Page 102 of Just Another Silly Love Song

I smiled as the dealer stood and pushed the enormous pile of chips toward me.

The guests went wild, cheering, hooting, and whistling.

Okay, maybe there were some people who were on my side.

“Come to mama.” I began stacking the chips in orderly piles of ten, glancing up and smiling at Ben. “These chips are so pretty, don’t you think?”

I just needed to stick with the plan.

Most of all, I needed to make sure Ben didn’t distract me.

He grinned at me. “Here we are, just the two of us, partner.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. “You’re looking a little too cocky, partner.”

“That’s confidence since I’m going to win for the second year in a row. You don’t expect me to take it easy on you, do you?”

“I would be disappointed if you did.”

“We’re down to our final two!” a voice said on the microphone.

The atmosphere was electric as the guests started chanting even louder, shouting out words of encouragement as I finished stacking my chips.

“Kick his ass, Lori!”

“Dr. Tough Love is going to win again!”

A bunch of them chanted, “Tough Love! Tough Love! Tough Love!”

Then a group of them surprised me when they started chanting, “Lori! Lori! Lori!”

Ben glanced around. “Since when did you have a fan club?”

“I don’t know, but I must say, I’m really enjoying it.”

Too bad it didn’t last long.

“Give us a kiss!” someone yelled out. “Like the one in the video!”

Then the group began chanting, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

“Do you still like it now?” Ben smirked and took a sip of his beer.

I shook my head. “Now, not so much.”

Ben set his bottle down, stood, and leaned across the table.

The chanting got louder. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

What was he doing?

He thought I was going to put on a kissing show for all of them?

Ben was trying to distract me and knock me off my game, but it wasn’t going to work.

I crossed my arms and laughed, shaking my head. “Notgoing to happen.”

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”