Page 5 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 2
Cool beads of sweat broke out across Ryder’s top lip. Not wanting to give himself away, he calmly reached for his beer and took a long, slow sip, his gaze traveling to each of the men seated at the table around him. The smoke filling the small room was starting to make his eyes sting, but he hardly blinked, staying still and silent as he decided what to do. It had been an exhilarating weekend, and he wanted to end on a high. Since he’d been back in Texas he’d been trying so hard to toe the line, but damn, he still needed to have a little fun sometimes. After the three years he’d had on his own, living rough half the time, gambling, riding… it was hard to stay on the straight and narrow.
Ryder looked at his hand, fingers playing across the slightly worn edges, before leaning back in his seat at the same time as he pushed his money to the center of the table.
“All in,” he said, folding his arms across his chest and waiting for the other men to make their play.
“I’ll see your fifty thousand dollars.”
A couple of the guys folded, leaving only three of them in the game. Ryder’s heart was pounding loud, adrenaline racing through his body. He lived for moments like this.Card games, horse races, bronc or bull rides—it was the thrill of the win that made him tick.
“You’re bluffing,” the man seated across from him growled out.
Ryder shrugged and matched his stare, refusing to be intimidated. He was the youngest player at the table by at least a decade, but it took a lot more than a bully with a couple of thugs on the payroll to intimidate him.Especially when it came to gambling.And he’d been dealing with Parker since he was a boy—the bad blood between their families stretched back decades, and the tension still hadn’t eased any.
“Fast game’s a good game, isn’t that right boys?” Ryder grinned as a few of the men glared at him, the others too interested in their drinks to care. He pushed his chair back on two legs and reached for his beer again, tipping it back and finishing the bottle.
“Screw you. I’m all in, too.”
Ryder watched the other player’s face, knew his tell, had that unmistakable gut feeling that he’d just won a shitload of money. Brent Parker had the toughest reputation in town, was notorious for gambling big and shafting people out of everything from their land to the bank balance.But not tonight.
Ryder placed all his cards facedown on the table, one eyebrow raised as he slowly leaned forward, scooped all the money to his side of the table, and winked. “Looks like I win.”
He was expecting a punch to be thrown or the table knocked over, but instead he received a slow smile laced with hatred from Parker. Neither broke the stare, Ryder not moving a muscle as he held his ground. He rode two-thousand-pound bulls for the fun of it—he wasn’t about to let this jackass get one up on him.
“So the kid wants to join the big boys, huh?”
Ryder laughed, waving over a waitress for another drink. “It took me taking all your money for you to realize that? I think I’ve well and truly earned my spot at the table.”
Parker liked to taunt him, thought he was going to ruffles his feathers with a little name calling, but Ryder didn’t give a damn. They could call him whatever they wanted—he was here to play cards and the more crap they talked, the more he wanted to win.
He ignored Parker’s reaction and turned to the blond waitress standing beside him, winking as he took the beer from her.Damn.It was her, the hot girl from the rodeo, only tonight she wasn’t wearing her tiny cut-off denim shorts. Ryder turned around properly, suddenly a whole lot more interested in her than the table.
“Thanks,” he said, pushing a few bills from the pile in front of him toward her. “Fancy seeing you here, huh? I thought your friend had given me the wrong number.” He’d given up texting after she’d ignored him, so he’d tried calling her a couple times, too.
From the way her eyes were shining, he was guessing she was trying hard not to smile straight back at him. “Sorry, it’s been a busy, ah, day or so.”
He stood and held out his hand. “I’m Ryder, but if you’ve listened to the voice mail I left you, I’m guessing you already know that.”
“Chloe,” she replied, slipping her hand into his and letting him shake it.
Ryder didn’t let go, stroked his fingers across the back of her hand as he stared at her. “Pleased to meet you, Chloe.”
She raised her eyebrows, one side of her mouth kicking up into a smile that commanded all his attention. He loved the thrill of gambling, but nothing kept his attention like a beautiful woman, especially one wearing a tight white T-shirt and even tighter jeans. Although he wasn’t sure if her smile was from the amount of money he’d just tipped her or the fact that he was so obviously trying to impress her. He didn’t care what he was doing that was making her smile, so long as she didn’t stop.
“I take it you’re having a good night,” she said, retrieving her hand and folding the bills in half, pushing them into her pocket.
“Maybe you’re my good-luck charm,” he said, turning around to see the expression on Parker’s face and realizing the table had gone quiet. But the silence didn’t make up for the look Parker was giving Chloe—he looked like a drooling dog and it pissed Ryder off.
Chloe laughed, oblivious to what was going on, hand closing over his shoulder and fingers playing across his shirt as she turned to leave. “Well, good luck,Ryder. Let me know if you want another beer.”
Ryder leaned into her touch, catching her gaze again. “How about we head out for a drink after your shift?”
Chloe looked away then back again, her tongue darting out to moisten lips he was already focused on. “I don’t finish for a while.”
He nodded at the table. “Me neither.”
Her smile crept back and he knew she was going to give in and say yes.
