Page 4 of All Bets Are Off

“You guys are from two different worlds,” Mom continued. “His friendship with Rex isn’t going to last either, even though it would be the best thing for Zach. Your brother will be crushed when he realizes Zach will be moving on, but our lifestyles just don’t mesh. You’re better off letting him go now.”

I was pained at the prospect. “I think you don’t see who he really is,” I said finally.

“I see a charming boy who never had a chance in this world,” Mom replied. “I see exactly who he is, and I feel bad for him. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s going in a different direction from your brother.” She playfully poked my side. “And you. It’s best if you find someone else to crush on.”

Oh, if only it were that easy. Still, something she’d said stuck with me. “Do you really think Zach and Rex won’t be friends forever?”

“I think that when Zach graduates and he’s expected to help with the casino, that he’ll be plunged into a different world. We don’t belong in that world.”

“Why not?” I was genuinely curious.

“Because that world is too glitzy. It’s not real. We like real things, don’t we?”

“Sure.” I nodded. It was expected, so I did it. “I think Zach is real, though.”

“It would be nice if he was, but this world—the world his parents have set up for him—will suck any realness out of him. Just let your brother and Zach hang out. They graduate in four months. After that, they’re both going to be drawn in different directions. This is sort of their last hurrah.”

I opened my mouth, but there was nothing I could say. So, as always, I shrugged. “Whatever.” With that, I carried my notebook toward my bedroom. I didn’t believe what my mother was saying. I had no cause to argue with it, though.

Zach didn’t want me around. I had to accept it and move on.

Even if that floppy hair would most certainly haunt my nightmares forever.

1

ONE

PRESENT DAY

“It’s not funny!”

I glared at my brother as he hid behind his blue cocktail at The Chandelier, one of our regular meetup places for drinks when we were both busy and working on the strip. Sure, it was a place that was geared for tourists, but I happened to love how beautiful the three-story bar was, and Rex was a huge fan of the women who frequented it.

So, tourist trap or not, it was one of our favorite Las Vegas hotspots.

“Oh, come on.” Rex wiped at the corners of his eyes, seemingly ignoring the women who kept giving him appraising looks from across the bar. He was in simple jeans and a polo shirt, his dark hair swept away from his face, but he was drawing a lot of attention.

That was my brother. He knew he was hot, but he never came across as egotistical. Would he use his looks to pick up a tourist and have a wild night tonight? Yes, but none of these women were in it for “forever” and so nobody was in danger of nursinga broken heart. So everything was just “good fun” where he was concerned, and nobody ever complained.

I didn’t have it that lucky, which was exactly why I had invited Rex out for a drink.

“Focus!” I flicked his ear. Hard.

He yelped. “Ow, Livvie!” He murdered me with a single glare. “That hurt!”

“It was supposed to.”

Rex and I were tight. If you’d asked me if I saw that happening when I was fifteen and he was seventeen, I would’ve laughed until I passed out. Hindsight is a funny thing, though. We were tight back then too. I just didn’t see it. Perhaps my braces’ rubber bands were so tight it blinded me.

“We’re talking about me,” I reminded him. “I lost my job today.” The reality hit me yet again. It was a hard slap on a naked cheek.

Rex turned instantly contrite. “I’m sorry, Livvie.” He rested his arm across the back of my chair and angled himself so he was looking directly at me. “You didn’t even like that job, though.”

He wasn’t wrong. I didn’t even know how I’d ended up in that position. Head accountant for Bradford and Sons, one of the premiere bookie agencies in the city. I’d always liked numbers. They made sense to me. There was nothing more soothing than tabulating in my book. I wasn’t a math genius by any stretch of the imagination, but I had an orderly mind. Balancing books was easy.

Unfortunately for me, what was also easy was discovering a hastily covered error on one of my sheets. It wasn’t even a big error. Five hundred bucks. That’s it. The thread was too tantalizing not to pull, though.

That had been the beginning of the end.

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