graze my knuckles lightly down her cheek. She still doesn’t look up.
“Look at me,” I say, quietly but firm.
Her eyes close again.
“I can’t, Cooper.” There’s sadness in her voice. “I can’t spend time around you and do what I need to do.”
I take her chin in my hands and force her gaze to meet mine. “And I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Bet me.”
“What?” Her brows furrow.
“If I win, give me tonight.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Is it? Leave it up to fate. You just said you’re a believer.”
“Cooper,” she warns uncertainly.
I kiss her lips. Sweetly this time, even though all I really want to do is grab her and pounce.
“Last hand,” I breathe, hating to pull my lips from hers.
“I don’t know …”
The door opens, and the boisterous sound of Frank still needling Carl interrupts us before I can get her to agree. A part of me wants to clear the room. Tell Frank and Carl I need them to leave so I can finish our conversation. But I don’t. I respect the hell out of these guys, and when we leave work at the door, we leave me being the boss there too.
We play for two more hours. Frank peppers Kate with all kinds of questions about her family and plenty about her infamous father. I suspect he has a bit of a crush on Kate; my guess is she knows it too. She flirts playfully with him. It makes me smile almost as much as it does Frank.
“That’s two in a row you lost to Frank. Are you letting him win or is your luck starting to turn?” Tipping my beer up, I eye Kate.
“My luck must be running out. I only let people win to build their confidence.”
“Well, my confidence is dwindling here, maybe you should throw some charity my way.” I motion to the sparse pile of chips in front of me.
“I don’t think you’ve ever experienced a shortage in confidence, Mr. Montgomery.”
Frank snickers. “You got this one pegged. Hard to be lacking in confidence when you’re walking around with Ms. Laroix on your arm.”
“She’s beautiful. I saw you with her today. Is she your girlfriend?” Kate asks, a sly smirk on her face.
“No.” I throw two chips into the pot, even though I have another shit hand.
“Looked cozy.” She shrugs. “Friends with benefits?”
My eyebrows jump. “No. Not friends with benefits either.”
“Ohhhhhh,” she says, as if something dawns on her for the first time. Then says nothing more.
“What?” Eventually I take the bait.
“I didn’t realize you played for the other team.”
Cute. Really cute. I’ll show you what team I play for. “No. I don’t play for the other team. I actually just met someone.”
She tosses her cards on the table, folding for the third time in a row.
“Looks like your luck really is running low,” I say. “You know what, guys, I have an early morning tomorrow. What do you say we make next hand the last hand?” She knows exactly what I’m doing. Yet I don’t have a damn clue what she’s up to. For all I know, she can be playing us all. Folding three hands in a row and taking my mind off the game.
“You have those diamond four-leaf clover cufflinks your old man used to wear? I’d love to get my hands on them in a last-hand pot,” Frank says.
“No. Wish I did. He lost them in a game. He swore it was the reason his luck changed.” Kate’s face saddens.
“Sorry, kid.”
She forces a conciliatory smile.
Frank rakes in the final pot of chips for the night and everyone digs for their final ante. Frank tosses in a business card holder with my initials on it. I haven’t seen that thing in ten years. Carl tosses in Frank’s high school ring, and I throw a custom Montblanc platinum pen engraved with Ben’s initials into the mix. Kate is busy in her purse.
Just like the first time we met, she tears a piece of paper. Grinning, she picks out the fifteen-hundred-dollar pen from the pot and scribbles something, her hand covering the content like a schoolgirl writing a note. She
“Look at me,” I say, quietly but firm.
Her eyes close again.
“I can’t, Cooper.” There’s sadness in her voice. “I can’t spend time around you and do what I need to do.”
I take her chin in my hands and force her gaze to meet mine. “And I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Bet me.”
“What?” Her brows furrow.
“If I win, give me tonight.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Is it? Leave it up to fate. You just said you’re a believer.”
“Cooper,” she warns uncertainly.
I kiss her lips. Sweetly this time, even though all I really want to do is grab her and pounce.
“Last hand,” I breathe, hating to pull my lips from hers.
“I don’t know …”
The door opens, and the boisterous sound of Frank still needling Carl interrupts us before I can get her to agree. A part of me wants to clear the room. Tell Frank and Carl I need them to leave so I can finish our conversation. But I don’t. I respect the hell out of these guys, and when we leave work at the door, we leave me being the boss there too.
We play for two more hours. Frank peppers Kate with all kinds of questions about her family and plenty about her infamous father. I suspect he has a bit of a crush on Kate; my guess is she knows it too. She flirts playfully with him. It makes me smile almost as much as it does Frank.
“That’s two in a row you lost to Frank. Are you letting him win or is your luck starting to turn?” Tipping my beer up, I eye Kate.
“My luck must be running out. I only let people win to build their confidence.”
“Well, my confidence is dwindling here, maybe you should throw some charity my way.” I motion to the sparse pile of chips in front of me.
“I don’t think you’ve ever experienced a shortage in confidence, Mr. Montgomery.”
Frank snickers. “You got this one pegged. Hard to be lacking in confidence when you’re walking around with Ms. Laroix on your arm.”
“She’s beautiful. I saw you with her today. Is she your girlfriend?” Kate asks, a sly smirk on her face.
“No.” I throw two chips into the pot, even though I have another shit hand.
“Looked cozy.” She shrugs. “Friends with benefits?”
My eyebrows jump. “No. Not friends with benefits either.”
“Ohhhhhh,” she says, as if something dawns on her for the first time. Then says nothing more.
“What?” Eventually I take the bait.
“I didn’t realize you played for the other team.”
Cute. Really cute. I’ll show you what team I play for. “No. I don’t play for the other team. I actually just met someone.”
She tosses her cards on the table, folding for the third time in a row.
“Looks like your luck really is running low,” I say. “You know what, guys, I have an early morning tomorrow. What do you say we make next hand the last hand?” She knows exactly what I’m doing. Yet I don’t have a damn clue what she’s up to. For all I know, she can be playing us all. Folding three hands in a row and taking my mind off the game.
“You have those diamond four-leaf clover cufflinks your old man used to wear? I’d love to get my hands on them in a last-hand pot,” Frank says.
“No. Wish I did. He lost them in a game. He swore it was the reason his luck changed.” Kate’s face saddens.
“Sorry, kid.”
She forces a conciliatory smile.
Frank rakes in the final pot of chips for the night and everyone digs for their final ante. Frank tosses in a business card holder with my initials on it. I haven’t seen that thing in ten years. Carl tosses in Frank’s high school ring, and I throw a custom Montblanc platinum pen engraved with Ben’s initials into the mix. Kate is busy in her purse.
Just like the first time we met, she tears a piece of paper. Grinning, she picks out the fifteen-hundred-dollar pen from the pot and scribbles something, her hand covering the content like a schoolgirl writing a note. She
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