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bring her home.  What do you say?”
    Austin finished his meal and grinned at Anton.  That was me, done.  I’d lost both men and I’d lost them to each other.  Could this night suck any harder?  I didn’t think so.
     
    I looked toward the other end of the table where both Dor’ and Pierce were watching us closely.  Dor’ seemed faintly amused judging by the hint of a grin she wore, her eyes twinkling at my expression.  She knew I was failing miserably, but I still had one or two tricks up my sleeve.  Anton had included me in his invitation, had he not?  Once we got Austin back on his home turf we still had to leave at some point.  Would we leave together?  That was up to me and how I’d finagle this thing to play out.  Either way I had nothing to lose.  I wasn’t with either of these clowns in reality and even if they ended up with each other, there was still Chase.
    Pierce was lost in his own mind fuck.  Ayla was doing god knows what with Chase and Deacon still hadn’t returned.  I could see that offered him cold comfort, but he wasn’t looking at the big picture.  It was highly doubtful anything was going on with Deacon present.  Still, I was curious what Chase was talking to Ayla about.
    I liked Pierce.  He might be a closet freak, but I had no room to talk.  I was weighing my options with three different men.  Hey.  Nobody said I wasn’t a player, my sister was the goody-two-shoes of the family.  Like I said earlier.  Anton and I were two halves of the same whole.
    Getting back to Pierce, I decided to throw him a bone.
    “Hey teddy bear.”
    Pierce looked up at the nickname he wasn’t sure how to take.  Especially from me.  When Dorothy called him that, he smiled.  When I called him that, he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
    “What are you thinking Melody?”
    He did his best to make it sound menacing, but I suppressed a smile.  Picture that cute Build-a-Bear in black leather trying to threaten you.  It just wasn’t happening.
    “Bear, you should come with us.  If Chase is bringing Ayla back, you can catch up with her there.  Do you really wanna ride over in a car with those two?  All that testosterone in one closed area might give her a rash or somethin’.  Ride with us and keep me and your brother from killing each other.”
    He looked at Anton who was grinning ear to ear, then he rolled his eyes and focused on me.
    “I suppose the possibility exists.  It’s not like we haven’t shared a jail cell before because of you two.  Very well, count me in.”
    Dorothy slapped the table and hooted in a very unladylike, unDorothy-like fashion.
    “Finally.  I get my damned house back.  You people with your sneak attacks and jealous dates were starting to freak me out.  While I have the majority of the Sloans here, everyone’s invited for Thanksgiving.  We’ll do Christmas out at the farm.  Our folks always go on a Christmas vacation of some sort and Mel’ and I usually celebrate together.  This year we’re goin’ to the farm.”
    She stood up and leaned over the table.
    “Meeting adjourned, thanks for coming, you know your way out, come back any time.  Austin?  You’re welcome in my home whenever you like.”
    Austin smiled at Dorothy and stood, pulling out my chair like a perfect gentleman.  Anton should’ve been taking notes.  Instead, he was playing with his phone.  I snapped my fingers at him and he looked up, in annoyance.
    “Hey.  Dufus.  Romantic gesture here.”
    I swept my hand towards Austins on the back of my chair, making it obvious.  Anton raised one eyebrow.
    “Romantic gesture?  He doesn’t know you very well does he?”
    I turned to Austin, reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
    “Now you know why I’m in the market for a new boyfriend.”
    Austin looked slightly confused.
    “He’s your boyfriend?”
    Anton mumbled more to his phone than to us, but it was obvious he was paying attention.
    “She wishes...”
    I smiled up at Austin