Page 40 of Double or Nothing

First comes the laughter, followed by her telling me, “Someone sounds jelly.”

“Jelly? Seriously, Liz? Try furious. He walks in here as if nothing happened. Then he kisses me without permission. Not even an hour later, he tries to storm over to Callum and beat the shit out of him for making me mad, then he kisses some other woman right in front of me.” I spew out in rapid succession all the things that have been running through my head since yesterday.

Anger, hurt, love, desire. Yes, I hate the man, but my heart sure as hell loves him. The two are not mutually exclusive. If anything, it’s my love for him that makes me hate him. No matter how hard I’ve tried, my heart still loves him. My mind still wanders to him. And my damn body still desires him. Sutton has some sort of hold over me that’s impossible to break. Or deny.

“I’m not jealous. I just…” I sigh as I take a seat at my desk. “I’m not really sure what I am.”

“Why don’t you just talk to him? Let him explain? Maybe there’s…”

“There’s what? A good explanation for him leaving like he did? Yeah, he’s a selfish prick.”

“He was following his dream and escaping his nightmare.”

“All he had to do was wait for me. If he’d just given me time to take care of my dying mother, I would have joined him. It didn’t have to be all or nothing. He gave me an impossible choice and acted like a child when I picked my dying mother over him.”

“Okay, when you put it that way.”

“There is no other way to put it. I know why he had to leave, Liz. Hell, I wanted him to go. I just… I wish he hadn’t given up on us so quickly.”

He gave up. He didn’t even try. Instead, he walked away without looking back.

Even then, I needed him and was willing to forgive him, so I went to him. I even knocked on the door. Sutton didn’t answer. A woman wearing one of his shirts did.

Sure, he left, we were over, and he was free to do whatever he wanted, but to see that? After having just lost my mom?

Before Liz can try to defend him or make me feel better, my phone sounds with a text. I’m saved. The smile on my face is automatic when I see it’s from Anthony Russo, my top client. My favorite client.

“Liz, I need to go. I have someone waiting on me.”

“Sutton?”

“No. Someone much more palatable.”

“A client,” she sighs.

“A client.” Who doesn’t make my blood boil, my heart race, and my panties wet. “I’ll call you later.”

I head to the casino floor, more specifically, the Diamond Room, our high roller area, where I know Anthony will be. As soon as I see him, I pull him in for a hug.

“I didn’t know you were coming in this weekend,” I say as my arms wrap around him.

Usually, he calls me before his arrival to give me a heads-up. There’s a reason Anthony is my favorite. He’s thoughtful, rich, not demanding, and he loves to blow all of his money right here at the Sapphire. It also doesn’t hurt he’s pretty easy on the eyes. Not that I would ever cross that line. He’s a client. End of story. He just happens to be one who tips generously in visual pleasure.

“I ran into Jack, and he said you would be tied up all weekend, so I just…”

“Anthony,” I scold him. “I always have time for you.” I pull up the reservation app on my phone. “Is your room okay? Where did they put you?”

“Kat, relax. It’s fine. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Take care of your other client, and uh… just get me an autograph.” Anthony winks at me.

“Of course,” I say, though I’m not sure Sutton will do me any favors after yesterday. “I didn’t realize you were a Sutton Cole fan.”

“Who isn’t?”

Me, for one.

My phone begins to ring and when I don’t answer, it goes off again.

“Must be that important client of yours,” Anthony teases.

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