Leaving Las Vegas (Entangled Ignite) by Aleah Barley Page A

tell whether Luke was being serious or joking. “Sounds like something you memorized from a book.”
    “It’s something Adam Dearborn says.”
    “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
    Luke kept his eyes on the road. His hands were in proper position at ten and two. “Dearborn’s a management consultant. Worked on that big Dresden Implements deal a while back. He can take a company from Chapter 11 to solvency in less than a quarter. I hired him a couple of years ago to streamline our chain of command. He’s a friend of mine.”
    “No, he’s not.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “What you described? That’s not friendship.”
    “Of course he’s a friend.”
    “Nuh-uh.” Glory figured Luke was a good businessman—to be a success in Las Vegas, he was probably better than good—but she’d spent her entire life dealing with people. Small town. Salt of the earth. Real people. “I’ve got loads of friends. Everyone in town. If I’m talking about them, I start with their name. Maybe I say they’re a major pain in the ass, but—God help me—I love ’em anyway. Then I say they’re my friend. I don’t give out their résumé.”
    “Dearborn is a good friend,” Luke insisted. “I saw him just last month at a benefit.”
    “Did you talk to him?”
    “Of course. We discussed the proposed changes in corporate tax law.”
    Glory rolled her eyes. “No—I mean—did you really talk to him? Did you ask how he’s feeling? Get a few drinks and talk about sports? Hell, what about sex?”
    The Vanquish swerved. Hah . Mr. Capable Driver stalled by a single question.
    Luke waited until he had righted the car before putting his foot more firmly on the gas. All those horses sending them galloping down the road. “Excuse me?”
    What was she doing? She didn’t want to know about Luke’s sex life. She definitely didn’t want to know about Luke and other women. She didn’t even want to think about Luke and other women. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to concentrate on the conversation at hand. “Friends do stuff together. Not like attending benefits, but regular stuff. Like grabbing a burger. Drinking a few beers. Watching the game. They talk about stuff .”
    “That’s what you talk about with your friends? Sex?”
    A person had to have sex before she could talk about it, and Glory hadn’t had sex since breaking off her engagement. And that had been a long, long time ago. Hallie was the sister who was always getting some action. She let it slide. “And other stuff. Don’t you have someone like that?”
    “Sure.” Luke’s brow was furrowed. His jaw tight. The look on his face was one of utter incomprehension. As though she was speaking Greek instead of imparting a few honest truths. “The last person I talked about stuff with was Erick.”
    “He’s an employee,” Glory noted helpfully. She forced her hands down flat against her knees to keep from reaching out to him, smoothing the creases in his brow. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, to tell him that it was okay. There was still time left for him to make the friends he needed, the friends he deserved. She slowed down, struggling to explain basic tenets she’d learned on the Beaux Elementary School playground. “Friendship is a couple of people hanging out, without an agenda .”
    His grip tightened on the steering wheel. His nostrils flared. “You’re the one with an agenda.”
    Maybe that hadn’t been so helpful. “Excuse me?”
    “You came to Las Vegas looking to cheat at poker. That makes you a thief. Just like Tiffanette.”
    The look on his face was calculating and fierce. This was the businessman who’d walked into the poker game the previous night. The man who could destroy a neighborhood—or a town—without giving a second thought to the people who lived there.
    Just like the developer who wanted to destroy Beaux.
    “Maybe you’re in cahoots with her,” he continued, staring straight ahead.