Taking Chances (Robson Brothers Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Preview of Book Two

  Taking Chances

  A.T. Brennan

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Cover Artist: Teresa Connor

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  For questions and comments about this book, please contact the author at

  [email protected]

  Copyright A.T Brennan © 2017

  All rights reserved.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Preview of Book Two

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Coming Soon/Now Available

  Chapter One

  AVERY

  “Okay everyone, it’s still life day, so you all know what that means.”

  My head snapped up at Mr. Finnegan’s words. Today was still life day?

  That had to be a mistake. We weren’t supposed to tackle still life until week 6, it was only week 5.

  As the rest of my class murmured and giggled in excitement I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked my calendar.

  Fuck. Today was the start of week 6.

  “For those of you who appreciate a fine, male form, today is your lucky day. Next week we’ll focus on the female form.”

  Double fuck. We were starting with male form?

  “Everyone follow me to the studio and we’ll get started.”

  I gathered up my supplies and followed the rest of my class out of the classroom and into the art studio next door. Our easels were already set up in a circle around a gray, fur-covered podium.

  “Today is charcoal, next class we’ll try watercolors. When we switch to the female form we’ll use charcoal and then oils.”

  Taking a deep breath I stood behind my easel and pulled my charcoal kit out of my bag. It took a moment to get it set up on my table the way I liked, and by the time I was ready Mr. Finnigan was opening the outside door.

  The man who walked in was gorgeous. With his dark blond hair, broad shoulders and lithe body he was the perfect model. He was wearing a white robe and strode into the class with his shoulders back and his chin up. He was confident.

  As he neared the podium he looked around the room and grinned. I saw him wink at Max, the guy next to me, and Max blushed crimson.

  Straight men didn’t wink at guys wearing pink scarves and rainbow bracelets. That made me wonder if he was gay.

  For some reason that fact helped me relax and I was able to focus as the mysterious model dropped his robe and stood in front of the podium bare-ass naked.

  “Class, meet Logan. He’s a first time model.”

  I looked around as the rest of the class greeted our gorgeous subject, and I blushed when his eyes zeroed in on me. He gave me a grin and a playful wink and the heat rushing to my cheeks was so intense it hurt.

  Logan sat down on the podium and stretched one leg out in front of him and bent the other at ninety-degrees. He leaned back, holding himself up with one arm held straight behind him as the other rested on his bent knee. His head was tilted back to give us the best view of his profile and he arched his back slightly to emphasize his strong frame.

  Holy crap he was hot. With my face still flaming I picked up my charcoal pencil and tried to focus on the lines of his incredibly muscled body and ignore what rested between his legs.

  This was the first time I’d ever been in the same room as a naked man.

  As I began sketching I looked around at the other students in my class. No one was blushing or looking uncomfortable. Pretty much everyone was grinning as they worked and Max was blatantly checking Logan out.

  It looked like I was the only virgin in the room, again.

  It was pathetic.

  I was nineteen and a sophomore in college. I’d lived alone for over a year, in a dorm but out of my parent’s house, and had hoped that things would be different once I was out and on my own.

  I’d been wrong.

  I’d graduated high school a painfully shy and awkward loser. After a year of school I was now a painfully shy and awkward arts student. I never said the right thing, never knew how to act in any given situation, and had a habit of humiliating myself just by existing.

  I also had no friends.

  No one wanted to put up with my introverted weirdness or the strange things I always said or did. I didn’t blame them, I wouldn’t put up with me either if I was normal. It was lonely, but I’d never really known anything else so I guessed it wasn’t that big of a deal.

  I was always going to be the weirdo no one talked to, I might as well get used to it and stop wishing for more.

  * * * * *

  When the class was over I was happy with my drawing. It had taken about ten minutes but I’d been able to stop thinking of the model as a naked man and instead looked at him as a series of lines and contours.

  Everyone was cleaning up their stations and getting ready to go when I knocked over my table. My entire charcoal kit went crashing to the floor and as I grabbed at it I managed to knock over my oversized purse.

  Every piece of crap I didn’t need but always carried with me scattered on the floor and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  “Fuck.”

  I heard giggling to my left and saw a couple of girls pointing and laughing at me. I guess I couldn’t blame them for being so obvious, but it still hurt how they didn’t even bother trying to hide that they were mocking me.

  With a sigh I fell to my knees and crawled around, gathering up my spilled purse contents before I tracked down my pencil kit.

  “I think this might be yours.”

  My head snapped up and I found myself looking at a pair of jean-clad legs. As I looked even further up I saw the gorgeous model was standing over me holding a super-absorbent maxi pad in his hands with a grin on his face.

  I thought I was going to die. The pad was mine but I carried it as an emergency backup in case my period started early and I didn’t have a tampon.

  My cheeks flamed and I was frozen in place.

  “Don’t be embarrassed.” He gave me a kind smile and sa
nk to his knees with me. “I was trying to make you laugh, not mortify you.”

  “Sorry, I just...” I had no idea what to say to him. He was being nice, but why?

  “Besides, I may not be interested in lady parts but I know how they work. This kind of stuff doesn’t gross me out.” He handed me the pad and I stuffed it in my purse. “Can I help?”

  “Thanks.”

  Together we crawled around and gathered all of my things. When I was sure I hadn’t missed anything we both stood up.

  “I’m Logan, as you might have heard.” He put out his hand and grinned.

  “Hi. Avery, I’m Avery.” I blushed and looked away as I gingerly took his hand and shook it.

  “Avery, that’s a beautiful name. Is there a story behind it?”

  “My parents picked it because it could be for a boy or a girl. They didn’t want to know what I was going to be until I was born.”

  “Do you have a middle name?”

  “Morgan.”

  He chuckled. “Another gender neutral name. Do you have class right now?”

  “No. This was my last class today.”

  “You free?”

  I stared at him. “Um, yeah. I’m free.”

  I’m always free.

  “You like coffee?”

  “Big fan.” I smiled despite myself.

  “How about we grab a cup and get to know each other?”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  As we left the studio I was in shock. Someone actually wanted to talk to me and get to know me? I had to be dreaming.

  * * * * *

  Two hours later Logan and I were still sitting at a corner booth in the student coffee shop laughing and joking. When we’d first gotten there I’d been a mess. I’d second-guessed everything I said or did, I’d stumbled over my words and literally stumbled walking into the shop, but Logan was great about everything. He was understanding and eased me into conversation, and after about twenty minutes I forgot to worry and be self-conscious.

  “What about your family?” he asked, leaning back in the booth. We’d both had two coffees and I didn’t know about him, but I was buzzing from the caffeine.

  “Just my parents and me.”

  “No siblings.”

  “Only child.” I shook my head. “What about you?”

  “Mom, dad, three brothers.”

  “There are four of you?”

  I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. I’d spent my entire childhood alone and maybe having someone else there might have helped me come out of my shell a bit.

  “Yup, things can get kind of crazy at times.”

  “Are they older or younger?”

  “One is older and two are younger. We’re all students here.”

  “How does that math work?”

  “Matt and I are juniors and Jaxon and Jason are sophomores.”

  “Two sets of twins?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Matt is a year older. He took some time off before school so we’re in the same year. Jaxon and Jason are twins and a year younger than me.”

  “Wow. Do you all get along?”

  “They’re my best friends.”

  “I wish I had that.”

  “It wasn’t always like that. We’ve had our moments and it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows, but we’re family.”

  “So why did you talk to me? I mean, besides helping me with my stuff. Why did you ask me to coffee?”

  “You looked like you could use a friend.”

  “I’ve never had a friend.” I snapped my mouth shut in shock. I hadn’t meant to say that.

  “Never?”

  “As you can tell I’m a bit...off. People don’t want to be friends with the weird girl.”

  “What about the other weird kids? You can’t have been the only one who was unique.”

  “Unique, that’s a kind way of saying it.” I chuckled. “Nope. I was so weird that even the weirdos would make fun of me to try and feel better about themselves.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It is what it is.”

  “Well, you have a friend now.” He grinned and checked the time on his phone. “You have any plans tonight?”

  “Tonight, um, no?”

  “Is that a question or an answer?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Answer.”

  “There’s a party my brother is dragging me to. Care to be my date?”

  “Date, but aren’t you...”

  “I’m as gay as they come, sweetie.” He gave me a cheeky wink. “I mean, do you want to go with me and hang out.”

  “Oh, sure. Yeah.” I grinned in spite of myself. I’d just been invited to my first party.

  “Are you in residence?”

  “I’m at Bridges House.”

  “How about I swing by around seven?” He extended his phone to me. “Put your number in and I’ll text you when I’m on my way. Which room?”

  “217.” I quickly programed my number into his phone and handed it back to him. He pressed a few buttons and a second later my phone vibrated in my pocket.

  “There, now you have my number. I’ll see you at seven.”

  “See you then.”

  He gave me another smile and slid out of the booth. I watched as he headed out the door and shook my head.

  I’d made my first friend, and it was with a gay student who I’d just seen naked.

  * * * * *

  Logan: I’m on my way up. You ready?

  Avery: I think so.

  I was still checking myself out in the mirror, strategically breaking apart every aspect of my outfit and features when there was a knock on my door.

  “Come in.”

  “Oh, sweetie.”

  I turned to find Logan looking at me with a kind smile on his face. That wasn’t a good sign.

  “I was hoping the black on black thing was an art class statement, not your look.”

  I glanced down at my loose black sweater and black pants.

  I always wore black. I was comfortable trying to be invisible and I didn’t like to show off too much skin or wear clothes that were too tight.

  “Sweetie, I imagine the black isn’t a sexy choice. It’s because you’re trying to blend into the shadows, right?”

  I hung my head and nodded.

  “I get not wanting to stand out if you’re shy, but think of it this way. If you’re wearing black in a sea of bright colors, aren’t you going to stand out more than if you were dressed a little more like everyone else?”

  “I hadn’t thought of it like that,” I said slowly.

  “May I?” He nodded to my closet.

  “Sure.”

  I watched as he rooted through my clothes. I didn’t have much and it was almost all the same.

  “How about jeans and this shirt?” He held up a pair of boot cut jeans I’d never worn and a black tank top I always wore under a t-shirt.

  “Um...”

  “Just try it. Trust me.”

  After a moment I took the clothes and paused.

  “Don’t worry, I’m a gentleman.” Logan laughed and turned his back. “Although, in all fairness, you have seen me naked.”

  “How did that happen? I mean, how did you become a model for still life?” I asked as I stripped off my clothes and pulled on the outfit he’d given me.

  “I saw an ad and I figured why not? Five hundred bucks to hang out naked while arts students draw me? It was win-win.”

  “I envy how comfortable you are with yourself.”

  “I wasn’t always so comfortable,” he said seriously. “There was a time I hid who I was.”

  “I’d give anything to stop hiding. I’m decent.”

  He turned and grinned. “Wow. Much better.”

  I glanced in the mirror and was immediately hit with a wave of self-consciousness. The tank and jeans were tight and showed pretty much every part of my body.

  I was an in-between size. At five-four I was average height, bu
t there was nothing tight or toned about my body. My breasts were there, not big and not small, and I hated my wide hips and soft stomach.

  “You look great. Stick with me and you won’t even remember what hiding feels like.”

  I smiled and took a deep breath. I was going to my first party with my first friend. I could do this.

  * * * * *

  I couldn’t do this.

  I looked around the crowded bar and felt adrenaline and fear rising in my chest. There were so many people around and everyone was relaxing and having fun, but I felt like my flight instinct had been kicked into overdrive.

  “There’s Matt, come on.” Logan nodded for me to follow him and I bit my lip and steeled my resolve. I wasn’t going to fuck this up.

  “Hey, Matty!”

  I think my heart stopped for a moment. The man who turned at Logan’s greeting was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life, and I was suddenly aware of how frumpy and awkward I was.

  “Logan, what’s up?” Matt greeted as we drew closer, his eyes raking over me as a smiled played over his full lips. “Who’s your new friend?”

  “Matt, this is Avery. Avery, that’s Matt.”

  “Avery.”

  My god this man was sex on legs. The way my name rolled off his tongue was so damn sexy my body froze and I forgot that it was my turn to say something.

  Matt’s hair was a light brown and he wore it short on the sides but it was still a little shaggy on top. It was a style that said he didn’t care, and I could only imagine how soft the thick strands might feel against my hands.

  He was tall, at least six feet if not taller, and his body was incredible. The tight black shirt and straight legged jeans he was wearing clung to every inch of his hard and muscled body and his eyes were the most startling shade of blue I’d ever seen. His features could have graced any magazine or movie poster. He looked like a model, not a student.

  “Avery’s an art student. I met her when I was modeling for her class.”

  “So you’ve seen my brother naked,” he said in a low voice, his eyes twinkling. “My favorite way to meet a new friend.”

  “Tone it down, Matty.” Logan rolled his eyes. “And speaking of which, where’s your flavor of the night?”

  Logan’s words knocked me back into reality. Of course Matt was here with someone. I mentally admonished myself and took a deep breath. I was making a fool out of myself drooling over him.