Betting on the Wrong Brother (What Happens in Vegas) by Cathryn Fox Page A

this into his next novel. Death by excavator. It could happen. For the next hour or so they played with the buckets, digging holes, and riding around the dusty bowl shaped arena.
    Andi began driving her machine toward the row of balls. Oh, hell no. He gestured to Carl, then followed her. Her bucket hovered over the cone, but she kept knocking it off. He stopped his machine beside hers and when she looked his way, determination etched on her face, he grinned. Damn, she really was competitive.
    He lowered his bucket, and tried to scoop up the ball but it was harder than it looked. Three tries later and he still couldn’t get it. From his peripheral vision, he watched Andi fist pump the air. Shit. He lowered his boom, and shut down the machine. Laughing at her enthusiasm, he climbed from the machine and jumped to the ground. He ran around it and held his hands out for her and she jumped into his arms.
    “ I won, ” she said as he held her tight.
    Her hair fell over his face as he spun her and said, “ Winner, winner, chicken dinner. ”
    Her eyes were wide, her smile bright. “That was so much fun, Ryan.”
    The gleam in her eyes filled him with a new kind of longing, and it was all he could do not to kiss her. He loosened his grip and she slid down his body, slowly, painfully…launch sequence initiated. Fuck . Her feet hit the ground and in need of a distraction, he brushed dust from her cheeks.
    “Oh,” she said, her smile slipping. “I must look a mess.”
    Honestly, she looked open and real, and he’d never seen her more beautiful. She reached for her hair but he stopped her. “Don’t. You’re perfect.”
    “Well, well,” Wayne said, stepping up to them. “Looks like the little lady showed you who was boss.”
    “That she did.” Ryan shook Wayne’s hand. “Thanks. We had a great time.”
    “Be sure to tell your friends,” Wayne said. He gathered their vests and hats and walked them out of the arena and back to the office. Ryan ran inside to pay the bill and when he came out he found Andi trying to fix herself up.
    Her hand fell from her hair and she glanced his way, a smile still on her face. “I can’t say as I’ve ever been on a date quite like this,” she said.
    He arched a brow. “Oh, so it’s a date now, is it? Don’t you think you’re moving rather fast? I only asked for dinner and drinks. Next thing I know you’ll be trying to get me alone so you can do… things to me.”
    She rolled her eyes at him. “I meant to say, I never hung out with a guy and played on an excavator before.”
    He shrugged. “What can I say? You write about the perfect man. I can’t compete so I decided I wouldn’t bother trying and instead we’d just have some fun. You did have fun, didn’t you?”
    “Yeah, I did.”
    He glanced at his watch. “Now, how about dinner? I’m starved.”
    “Me, too.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders, and they walked back to the Jeep. He opened the passenger door for her and she jumped in. Ryan walked in front of the vehicle and slipped into the driver’s seat.
    He pulled into traffic as she flipped the visor down and started brushing dust from her face. “ I don ’t think I’m fit to go to a restaurant.”
    He cast her a quick glance. “Who says we’re going to a restaurant?”
    Her eyes went wide and she gave him a warning look. “Now what are you up to?”
    Instead of telling her, he reached out, grabbed her hand and held it in his as he negotiated his vehicle past the Strip. He drove for a few minutes until they were near the airport.
    She looked out the passenger window. “Where are we going?”
    “ Sunset Park, ” he said. “Great place for a private picnic, and if we’re lucky we can get a site with a view of the Strip.”
    He squeezed his Jeep between two big trucks, grabbed a blanket and his backpack from the back, and climbed out.
    “I’ve never heard of this place.” She closed her door and shaded the late day sun from her eyes as she looked