All In by Marta Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

for the day. We’ll meet you at six sharp for dinner at the
Grille and remember the Howards will be joining us so please make
sure you and your brother are on time.”
    “Of course, Mother. Six sharp,” I
reply obediently.
    “Oh and, Ashley, dear, I laid out a
dress for you to wear tonight. Have a wonderful day.” Without
waiting for my reply, I hear the French patio doors shut with a
click.
    I pull my sunglasses back down to
shield my eyes from the late morning sun and let out a sigh. I’m
nearly eighteen years old; one would think I could dress myself.
Apparently not. Then again, I never push back. My father’s Senate
career causes us to constantly be in the public eye, so my mother
always strives to make us look like the perfect family, ready for a
photo op at a moment’s notice. It’s exhausting sometimes. Always
trying to be perfect.
    “Hey, little sister,” Andrew says, a
towel draped over his shoulder and a glass of lemonade in his hand.
He plops down in the lounge chair beside me and takes a long sip of
his drink. I wonder if it’s spiked. “Crazy night, huh?”
    “You can say that again,” I reply,
thinking about how quickly we had to leave last night and how I
wasn’t able to say goodbye to Lane. I take a sip of my own lemonade
before picking up my bottle of sunscreen. “So hey, how do you know
that Lane guy anyway? I ask nonchalantly applying the SPF like it
will somehow block Andrew from seeing how interested I am in his
answer. “I’ve never seen him around before?”
    “Oh yeah, that guy is way cool. He
detailed my car yesterday at the club. Did an awesome
job.”
    Detailed his car? “Wait, I thought he
went to Yale?”
    “He will be. He actually grew up on
the island. Can you imagine? Living here year-round? I bet it’s
super boring in the winter.” Andrew takes my sun block and squeezes
out enough to cover his entire body, twice. “Anyway, we started
talking, and I found out he’s going to Yale in the fall. I wanted
to introduce him to some of the guys last night, but the race with
Gregory took over.”
    Well that explains why I’ve never seen
him around before. A local.
    I walk to the edge of the pool and dip
my foot in to test the temperature. “Gregory was so mad when he
lost. Did you see his face?” I smirk. “Sometimes he needs to be put
in his place, and by sometimes, I mean often and
always.”
    “Right.” Andrew laughs. “Lane’s car is
so nice I knew it would beat Gregory’s no problem. Although, I’m
not sure if Greg was more pissed about losing the race, or because
of the way Lane was looking at you all night.”
    “Really?” I sit on the edge of the
pool, emerging my legs in the cool clear water, and try to hide the
blush I feel spread across my cheeks. Was he really looking at me?
Like that? I think back to his steely blue eyes right after he won
the race, and I shiver despite the hot sun.
    “Oh come on, you can’t tell me you
didn’t notice?” Andrew takes another sip of his drink then props
his hands behind his head and shuts his eyes. “I saw you looking
too, you know.” A small smirk crosses over his face.
    I didn’t think anyone noticed. I push
off the side of the pool and let the water cool my flushed
cheeks.
    When I break through the surface of
the water, I’m unpleasantly surprised to see Gregory standing on
the edge of the pool looking down at me.
    “Hey, beautiful,” Gregory says as
casual and breezy as he’s dressed in a pair of linen white pants
and a pastel blue polo shirt. I climb out and feel his eyes roam my
body before I wrap my towel around me and sit back down on my
lounge chair. His eyes linger on my legs and I shiver again, but
this time, not in a good way.
    Andrew stands up and blocks Gregory
from staring, applying more sun screen to his arms casually. Best
brother ever.
    “So, you sailing today?” Andrew asks,
assessing the outfit and deducing as much.
    “A quick jaunt out, but I’ll be back
in time for the bonfire,” he