Page 597 of Dark Love

“I’m sure Maverick doesn’t want to play again this late.” Eugenia stacks the cards up.

Do I? Not really. But curiosity wins out. “One hand would be fine.”

“What are the stakes?” She leans forward.

“Dinner. If I win, you invite me for another delightful meal.” Which will give me another excuse to endear myself to your family.

“And if I win, you need to take my daughter out on a date.”

Dahlia gasps. “Mom.”

“Deal.” This couldn’t be any easier. But I need to ensure that I lose to a woman that seemingly never loses. “You’ve dealt all night. Shall I deal for us?”

She raises an eyebrow at the unorthodox suggestion. “Thank you.”

There’s an art to stacking the deck. And even more of one when it isn’t a new deck.

Both are skills I possess. All eyes watch me as I shuffle. The cards slip out of my fingers in the exact order I want.

***

“Dahlia, may I pick you up for lunch tomorrow?” It’s odd asking the woman I love out for dinner in front of her family who doesn’t know we’re together, but the charade is necessary.

“Um…” She looks at her mother. “I… um… guess.”

My beautiful Dahlia has been attempting to process me being here all night… I’m going to find out later if she loves the idea or hates it.

“Why don’t I walk you to the door?”

There’s something about the way Dahlia’s mother says it that makes me nervous.

“Um… Bye… It was nice meeting you… Maverick.”

Dahlia is so cute. “I look forward to our next meeting.” Which will be sooner than you might think.

As I step out of the front door and onto the stoop, I say, “Thank you for having me to dinner. The food was wonderful.”

Eugenia steps out with me and shuts the door. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Watching you play poker this evening was insightful. In the years I’ve played poker professionally, I’ve only seen a few people stack the deck as well as you just did.”

She made me?

“And I only saw one other person lose on purpose. Now it isn’t surprising that you’d want to go out with my daughter. She’s a kind and beautiful woman. But what I found very interesting is that my daughter touched you, a total stranger, all the time. The smiles she gave you were warm and familiar. Now it’s possible that it was love at first sight for her.”

I wanted Dahlia from the first moment I saw her. But no mother wants to hear those words.

“On the other hand, what single man in his right mind spends three times the market value for a house in a family neighborhood? What man plays golf badly, but smiles the whole time with my husband, happily losing their hard-earned money?”

A man with more money than sense, it seems.

“I also found it interesting that every time Montgomery spoke to Dahlia, your eyes shot daggers at him. And every time he took a step in her direction, you moved between them. And every time he called her Prue, your fists clenched.”

“For an extremely observant woman, you missed that Dahlia hates Monty,” I can’t keep the sneer out of my voice when I say his name.

“Everyone hates Montgomery. He’s a pompous jerk and always has been even as a child. But he’s also Basil’s only friend, so we all tolerate him.”

Tolerate… “If he touches her again without her consent, I’ll break his fingers.”

“Excuse me?”

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