Page 2 of Forbidden Sins

“Nope. This is a girls’ night. No boys allowed.”

“Who made that rule?”

Ellie looked back to the man and saw that he was still watching her. She smiled again, knowing she had him. She watched him pass the dice to the dealer, and walk away from the table to the disappointed groans of the other patrons.

Ellie stood. “I’ll be right back,” she told Rachel, and headed in the guy’s direction. Rachel said something she didn’t hear over the din of the busy casino, and she turned her head. “What was that? Oof—” the air rushed out of her lungs as she smashed into a hard, male chest. She was unsteady on her high heels, but he reached for her, dropping his phone and catching her before she fell, while his cell phone cracked against the floor instead.

“Oh hey,” he said, his strong fingers gripping her upper arms, supporting her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ellie looked down and saw the cracks that lined his screen. “I’m doing a lot better than your phone, at least.”

He looked down. “Oh, dammit.”

“Sorry about that,” she told him as he released her and picked up the device.

“It’s okay. I really should have been watching where I was going. It was time to get another one anyway.” He shrugged. “I was on my way over to talk to you, so mission accomplished, I guess.” He extended his hand to her in introduction, and when he looked at her, she could see the interest in his eyes. “Gabe,” he said, a grin producing deep dimples below his chiseled cheekbones.

She shook his hand. His fingers were large around her own. “Hi, Gabe. I’m Ellie.”

“Ellie,” he repeated, as if indulging in her name. “That’s pretty. Are you here alone?” he asked, looking around.

“She’s here with me,” Rachel said from somewhere behind Ellie. She couldn’t believe she’d completely forgotten about her friend, who’d been sitting at the bar.

When Gabe’s eyes widened, and he smiled, Ellie could read the question in his expression. “Not like that,” she clarified. “We’reheretogether. But not heretogether.”

He reached past Ellie and extended his hand to Rachel. “I’m Gabe.”

“I heard.” She shook his hand. “Rachel.”

“Why so interested if I’m here alone?” Ellie raised a playful eyebrow.

“I was wondering if there was a boyfriend around here who would try to kick my ass for offering to buy you both a drink.”

“What makes you think we won’t try to kick your ass?” Ellie asked him. She already liked the guy, and would definitely have a drink with him, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to give him a hard time. He had to earn her time.

“I think you might try,” he concurred. He cleared his throat. “At the expense of my physical well-being, would you ladies like to have a drink with me?”

Ellie looked at Rachel, who was doing something on her phone, ignoring them, and she knew her friend wasn’t interested in being part of the conversation. She turned back to Gabe. “Excuse us,” she told him, and took Rachel’s arm, pulling her a few feet away from Gabe.

“What’s up?” Rachel asked, looking past her in Gabe’s direction.

“Would you mind going home without me?” Ellie asked, looking over her shoulder at Gabe, who was watching them.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll be fine.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

Ellie shook her head. “Probably not. But when have I ever been a fan of good ideas?”

Rachel shrugged. “All right, I’m not your mother—although, your motherwouldbe all over this—so I’m going to go. But you have to promise me you’ll be careful. You don’t know this guy.”

“I’ve got pepper spray in my purse, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Rachel nodded, and walked past Ellie to Gabe. “Hey, Mr. Smooth-Talker. Let me see your driver’s license.” Following behind, Ellie laughed at her friend’s brashness.

“What?” he asked, clearly taken aback.

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