The Game of Seduction (Arrington Family Series) Read Free Page B

didn’t want to ruin it with passionate French kisses before her sister’s wedding. No. She and Rasheed would just have to look pass their mistake and make believe it never happened.
    The wedding had gone off without a hitch, and they were an hour and a half into the reception. Bria cleared her fuzzy head with a cool glass of refreshing champagne as she sat at a round table with Raven and their twin cousins who had been bridesmaids. Megan and Sydney Chase were stunning identical twins which had the groomsmen drooling over themselves.
    Bria had just returned from the lobby area returning a few phone calls to patients and to a few guests who couldn’t make the wedding and were running late to the reception. She had missed about thirty minutes of the reception including the cutting of the cake and the garter toss. However, she was trying to avoid being in the same room with Rasheed until she could get her thoughts together.
    Zaria Richardson, the wedding coordinator and cousin to the groom, announced the bride would toss the bouquet in a few moments.
    Bria stood and patted Raven’s shoulder. The twins stood and waited.
    “Come on, girl. All the single ladies need to report to the dance floor like Zaria said.”
    Raven looked taken aback. Right away, Bria regretted the words. Raven had been a widow for a little over a year. Her deceased husband had been a police officer who’d been killed in the line of duty three months after they’d been married, and she still grieved his death.
    Bria took a deep breath and placed a hand on her sister’s shoulders.
    “I’m so sorry, big sis. I wasn’t thinking.”
    Raven smiled her usual it’s-ok-smile that she’d used since her husband had passed.
    “No problem.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m single, I suppose. How about I catch the bouquet at your wedding? Besides, you know Shelbi is going to aim it at you.”
    “Chile, please. Getting married is the last thing on my mind.”
    Bria couldn’t help but glance at Rasheed as he leaned against the bar not noticing all of the female attention directed his way. But he was immune to it because it was a natural part of his everyday life.
    He was busy texting, as usual. Probably his video vixen of the week. Apparently, the kiss was meaningless to him just like whomever it was he was texting. He was back to his playboy ways only two hours after kissing her. That was why she could never take him seriously when it came to matters of the heart—especially her heart—which wasn’t in the mood to be broken by another player.
    “I’m not trying to catch the bouquet either, but I know Shelbi will say something later if I don’t at least go try. You know she’s been a hopeless romantic since she met Justin.”
    Bria headed toward the designated area in between the twins. She had been sticking to them and Raven like peanut butter and jelly to avoid having to talk or even look at Rasheed. He’d been glancing in her direction during the reception, but she assumed he was checking out the twins just like all the other men were.
    “All right, single ladies, if you’re ready for your man to put a ring on it, get ready to catch my bouquet,” Shelbi announced from the stage. She traded the microphone for a replica of her bridal bouquet from Zaria and turned around. Shelbi was going to have the real bouquet preserved.
    Bria stepped toward the rear of the eager group of single ladies which included teenagers to women older than her. She glanced to her right to see Rasheed raise a questioning eyebrow, followed by a laugh. She’d told him earlier that week she had no intention of catching the bouquet. However, his laugh was a friendly gesture, and she felt better. Maybe he realized what transpired earlier was the result of emotions and tensions brought on from the wedding. Now that it was over, they could go back to their normal way. But could she go back to normal when she could still feel his lips and his tongue penetrating her mouth