Labor of Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

tonight?
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    â€œDo you believe in love at first sight, or should we walk by again?”
    We all groaned at Tank’s corny pickup line.
    Sometime between the time that the server brought our food and we finished eating, we all seemed to have become friends. Or at least comfortable enough with one another for Jenna to tell Tank that she thought his line about us being their destiny was pretty corny. So the guys had started tossing out their repertoire of worst pickup lines—just to prove that Tank’s hadn’t been that bad.
    â€œI hope you know CPR, ’cuz you take my breath away,” Sean said. He had a really deep baritone voice that sounded like it came up from the soles of his feet.
    Jenna and I laughed, but Amber looked at him like maybe she was wondering if he was serious.
    He wasn’t very tall. But that worked. Because neither was Amber. Not that it needed to work, because she had a boyfriend.
    â€œDo the police have a warrant out for your arrest?” Brady asked. “Because your eyes are killing me.”
    I laughed.
    â€œNo, seriously,” he said. “You’ve got really pretty brown eyes.”
    â€œOh, that wasn’t a line?”
    â€œWell, yeah, it’s a line, but I do mean it.”
    â€œOh, well, in that case, thanks. I think.”
    Were we moving into flirting territory?
    â€œYou must be tired,” he said, “because you’ve been running through my mind ever since I first saw you.”
    â€œIs that a line?” I asked, not certain if Ishould laugh again.
    â€œNot really,” Tank said before Brady could answer. “We were kicking ourselves for not introducing ourselves to y’all earlier. I’m glad we ran into you again.”
    I watched as Jenna’s cheeks turned pink. “Yeah, we’re glad, too,” she said.
    When the server brought our bill, the guys insisted on paying for everything. Which was so nice and unexpected. I mean, they looked more like starving students than we did.
    As we left the restaurant, Tank said, “We’re going to hang out on Bourbon Street. Want to come?”
    Jenna didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”
    Even Amber seemed up for it, which left everyone looking at me. What choice did I have? I shrugged. “Sure.”
    No way was I going to wander around New Orleans at night alone. And it had gotten dark while we were eating. Besides, I’d heard about Bourbon Street, and I wanted to experience it.
    It was obvious Jenna was really interested in Tank. They were even holding hands already.I’d expected Amber to walk with me, but she was still paired up with Sean, talking to him as we headed over to Bourbon Street. Apparently she wasn’t worried about what Chad might think, or maybe she was okay with being with a guy as a friend.
    Maybe she was right. What would it hurt if tonight—just tonight—I was a little wild and crazy? If tonight, I had fun with a guy? If tonight, I pretended my heart hadn’t been shattered?
    Brady took my hand. His was large, warm, and comforting. But still, I jerked a little at the unexpected closeness.
    â€œSo we don’t get separated,” he said, as though he wanted to reassure me that nothing heavy was going on between us. “There’s usually a crowd on Bourbon Street.”
    â€œI thought you were new to town.”
    â€œI am, but I know things.”

Chapter 4
    S everal blocks of Bourbon Street were closed to traffic. The area was a mash of bodies, noises, and smells. I hadn’t expected one of those noises to be the clip clop of horses’ hooves or one of the smells to be manure.
    But the police were patrolling on huge horses, and big horses left behind big business.
    â€œWatch out,” Brady said, slipping his arm around my waist and hauling me to the side before I stepped in something I absolutely didn’t want to. He laughed. “I think my shoes just became disposable.”