Read Online Will the Real Prince Charming Please Stand Up by Ella Martin - Free Book Online Page B

there was a fire ablaze in the large stone fireplace, and I was elated that the hostess sat us at a table beside the hearth.
    “So, Brady, did you hear that Bianca has a boyfriend?” Talia asked my brother as he shoveled eggs into his mouth.
    Brady choked on his food, and my dad set his tablet computer aside to firmly whack him across the shoulders. After taking a sip of orange juice, Brady was fine, and my dad went back to reading.
    “What?” he demanded. “Who?”
    “Dante,” she replied with a smirk in my direction. I tried to kick her under the table but missed.
    “Schwartz?” Brady sounded surprised.
    “Do you know him?” my mom asked, pausing her conversation with Talia’s mother.
    Brady shrugged and shoved an entire strip of bacon into his mouth. “More like of him,” he said as he chewed. “He was on JV last year but hardly played. I thought he was going out with that cute little cheerleader. Chloe or something.”
    “Zoe,” I corrected him, annoyed. “And Ally said they broke up last week.”
    He snorted. “Someone moves fast.”
    “My thoughts, exactly,” Talia concurred.
    “So is that why he was hanging out at your table last week?”
    “Maybe,” I said, sticking out my tongue at him.
    “Oh, that’s attractive,” he said, his mouth full of eggs.
    “Yeah, okay, Kettle,” I retorted.
    “Tim wanted to go over there and see what was going on, but I told him to let it go.” He shook his head. “I should’ve listened to him.”
    I was regretting the decision to drop Ally off at her house on the way to the club. Why didn’t I beg her to stay for at least a couple more hours? At least if she’d been there, I would’ve had a little bit of support.
    “Dante’s a nice guy,” I said with a pout. Talia snorted in protest, but I ignored her. “And I like him. Can’t you be happy for me?”
    Brady studied me as chewed. He took a large bite of a croissant and grunted. “He’ll do for now, I guess.” He waved the other half of his roll at me and added, “But you can do better.”
    “Really? Because it’s not like I’ve had lots of other options,” I said. “It’s like you’ve been actively scaring them all off.”
    “Only the losers.” He shrugged. “My guess is that this Schwartz kid is too stupid to know he should stay away from my sister.”
    My brother still had that opinion Monday morning when he saw Dante waiting in the senior lot.
    “Be nice,” I hissed before I hopped out of the car.
    “Hey,” Dante drawled, enveloping me in a hug and holding me a little closer than I wanted my brother to see.
    I pecked him on the cheek and pulled away to introduce him to Brady. “Do you know my brother?” I asked.
    “Only by reputation.” Dante held out his hand. “It’s good to meet you, man.”
    Brady looked at his outstretched hand for a second before grasping it. “Yeah, good to meet you,” he replied. He looked at me, his expression unreadable.
    “Brady!”
    My brother turned as Tim headed toward us.
    “Hey, man!” They high-fived their greeting and clasped hands in a sort of a handshake.
    “What’s going on here?” Tim asked, seeming to note Dante’s arm around my shoulder.
    “Um, Tim, this is my boyfriend, Dante,” I said, beaming as I introduced them. It was hard to believe I was actually introducing someone as my boyfriend. “Tim’s been Brady’s best friend since they were in, like, first grade,” I explained. “He’s like my brother.”
    “Ah, good to meet you.” Dante extended his hand, and Tim firmly gripped it right away.
    “Yeah, same.” Tim replied. He didn’t release Dante’s hand for a few more seconds, though, and it made me uneasy. I already had Brady watching me like some predatory bird Finn would know all about; I didn’t need Tim hovering, too.
    I cleared my throat. Dante stretched his fingers and inched closer to me, putting his arm around my waist this time.
    “How did Saturday night go?” I asked. “Brady said you guys had a