Page 41 of Betting Blind
As if sensing my distraction, Jack’s hand finds mine between us. I glance at him as Derrick and Juliana discuss which clubs around the strip we should go to first, and a small smile pulls at the corner of his lips. He makes tender strokes up and down my wrist as the tip of his thumb kneads the skin of my forearm.
For a moment, I’m weightless, relaxing almost entirely. I want to enjoy the pieces of him that Jack is willing to give me, but I still hear the caution in Bruce’s voice. Don’t normal people meet each other, flirt a little, and move on to something more serious? No secrets or suspicions.
He gifts me a playful wink, but the smile I give him doesn’t quite reach my eyes. When his mouth parts to question me, I turn back to Jules and mumble, “Sure, why not?”
The doors open to our floor, and I practically sprint off the elevator. If I spend one more second with him touching me like that, I’m likely to say,to hell with the complications,and jump his bones.
Jules hooks her arm in mine, and I lean my head against hers as we walk, willing myself to soak up her good-spirited fun. I force myself to stare ahead as Jack hands her our key once we reach the room, and the four of us step inside.
“Wow,” I breathe, taking in the two queen beds that are covered in luxurious red comforters with gold filigree woven throughout the material. The wall facing the strip is made up of one large window, and there’s a fully stocked mini-fridge underneath the wall-mounted big-screen TV.
“Holy shit!” Jules exclaims as she flicks the light on in the bathroom.
Jack turns to me. “I’m going to put some money in the safe for you both. It’s part of what I’ve allotted us to spend while we’re here.” I nod lightly, shifting my eyes to the ground. He hesitates a moment, no doubt sensing the shift in my mood. Lifting a hand as if to touch me, he halts the movement before slowly lowering his arm back to his side. “Let me know if you need anything,” he says before opening the door and following Derrick out.
Once we’re alone, I throw myself back onto one of the queen beds in our suite and cover my eyes with my arm. The bed shifts with Juliana’s weight, and I practically feel her gaze searing a hole into my head. “What, Jules?” I grumble.
“Spill it,” she demands.
I sigh. Leaning up on my elbows, I meet her gaze. Nothing on earth is as true as my friendship with this woman. She’s held my hair while I vomited, and she never hesitates to jump into trouble with me. Jules is the keeper of my secrets, the purest heart I know, and I find it impossible to keep my feelings from her.
“Are you having second thoughts about Jack?”
I fiddle with a spot on the fluffy comforter. “What if he isn’t who I thought he was, Jules? What if this thing with Ben is worse than he’s letting on, and we’re in real danger?”
I tell her about the warning Bruce gave me, and she mulls over my fears for a moment. “These boys are hard-asses, sure, but dangerous? No, I don’t think so. Jack hardly wanted to bring us on this trip to begin with, andyouwere the one who insisted on going with him to that underground casino, you psycho!” She pokes the center of my chest, and I rub the stinging spot.Well, she’s got a point.
“As far as Bruce is concerned, you know he likes to play the dad-boss card occasionally. I wouldn’t let his comment scare you away from this opportunity.”
I raise a brow at the wordopportunity.
Her brown eyes soften as she hits me with the hard truth. “Cassidy. You can’t live with Glenda forever.” She raises her voice a touch. “Glenda doesn’t even want you to live with her forever! If you’re truly having second thoughts, then you know I’ll support you, but I suggest quieting your doubts and giving this thing between you two a real chance. He may surprise you.”
She stands up on the mattress, wobbling slightly as she reaches an arm down toward me. “Now get up. Let’s crack that mini-fridge full of goodies open and get ready for an amazing night out.”
The dare in her eyes has me dragging myself to my feet, and for the first time since we’ve entered the room, I notice that the sun has fully set. A multitude of colorful lights shine seductively from the buildings all over the strip, giving the room a gorgeous back drop.
Latin music sounds suddenly from where Juliana stands beside the vanity, and I jump up on the bed, swirling my hips as she serenades me. Reaching for my hand, she gives me a reassuring squeeze before dragging me down on the floor to spin with her. Her coconut scent tickles my nose as we laugh and sing, and her laughter tugs at my heart strings.
That’s the thing about love. Sometimes it’s deep and unrelenting, other times it’s light and exciting—but the unconditional, unequivocal love of a best friend is priceless.
* * *
The four of us agreed to get a bit of gambling in before we head to the nightclub located in the MGM. Our strategy tonight is to bet bigger amounts at one time in hopes of earning bigger payouts. Jules and I are up by a grand, but the boys have fared better, bringing back twenty-five hundred between them from the craps table.
If the rest of our stay can be as fruitful, we just might have a chance.
Juliana and Derrick are awfully chummy as they chit-chat across the casino floor from where Jack and I are standing. She bumps him lightly with her hip, rewarding him with a giggle as he leans closer to pinch her side.
Jack’s broad arms cross over his chest while he surveys the casino floor. We watch groups of people amble around for a moment as awkward silence blooms between us and after my conversation with Jules, I want nothing more than to soothe it. “I’ll bet you twenty bucks they hook-up tonight,” I tease, nodding toward our friends.
He huffs, “I’ll raise the stakes to thirty that they both pass out drunk before Derrick can even get his pants off.”
“Oh, you don’t know that hellcat. When she gets an eye for something, there’s next to nothing that can stand in her way.”
Jack visibly relaxes with our laughter, and I almost sigh with relief. I love the way his eyes crinkle when he finds something truly funny, and the sound of his laugh is as warm as butterscotch bourbon. I take a tiny step toward him, easing even more of the tension between us.
Juliana is right. Perhaps I should take a chance on us—if for no other reason than that Jack makes me happy.
