Why did her eye keep drifting to the southern charmer winking at her across the table?

“So, that’s Brantley?” Chance asked as he and Nell worked on some dishes in the kitchen.

“Yes.” He gave her a plate to place in the dishwasher. He held it out but wouldn’t let go. “What?”

“There’s something about him that I can’t shake.” He released the plate, and Nell turned to put the plate in to be cleaned.

“Nothing is wrong with him. Stop looking for problems.” Nell lifted her brow to him.

“Tell me.” He took a step closer. “Has he ever made you feel like I did last night?”

She tucked her chin down as the blush filled her cheeks without her permission.

“That’s what I thought, Sweetness. You give me hope.”

Nell looked up to see that sweet twinkle in his eyes and signature smirk grace his lips. As he swaggered out of the kitchen, she admitted to herself that he was right to have it. She didn’t know what would happen from one day to the next, but she couldn’t see Chance not being a part of each of them in some way or another. And that nickname? She held tight to the counter so she wouldn’t collapse on the floor. Her hormones were raging, and she felt the wetness between her thighs. A vivid image of Chance’s tongue working her to the pinnacle flashed through her mind. The thought made her groan. Could her life be any more out of control?