Page 6 of All Bets Are Off

“I’ve always been a little self-conscious about my teeth.” I squirmed on my stool. “They’re crowded, and some of them are uneven, and a few don’t line up properly.”

“I’ve never noticed that.”

“That’s because my front teeth are fine. Mom and Dad made sure that anything that was seen was okay. They couldn’t spend the extra on the stuff that wasn’t as obvious, though.”

“Oh.” Rex nodded. “Yeah. I get it.”

“I got an estimate for the work I need done. It’s thirty grand.”

“No way!”

“Dental work is expensive, my dude,” I drawled.

He lightly cuffed the back of my head. It drove him crazy when I called him “my dude” for some reason. That, of course, meant I used the term far too often.

“My insurance was going to cover two-thirds of it,” I continued. “I managed to save the rest.”

“You should be able to keep your insurance until the end of the month, right?”

“Yeah, but the dentist can’t get me in for a month, so the insurance is out. Even if I could keep the insurance, I can’t just use all the money in my savings to fix my teeth. He says I need a root canal on top of everything else. I can’t risk that money, though.”

“Oh, Livvie.” Rex looked pained. He only thought about it for a few seconds, though. “I have some money saved.”

I knew he was going to offer before he opened his mouth and was already shaking my head. “I cannot take your money. You’re saving up for a place of your own.”

“I can save some more.”

“No.” I felt pitiful … and there was nothing I hated more. “I’ll figure it out.” I forced myself to look on the bright side of things. “Maybe I really will have another job by the end of the week. Then I won’t have to put off the surgery for more than a month or so.”

Rex looked caught. “Have you considered talking to Mom and Dad? They might have some extra put away.”

“No.” That was something I absolutely wouldn’t consider. My parents made a good living, but they had grand plans for their retirement. There was no way I would delay that. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Are you in pain?” Rex’s gaze was seeking. “If you’re in pain?—”

I cut him off with a headshake. “I’m fine. You can’t even see what’s bothering me. I’ll figure it out.”

Rex’s hand landed on my back. It was his awkward attempt at making me feel better. “I’m sorry, Livvie. You deserve better.”

“Yeah.” I rubbed my forehead, briefly closed my eyes, then forced myself to stop being a Debbie Downer. “So, which one of them are you taking home?” I managed a smile around my straw as I sipped my cocktail and inclined my head toward the women across the bar.

“Well, I haven’t quite decided yet.” Rex seemed happy enough to be talking about himself again. “The blonde has some … nice assets.”

“There’s no way those are real,” I countered.

“Who cares?” Rex wrinkled his nose. “I bet they look fantastic in a strobe light.”

I was grossed out to the max. “You don’t still have that strobe light over your bed, do you?” I was appalled.

“Why would I ever take that down?”

“You live in a hotel,” I reminded him. “Aren’t they annoyed you installed your own light?”

Rex merely shrugged. “Ryder and Cora like me.”

Ryder and Cora Stone were Zach’s parents. I’d met them a few times over the years, and they’d always come across as cold and disinterested. They made polite conversation when Zach and Rex graduated. It was obvious that they thought my parents were beneath them, though.

“Are you sure they like you?” I challenged. “I mean … do their faces actually move when they see you? Or, have you held up a mirror to make sure they both have reflections?”

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