Page 27 of Honeymoon for Seven

Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead and he was almost tempted to see if he’d grown horns. “Four, five, six, nine or ten.”

“Six.”

“Tell him, not me.”

“Right.” Letting the croupier know, she threw the same dice again. The woman’s luck was holding. Another six.

When the dealer paid out again, Ginnie’s eyes lit up and her feet did a little jig. The pile of chips in her tray was growing. With every toss and success, the crowd around the table grew. With luck like this, she should play the lottery.

“I don’t want to bet anymore.” Ginnie took a short step in retreat and spoke so only he could hear. “This can go on forever. Aren’t we supposed to quit while we’re ahead?”

“Not in craps. You don’t have to keep betting so much, when you hit your eight or crap out, then you can stop.”

“All I need is an eight or snake eyes.”

“No. Eight or Seven.”

“Seven loses.”

He nodded.

“Like the guy before me?”

“Sort of, yes.”

“This is confusing.”

Now that she mentioned it, it had taken him a long time to learn all the rules about what you throw and when you throw. “A little, but keep shooting or we may have a revolt on our hands.”

One more throw and she hit the eight. The dealer paid out, and as she collected her chips. As she walked away from the table, the folks who had been winning by betting alongside her gave her a brief round of applause.

“What do you want to play now?”

“Nothing. I want to take my money and get out of here while I’m ahead. I’ve heard too many stories of people winning at gambling and then losing it all right away.”

At the cashier’s window, she handed over her chips and her eyes grew wider and wider as the cashier counted out over five hundred dollars. All the money in hand, she spun around and grinning, pointed a finger at him. “Wow. I still don’t quite understand how I did this, but thank you. I owe you the biggest steak dinner you ever had.”

“You don’t owe me anything, but if that’s an invitation, I accept.”

“Consider yourself invited.”

“Then consider your invitation accepted.” He may not have won shooting craps for himself, but if he had still more excuses to spend time with Ginnie, then tonight he was definitely a winner too.

Chapter Eleven

The kids falling asleep early had nothing on Ginnie. By the time she’d collected her winnings at the casino, she’d begun yawning. Just a smidge at first, but once they’d reached the music lounge, she was yawning more than breathing. She had begrudgingly agreed that the day had been long and an early night in bed would be the ticket. Which meant leaving Nick at the elevator. Had she ever felt so connected to someone, besides her sisters?

She’d asked herself that question all night and dreamt about it too. At least Nick had invited her to join them for breakfast if she was up to wrangling the kids again. With sincere delight, she’d accepted in a heartbeat. Now she found herself scrambling to dress and meet them at the suite at the designated time.

The entire ride up the elevator and the walk down the hallway to the suite, her heart was practically dancing the two step with every excited beat. Not since high school could she remember looking so forward to spending time with the opposite sex, but here she was, anticipation for the day growing with every step. She actually had to take a second and suck in a deep calming breath before knocking on the door.

Within seconds the door flung open. Jake, the older boy, holleredwe’re almost readyas he turned on his heel and ran back inside.

“Come on in.” Nick’s mom waved from her spot on the sofa. The woman was already dressed in tan capris with a black sleeveless, neatly pressed shirt. If not for the wrapped foot perched up on the stack of pillows, no one would know she was even slightly inconvenienced on this trip.

“We decided to order breakfast in.” Nick came hurrying out from his room, tucking his shirt into his waistband. “Thought it might be less chaotic.”

“I’m setting the table.” Flashing a grin that exposed two missing front teeth and her stuffed bunny tucked snuggly under one arm, Monica stood proudly in front of Ginnie, holding a glass in each hand.

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