Samantha wanted to believe her, but doubt still tugged at her. This was either going to be a disaster, or one of the better decisions of her life.
*
Samantha was just finishing up her breakfast the next morning when her phone rang. She scowled at the number on the screen, wondering who could be calling her unlisted number, and at such an earlier hour.
“Hello?” she said gruffly.
“Hi. This is Grant. May I speak to Samantha, please?”
“Oh, hi,” she said, the curt tone replaced with confusion.
“My sister gave me your number; I hope you don’t mind. I think we met in passing once, at Mabel’s house.”
“Maybe. I’m not really good with faces.”
That was a lie, but Samantha wasn’t quite sure what to say. Of course Mabel had given him Samantha’s number, otherwise they would never go on a date. But she still wasn’t prepared for him to call so soon. She’d kind of hoped that they both would forget and Samantha could go back to her normal life.
Except her regular dating life sucked, and it was time to try something different. At least with Grant, she knew someone who was close with him. Maybe that would prevent some of the crap she normally dealt with. Oh well, she’d given Mabel her word that she would give it a shot and go in with an open mind. Better to get it over with now than to drag it out.
“It’s alright,” he said, a soft laugh in his voice. “Look, I’m sure Mabel put you up to this. Nothing like a little sister trying to set her brother up because he reached the dreaded dirty thirty and still isn’t tied down. If you’re not interested in going on a date, I totally get it and there’s no hard feelings.”
“It’s not that,” Samantha said, kicking herself because he was giving her an out and she was still going to go on a date. “I’m just not so sure that this isn’t going to cause a rift between Mabel and I.”
“It’s just lunch,” he said. “It doesn’t have to turn into anything more spectacular than that. If you’re not interested, I’m not going to be upset. But I’ll be in town for lunch before I go to my sister’s house.”
“Why don’t you just eat lunch there?”
“I guess you haven’t tried Mabel’s cooking?”
“Now that you mention it, I have. Good call on getting lunch in town.”
They laughed, and for a moment, Samantha almost felt like she was talking to an old friend.
“So, what do you say? Want to meet me for lunch at Byron’s Deli?”
“That sounds fantastic.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”
He said goodbye, waiting for her to hang up before he disconnected the call. Samantha stared at the phone for a second after he hung up, wondering what she’d gotten herself into.
“It’s just lunch,” she said out loud, noting how her voice echoed down the lonely hall.
She got ready in a hurry, checking the time and gauging how long she could spend running if she wanted to get home in time to get showered and dressed.
She groaned aloud. There was no way she could get in a good run before she would have to leave. Defeated, she rummaged through her closet, settling on a bright blue sundress and a pair of tan sandals.
She took a quick shower, getting dressed and finger-combing her curly hair until it fell in untangled waves down her back. She still had time to kill before she needed to leave, so she sat down at her desk and fired up her laptop, intending to work on the next chapter.
Once she’d gotten the first paragraph out the day before, the words flowed out of her easily, just as she’d expected. She’d gone to bed pretty late last night, or early this morning, depending on your perspective. She was still a little tired, but she was ready to face the work day while she waited for lunch time.
The email notifications popped up almost as soon as the welcome screen on the computer came up. Samantha checked her mail, not at all surprised to see that she had multiple emails from the dating site.
She clicked the link, signing in and tapping on the icon titled looking for shifters.
The screen filled with men, each handsome in his own way, their species listed beneath their picture. Samantha perused the ads, keeping her eye on the time as she did.
There were men of all types on this site, from werewolves to werebears and everything in between. She skipped over the bears and the wolves; she was more of a cat person when it came to shifters.
She clicked on the “cats” link, exploring idly to pass the time. There were men of every type of shifter, from cougars to tigers and every large cat imaginable in between. Samantha shuffled through several accounts, clicking save or closing the ad as she went. Within a few minutes, she’d built up a sizable store of potential dates, but none of them left her feeling worked up.
Then, she stumbled across a section titled “for the adventurous”.
Should I? she thought, hovering over the link for a moment before plunging ahead.
She was not disappointed. This section of the dating site was devoted to no strings attached, ménage a trois dates. She clicked on the tiger section, intrigued by the rich auburn hair and soft hazel eyes of the pair on the opening icon.
The same pair was featured in a section devoted to twins, and Samantha felt her heart quicken. Twins? Could she be so daring?
Yes, she decided.
She clicked on their bio, reading about their hobbies and what they were looking for in a no strings “relationship”. By the time she was done reading the description, she was almost giddy with excitement.
They were perfect. Outdoorsy and athletic, they were adventurous in and out of the bedroom, and Samantha couldn’t believe her good fortune. Looking into their hazel eyes, the matching smiles with one twin having a slight dimple that the other lacked, Samantha felt like they were calling to her.
Their stats were listed on their ad. They were thirty-three, college graduates, and they owned a business together. The website didn’t give financial specifics, but the income bracket was represented by one to four dollar signs, and they had four. Samantha had no idea what that meant, but she knew that they were well-off.
She wasn’t surprised. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and Samantha could see just that in their faces. They were refined, yet somehow very rough and tumble; equally as comfortable in a suit as they were in jeans. They would explore the wilderness by day, and attend elegant events by night with complete confidence.
They were perfect.
Her free trial came with one connection, which she had been warned to use wisely when she’d signed up. She was certain that this was the connection she was looking for, and clicked on the tab labeled “meet us”.
A box popped up, letting her know that an email had been sent to the twins and asked if she wanted to save their ad for future reference. She clicked yes and closed out of the internet, checking her watch and cursing the time.
She had to leave in five minutes or she was going to be late.
She fixed her hair and headed out the door, anxious to get this meeting over with. Grant was probably a very nice man, but she was eager to meet the twins and she didn’t see her lunch date with Grant going further than just lunch. But who knew? Maybe she would get lucky.
The drive into town was peaceful, though a little longer than she remembered. Her stomach was in knots, and more than once she thought about turning around. This was a bad idea and nothing good could come of mixing friendship and dating, especially when a brother and sister were involved.
She parked in front of Byron’s Deli and walked inside. She was five minutes early, but she could see that he was already sitting outside on the patio, reading a book while he waited for her. She groaned inwardly, he wasn’t reading a book, he was reading one of her books.
Looks like this is going to be more awkward than I thought, she reflected. At least she had something to fall back on for small talk. She glanced to her left as she headed for the door, noticing the flashy silver sports car that was more than a
little out of place in this humble town. She didn’t doubt that it was Grant’s. She wasn’t much of a car aficionado, so she had no idea what the make and model were, but she didn’t have to know cars to know that the one Grant was driving had probably cost him as much as her house.
She walked out to the patio where he sat, his table was the only occupied one in the cool afternoon breeze. Samantha stuck her hand out, forcing a smile and trying to let go of her nervousness.
“I’m Samantha. You must be Grant,” she said, catching his eye and smiling.
His eyes were exactly like Mabel’s and she marveled at how blue they were.
“No,” he said, eying her hand suspiciously.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry. I must have gotten you confused with-”
“I’m just messing with you. I’m Grant. Your press photo doesn’t do you justice. In fact, the picture is homely compared to how breathtaking you are in real life.”
He pulled her hand to his lips and planted a tender kiss on her knuckles. Resisting the urge to pull her hand out of his, she waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to let her go.
“I was surprised you picked such a quaint place,” he said, perusing the menu with a look of disdain painted on his face. “I’m sure you know that I can afford much better.”
He looked up from the menu, eyes locking with hers.
“You deserve better than some meat slapped between two pieces of bread.”
He looked back down again before she could respond.
“I like this place, a lot. Byron makes everything from scratch and every ingredient is all natural without preservatives. I think you’ll like it. And I’ll be happy to pay for my own meal.”
“I’ll pay,” he said, not bothering to look up from the menu.
Samantha studied his face, his profile so handsome, his hair the perfect shade of sandy blond that fell just shy of his collar. How could someone so handsome, with such a nice sister be such a complete ass? Maybe it was because she came into the “date” skeptical, but his manner was abrasive and arrogant.
Had he picked up on her nervousness, or the fact that she really didn’t want to be there? How in the world had Mabel failed to notice this? Maybe he didn’t act like this in front of her.
She decided to try and break the ice, and to get him talking about something he liked. He could pay for her meal if he wanted, she wasn’t about to get in a pissing match with another millionaire. It was no skin off her nose if spending twenty dollars on a meal made him feel like a man. Scratch that, he was going to be spending at least thirty. There was no way she was going to get through this meal without a glass of wine. Or three.
“So, Grant. What do you do for fun?” she asked, kicking herself for the lame delivery, but hoping he’d take the bait and start talking about his interests.
“You, hopefully,” he said.
Samantha rolled her eyes, grateful that he still hadn’t managed to pull his nose out of the menu.
“Ha, ha, funny,” she laughed.
“I wasn’t joking.”
“Well, that’s not really on the menu.”
“Your loss, but I think you’ll change your mind.”
Was he serious? She couldn’t tell if he was joking again or not, but she didn’t think he was.
“Moving on,” she said. “Do you have hobbies that don’t include fornication?”
He finally tore his attention from the menu, raising an eyebrow at her and smiling wryly.
“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?”
“I’ve heard that a time or two.”
“I like it. If you must know, I own a small plane and I like to fly to Alaska now and then to enjoy the freedom of the wilderness.”
“Oh, that’s exciting. Is it a seaplane?”
“No. A true seaplane can only take off and land on water. This is an amphibious model with retractable floats.”
His tone was harsh, and Samantha wondered if he thought she was stupid, or if he thought that his act was the least bit charming.
“You know, not every woman that is attracted to shifters wants a ridiculous alpha male to seduce her and sweep her off of her feet. Some of us are strong and independent and enjoy a man that complements that without brute force.”
“I’m sorry, did I ask you?”
“You’ve got to be joking. Are you sure you’re Mabel’s brother? She’s so much nicer than you are.”
“She knows her place in the world. As a woman-”
“Oh, hell no. I don’t know where you learned to act like this, but you can try it out on someone else. I don’t have time for this kind of shit, and frankly, you’re repulsive.”
“Funny,” he said, completely unperturbed by Samantha’s outburst, “Mabel said that you said I was gorgeous.”
“Who cares what your outsides look like if your insides are awful? No wonder you’re still single at thirty. I can’t imagine a woman would accept a second date from you, let alone make it through the first.”
Samantha stood, ready to head out the door and leave. Grant’s strong hand wrapped around her wrist and held on tight enough that it was almost painful. She stared daggers at him, but almost faltered when she saw the look on his face. He was apologetic. When she stopped pulling, he released her hand and his entire demeanor changed.
“You should stay. I came all the way up here to see you.”
“Well, you have a funny way of showing it.”
“Mabel said that you were looking for a no strings bed buddy, and that you liked a strong alpha male, particularly shifters. I was playing into that part. I only wanted to fulfill your fantasy.”
“She misunderstood me,” Samantha said, still standing beside the table.
“Give me another chance. I promise, I’m not some rich asshole that thinks he can treat a woman any way he wants and she’ll fall all over herself. I’m rich, but I do have some manners. I’m sorry I came on so strong.”
Samantha stared at him, trying to figure out if he was being sincere. He looked sorry, and there was no telling what Mabel had told him. Maybe he had been given misleading information about what she was attracted to. In that case, could she blame him?
His eyes were pleading, and she almost felt bad for him. Almost.
“Look, I only came on a date with you because Mabel practically begged me. You seem like a nice guy, but I really can’t date someone related to a friend, and I should have just told her no.”
“I’m sorry. I feel like I messed up,” he said.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. I was feeling uncomfortable with this situation long before you opened your mouth and stuck your foot in it.”
“So what now?”
“Well, if you’re okay with just lunch, and nothing beyond that, I don’t mind eating lunch.”
“Can I pay?”
“If you want to, but I don’t owe you anything.”
“Of course not.”
Samantha nodded. She felt bad for him. He didn’t seem to be the asshole he’d pretended to be minutes before. She was sure Mabel would get an earful later, but that was her mistake, not Grant’s.
“Let’s eat. If you’re not sure what you’d like, the hand carved turkey with avocado is divine.”
Grant smiled.
“Thank you for giving me a second chance. I just have one question?”
“What’s that?”
“Will you sign my book?”
CHAPTER TWO
When lunch was finally over, Samantha couldn’t get home fast enough. She was beyond relieved when she finally walked into her own house and closed and locked the door behind her.
Even after they’d cleared up the “misunderstanding” as he’d called it, the date had been a complete disaster. Grant had spent the entire meal talking about himself, and about being a werelion as if that was the only thing about him that was notable.
Samantha had resigned herself to taking her meal in silence, trying her best not to encourage him to continue talking more
than he already was, and giving up on him ever including her in the conversation, anyway. He seemed to have little to no interest in Samantha as a person at all.
Which would have been fine, if he hadn’t unloaded his life story on her during their one-hour meal. She didn’t mind no strings hookups, but if the man wanted her to listen to him talk about how awesome he was, she expected him to return the favor and give her a chance to talk.
That’s what she liked about being an author; she got to say everything she wanted to say, without interruption and without having to listen to anyone else until she was finished with what she had to say.
She moved through the house, flinging open the curtains and letting in the afternoon sun in through the flimsy blinds. It was rarely sunny like it was, and she wanted to take full advantage.
Samantha set her phone down on the charging pad in the kitchen and grabbed herself a drink before heading into her office for the day. She closed the door behind her, shutting out the world and diving into her book.
Hours past as she typed, bringing characters to life and watching them evolve into their own people before her eyes. Her neck was kinked and the sun was about to set when she finally came up for air.
She checked her email, disappointed to see no response from the tiger twins.
“It’s only been a few hours,” she admonished herself out loud. “Try not to be so impatient.”
There was an almost inaudible click on her computer, and an email popped up in her inbox.
Her pulse quickened as she read the subject line:
Jacob and Dylan Locke are looking to make a connection with you.
She opened the email, stomach in knots with excitement. A different picture of the pair stared back at her from the body of the email, their matching hazel eyes mesmerizing. Their message was short and sweet, but the intent was clear. They wanted to meet, and they wanted it to be tonight.
Samantha gulped down the huge lump that was in her throat. Maybe this was a bad idea.
Stop being a wimp, she thought, this is what you’ve been fantasizing about forever.
Her Tiger Twins Page 2