Page 26 of Honeymoon for Seven

“Okay. Got it.” She watched the next woman toss the dice. People were moving chips around. Every few tosses some folks cheered and others groaned. For the life of her, Ginnie could not figure out how the heck this game worked. Obviously, seven or eleven were good and two, three, and twelve weren’t, but everything in between was a mystery to her.

“Want to give it a try?”

It took her a second to realize that Nick was talking to her. Not that he’d be talking to anyone else, but if anything, she would have thought he would want a chance to play. “What about you? Don’t you want to play?”

“I’m not very lucky at games of chance. I guarantee you if I take the dice, I’ll get snake eyes.”

Even she knew that was the dreaded two. “You can’t be that bad. Chance means chance on either side of the fence.”

He shook his head. “Okay, but you’ll see.”

Taking the dice in his hand, he did a quick shake, no blowing or prayer or calling on lady luck. As a matter of fact, now that she thought about it, none of the players had been as melodramatic about shooting dice as the movies. Debating whether or not she should cross her fingers, or maybe cross herself, she did neither and kept her gaze on the dice. One landed, then the other, they rolled, tilted, and stopped. Snake eyes. “And there you go. No luck tonight.”

“I see what you mean.”

If Nick could predict winning lottery numbers as easily as he could predict losing at craps, he’d be a very wealthy man by now. “I really enjoy the game, but don’t have the touch.”

“I’ll be honest. I haven’t a clue what’s going on, but it is fun to watch. There’s an odd energy around the table.”

“I’ll agree about the energy, not sure odd is the right word for it, but it’s definitely there. You should give it a try. Something new for you.”

“I’d probably throw snake eyes just like you.”

“Or maybe not understanding what you’re doing will bring you beginner’s luck. Feed off the energy.”

“I don’t know.”

“My mother did say find something fun to do. This can be fun…” He had no idea why he was pushing so hard for her to play, but the way she seemed to be eyeing everyone at the table, he thought he caught a glimmer of interest, much like a kid on the school yard who wants to be in on the game.

“I suppose for your mother.” Her eyes sparkled and her shoulders did a little enthusiastic pop. He’d been right, she had been itching to try.

Once the current player tossed a seven and crapped out, the dice came to Ginnie.

Picking up the dice in one hand, she lifted her other hand and Nick quickly touched her forearm. “Sorry, only one hand and always keep it over the table.”

Her brows buckled in what he thought might be confusion.

“I’ll explain later.”

Nodding, she shook the dice, whispered something to herself that no one, not even he could hear. Closing her eyes, she threw the dice onto the table. Not till a handful of people to her left cheered did she open them and see the eleven. “Oh, my.”

“There you go,” he waved an arm at the dice on the table. “Beginner’s luck.”

She nodded. After the dealer paid out the winning bets, he pushed the dice back at her with a long stick that resembled a shepherd’s crook. Once again she held the dice over the table and muttered something only she knew. Just as before, she closed her eyes and let the dice roll across the table. Seven. Another instant winner. The same folks to the left who had bet with her, cheered loudly.

Again, her brows buckled and she leaned into him. “How come the guy before me lost with a seven and I won?”

“I’ll explain later. Keep rolling.”

Doing as instructed, she threw the dice again, rolling an eight.

“Did I win?” she asked softly.

“You didn’t lose. You can hedge your bets by giving the gentleman another number. Do you want to?”

“Sure.”

“What number?”

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