Page 28 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“Because thirty seconds ago, you were inside me, and now you’re running for the door. You’re buttoning your shirt up wrong, by the way.”

He glanced down, sighed, and began undoing the buttons. “Look, it’s fine. You made it clear there were no feelings on your part, so…” He shook his head. “No regrets.”

What was wrong with him? I sprang to my feet, then instantly regretted it when red-hot pain exploded in my ankle. Fuck. I stumbled across to the bathroom because what the hell had happened in there? It was spotless, a small room with the soul of a hotel en-suite and a frosted window with a leaf pattern. The toiletries looked unused, including…ah. The man’s shaver on the vanity. And who had left the toilet seat up?

“I use that to shave my legs,” I blurted. That was only half a lie. I used to borrow Bastian’s shaver sometimes when he wasn’t around.

Cole paused, one leg in his pants.

“I might be a bitch, but I’m not a cheater,” I told him.

“I thought… I don’t know what I thought. I don’t want to break up a relationship.”

“There is no relationship. You think I’d have brought you here if I had a boyfriend?”

“I kind of invited myself.”

“True. But I didn’t have to let you in.”

He sank onto the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry. I guess because I’ve been in the other guy’s shoes, I always jump to the worst conclusion.”

“Your girlfriend cheated on you?”

“My fiancée, but yeah.”

“I could poke out her eyes if that would help?”

The offer earned me half a smile. “It was a long while ago.”

“But it still hurts.”

“Yeah. It does. But enough about my problems; we’re supposed to be having a good time here.”

“I don’t mind listening to your problems, just as long as you don’t expect me to unload my baggage in return.”

After all, knowledge was power.

“You have baggage?” Cole asked.

“Doesn’t everyone?” I settled back onto the bed. Much as I hated to admit it, Doc Martinsson had made a good point about resting. “I know you said your boss was cool, but don’t you have to go back to work at some point?”

“Trying to get rid of me?”

“Trying not to get you fired.”

He lay back down beside me, hands behind his head. “I might have skated around the truth there. Technically, I am the boss, even if I have no idea what I’m doing.”

I turned onto my side, head propped up on a hand. “How does that work? Did you sleep your way to the top?”

Thankfully, he took it as the joke I’d intended. “No, my uncle died, and I inherited his business as well as his house. One day, I was chilling on a boat in the Caribbean; the next, I found myself responsible for keeping hundreds of people in jobs and running a casino that’s drowning in debt.” He sighed dramatically. “Most days, I want to walk out the door and just keep on walking.”

We knew about the Galaxy and had an idea of the debt, but the fact that Cole hated the place was new information.

“A casino?”

“The Galaxy.”

“Wow. Couldn’t you hire a manager to run it for you?”

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