“Not bad. Not bad at all,” Enzo commented as he refilled his glass. “I'd say this whole experience has been...enlightening, so far.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” I shot him a nasty glance from my seat on the Italian leather sofa. I'd been feeling...off, and it bothered me. I'd always been comfortable in my own skin, and right now, I wasn't.

Enzo sighed dramatically and swirled the champagne in his glass. He'd already gone through half the bottle and showed no sign of sobering up anytime soon. He'd always liked to drink, rarely getting so drunk that I couldn't handle him, but he'd been consuming more alcohol than usual during this trip.

“I couldn't help noticing that you couldn't take your eyes off that girl,” Enzo said, raising his brows. “What was her name? Brittany?”

“Briana.” I ground out the name between clenched teeth, not liking the direction this was going.

He chuckled. “Right. Briana.” He rolled her name around like he was tasting it, settling back into the couch to look at the Vegas skyline from the floor to ceiling windows. “I wonder if she costs as much as the hookers she chased away? What do you think?”

“She clearly isn't like that, so there's no point wondering,” I snapped.

I hadn't intended to get pissed off at him, but he was dancing on my last nerve. First with the obnoxious behavior, and now purposefully being a dick about Briana just because he knew it would set me off. I normally didn't have temper problems. In fact, Enzo could usually be counted on to be the hothead of the family, but hell if he couldn't bring it out in me.

Especially once he found something to pick at.

“Oh come on, Dorian. Don't be like that.” His lips curved in a mischievous smile, the glint in his eyes one I'd come to recognize. “I'm just saying, she's quite dedicated to getting our business. I'd be willing to bet she'd sleep with either of us for it. Hell, she'd probably do both of us if we asked.”

I'd had enough, but I knew that letting him goad me into an argument would only make matters worse. I forced my hands to relax, my fingers to uncurl from the fists I'd made unconsciously. I needed a distraction as much as I needed to get Enzo off his current train of thought.

No way in hell was I going to let him even think about doing something as asinine as propositioning that girl. Since he got married, he'd stuck with escorts for his extra-curricular activities, but I could see him justifying it in his head that, technically, if he could get her to view it as part of her job, it would be the same as paying for sex.

I needed a change of scenery before I said something I regretted.

“Let's go see if the tables downstairs really don't have any limits,” I suggested. “I'm interested to see how this place will hold up to your particular brand of tornado.”

“Fine.” Enzo slung back the rest of his drink and then set the glass on the coffee table. He combed a hand through his hair as he stood, though he still looked just as perfectly put together as he did when we stepped off the plane this morning.

It seemed that no matter what Enzo did during his day, whether it be drinking and gambling or board meetings and schmoozing, he always looked like he'd walked right out of the barbershop. As for me, it didn't matter how I tried to control my hair. It just did what it wanted. I supposed that was why most people assumed Enzo was the one in charge. That was fine with me. I preferred working in the background.

As soon as the elevator doors shut, he turned to me, and I knew that my attempt at distracting him hadn't worked. He shot me a devious smile, and I found myself wishing that the elevator moved faster.

“How about a real bet on our little hostess, brother? Two hundred K says I can get her to come to Hawaii with us. And that I can get her in my bed by the end of the trip.”

I rolled my eyes in an attempt to get him to see how little I cared. “You're crazy.”

“Like a fox.”

I thought the idea was ludicrous, but I couldn't deny that part of me wanted to prove him wrong about Briana. She was different. As much as I hated to admit it, there was something that attracted me to her in a way no woman had caught my interest in a long time. Maybe it was how she acted like she had everything all figured out when I could tell she was new at this. The role of ultimate Girl Friday suited her, but instinct told me that she could peel it away like a second skin and reveal something completely different underneath. And despite myself, I was curious to see what that would be.

But I knew without a doubt that Enzo was nuts if he thought he had any chance of wooing her. I thought she'd be almost as likely to slap him when he made a pass at her as she would be to walk away. Either way, she'd never sleep with him.

“Alright, I'll take your bet.” I offered my hand. “Before we shake on it, I'd recommend reconsidering. Briana won’t go for you, and even if she did, don't you think your bed is already quite crowded? What with your wife and all?”

Enzo frowned, as if he'd forgotten that Elina would be joining us in Hawaii. Not really surprising since the two of them rarely went places together. I liked my sister-in-law in general, and even more so for putting up with my brother's shit. Everyone knew their marriage was a business alliance, so most everyone ignored his dalliances, even Elina, and Enzo was careful to keep his affairs private and to sex only. Taking Briana to Hawaii with the intention of fucking her would be a slap in the face, and I knew our parents wouldn't stand for it.

“We'll tell everyone she's your date,” Enzo said, slapping his palm against mine and shaking. “But to be clear, you're not allowed to sleep with her. The only way you win the bet is if she doesn't sleep with either of us.”

“Fine.” I gave his hand a hearty shake as the doors slid open. “I'll take your bet.”

We left the elevator and continued over to the high rollers area of the casino. Enzo headed straight for the craps table, as was his custom. A gambler to the core, he may have dabbled in poker or blackjack, but he preferred games of chance. Betting on our lovely hostess was just another game for him, just another spin of the wheel. Though he was generally good at gambling, he'd never been particularly good at gambling against me.

“Does this mean we're not seeking out other distractions while we're in town?” I asked, curious to see which part of my brother's nature won out: his libido or his competitive nature.

He meditated on the problem thoughtfully as he waited for the dealer to hand over his chips. The women we'd hired to keep us company at the Aladdin hadn't particularly secured my interest, but I'd never been as concerned with sex in general as my brother. I enjoyed it, and I wasn't celibate, but going a weekend in Vegas without fucking wasn't a hardship in my opinion.

“I suppose not,” he decided finally. “If I want to get her to come with us, I doubt having another woman hanging all over me would be much of a turn-on. Unfortunately.”

“So be it, then.” I huffed a sigh and left Enzo to his game.

I had to admit that a part of me was a little relieved. I didn't want Enzo winning the bet, but if he got a call girl, I'd get one too just so I wasn't sitting around while my brother got laid. My cock didn’t even twitch at the thought. The idea of slaking my lust with the woman I'd hired before, or even another, seemed less desirable now than it had been before I met Briana.

Shit.

I admitted that I wanted Briana. There was no point in hiding my attraction to her, especially from myself. But would I end up sleeping with her? Absolutely not. Enzo fucked escorts as a way to feel less guilty about cheating on his wife. I hired them for a whole other reason, and I didn't intend to change that anytime soon.

No matter how drawn to Briana I was.