Harvey (A MacLaughlin Family Novella Book 3) by Krystal Shannan Page A

and was huffing and puffing just trying to get the belt extender secured. No way was he offering to help.
    He shook his head and stared out the window. Only a few hours and he'd be out of the plane and enjoying a weekend of gaming and fun at the LA Gaming Convention. He looked forward to this every year and this year he’d had his trip paid for by Rock Star Entertainment for agreeing to come and play at their big launch. His brothers, Trevor and Caiden, both teased him, but he loved the energy and competition of the gaming world.
    He didn't have a fantastic girlfriend or fiancé like his brothers. He traveled a lot for the family company and relationships just didn't stick very long. It took a special kind of girl to trust a man who traveled , and he hadn't found one yet. The whining and constant phone calls from his last girlfriend left a very bad taste. It'd been nearly a year since he'd even asked a girl out on a date.
    Not the case for his brothers. Trevor had a fiancé and Caiden now had a girlfriend living with him. In the span of two months, they'd gon e from being a band of bachelor brothers, to him being the Lone Ranger. He loved Lorelei and Lina, but why couldn't one of them have brought along a sister or friend for him? Being a fifth wheel sucked. And little sister Lizzy was no fun at all. Apparently writing a thesis and graduating early was a lot of work. She was knee-deep in papers. And if not papers, she was spending every waking moment with Logan’s best friend Ethan Hart. He liked the guy all right, but he didn’t like anyone cozying up to his sister.
    He growled. The Gaming Convention was the perfect distraction. No thoughts of his brothers or their women or the fact that he was alone, just 24/7 games for three days. The new version of Soldiers Call was being unveiled and he couldn't wait to see the updates and new graphics. Magazines said it was going to be the best game of the year. Plus he had a seat on the opening panel of players.
    He shifted in his seat and accidentally bumped the guy next to him. The old man glared. The smell of moldy cheese and chewing tobacco wafted his direction. Harvey gagged.  Damn. This is going to be a long flight. He would have given his right arm to move to another seat, but the plane was full and he was stuck with McStinky until wheels down in LA.
    He pulled out his phone, put in some headphones, and started playing Sudoku. Maybe he could just pretend the smells next to him weren't really as bad as they were.
     
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    The plane took off and landed without a hitch. Harvey sent up a silent thank you when the old man next to him was one of the first passengers to get up and get off the plane. He was about to enter gamer’s heaven. Nothing else mattered except getting to the hotel, taking a hot shower, and then registering.
    He hightailed it to the exit with his carry-on. The pretty blonde he'd seen on the airpla ne climbed into a cab a few yards ahead of his. Something about her was familiar, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He shut the door and leaned back. "Hilton next to the Convention Center, please."
    "You here for the gaming thing?"
    "Yep. The gaming thing." He laughed. "A whole weekend of acting like a twenty-year-old college kid again."
    "Sounds fun."
    "Do you play?" he asked the cabby.
    "No, but my son does. All the time. He’s going to the Soldier’s Call unveiling tomorrow.”
    “Nice. That’s what I’m most looking forward to. I’ve got to plug in at the hotel and polish up my skills so I really compete at the panel. Maybe I can finally get a win against Harbinger12.”
    “Who is that?”
    “I don’t know. But he’s held the top score slot online for over six months. Whoever he is, he’s a badass player. Never talks online though. So nobody knows where he’s from. I’ve been in some open combat zones with him before and barely lasted five minutes. He’s supposed to be at the panel for the unveiling too.” He’d gotten an invite