Page 24 of The Cupcake Standard

Liam interrupted my daydream. “You’re going down, Avery.”

Perhaps. In due time. I tried to hide my smile, doing a poor job which made Liam look even more annoyed.

Derek dealt me two tens. Both he and Liam stay in to bid. We all took three. I practically stopped breathing when I looked at my cards. Another ten and two sevens, a full house.

Liam seemed pretty excited about his hand, but Derek, well, maybe it wasn’t his night to play poker. Liam and I bid each other up pretty high, until I’d finally had enough, just calling him. He laid down three kings, triumph showing in his eyes.

I had to play it up. “Man, I only had three tens.”

He clapped his hands together, and grinned.

Then I laid down my other two. “Plus these.” I bit my lip as his smile fell, and he banged his fist lightly on the table.

Derek laughed. “Oh, man, you should see your face.”

“Pay up, boys. What’s coming off this time?” I leered at them.

As if choreographed, they both reached down and peeled off their socks. I couldn’t help laughing. Liam snatched up the cards, going right into his shuffling routine, as serious as he could be. I glanced at Derek, wanting to share my delight with someone. But when I met his eyes they were filled with more than just amusement—there was laughter, happiness and light. I lost myself for a moment, realizing he seemed more alive than I’d ever seen him. Then he smiled at me.

And I forgot to breathe… Until the cards hit my fingers, jarring me back to reality. I have to focus. It was difficult to keep my concentration. So difficult, in fact, I made a mistake. Derek folded right off the bat, and I got cocky, thinking I had three queens. But I only had two and a jack. I bid Liam up. And lost.

I scolded myself as I removed my socks. Head in the game. I heard my dad’s voice, coaching me. It was my deal again, and they only had their jeans left before the real fun began. We hadn’t said how far we were taking this.

It was a nail biter of a round. Derek met my eyes then Liam’s right away, so he had a decent hand. Liam’s thumb hit the table, which meant he did, too. And I…nothing matched. I had the five, seven and nine of clubs. With nothing else. Chasing straights and flushes was never a great idea. I could fold, but my gut told me not to.

Derek threw in five, Liam called. I held my breath and tossed in my red chip, hoping my instinct was right. Derek took two, his mouth tightening after looking at his new cards. Liam also took two, eyes narrowing slightly. I followed their lead, taking two and hoping for some luck.

Holy shit, I got it! Not only did I get the six and eight, but they were both clubs.

We went around again, just once, but I knew I had them. I felt bad for Derek when he laid down three queens. There was no pang of guilt when Liam taunted him with his full house.

I stood up, smirked, and said, “Sorry, boys. It’s just not your night.” And I laid my straight flush on the table.

Both their jaws dropped. Liam was obviously working to control his temper, clenching his jaw and taking deep breaths, but Derek just shook his head. “Damn, girl. Well, Liam, let’s give the lady what she wants.”

My cheeks hurt from grinning so wide as I watched them shimmy out of their jeans. Liam’s thighs were all bulk, gorgeous to some, but he didn’t hold a candle to Derek’s lean sculpted legs. He was my type all over. Hands down.

Or hands anywhere I could put them on that beautiful body. Damn.

I smirked at each of them in turn. “You boys in for another round? I wouldn’t mind making sure I didn’t get the short straw, if you catch my drift.”

Liam’s face turned bright red. “You cheated. There’s no way anyone could be that lucky.”

I raised one eyebrow at him. “Uh-huh. And who suggested playing strip poker in the first place? Hoping to get material for their spank bank?”

His face grew even redder.

Derek outright laughed. “She’s got you there.”

Liam pushed away from the table, stomping down the hallway, muttering the whole way.

His blue eyes on me, Derek shook his head. “So you were sandbagging the whole time during Texas Hold ’Em, huh?”

“Not the whole time.” I shuffled again, bridging the cards to bring the deck back together. “I was getting a read on my opponents.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “When Liam has a good hand, he taps his thumb against the table. If he has a bad one, he swipes his nose or his lip at least once. It’s quick, but it’s there.”

Derek nodded thoughtfully. He leaned back in his chair, giving me an eye-full of his magnificent abs as he laced his hands behind his head. “I think you lost your room for the night.”

I whipped my head toward the hallway, a faint snore reaching my ears. “That jerk.”

---