Page 35 of Playing By His Rules

He laughed lightly. “Yes. Really. That way she can see for herself that I’m not some deranged stalker holding her sister hostage.”

She rolled her eyes, then smiled, appreciating the offer. “Okay.” It would definitely put her sister’s mind at ease meeting him, and Madison knew that Andrea would really like Rick, too.

“There’s this pizza place near our apartment that we like to go to when we can,” she said, thinking of something casual and easy.

“Perfect. I love pizza.” He grinned, and the last of whatever had been bothering him earlier seemed to have passed. “Tell your sister we’re on our way to pick her up.”

A half hour later, after Rick retrieved his Audi sports coupe from valet, they arrived in front of Madison’s apartment building located on the outskirts of the Vegas strip. She sent her sister a text letting her know they were waiting outside, and as soon as she emerged from the complex wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with her dark hair in a bouncing ponytail, Madison pointed her out. Rick got out of the car and stepped up to the sidewalk to greet Andrea and introduce himself with a friendly smile, then motioned for her to follow him as he walked back to the driver’s side, pulled his seat forward, and she climbed into the rear leather seat.

Madison glanced back at her sister just as she finished buckling her safety belt, and Andrea looked at her with big, round eyes and mouthed the word “wow” with a grin. She wasn’t sure what her sister was referring to—the expensive sports car, or how gorgeous and hot Rick was, or both, but Madison grinned her own agreement.

Another ten minutes with Madison giving Rick directions and they pulled into the parking lot of the pizza joint, which was also an arcade with laser tag and bumper cars. Being mid-week, the place wasn’t overly crowded, and once they were seated and a few bites into their personal sized pizzas—so everyone could have their own toppings—Andrea glanced across the table at Rick, eyeing him speculatively.

“So, you’re the rich guy that paid off my father’s debts in exchange for a week of my sister’s time,” she said blatantly.

Mouth full of pizza, Madison’s eyes widened in mortification while Rick just laughed, his tone laced with amusement.

“That would be me,” he said, not at all offended by Andrea’s directness.

Still, Madison couldn’t help chastising her sister for what could be construed as a rude remark. “Was that comment really necessary?”

“What?” Andrea blinked at her, oh-so-innocently as she licked tomato sauce from her thumb. “It’s not like I didn’t know what you were doing for us at Reign, which worried the heck out of me even though I tried to put on a brave face so you didn’t worry aboutme. I’m just relieved to see for myself that Rick is a normal guy and not some creeper.”

Madison arched a brow at her sister. “Itoldyou he was a nice guy.”

“Telling me and seeing for myself are two different things . . . and so far, I like him.” She shifted her gaze back to Rick, who appeared thoroughly entertained as he listened to their exchange. “You’re not stuffy or uptight like I was expecting.”

He chuckled as he picked up another slice of pizza. “Nope. Never been accused of either.”

Andrea wiped her fingers on a napkin, her expression more serious now. “Thank you, for the money and your kindness. I get why Madison needed the job at The Penthouse, but I hated the thought of her going there every night and not knowing what was going to happen.”

Madison swallowed hard at her sister’s heartfelt words, and when she glanced across the table at Rick and their gazes met briefly, she didn’t miss the genuine warmth and affection she saw in their depths, all for her.

“I felt the same way,” he said, smiling back at Andrea. “And I’ve enjoyed my time with your sister. Very much.”

A mischievous grin curved the corners of Andrea’s lips. “Well, you can’t be all that bad if you don’t mind coming to a place like this crazy pizza joint.”

“I’m always up for a competitive game of laser tag,” he said of one of the many games the restaurant offered, then leaned forward with a playful gleam in his eyes. “I hope you don’t mind losing.”

“Ha! You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Andrea rubbed her hands together in a shrewd manner, already preparing herself for the battle to come. “I can’t wait to walk out of here with bragging rights.”

As they finished their meal, Madison watched the easy interaction between her sister and Rick, and the effortless way in which they joked and teased, as if the three of them spent time together on a regular basis. There was none of the awkward, small talk that she feared might happen between Rick and Andrea. In fact, Rick made a deliberate point to keep most of the conversation focused on Madison’s sister and getting to know her better.

“So, are you working right now?” Rick casually asked Andrea while they walked toward the laser tag maze.

“I am,” Andrea replied as they reached the short line to wait their turn to play. “I’m freelancing for a few ad agencies doing small, limited graphic design work and logos, but I’d really like to find something full-time that’s more focused on marketing and being a part of an entire campaign, instead of small, temporary jobs.” She shrugged. “But for right now, it’s helping to build my portfolio and gain experience.”

He nodded in understanding. “And that’s what potential employers look for. Experience, and even better if you have a varied portfolio of your work.”

While they moved up in line, they talked a bit more about the different things that Andrea could do to make that leap to a more permanent position within a company, with Rick offering solid advice of his own as well as pointers for her sister to think about.

The three of them played a game of laser tag—running through the maze laughing and ducking behind different obstacles as they shot the infrared light at each other as well as at designated targets for extra points. Madison was the first one out, being tagged by Rick, and then he and Andrea battled it out for a good ten minutes before Andrea finally snuck up on Rick and hit one of his sensors in his vest from behind, effectively ending the game.

They all came out of the maze laughing and smiling with Andrea doing a little victory dance for winning, and on they went to the bumper cars before spending a good hour in the arcade area, playing skee-ball, air hockey, and other games. Andrea insisted that the three of them squeeze into one of those small photo booths, with Madison sitting on Rick’s lap and Andrea kneeling in front of them as they made ridiculous faces at the camera.

It was, by far, the most fun and carefree night she and her sister had had in a very long time.

After dropping Andrea off at the apartment, Madison and Rick headed back to the hotel. It was getting late, and Rick had to be up early in the morning for his presentation. A few minutes later her sister sent a text that filled Madison with wistful longings that were dangerous to her already blossoming feelings for the man sitting beside her in the car.

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