Treacherous (The Wolf Pack Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

affectionately palming the back of Michael’s head. “Lying to a woman is never a good way to start off a relationship, son. Remember that.”
    “Yeah, sure,” came the boy’s surly response.
    Sterling grinned, watching as his brother put Manning in a playful headlock, coaxing a reluctant grin out of him.
    “All this walking’s got me hungry,” Sterling announced cheerfully. “Who’s ready to eat?”

    They went to one of their favorite home-style restaurants, where they dined on steaming platters of fresh seafood, fried chicken, black-eyed peas and collard greens, with generous helpings of pecan pie and banana pudding for dessert.
    During the meal, everyone teased Michael and Manning about their thwarted attempt to pick up older women.

    “It was Mike’s idea to tell them we were in college,” Manning said accusingly.
    “They wouldn’t have talked to us if they knew how old we were, dummy,” Michael shot back.
    “Are you kidding? Didn’t you see the way they were checking us out?”
    “Checking me out, you mean,” Michael corrected, then laughed as Manning tossed a crab claw at him.
    “No throwing food at the table,” Prissy lightly scolded, then shook her head at the feuding pair. “I still can’t believe those silly girls fell for your lie. Even if Mike could pass for a college freshman—” Sterling snorted. “And that’s a big if .”
    “—there’s no way anyone could believe that my Manny is in college. Not with this baby face,” she cooed, cupping his cheek in her hand.
    “Ma,” Manning groaned in embarrassment.
    Laughter swept around the table.
    Marcus sighed dramatically, shaking his head at Michael. “My poor brother.
    This just hasn’t been your week, has it? First you lost Kiara to your best friend—” Michael scowled. “I told you—”
    “Wait a minute,” Manning laughingly interjected. “Who’s Kiara?”
    “A girl from the neighborhood he likes,” Marcus said smugly. “Only problem is, she likes Quentin.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Last week when Mike was at basketball camp, I saw Kiara and Quentin walking to the corner store together, holding hands. The next day I overheard Mike and Q arguing about her.”
    “Marcus,” Celeste gently chided. “What have I always told you about eavesdropping?”
    “I wasn’t eavesdropping, Ma. They were loud.”
    “Well, well, well,” Manning gleefully intoned, grinning at Michael. “Guess you’re not the man after all.”
    Michael shrugged dismissively. “I’m not worried about Kiara. There’s plenty more fish in the sea.”
    Celeste grimaced. “Darling, can we not refer to females as ‘fish’?”
    “Yes, please,” Prissy agreed.
    “Aw, leave the boy alone,” Stanton said. “He’s right. Life’s too short to be losing sleep over one girl. If she wants that light-skinned pretty boy, let her have him. And when Q breaks her little heart—’cause you know he will—that should teach her a lesson. Right, Sterl?”

    Sterling took one look at his wife’s indignant face, then Prissy’s, and held up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m staying out of this.” Everyone laughed.

Chapter Four
    After dinner, Sterling and Celeste opted to attend an open-air concert at Forsyth Park while the rest of the family went to see a movie.
    After stopping at a boutique to buy a blanket, they strolled to the park, which was a long strip with open fields at one end and scenic gardens at the other. At the center was a massive cast-iron fountain that was one of Savannah’s most iconic landmarks, as evidenced by the tourists snapping photographs and posing in front of the beautiful monument.
    Sterling and Celeste weaved through the crowd until they found an ideal spot beneath a canopy of live oaks. They stretched out on their blanket and spent the next two hours listening to the symphony perform beneath the stars.
    It was the most romantic evening they’d had in ages. When the concert was over and the crowd began to disperse,