Page 2 of Michael

Ambra stiffened, and a cold look graced her young features. Michael now felt like a heel and gave her a tentative smile. “Thank you for what you did for us. I’m Michael, and that is my brother Ben.” He waved his hand towards his sibling.

She smiled and nodded, moving to stand next to her sister Diamond, eyeing Ben again now.

“Hi Ben, I am Ambra, and this is my sister Diam—” She stopped and then turned to him, her eyebrows raised.

His brother didn’t acknowledge her but moved closer to Diamond, who was fixing her makeup by looking at herself in a compact mirror. She then snapped it shut, finally looking at all of them and smiling.

“Well, that was fun! Now I have to go; cheerleading practice is about to start. Ambra will take you both to see the nurse.” She stepped away with a wave and walked off before turning again. “By the way, welcome to Logan Private School. You both definitely made an impact on your first day. Stay out of trouble from now on please. I almost broke a nail.” She turned, her skirt swirling around her brown legs before she continued off the field, heading towards the school.

“Come on, I will walk you to see Nurse Hemmingway,” Ambra said.

As they both walked on either side of Ambra, she elbowed Ben. “So, are you in love with my sister or something?”

Ben just scowled and shrugged. “Nooo, she is just pretty to look at.”

“Well don’t get any ideas. She is seeing the star quarterback, and they already have their lives mapped out.” She rolled her eyes.

“Is that why the boys stopped when you both got involved?”

She glared hard at Michael. “No. I have a mean right fist, and Peter learned that the first time he tried to bully someone. Our father is Winston Jackson, the heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts. He owns his own studios in several cities in the US. And our mother is Deone Harris, an Olympic gold medalist in track for sprints, mids, and hurdles, and after retiring and finishing her degree, she is now the head of Logan Private School. Both Diamond and I know how to defend ourselves, and we are both great at sports. It runs in the family.” She shrugged as if her parents were just ordinary people.

Michael and Ben turned and gaped at her. Ambra and Diamond’s parents were two legends in the athletics world. Now Michael understood the clout they had in the school. No one would want to mess with Winston Jackson’s daughters.

As they continued to walk towards the nurse’s office, Ambra answered all the questions they peppered her with about her parents and the school. She reciprocated and also asking them about themselves and their family. She thought it was cool that they were fraternal twins.

She waited around while they were in the nurse’s office and met up with them after school to hang out before the drivers arrived to take everyone home.

They were all inseparable after that.

Chapter 1

“Going, going, gone. The weekend with hotel owner Michael Brooks is sold to the lady in the red dress. Ladies and gents, please wait until the auction is done to go and pick up your envelopes with your information packages for your dates,” the announcer in the black tux announced over his mic.

Michael stood there stunned into silence for the first time in his adult life. At least he had the presence of mind to not leave his mouth hanging open at the sudden turn of events.

He and Summer had had everything planned. This was going to be the official launch of their love story and also help raise money for the homeless shelters that were in desperate need here in New York.

The press would have gone wild that the Townsend heiress and one of the Brooks brothers were now in a relationship, sparked by her donating funds at the bachelor and bachelorette charity auction.

But in just one second, Ambra had taken all that away from them. Michael’s gaze swung to lock with Summer’s, and he could see the anger and the shame in her expression. She had just lost to his best friend, and the audience had gone quiet, except for the flurry of photographers and press murmuring in the background.

Tonight’s auction was to kick off the hotel opening in New York. His older brother Carter had worked hard to get it off the ground. Next in line would be the other hotel/casino that had already begun construction in Vegas; it was set to rival the one they already had. Their latest Vegas hotel would be very opulent and styled in a theme of diamonds and gold by the famous design Bianca Core.

His attention was caught when the auctioneer cleared his throat. He was looking at him expectantly. Michael realized he was just standing there.

He nodded at the man, fixing his jacket before walking to the short set of stairs to the right of the stage and descending. A flurry of thoughts buzzed in his head, but front and center were Ambra and Summer.

Why did Summer stop betting? She was an heiress and could have kept going. And what was Ambra playing at? Maybe what Summer has been telling me all along is true... Ambra wants me for herself. I can’t believe it. My best friend has really stepped over the line with this one.

Three people were now embarrassed: himself, Summer, and Ambra. He was so angry he could spit bullets, but he was trying to contain himself, or else he was going to embarrass her on the spot.

His jaw clenched tightly at the thought, and he looked to see that Summer had gotten up and was walking away from her chair. Ambra was staring after her in shock and dismay, her mouth opening and closing as if she didn’t know what to say. Damm right there is nothing you can say.

Through his haze of disbelief that this was happening, he didn’t see anyone else as he walked off the stage. His only focus was on getting to Ambra and then finding a place for them to have a private chat. Then he vaguely heard, “This is going to be gooood.”

It sounded like his sister-in-law Zahara, but he didn’t take the time to look, as he then also heard the sudden twitter of the guests as he continued on towards his target.

When he finally stopped in front of Ambra, the color red blurred his vision. She must have seen the anger on his face because her eyes widened like saucers, and she began to stutter.

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