Page 24 of Grumpy Billionaire Seeking Wife

“Why would strangers order dishes together?” I say.

“Well, the concept is really something that Chef Kohler wanted to…”

“Don’t bother explaining to my brother,” Miles says, as he claps his hand on my shoulder. “He doesn’t really care, and you’re just wasting your time explaining it to him.” He squeezes my shoulder. “Shall we do a one-on-one table so we don’t have to?—”

“No,” I cut him off. “I think I’d like to do a communal table and really experience what that’s all about.”

“You want to do a communal table?” Miles looks taken aback. “But, why? You absolutely hate being around strangers and being accosted and…”

“Hey, let’s try something new.” I can see Sabrina and Erica at a large communal table.

“This isn’t because our little sister is here on a date, is it?” He looks at me with a side-eye.

“Oh, I almost forgot about that,” I say. “I absolutely don’t care about Erica’s date whatsoever.” Which is true. I’m here to see Sabrina and her date. But I’m not going to tell Miles that.

“Uh-huh. You’re not playing big, protective brother to Erica and Sabrina at all, are you?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot Sabrina is here, as well,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen her, I forgot she existed.”

“Really?” He looks me up and down, rolling his eyes.

“What’s that look for?” I say, grimacing.

“You forgot Sabrina existed, even though Erica talks about her nonstop and we grew up with her, so she’s like a de facto little sister to us both. And you just saw her this evening.”

“She’s nothing close to being a little sister to us,” I say quickly, frowning. “Sabrina is Erica’s best friend, but she is absolutely no relation to us.”

“Okay, whatever,” he says, staring at me, and there’s a glint in his eyes that makes me think he wants to say something else, but he’s smart enough to know better.

“This way, sir.” The brunette looks at me and smiles again. She bites down on her lower lip and then looks over at Miles.

“Are you guys twins? You look so much alike.”

“Naw, he’s my older brother,” Miles says. “He may be as good-looking as me, but he definitely doesn’t have half the personality. Why? Do you think we’re good-looking?”

The brunette blushes and then sneaks a glance at me. I keep my eyes straight and glance around the room. I don’t want to encourage the hostess. I’m not going to ask her out on a date. I don’t even want to have a drink with her. Right now, I have one focus on my mind, and that’s when my eyes see them.

Sabrina and Erica are sitting at a communal table, and I point it out to the server. “That one please.” I look at the two women. "Silly girls," I say under my breath as I look at the two goofy men with them. Erica and Sabrina look uncomfortable.There’s a skinny, tall dude with long dreadlocks sitting next to Erica. And the guy sitting next to Sabrina looks like he hasn’t shaved in a couple of months. His beard is unkempt. His hair, while not in dreadlocks, appears to be quite matted. I can tell from his jawline that he’s an attractive man, or at least would be with better hair and better style. But I can tell from the body language of the two girls that they are not happy and are not interested.

“Can we sit at that table?” I say louder as I step close to the brunette and point over to Sabrina and Erica’s table in the far corner. They haven’t seen us yet.

“Uh, I was going to give you a much better table,” she says, pointing to the left of the room. “If you sit here, you can actually see the skyline of the city, and…”

“It’s okay. We’ll take that table.” I beam at her. “If you don’t mind.”

“Well, if you insist.” She frowns slightly and nods. “My name is Samika.”

“Well, it’s very nice of you to help us tonight, Samika,” I say. “I’m Wes, and this is my brother, Miles.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Wes and Miles.” She sneaks a look at Miles, who has already shifted his attention to a beautiful redhead headed our way with a glass of wine in her hand.

“Excuse me,” she says, giggling. She bites down on her lower lip. “Are you Wes Carrington?” she says to Miles.

He stares at her with an excited, puppy-dog smile. “No, but I’m his better-looking little brother.” He grins.

“Oh, you were in the Fortune 500 article last year, weren’t you?”

Miles rolls his eyes and looks over at me. I shrug and grin. I’ve been in a lot of different articles, and sometimes Miles is mentioned, and sometimes he isn’t. But it’s always as my number two. I know that it irks him, but he’s never actually said anything to me.

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