Page 63 of All Bets Are Off

“You don’t want this world, though,” he continued. “It’s not enough for you.”

“You realize the world is what you make it, right?” I made certain the question came off sounding gentle and not harsh. “You can still run the casino and choose your own world, your own house. You don’t have to live in the penthouse forever. You don’t have to live life like your father. You can be your own person and still be the businessman your father wants you to be.”

He looked momentarily thoughtful. “My father won’t allow that,” he said finally.

I wanted to shake him and yell “it doesn’t matter what your father wants” directly in his face. He didn’t see it, though. He didn’t realize that the one thing his father was waiting for him to do was become his own man. He was too close to the issue.

And you can’t solve that problem for him,I silently reprimanded myself. He had to come to terms with who he wanted to be himself. I couldn’t be the one to set him on his true path. It had to be a personal choice.

“You’re right that I don’t want to live in a casino for the rest of my life,” I agreed as I slathered strawberry jam on a slice of toast. “It’s fun and all, but I’m going to want my own house to decorate at some point. A casino can’t be a home.”

“But?” he prodded.

“But, we have a problem.” Running from that problem wasn’t going to do either of us any good. We had to start dealing with things. “We’re staying married for the next eleven months or so. That means we’re going to be on top of each other. Itches will have to be scratched.”

His lips swished. “That’s an interesting way of phrasing it.”

“I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be until we were constantly in each other’s space,” I admitted. “Like … I thought I might accidentally get a look at you in the shower or something and I would get a little thrill from that.”

“Alittlethrill, huh?”

I chuckled. “Very little.” I held my thumb and index finger an inch apart but kept my smile in place so he would know I was joking. “It’s way harder than I thought, though.”

Zach shifted on his chair. “Don’t say ‘hard’,” he admonished.

I burst out laughing. “Are you thirteen or something?”

“I kind of feel that way around you.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “I know what you mean about it being difficult, though.”

“It’s easier for you.”

“How do you figure that?”

“I had a terrible crush on you when I was a kid. Like … it was painful. I used to doodle your name in notebooks. Whenever Rex had you over at the house for a sleepover I would try to spy on you guys. It was horrible.” I sipped my coffee. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that. Now you’ll use it against me.”

“I already knew,” he replied.

I froze halfway to returning my coffee mug to the table. “Did Rex tell you?” I was horrified.

“Livvie, I had eyes,” Zach replied. “It was obvious you had a thing for me. Your cheeks would turn red whenever I was around. You would get a dopey look on your face sometimes when I was sitting across from you at the dinner table. It wasn’t exactly a secret.”

I. Was. Horrified. “Oh, no.” I buried my face in my hands. “You and my brother must’ve laughed yourselves silly about it.”

“Rex didn’t know.”

“You didn’t tell him?”

Zach shook his head. “No. I saw no reason to tell him. It was a harmless crush. I think it’s a little sister’s job to crush on her older brother’s friends. Plus, I thought it was cute.”

“No, you didn’t.” I shook my head. “You hated it when I was around you guys.”

His expression turned surprisingly stern. “You’re remembering it wrong.”

“No, I’m not. You guys couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

“That was your brother. I was fine with you being there.”

“Um … I remember you taking his side.”

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