Page 46 of Blind Luck

“What are you worried about?” Rusty asked. Shit.

“I sleep like a starfish, and Erin likes her space.” Phew. Saved by the frenemy. “I’m assuming there’s only one bed?”

“The house has five bedrooms. I wouldn’t recommend the master because fuck knows what Mav’s been doing in there, but Erin could use one of the others.”

That was actually a really sweet offer, especially considering Rusty hadn’t wanted us there in the first place. But Sin was right about me liking my space—and Iwasn’t sure how, seeing as I’d known her for less than a day.

“I’ll stay at the hotel tonight. But thank you.”

When we reached the forecourt of the Galaxy, Sin pulled up, and Rusty jumped out to open my door and make me feel even guiltier for snapping at him earlier.

“Thank you for going into the canyon,” I said quietly as I climbed out of the vehicle. “I’m not sure I could have done it.”

“I’m glad you didn’t have to.”

“And I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

“I’m sorry that I put you in a position where you felt uncomfortable.”

“Can we start fresh tomorrow?”

He nodded. “You want me to pick you up in the morning?”

“Okay.”

“Sleep well, Erin.”

And then he was gone.

Nine a.m. on Monday morning, and we were back in a public place. Thank goodness. Today, Kelsey had dressed for work in a cream silk blouse and smart charcoal pants.

Once again, we ate breakfast in the dining room at the Neptune, then tailed her to the Las Vegas office of Miller, Sigmund, and Pace, where she disappeared inside and out of sight.

Now we were waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And eating.

It could have been worse. We’d found a small café witha view of the building’s front door, and since Kelsey had taken a cab to work, it was unlikely she’d exit through the parking garage as Rusty thought she’d done once before, but Alexa was tracking her as a backup. A new tab had appeared on my Alexa app, and Kelsey’s phone was a red blob among the sea of buildings.

The café was pretty full, but as long as we kept ordering from the menu and tipping well, the server was happy for us to hog a table by the window. We’d both brought laptops. I was studying a tenth-grade science textbook in between reading through the background information Alexa was sending over. Kelsey was smart and well-respected by all accounts. Past projects of hers included a billionaire’s tennis pavilion and an eco-hotel in New Mexico.

Meanwhile, Rusty scrolled through BuzzHub, muttering occasionally about trash that people had posted about hockey in general and the Cali Commanders in particular. It seemed they’d been expected to make the playoffs, but they’d lost their place by a single point to a team they should have beaten easily. The fans were unhappy.

Rusty was unhappy too. He’d only played two minutes of the game before he was benched with a thumb injury, and I thought that would make him feel better, given that he’d barely been involved with the loss. But apparently, it was actually worse because he felt guilty that he hadn’t been on the ice.

“Maybe you’ll make it next year?” I said.

“We’d better fucking make it. Winning the Meadows Cup is the number-one item on my bucket list.”

“The what?”

“It’s the championship trophy awarded to the winning team in the end-of-season playoffs.”

“Okay, so you want to win all of hockey. What else? You said there wasn’t much.”

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