Page 25 of All Bets Are Off

“That’s not what Rex says. He thinks I live a very boring life.”

“I would not call your brother’s judgment on this matter sound.” He patted my thigh under the tray. “Your brother likes to irritate you. That’s simply how he’s built. You should know that he would die for you if it came to it, though. He adores you.”

The simple declaration had me going warm all over. “As much as I tried to hate him when we were growing up, I couldn’t manage it,” I admitted. “I love him … even if I do think he’s an idiot most of the time.”

“That’s kind of how I feel about him.”

“I’m still not sure if it’s a good idea for us to live together,” I hedged. “I mean … that means we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. Don’t you think that could go sideways?”

He merely shrugged. “It’s a big casino. If you need space, you can find it here and you won’t even have to leave the grounds.” He angled himself so he was staring into my eyes. “Did I mention you can get room service in the penthouses from any of the restaurants on site?”

Apparently, he knew the exact way to my heart. “That’s kind of a low blow.”

“It’s an incentive,” he countered. “Just … think of it as a temporary roommate situation. You’ll be able to save a lot of money. All your food and drinks will be taken care of. You’ll have more room. Occasionally, you’ll have to pretend you like me for certain mixers and parties, but those only last a few hours and then you can go back to hating me.”

He’d already won me over. He knew it. “Do we have to hire movers or something?”

He grinned. “I’ll handle it. You need to stay out of sight as much as possible until your mouth heals.”

“I guess I can be a lady of leisure for a few days.” I wasn’t certain how long I could stay down, but a day or two didn’t sound awful. “This soup is really good, so I’ll allow it.”

He laughed, warming me all over. “I’ll make sure they include more for dinner tonight. I’m going to have to get prime rib for my dad—that’s one of the only things that will distract him—but we’ll just lie and say you had an emergency dental situation after the wedding. They’ll be sympathetic.”

“Why would we have to tell them before I see them in a few days?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“Oh, because they’re coming for dinner tonight.”

I forgot all about the soup and glared at him. “What?”

He patted my thigh again and rolled out of the bed before I could throttle him. “Rest up. I’ll handle moving your things. Your brother can help. He’ll know what you want to protect the most.” He moved to the door and grinned back at me. “See you in a few hours, Shortypants.”

I thought he was gone, but then he poked his head back inside the door. “By the way, Rex suggested we include your parents in the dinner to get it out of the way, and I agreed because it will force my parents to be on their best behavior. It’s going to be both of our families.” He grinned as my mouth fell open. “Get some sleep. You’re going to need it.”

I glared in his wake, long after he was gone. Just what had I gotten myself into here?

6

SIX

Iwas nervous.

Sure, it was my decision to drop the bombshell on our families this way, but I second-guessed my decision for the bulk of the day.

“What are you thinking?” Rex asked as he appeared in the kitchen. He’d changed from his serious work suit to a pair of comfortable khakis and a blue polo shirt. His outfit told me he had every intention of going out partying after dinner. That wasn’t an “I’m going back to my place to watch television” outfit.

“I’m thinking that my father is going to be a bear,” I replied. I looked him up and down. “Are you seriously going out prowling tonight?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Rex made a face. “I’m going to have to drink my weight in cocktails tonight to overcome the trauma that is going to be this dinner.”

I darted my eyes to the clock on the wall. Five minutes. That’s when everybody was supposed to be here. They had no idea why I’d arranged for this dinner.

“It’s going to be fine.” Rex was good at reading people even if he liked to pretend otherwise. He embraced the dumb jock labelbecause that meant people were constantly underestimating him. “Don’t get your panties in a wad.”

I glared at him. “No sexist comments in front of my sisters. You know they don’t like that. I have to hear the complaints for weeks after they’ve interacted with you enough as it is.”

Rex smirked. “I can’t believe you invited them too.”

“It seemed prudent.” I glanced at the closed guest room door. “Do you think your sister is going to make it to dinner, or is she going to hole up in that room and hope that we forget about her?”

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