Page 25 of Gamble
“I shouldn’t have come in the first place,” she answered, her smile already slipping away.
“Let me guess. Mr. Goodrich didn’t show?” he asked, pretty sure she’d been stood up.
“Oh, he showed up.” She paused, taking note that the line was moving and she would have to move away from Elijah to keep her place. Instead of moving forward, she waved the couple behind her ahead to take her place before turning back to Elijah.
He stayed quiet, letting her choose what she did and didn’t want to share with him.
She spoke again. “He showed up smelling like a women’s cologne salesman, all excited that he’d signed himself up to play poker in some all-day tournament. That was his idea of aromantic weekend—expecting me to just sit and watch him play cards with a bunch of strangers from afar.”
“Definitely not what I’d call romantic, for sure, but do you have to leave?” he asked selfishly, wanting her to stay and spend time with him instead.
“I don’t want to worry about running into him and his friends this weekend. This whole thing is humiliating enough,” she said, her voice quavering with emotion, like she might cry at any moment.
“You have nothing to feel humiliated about. The guy is clearly a clueless asshole. He doesn’t deserve you,” Elijah said, trying to cheer her up. When she didn’t answer, he added, “Did you already book your flight home then?”
“Not yet. I was just going to change flights once I got to the airport,” she answered, glancing around as another couple moved past her in the line.
“Good,” he said as he reached out to grab the handle of her roller board suitcase. “I’m starving, and I was just heading to grab some breakfast. You look like you could use a grande latte and a tall stack of pancakes.”
“Pancakes?” she asked.
“Trust me. There are few problems in this world that pancakes can’t make at least a bit better,” he said with a grin.
The small smile playing at her lips made him so happy as she teased back, “I think you’re confusing pancakes with ice cream.”
Elijah laughed. “We’ll order both! You’ll feel better in no time.”
He could tell she was tempted, yet she looked back at the line, still uncertain, so he upped the stakes by adding, “Come on… tomorrow is my birthday. I can’t think of a better birthday present than being able to share a meal with a beautiful woman like you. We’ll chat… hopefully laugh… and if after breakfast you still want to fly home, I’ll walk you out to hail you a cab myself.”
He could tell she was tempted. He stayed patient, giving her time to work out an answer on her own.
“Just breakfast, right?” she asked.
“Just breakfast… to start. If you decide you want to stay longer, that will be up to you,” he promised, and he meant it. As attracted to her as he was, he also knew they were in Vegas and she was a vanilla, which meant this was at best a fun weekend and nothing more.
She never really said yes, but when he unclipped the stanchion so she could escape, she stepped out of line and fell into step alongside him as they headed in the restaurant's direction.
There was a line when they arrived, which made him extra happy he’d called ahead. When he got to the hostess table, he gave his name. “Elijah Keaton, checking in.”
After typing on her iPad, the hostess waved over a runner. “Take Mr. Keaton and his guest to table thirty-two.”
When Reagan stood looking surprised, Elijah lightly touched her elbow to pull her into motion along with him as they followed the server to a table next to the window.
Only after they were seated, Reagan asked, “Are you someone famous or something? You jumped ahead of all of the people waiting.”
His chuckle seemed to put her at ease. He reached across their table for two to take the sunglasses off her face as he answered her. “This isn’t my first rodeo, as they say. No, I’m no one famous. Still, everyone is looking at us, but that’s only because you’re so beautiful. They’re trying to figure out why you came to Vegas with your father.”
He wasn’t prepared for her to get angry. “You are not old enough to be my father,” she argued.
But he knew better. “Oh, baby, you better believe I am. Hell, I’d bet I’m twice your age.”
“You said it’s your birthday. How old are you turning?” she asked.
She’d been nothing but honest with him, so he was determined to reciprocate. “I hit the big 5-0 tomorrow, and honestly, when I was your age, I wondered if I’d ever make it this long.”
“Fifty isn’t that old,” she asserted, trying to appease him. “And that means you are not twice my age. You’re only twenty years older than me. I’m about to turn thirty.”
Elijah laughed. “Close enough. I was already out of high school when you were born, although trust me, I was definitely not father material back then,” he said with a chuckle.
