Page 67 of Gamble
Holy shit. Shane Covington knew who she was? And he knew she was with Elijah?
“I’m Nalani,” the woman next to her added. That name rang a bell. Hadn’t Elijah talked about Nalani being like a ‘daughter’ to him?
Finally, someone who might have the answers she needed.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Reagan pleaded with her.
“Yes. The question is, are you sure you really want to know too?”
That was the million-dollar question now, wasn’t it?
“Yes… please. I deserve answers,” she pleaded.
Nalani grinned. “Yes, you do. I knew I was going to like you.”
Next to them, Madison announced, “Hold on. Stay here. I’ll be right back,” while Emma reached into her husband’s pocket and came out with a men’s handkerchief with the initials J.C.D. embroidered on a corner.
Handing it out to Reagan, Emma said, “Men... they can be so annoying. They just don’t understand how important communication is.”
Chase called out from across the room. “You’re living dangerously, Em. I’d be careful criticizing the entire male gender when you’re surrounded by so many of us.”
“Oh, please,” Emma shot back with a grin. “You’re all proving my point by wanting to keep secrets instead of just telling this woman the truth.”
Reagan dabbed at her eyes with the offered handkerchief, grateful for the small kindness even as her mind raced with questions. What truth? What secrets? And why did everyone in this room seem to know more about her relationship with Elijah than she did?
Madison returned with a clipboard and what looked like legal documents. “Before we can tell you anything, you’ll need to sign this,” she said, holding out a pen.
Reagan glanced at the papers—non-disclosure agreements with multiple pages of legal text. “What is this?”
“Standard NDAs,” Jaxson said, his tone still stern. “If you want answers about Elijah, you need to understand that what you learn tonight stays between these walls. Forever.”
The room erupted in heated whispers as couples turned to each other, divided on whether this was the right approach. Reagan caught fragments of the arguments—the women seemed to advocate for honesty while the men insisted it should be Elijah’s choice what to reveal.
“This is ridiculous,” Khloe Monroe declared from her seat at the table. “The man is miserable without her. Someone needs to do something.”
“It’s not our place,” Cash Carter argued back. “Keaton’s a grown man. If he wants to screw up his love life, that’s his business.”
“But look at her,” Piper interjected, gesturing toward Reagan. “She’s devastated. They’re both suffering for no good reason.”
Reagan felt heat flood her cheeks as the room full of celebrities debated her personal life as if she weren’t standing right there. The surreal nature of the situation—getting relationship advice from Hollywood A-listers—would have been funny if her heart wasn’t breaking.
“Stop,” she mumbled, then louder when no one heard her. “Stop!”
The room fell silent, all eyes turning to her.
“I’ll sign your papers,” she said, reaching for the pen with shaking hands. “I just want to understand why he doesn’t want me anymore.”
Shane Covington stood, crossing the distance between them in long strides as the room remained silent. Only when he stood beside her and Nalani did he answer, his famous voice gentle with understanding. “Believe me, it isn’t that he doesn’t like or want you anymore. It’s the opposite. He thinks he’s too old and wrong for you.”
The words hit Reagan like a physical blow. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I’ve tried to tell him that,” Nalani said.
Reagan scrawled her signature across the NDAs, not bothering to read the fine print. Whatever secrets they were protecting couldn’t be worse than the torture of not knowing why Elijah had abandoned her. It has to be more than just the age difference.
Before the ink had dried, Nalani reached to take her hand again. “I’m taking her down.”
“Down where?” Reagan asked as Nalani already had them in motion. The fact that she was drawing Reagan deeper into the room instead of out the exit only confused her more.
