And then the redhead’s eyes hit mine.“Oh, my. You must be Wes Carrington,” she says, stepping toward me. She stumbles slightly, and half her glass of red wine spills to the floor.

“Oops! Oh, my. I’m so clumsy,” she says, pressing her hand against her mouth. Her eyes are a violet-blue. She’s really quite pretty, if not super annoying and easy to read.

“I am. Unfortunately, my brother and I are about to have dinner with my sister and her friend, but I hope you have a nice evening.”

“Oh, but I was…”

“Excuse me, Samika.”

“Yes, sir?” Samika looks back at me. She looks sad. I think she realizes there’s no shot for her and me.

“Will you let this amazing young woman have a bottle of wine on me?” I smile at the redhead. “You have a nice evening.”

“Oh, yes, thank you. My name’s Ar…” Before she can finish, I step away.

“That was rude, Wes,” Miles says, shaking his head. “She was about to tell you her name.”

“And if I cared, I would have listened,” I say, continuing behind Samika.“I’m hungry. We should sit, and then we have business to discuss.”

“I’m not discussing business tonight,” he says, shaking his head. I very much doubt that you will want to either.”

“And why is that?”

“Because unless I’m not mistaken, you don’t actually like discussing business with yourself.”

“What do you mean, with yourself?”

“Well, I mean, if you try to start talking business with me, I’ll leave,” he winks. “Tonight, I just want to let loose.”

“Fine."

Samika finally stops by the table and waves at the guests. “Excuse me. We have two new dinner guests that are joining.”

“Oh, okay,” Erica looks up and lets out a loud groan. “Oh, my gosh! Really, Miles? Really, Wes?” she says loudly. “This is ridiculous!”

I watch as Sabrina looks over, and her eyes widen. She stares at me for a couple of seconds and turns away. I see her date turning towards me with a dismissive look.

“Oh, is this your brother?” Sabrina’s date says.

“It’s my brother,” Erica speaks up. “They’re both my brothers. Can’t you tell? They look alike.”

“Excuse me, chicka-dee-dee,” the guy with the dreadlocks says. I can tell by the look on Erica’s face that she looks pissed and is ready to give him a piece of her mind.

“Did he just say ‘chicka-dee-dee’ to her?” Miles asks in my ear.

I shrug. These two guys don’t exactly look like competition. I smile widely.

“Shh,” I say to him. “Let’s not judge. Maybe they’re having the time of their lives,” I say with a straight face, even though I’m laughing inside. Even I can tell that these dates look like they’re a bust.

“So, Erica, Sabrina, please introduce us.” I nod at the women. “Thank you, Samika."

Samika stands there awkwardly. “Your waitress will be with you in a little bit.”

“Thank you,” I say, pulling out a hundred and handing it to her.

“Oh, no, sir, you don’t…”

“It’s my pleasure, Samika. Buy yourself something nice.”