Page 16 of The Little Black Book

“Shut up,” I say, nudging him back. “The carriage turns into a pumpkin, not Cinderella. Anyway, I think the ride stays open until two, so if you want to go again, I can wait here for you.”

“Naw,” he says, throwing an arm over my shoulder and guiding me through the crowd. “We can do something else.”

“Do you want to grab a drink?” I ask, nodding toward a building on our left.

“Sounds good.”

We head into the casino, and I can tell by the look on his face, the sights and sounds of the place are like home to him. He’s worked for Jared atThe Black Hartfor years, and anytime I’ve seen him working, he looks content. Happy. Like he’s doing what he was always meant to do.

And I suppose having your best friend as a boss could be quite the perk. He gets to hang out with Jared a lot while doing what he loves. Kind of like the good thing I have going atGlaZZed. It’s my dream job, and I get to work with my twin brother.

Sam’s arm drops from my shoulder, his big hand pressing against the small of my back as he guides me to the bar. We slide onto a couple of stools, and Sam orders a mojito with extra lime for me and beer for himself.

“Is that okay?” he asks when the bartender turns away to get his beer. “I could order you ajuicypussy, if you’d like.”

I shove a fist against his shoulder, and he laughs. Before Sophie knew who Jared was, we were at the bar in his casino getting blasted with Ava and commiserating over the asshole who got Sophie fired from her job––the very man she ended up falling for. Jared Hart.

Ava was hitting on James, the very hot, verygaybartender, and ordered a round ofjuicy pussies…shots made with Irish cream and peach schnapps. Delicious, despite the questionable name. But that’s why Ava ordered them, to get a rise out of James even though I’d warned her it was never going to happen. That I’d met his boyfriend once.

Of course, the tale made the rounds at the casino, and Jared and Sam haven’t let any of us forget it.

“Sorry. Couldn’t resist,” he says with a shit-eating grin as the bartender places our drinks in front of us.

“Of course, you couldn’t,” I grumble before taking a sip of my mojito.

He chuckles and takes a swig of his beer, letting his eyes roam over to the gaming tables. I can see the calculation in his gaze as he studies each patron, the dealers, and the pit bosses. His gaze zeroes in on the table at the end. A woman is nodding slightly, her lips moving as the dealer passes out cards for blackjack.

“Do you want to try your hand?” I ask, jerking my head toward the tables when his gaze lands on me.

“I don’t gamble,” he says.

“Well,” I say, giving him a knowing look, “do you want to go over there and tell the pit boss that the woman in the pink shirt is counting cards?”

“How did you––?”

I roll my eyes. “Lucky guess. I could see your “pit boss” persona rising to the surface when you looked at her.”

“Pit boss persona?” he asks, twisting on his stool to face me.

“Yep,” I say with a nod before taking another sip of my drink. “Outside of work, you’re all happy-go-lucky and full of laughs. But when you’re wearing that suit and standing in the pit, you’re someone else, entirely. Serious. Focused. In charge.”

“I can be serious and focused outside of work,” he says, his brows lowering.

“Oh, really?” I tease, cocking my head. “Tell me more.”

“I can be,” he insists.

“I’ve never seen it,” I say primly as I lift my straw to my lips.

“That’s because I haven’t tried to seduce you.”

“Wh-what?” I stutter, nearly choking on the sip of mojito I’d been in the process of swallowing.

Sam’s hands land on my knees, and he spins me on my stool to face him. His thighs sandwich mine, and he leans in, a dead-serious expression on his face. I’m frozen, barely breathing as he tilts his head and runs his nose up the length of my throat, inhaling deeply.

A shiver works its way down my spine, but other than that, I remain perfectly still as his hand burrows into my hair and tilts my head to give him better access. His woodsy smell envelopes me, and I feel slightly lightheaded when his nose reaches the line of my jaw and heads toward my chin.

Then he’s gone, and my body sways forward dangerously. His hands land on my shoulders to steady me as his chuckle rings in my ears.

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