Chasing Sam: Vegas Mates Book 1 by Krystal Shannan Page B

though.”
    “Her name is Samantha,” Chase murmured.
    “Yes! That’s her. That’s the oldest one.” He
shoved Chase’s shoulder playfully. “You met the oldest one. Sweet.
She’s probably the only normal one in the bunch.”
    Chase looked at Chris. “Why the hell do you
know all of this?” He grinned when Chris turned three different
shades of pink.
    “It’s Maggie. Geez, Dad’s had me working
with her up at the accounting firm, and it’s all she ever talks
about. I guess more of it rubbed off than I realized.”
    “No kidding. You actually sounded like
Maggie there for a minute.”
    “Shut up!”
    Chase laughed again and ran his hands
through his hair. It was good to laugh, to be home—at least for a
while.
    “If she is our match we can stop running off
to fight in wars and settle down with a family.”
    He sighed. Keep dreaming. A Michaels would
never have a shot with a Demakis.
     
    ***
     
    Chris pulled the pickup into their parents’
driveway and parked. Before Chase could even get his bag, the door
of the house opened wide and people flowed out.
    “Chase!” His mother’s voice carried above
the noise of the group.
    He dropped his bag back into the bed of the
truck and bent down to embrace his mother, completely enveloping
her petite five-foot-two-inch frame. He was her oldest son and the
largest of the Michaels boys. “Mama, it’s good to see you.”
    “How long are you on leave?”
    “Three weeks before I have to report back to
Arizona.”
    “Good,” his father interjected. “It’s been
too long since we’ve seen you, son.”
    Chase shook his father’s hand and then gave
him a hug. “It’s good to be home, Dad.”
    “Your unit doing well? Everyone make it back
safe with you?” his dad asked.
    He nodded. Chase hadn’t lost a man yet in
the three tours he and his unit had been through in Afghanistan. It
was the record he was most proud of—getting his men home to their
families. He’d lost so many friends over the years. Vietnam had
been hell. Tracking people was much easier in the Persian Gulf and
Afghanistan. Desert air carried scent well.
    He got hugs from all his cousins and his
Aunts and Uncles before his mother announced that everyone needed
to head back inside the house for dinner. Just the idea of food
made his stomach grumble. He turned to grab his bag, but Chris
already had it halfway to the front door.
    They walked in together and flowed with the
crowd to the back porch. The smoky aroma of beef, pork, and lamb on
the barbeque assaulted his empty stomach. The scent was divine. His
mom’s special sauce was his favorite. It was good to be home. He
was tired of being away.
     
     

Chapter 2
     
     
    The lights of Las Vegas whirred by. Sam
furrowed her brow in confusion. They were headed for the Spring
Valley house instead of the Villa on the northern edge of the
city.
    “Mom? Why aren’t we going out to the
country?”
    “Oh, honey. We have a special dinner planned
for you here. We’ll head out to the estate this weekend. Plus your
dad has a few loose ends to tie up at the casino before he takes
his Christmas vacation.”
    “A dinner. Just for me?”
    “Of course, sweetie,” her mom answered and
flashed her a coy smile.
    “This has nothing to do with the fact that I
turned twenty-five this year. I told you I am finishing medical
school.”
    “And you still can.”
    “Mom!”
    “It’s tradition, sweetie. A Demakis doesn’t
toy with tradition.”
    “We don’t live in the Dark Ages anymore,
Mom.” She turned to her Dad, who was sitting quietly on the other
side of the limo. “Dad, please. This is supposed to be my Christmas
holiday with the family.”
    “Don’t think you will get any help from him,
young lady. He organized the whole thing, right down to the three
men coming to dinner.” The venom in her mother’s voice surprised
her. Wow, Dad had picked all the suitors? Not good. Even the
twins stopped chattering, which immediately made the