Page 6 of Vegas Baby

“Thanks?” She meant to say it as a strong statement but it came out weak. Considering the juvenile garment had seen better days, she assumed he was being sarcastic.

“It wasn’t a compliment,” he said, the corner of his mouth quirking, confirming her suspicions.

Heat flooded her cheeks and she prayed for patience.

“We need to talk about this marriage thing. Do you want to do it now or wait until after you’re dressed?” he asked.

Raina had no interest in leaving this room. Once he was gone, she’d curl up on the bed and binge watch vintage Gilmore Girls on her tablet. “We might as well do it now. I don’t know about you, but I need some sleep.” And therapy. Lots of therapy.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket and plopped down on the couch by the window. Capable hands drew a tablet from his briefcase and clicked on the power button. “Apparently, there is a video of us.”

She gritted her teeth and prayed for patience. What else could she expect from Howler, a self-proclaimed degenerate and serial dater that had a different woman on his arm every night. Like Miller. Clenching the neckline of her robe together, she grabbed her refillable water bottle off the desk and tried to regain her equilibrium. “You took a video of us having sex?”

He cocked his head, raised an eyebrow, and stared hard at her.

Her stomach plummeted to her feet. “Oh Lord, I took a video of us having sex?”

“No. Neither of us filmed a sex video. It’s interesting you jumped to such a conclusion. I didn’t take you for the kinky type. Anything you’d like to share?” The slight smirk curling his lips pricked her temper and she tightened her grip on the bottle.

“I’m not the kinky type, I assumed there was a sex video because—” Stop talking. You’ll only make it worse. She snapped her jaw shut and settled herself on the edge of the couch. Please don’t let my face be as red as it feels. This conversation was getting out of hand. “Never mind, it’s not important. Do you have a copy of this video?”

He twisted his body, rested his elbow on the back of the couch, and propped his head on his fist. His direct gaze bore into her, determined jaw raised. She bit back the urge to swallow under the weight of his intense regard.

“Yes, I do. Please finish your earlier thought. Because?” he said.

“Wow, you really want me to say this?” Rather than back down, her confidence level increased. This was the Howler she could deal with, confrontational and stubborn, two traits she expected from him. He wanted straight talk; she’d give it to him. “Because you seem like the type.”

“I seem the type to make sex videos?” he said, licking his lips and lowering ridiculously long lashes but not before she read the amusement in his eyes.

Mortification sharpened her anger and she narrowed her eyes at him. He was being an ass on purpose and she’d be damned if she allowed him to get the upper hand. “Show me the damn video.”

Howler found it difficult to keep a straight face. Yes, he was fucking with her. It was hard to take her seriously in that horrible robe with smeared mascara under her red-rimmed eyes. Except her long legs under the knee-length hem, sleek and tanned, spoke of the tempting body beneath. Quit looking, it’ll only make it worse.

He brought his attention back to the task at hand, breaking some pretty troubling news. For both of them. This was as much his fault as hers. He should have known better but apparently, he hadn’t. Lesson learned the hard way. Clicking on the video Veer forwarded to him, he angled the screen toward Raina, careful not to sit close. “I edited it to the important part. I’ll forward you the entire thing if you’d like.”

“Okay.” She leaned her head in and he caught the fruity smell of her shampoo. He inhaled, absorbing the scent and wished he’d resisted. They’d be getting a divorce as soon as it could be arranged. Lusting after Raina wasn’t conducive to the conversation at hand.

The chapel appeared with him and Raina standing before a Michael Jackson impersonator in reflective glasses, a red bomber jacket and single silver glove. Video M.J. announced them husband and wife. Even though he’d seen this video, the contents still floored him. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he’d never have believed it. Sucking in a steadying breath, he hit the start button.

“Ha, ha, we did it. We won the bet, now you have to pay up,” Video Raina said, her hand gripping Howler’s, her eager face turned up to his. Her eyes were dancing and bright, almost feverish. Perhaps it was the sleeping pill or the alcohol, either way, she wasn’t herself.

“Yes, you won the bet,” Veer said, shaking his head. He didn’t seem upset, he seemed…

“Is it me or does he look like he was happy he lost?” Raina said.

“Keep watching.” Howler tried to maintain a steady calm, working hard to suppress his irritation with his newest player. Veer, a Canadian citizen and the son of Indian immigrants, hadn’t been picked up in the draft and had become a rookie free agent. A shame because the man was fast. His agent had dropped him but Howler had jumped at the chance to represent him. He had a gut sense about the man and he’d gone to bat for Veer, no matter how annoyed he was at the moment.

“Yes, you won,” Anaya said, grinning broadly. She looked small next to Veer but there was nothing delicate about her disposition. Anaya was tough as nails and a big reason this marriage business had come about. “Since you married Howler, you have to come to my wedding. I know when my father meets you, he’ll stop harassing Veer about signing with him.”

Raina snapped her head up, her accusing stare raking his face. “Wait, what the heck? Why is her father harassing her about you?”

He forced a smile. Things were about to get dicey in more ways than one. “Anaya’s father Patel worries I will corrupt Veer with my playboy lifestyle. His words, not mine. Although their parents arranged a marriage between them, Veer’s fallen in love with Anaya, and he’d rather give up his dream of playing football and work for his father-in-law’s hotel chain, than give up his marriage to her.” He tried to keep the skepticism out of his voice. It was difficult. What would it be like to love a woman enough to give up everything for her? He’d seen the negative side of love and he wasn’t interested in living through it himself.

Raina arched her neck and the towel slipped. She pulled it off and the brown mass tumbled about her shoulders in wild curls. Another contrary thing about her. Curls. He’d always seen her with straight hair; straight hair for a strait-laced woman. A cloud of citrus wafted to him, teasing his nose. She hadn’t been strait-laced last night.

Stop. Remembering sex with her muddied the field and he needed his wits about him if he was ever going to get through this.

“When Anaya explained she and Veer were a product of an arranged marriage, you started talking about how all marriages should be arranged because love was often an illusion.”

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