Read Online Changing Teams by Jennifer Allis Provost - Free Book Online Page A

cousin’s wedding on Saturday,” I whined. “They’re all going to be staring at me, judging me for not being a poor little rich girl like she is. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. And I have to bring a date.”
    “You have to?” Astrid asked, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “Or what, they’ll doubt you’re a real girl or something?”
    “Or something.” I peeked at Astrid through my fingers. “Hey, you want to go with me? It’s open bar.”
    “With the glowing endorsement you just gave? A world of no.”
    “Some friend,” I grumbled. I opened the contacts folder on my phone, trying to decide who I liked enough to spend the day with, but not so much that I’d feel guilty about taking them to the wedding. Pickings were slim, indeed.
    Astrid tapped her chin, then asked, “Why don’t you ask Sam MacKellar to be your date?”
    I glanced up from my phone at Astrid. “Date? You want me to take a gay man to my cousin’s wedding ? As my date ?”
    “Can you think of better arm candy than him?” Astrid countered.
    Well no, I couldn’t. I flipped to Sam’s number and dialed. Astrid, the bitch, grabbed my phone, set it between us on the table, and put it on speaker.
    “Hey darlin’,” Sam drawled when he answered.
    “Hey yourself.”
    A pause. “Am I on speaker?”
    “Unfortunately so,” I replied, while Astrid trilled, “Sammy, baby, it’s Astrid!”
    Sam chuckled. “What can I do for my two best girls?”
    “Britt needs a date,” Astrid said. “Will you be her date?”
    “Date for what, exactly?” Sam asked.
    Astrid looked pointedly from me to the phone. Great, I got to talk about the awkward parts. “It’s for a wedding. Specifically, my annoying cousin’s wedding.”
    “When is it?” Sam asked.
    “This Saturday.”
    “I’m all yours, darlin’,” Sam declared. “Where are you now?”
    “Café Luna, the bistro by Astrid’s place,” I replied. “Why?”
    “Stay there,” Sam said. “I’m picking you up.”
    “Sam, the wedding isn’t until this weekend.”
    “Yeah, I figured as much when you said it was Saturday,” Sam said. “Today, I’m taking you dress shopping.”
    “Um, why?”
    “If I’m gonna be stepping out with you, you’ll need to look good.”
    “Sam—”
    “Gotta go, hailing a cab,” Sam said in a rush, then the line went dead.
    I stared at my phone for a moment, then I looked up at Astrid. “Shopping? Sam is seriously taking me shopping?”
    “You never know what will happen where Sam’s concerned,” Astrid said. “From the day he showed up in this town, that man has been an enigma.”
    “Really.” I didn’t add that I’d found Sam more than an enigma. Ever since that night in my apartment I’d been assuming he was a closeted bisexual, though outed homosexual, but Astrid’s comment made me wonder if there wasn’t a bit more to Sam’s story. Based on Sam’s past relationship with her cousin, I bet there was a lot more.
    Fifteen minutes later a cab pulled up and Sam exited in all his glory. He was wearing dark washed jeans, a dark blue tee shirt, and Doc Martins, with his black leather jacket slung over his shoulder; basically, this outfit was a variation on the jeans and tees he always wore, but damn did he wear them well. He looked like sex on a stick and I was about to place an order.
    “Pick up your chin,” Astrid whispered. I scowled at her, but before I could snap that my chin needed no such maintenance I felt Sam’s hand on my shoulder.
    “Darlin’,” he greeted, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Astrid.” Sam grabbed a chair and spun it around, straddling the back.
    “Nash let you just take off?” I asked.
    “No shoot today,” he replied. “Nash hates working on Mondays. And before ten a.m., after five p.m., with children, or animals; he really hates animals, especially parrots.”
    “I bet the parrot community is devastated,” I observed. “Such pretty feathers and no one to immortalize them in