Page 52 of Reluctant Surrender

“Hmm, we’ll see.” He winked. “Maybe we could place a bet on it?”

We arrived at the door and the security man standing beside it opened it for us.

“Maybe, we’ll see.” I followed him to the cashier cage while gauging the room. Aside from the five poker tables, there were blackjack tables and two roulette wheels.

“Mr. Kaczmarek.” The man inside the cage smiled at Lukas and gave a nod. “I have your chips ready for you and table three is all yours.” He slipped two trays of chips through the small window.

“Great.” Lukas pushed one tray toward me and then picked up the second. I did a quick scan of the chips.

“Lukas.” I hurried to catch up to him as he made his way to the table the cashier mentioned. “There’s over two hundred thousand dollars here.”

He put his tray down in front of one chair then took my tray from me and placed it in front of the seat next to his. “That’s what I ordered.”

“You ordered?” I eased myself into the chair he had pulled out for me.

“Yes. Try not to lose it all in one hand.”

Had he lost his mind? I couldn’t lose that much money in an entire night, much less one hand. My father had been generous with my allowance; I could never complain that I wanted for anything outside my reach. But to have almost a quarter of million dollars sitting in front of me for play money took my breath away. What if I lost it all? He’d said no cheating. I was good, but a bad day could happen to anyone.

A dealer stepped up to the table and began getting the game set up. I looked around the room, trying to find the other players.

“Is this table just for us?” I leaned to the side to ask Lukas.

He nodded. “Yep.”

“But what fun is that? I could play just you at home.” I looked down at the dress he’d dragged out of my closet and tossed at me when he’d given me the order to get ready for a night out. “And I could have beat you in my pajamas.” I loved every single outfit of Chrysta’s that he’d bought me, but for a two-player poker game, it seemed a bit much.

“We’ll have fun.” He gestured toward the dealer to get started. “Ten thousand, angel.”

The ante! I plucked ten grand from my chips and tossed them onto the green felt beside his scattered chips. Okay, if that was what he wanted, I could play with him.

He leaned over to whisper in my ear, “I’m serious, angel. No cheating. If you even look like you’re not playing fair, I’ll throw you over my knee right here in front of everyone.”

I had no doubt that he would do exactly that. Surrounding company meant nothing to him. And the way the cashier knew him by name told me he wasn’t a newb in this room. But I didn’t need to rely on tricks or counting, I could beat him without any of those things.

“You like your beatings fair and square.” I smiled. “I understand.”

His left eyebrow arched and his lips pulled upward into an intrigued grin. “All right, big talker. Perhaps you’d like to place another wager, aside from the cash?”

I took a quick peek at my cards. “Sure, what do you have in mind?” I slid two cards from my hand to request from the dealer.

He glanced quickly at his own hand and pulled three cards away. “If I win the night, you’ll quit your job and look for something closer to home once you pass your CPA test.” He slid his cards to the dealer and picked up the new ones.

“I like my job.”

“I hate your boss. That’s why it’s a bet, angel. If you don’t think you can win…” He tossed two more chips in the pot. “Twenty thousand.”

I checked my new cards, confidence washing over me. “No, no, that’s fine.” I threw in my bet and then another chip. “Raise you five.”

“Only five thousand?” he teased. His chip clanked softly when it hit the others.

“I don’t want to bankrupt you too quickly.” I winked. Teasing him came naturally, like we’d been long-time friends. And even though I’d known him for years because of his association with my father, I’d never been friendly with him. He was always the big bad man who held secret meetings with Dad that almost always resulted in someone getting hurt. And there I was, teasing him over a game of cards. Instead of a dark cloud of fear hanging over me, my chest felt light. He made this part easy.

“Mr. Kaczmarek, show your hand, please,” the dealer instructed.

“Two pair, kings high.” Lukas fanned out his cards against the felt.

“Oh.” I feigned disappointment with a frown and dropped my shoulders. “I only have a three of a kind.” I looked up at the dealer, batting my eyelashes. “Is that good?”

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