Page 35 of Gamble
“I can’t believe you jumped off this ride from way up here.”
“Honestly, sometimes I can’t believe I did some stunts I’ve done either. I sure was hard on my body.”
That was the understatement of the year.
“You mentioned that before. Did you ever break any bones?”
He chuckled. “Too many to count. Same with stitches, although I’m up to nine surgeries and counting. I’ve tried to convince my doctor to give me a discount when I hit the double-digit mark.”
He stopped short of adding that he almost certainly saw number ten in his near future. Already, the cortisone shot he’d gotten only a few weeks before was wearing off.
“That’s insane,” she said against his chest. “It sounds like you’re lucky to still be walking.”
“Yeah, I was at least smart enough to get out before it got that bad. Some guys I’ve worked with over the years haven’t been as fortunate.”
“I’m glad too.” Pulling away from his chest, Reagan looked up into his eyes, their faces only inches apart. “I would never have met you otherwise.”
Elijah had never considered himself an emotional man, but in that quiet moment, despite the crowd of tourists around them, it felt like the ground beneath him shifted. With a rare clarity, he knew it was the kind of shift that had nothing to do with the fact that they were on a moving Ferris wheel.
The automated announcement they were approaching the ground broke the spell, making him feel almost foolish forletting himself even hope what was happening between himself and the beauty in his lap was anything more than a birthday gift from the universe.
This is just a fun weekend, nothing more, old man.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
REAGAN
How was it already four o’clock? Their day together was flying by too quickly.
It wasn’t lost on Reagan how different her day would have been had she stayed with Tristan. She had no doubt that time would have crawled by at a snail’s pace had she been watching him play poker from afar, surrounded by thick smoke that made her sick to her stomach, all the while listening to Jeff and Jules talk smack about everyone who walked by as if making judgy insults was an Olympic sport.
Her carefree time with Elijah had been the breath of fresh air she hadn’t even known she’d needed.
After they’d gotten off the High Roller, she and Elijah had spent time window shopping on a fun promenade before he’d treated her to the best barbecue at a restaurant named Virgil’s. It was fun hearing stories about how he and the movie crew had enjoyed eating there often while filming in the city years before.
Reagan couldn’t even remember having as much fun as she was having. The most astonishing part was that it was with an almost stranger. Elijah’s attention to detail in planning their perfect day was impressive enough, but it was how natural shefelt when talking with him that had made the day the most special.
Only now, when looking back and comparing her recent dates with Tristan, did Reagan realize just how much she’d had to change to mold herself into the woman she’d needed to in order to fit into Tristan’s life. Her vegan ex-boyfriend wouldn’t have been caught dead in a meat-lover’s paradise like Virgil’s. And not only would he have criticized her choice of Texas-inspired brisket and basket of fries smothered in cheese and bacon for the meat content, but he would have reminded her how many pounds she’d be putting on if she ate all the high caloric treats.
Elijah, in contrast, had shared the fries with her and even bought her the most heavenly chocolate ice cream at the Ghirardelli’s shop they’d passed on the way back to the waiting car.
“I think I lost you.”
Elijah’s words broke through her internal reflection. She’d been looking out the window over the city while waiting for him to come out of the bathroom in his suite.
Spinning, she turned to answer, but the words got stuck on her tongue.
If she hadn’t seen his driver’s license with her own eyes, she would never have believed the man standing in front of her in a pair of swimming trunks was turning fifty years old the next day.
Fully dressed, he’d looked like a handsome, fit gentleman.
Undressed, he looked like a sexy male model for a fitness magazine.
The grin on his face told her he approved of her reaction.
“Em… wow,” was all she got out.
Elijah dragged his gaze up and down her own bikini-clad body before adding, “You took the words right out of my mouth.”
