Page 57 of High Roller

I frown at her as we pull into the Mob Museum parking area. “That shouldn’t be how it is.” I buckle my seatbelt and come around to open her door before she can get out. Cupping her jaw in my hand, I stroke a thumb across her soft skin. “I’m sorry, butterfly. I’m going to do better from now on. Friendship is important, and if we discover that it leads to something more, even better.”

Gracie smiles and lets me help her out of the car. “This is a pretty good start to being more friendly.”

Inside the museum, we walk through the various exhibits. I love watching Gracie get excited about the littlest things. She soaks up the information and asks questions.

“How the heck am I supposed to know that?” I say incredulously when she asks me about a mob hit that happened here in Las Vegas nearly eighty years ago.

She doubles over in laughter. “You should see your face.”

“You’re making me regret not giving you a taste of my belt the other night, little girl.”

Her face turns bright red at my threat. I’ve always enjoyed punishing Gracie.

We wander through more of the exhibits, and I stop her when we come to one display. “Now this guy I can tell you a bit about.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Oh, tell me more.”

“He put a hit out on my grandfather. He wasn’t successful, and my grandfather was smart enough not to retaliate, at least not with violence. Instead, he helped the feds put him in jail.”

“Why did he want your grandfather dead? And why would it be in the Vegas Mob Museum?”

I pull her towards a darker corner so that another couple can step in front of the display that we were just occupying. “It’s a long story.”

Gracie scoots closer to me and, to my surprise, lays her head on my shoulder. It reminds me of lunchtime in high school. We usually ended up on the bleachers eating lunch together in the gym, and she would often end up in this position—head on my shoulder, talking about nothing or everything. “I’d love to hear that story sometime.”

I kiss the top of her head. “Next time, perhaps I’ll tell you.”

Gracie steps back. “Next time?”

“On our next adventure that seems like a date but isn’t a date.”

Gracie frowns, and I have the sneaking suspicion I’ve said the wrong thing.

“What’s wrong, butterfly?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. Something about this just feels wrong. I’ve liked you for so long, and somehow, I’ve never been on a date with you until you dropped Lili on us. Are you just taking me out to keep from thinking about her?”

I’m not sure that I understand what she’s talking about or the insecurity she’s clearly feeling, but I want to help. “It’s not like that, Mariposa.”

“Then tell me what it is like.”

I sigh and drag a hand through my hair. I never put it back in the rubber band after dinner. “Gracie, I’m not sure what to say here. I just wanted to spend some time with you after the way we connected during our scene the other night.” There’s no way I can tell Grace that Lili’s presence may be the thing that has sparked the interest in her.

“Let’s finish the tour,” I suggest.

She looks at her watch and shakes her head. “It’s getting late. I think I’m just going to call an Uber.”

“Gracie, come on. Just let me give you a ride home.”

She’s already got her phone out and has the rideshare app open. “It’s fine. We live in opposite directions, and I want to go back to the club to get my own car anyway,” she says. “Just let me go. I need time to think.”

I’m not going to stand here and argue with her in the middle of the Mob Museum. So I nod. “Come on. I’ll wait with you until your car gets here.”

Ten minutes later, I watch in disappointment as Grace climbs into the back of an Uber to retrieve her car. There are so many things we didn’t get the chance to talk about tonight. Not the least of which is who her stalker might be. Something triggered a thought spiral in her head that sent her running. I’ve seen it happen before, but never with me. I don’t know what was going on inside her brain, but I aim to find out.

Chapter 19

Lili

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