Tall Tales and Wedding Veils

by Jane Graves

  All he wanted to do was go upstairs, climb into bed, and pretend this day had never been. And then Monday, he’d go back to stealing cars for a living and wondering if he’d be old and gray before the next opportunity like this one came along.

  He punched the button again. Where was the damned elevator?

  Suddenly he heard a commotion coming from the gaming floor, with a noise level even greater than usual. Wild pinging and people cheering. He knew those sounds. Somebody had won, and won big. Damn it. Why couldn’t it have been him?

  Finally the elevator came. He drained his beer, tossed the bottle in a nearby trash can, and got on.

  “Tony! Wait!”

  He looked between the closing elevator doors to see Heather hurrying toward him. He jammed his hand between the doors until they opened again. She stepped into the elevator, grabbed his hands, and pulled him out.

  “Heather? What are you doing?”

  “You’ll never guess what happened!”

  “What?”

  “I did it, Tony. I did it!”

  “Did what?”

  “I won twenty thousand dollars!”

  He blinked dumbly. If this was a joke, it was a really bad one.

  “You couldn’t have,” he said. “It would have taken you hours to win that much money.”

  “Not when I plug a ten-dollar slot machine that has a payoff of twenty thousand!”

  She was right. Those could have big payoffs. They happened only once in a blue moon, but the possibility was there. But the likelihood . . .

  “Tony?” she said, jiggling his hands. “Did you hear me? I won!”

  “Come on, Heather. Nobody walks right up to a slot machine and wins twenty thousand dollars.”

  Her face fell. “But I did! Look at this!”

  She showed him the receipt. She was right. Twenty thousand dollars.

  When he finally realized she wasn’t delusional, that maybe she really did win all that money, envy shot through him so sharply he nearly doubled over from the pain. She’d been reckless at the craps table when she was playing for him, leaving him with nothing. Then as soon as he left the gaming floor, she’d won big. Yeah, she was lucky, all right. At all the wrong times.

  With a heavy sigh, he turned around and hit the button to call another elevator. “Good for you, sweetheart. Congratulations.”

  “What do you mean, good for me? It’s good for you!”

  “What are you talking about? We were finished. That was your ten bucks. Which means it’s your twenty thousand.”

  “No! I’d have won it for you at the craps table if I hadn’t gotten so wound up in the moment. That was stupid.” She smiled brightly. “But this makes up for it, right?”

  Tony couldn’t believe it. She was giving the money to him?

  He felt an edge of excitement, but he wasn’t ready to accept the fact that this was really happening. She’d been drinking, which, as she’d already demonstrated, made her do dumb things. Still, when he studied her face for any reservation she might have, he just didn’t see any.

  “Twenty thousand is a lot of money,” he said. “I never would have known you won it if you hadn’t said something. Why did you?”

  “Because if I hadn’t, twenty thousand dollars’ worth of guilt would have followed me around for the rest of my life. I don’t like feeling guilty. Take this money off my hands. Please.”

  Even though she said it dramatically, he didn’t miss the smile that played across her lips, and his own excitement escalated. “You really want to give me this money? No strings attached?”

  “It may have been my ten dollars, but I was still playing for you. And think about it. What were the odds that the first machine I saw had a jackpot of exactly the amount you needed? It was fate, Tony. Fate!”

  He’d never believed in fate before, but she was right. What were the odds? The funniest little shiver crept across his shoulders, telling him that maybe it was time to quit questioning the why of it and just enjoy the fact that this evening had turned out way, way better than he’d ever expected.

  He matched her smile. Then he started to laugh. With a whoop of excitement, he put his arms around Heather, picked her up, and spun her around. When he set her down again, she was laughing, too, and her cheeks were flushed pink.

  “You’re going to buy the bar,” she said breathlessly.

  “Thanks to you.”

  “I got lucky.”

  “It’s not luck, remember? It’s fate.”

  “But you told me you don’t believe in fate.”

  “In the past few minutes,” he said, “I’ve been reevaluating a lot of things.”

  Not the least of which was the woman he held right now.

  How many women would have chased him down to give him twenty thousand dollars when she could have kept it for herself without him ever knowing?

  None of the women he usually went out with.

  As he stared down at Heather, something seemed to shift inside him. He noticed for the first time how clear and blue her eyes were as they sparked with excitement; how her broad, brilliant smile caused tiny crinkles around her mouth; and how her skin felt so soft beneath his hands.

  He stroked her arms, assuring himself that this whole thing wasn’t a figment of his imagination. That she wasn’t a figment of his imagination. He remembered thinking earlier that she wasn’t his kind of woman, but for the life of him, he couldn’t see why now.

  Maybe it was the alcohol he’d had, or the roller-coaster ride this evening had become, or the fact that she’d walked into his life and made all his dreams come true. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to let her go. Instead, he grabbed her by the shoulders, dragged her up next to him, and kissed her.

  Chapter 4

  When Tony’s lips landed on Heather’s, she couldn’t have been more shocked. But her gasp of surprise was immediately stifled as he curled his hand around her neck and pulled her to him, engulfing her mouth with his. She put her hand blindly against his chest and caught his shirt in her fist, her other hand winding automatically around his neck. She clung to him helplessly, losing herself in the pleasure of it.

  This was it. This was what it was like to be kissed by a man who really knew how. The taste of him was intoxicating—like beer and sex and victory all rolled into one—and she couldn’t get enough of it.

  She sensed that other people were watching, people who’d wandered into the elevator lobby, never expecting to see a full-fledged public display of affection. Or in this case, appreciation. She figured Tony probably kissed women all the time for just about any reason, and the money she’d won for him was a better reason than most. She couldn’t have imagined what a twenty-thousand- dollar kiss felt like, but now she knew.

  It was amazing.

  “Heather, what in the world are you doing?”

  Heather spun around, surprised to find Regina standing behind her. Great. Leave it to Regina to interrupt the best kiss she’d ever had in her life.

  But then she noticed Regina had stopped dead in her tracks, staring at her with an expression of dumb disbelief. She was flanked by One through Five, all of whom looked equally incredulous. In that moment, Heather discovered there was only one thing on earth that even approached the pleasure of a kiss from Tony McCaffrey, and that was Regina watching her get a kiss from Tony McCaffrey. Heather felt positively giddy. Ahhh. This night just got better and better.

  “Hi, Regina,” Heather said, then gave the bridesmaids a little wave of her fingertips. “Hi, girls.”

  “Friends of yours?” Tony asked Heather.

  “Uh . . . yeah. Well, Regina’s my cousin. She’s getting married in a month. The rest of us are her bridesmaids. We’re here to party a little before the wedding.”

  “Congratulations,” Tony said to Regina, then turned to the others. “Nice to meet you, ladies.”

  When he gave them one of his thousand-watt smiles, the women’s knees seemed to get a little wobbly. For a moment, Heather felt a twinge of fore
boding, thinking maybe Tony was on the verge of scooping up all the bridesmaids, picking out the one he liked the best, then tossing the rest away and spending the remainder of the evening with that one. It certainly wasn’t unprecedented behavior. Instead, he turned to Heather.

  “Why don’t you go fill out whatever paperwork you have to and get the check? In the meantime, I’ll get the limousine.”

  Heather blinked. “Limousine?”

  “It’s time for us to celebrate,” Tony said. “A little champagne, a tour of Vegas, and”—he gave her a wink—“whatever else we can think of to do. How does that sound?”

  Six heads whipped around, waiting for her response. Was this really happening? Tony had a smorgasbord of beautiful women right there in front of him, and he wanted to spend the evening with her?

  “Sounds great,” Heather said. “We do have a lot to celebrate.”

  “You bet we do.” Tony leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Meet me in front of the hotel.”

  With one last smile, Tony headed for the concierge desk. The women watched him walk away, expressions of total astonishment on their faces.

  “My God,” Three said, once Tony was out of earshot. “Regina. Did you see that guy? He’s gorgeous.”

  “I suppose he is,” Regina said. “If you like pretty boys.”

  “No boy there,” Five said. “I’m pretty sure that one’s all man.”

  “Wow, Regina,” Two said. “Guess she didn’t need our help finding a man after all.”

  Never in Heather’s wildest dreams could she have imagined a scenario like this, and she wanted to wallow in it. To bask in the glow of Regina’s disbelief. To let the wild torrent of her own elation spill over her cousin like a bucket of cold water.

  Okay, so she was being spiteful in a way she usually wasn’t, but since the opportunity might never present itself again, she wasn’t above enjoying it to the fullest.

  Four turned to Heather. “Where did you hook up with him?”

  “In the elevator lobby after I left the restaurant.”

  “What are you celebrating?” One asked.

  “Tony just won twenty thousand dollars.” Sort of. Close enough. Regina certainly didn’t need to know the details.

  Regina’s mouth fell open. “Twenty thousand dollars?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And now you’re leaving here with him?” Regina asked. “In a limousine?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? You don’t even know that man.”

  Which struck Heather as really dumb, since Regina hadn’t given One and Five any warnings like that when they went off with men they didn’t know. And it wasn’t as if Tony was a total stranger.

  “Actually, I do know him. Sort of. We go to the same bar back in Plano. McMillan’s. It’s down the street from Chantal’s.” You know. That pretentious, overpriced place you always go.

  “He’s from Plano?” Four said. “You meet a hot guy in Vegas and he’s from your home town? How lucky is that?”

  “That’s all you know about him?” Regina said. “That he shows up at the same bar you do?”

  “I know something else,” Heather said. “He’s one hell of a kisser.”

  “Heather,” Regina said sharply. “He’s clearly preying on you for some reason. I’d watch my purse if I were you.”

  Heather laughed. “He just won twenty thousand dollars. Why would he bother to steal from me?”

  Regina couldn’t take this. She couldn’t take seeing her wallflower cousin with such a handsome man. It went against the order of things in her world. Hell, it knocked her world right off its axis.

  “Come on, Heather,” Regina said, a note of desperation in her voice. “For all you know, he could be a serial killer.”

  Heather laughed. “Serial killer?”

  Regina raised her chin. “It’s just not a smart thing to do. That’s all.”

  “Fine. Then I think I’ll go be dumb for a while.” Heather fluttered her fingers at the bridesmaids. “’Night, girls.”

  Feeling delightfully inebriated, she went to the cashier and got a check for twenty thousand dollars. She had to wait for a while, so she started getting a little worried that maybe she’d go outside and Tony would be gone. But when she went through the revolving door of the hotel and stepped onto the sidewalk, there he was, leaning against a long, shiny, black limousine wearing a smile as bright as the Sunset Strip itself.

  He stepped away from the car, and the driver opened the door. Tony got in first, then took Heather’s hand and helped her inside. She nearly gasped when she saw the interior. Soft leather seats, a television, a stereo system, and a wet bar. A bottle of champagne was chilling in an ice bucket, with a couple more in a rack beside it.

  He sat down on the seat along the back of the car and pulled her down next to him, his thigh resting against hers.

  “Where to, sir?” the driver said.

  “Just drive,” Tony told him. “The Strip, downtown, anywhere you can find lights and action.”

  As the driver pulled away from the curb, Tony fished through a few CDs, picked one out, and stuck it into the CD player. Classic rock poured through the speakers, just loud enough that the bass thudded nicely along Heather’s nerves.

  Tony uncorked the champagne, and it fizzed down the side of the bottle. He quickly grabbed a glass, filled it, and handed it to her. She had a passing thought that maybe she’d had enough for tonight, only to tell herself that a glass or two of champagne couldn’t hurt. After all, they were celebrating, weren’t they?

  She took the glass. He filled another one and held up his glass. “A toast to you, sweetheart. For being my good luck charm.”

  They clinked glasses, and she took a sip. Hmm. Not bad.

  She took a bigger sip, and a bigger one after that. Then an even bigger one. She didn’t remember liking champagne before, but this was wonderful.

  Tony chugged his champagne and poured more. Heather tipped up her glass and drank the rest in a few big gulps. Little bubbles popped all the way down her throat, alcohol oozing into her stomach, making her feel warm from the inside out.

  “Mmm,” Heather said. “That’s really good.”

  She held out her glass, and he filled it up again, and this time he proposed a toast to Las Vegas, that wonderful desert oasis where dreams come true. Heather sighed at the sentiment and tossed down more of the bubbly. Next she proposed a toast to McMillan’s, which she said was going to be an even better place under its wonderful new owner. Before she knew it, her glass was empty again. As Tony filled it up, she nodded her head to the beat of the music. By the time Tony toasted Carlos Santana for his damned fine guitar playing and the driver for taking the corners really smoothly, Heather was feeling more deliciously fuzzy than she ever had in her life.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, a little voice was saying, He’s the kind your mother always warned you about. The kind who takes advantage of nice girls like you.

  Nice girl. Heather didn’t realize until this moment just how much she hated being one of those. It was bad enough being an accountant because of all the stereotypes that went along with it. But for the most part, men made her nervous. What amazed her, though, was that Tony didn’t intimidate her at all. He was free and fun and not the least bit hard to talk to, and she felt more comfortable with him after a few hours than she had with some men she’d known for months.

  And he was so incredibly handsome, he took her breath away.

  “Oh! I almost forgot.” Heather handed him her glass, reached into her purse, pulled out a check, and handed it to him.

  Tony stared down at it for a long time, and when he looked back up, she almost melted under the sheer force of his luminous smile.

  “I still can’t believe it,” he said. “Sweetheart, you are something else.”

  “I’ll deposit my check first thing Monday
morning. As soon as I do, that one will be good.” She pulled the original ten-dollar chip from her purse with a smile. “I played a ten-dollar bill at the slot machine, so I get to keep this as a souvenir.”

  “I guess I owe you ten bucks, then, huh?”

  She laughed. “Just give me a free drink or two at McMillan’s, and we’ll call it even.”

  “A free drink or two? Nope. I want you to come to McMillan’s, and I want you to come a lot. And when you do, your money’s no good there. Ever. Understand?”

  “Now, how are you ever going to make a profit if you give away your food and drink?”

  “How was I going to buy the bar in the first place if you hadn’t come along?”

  “Tony,” she said, swaying a little as she leaned toward him, “if you don’t watch out, I’ll bankrupt you on champagne alone.”

  When he laughed at that, Heather felt a flush of warmth all the way to her toes, and God, it felt good. She’d never been one of those beautiful, witty women who had the instantaneous and undivided attention of handsome men. It was a heady feeling she never wanted to come down from.

  “This reminds me of high school,” Tony said. “Limousines on prom night are all kinds of fun.”

  “I didn’t go to my prom,” she said.

  “Yeah? I didn’t think they let you out of high school unless you went to the prom.”

  “I was valedictorian. They decided it was okay to give me a diploma anyway.”

  “Ah. One of the smart girls. I didn’t date many of those.”

  “Yeah? Why not?”

  “Because they didn’t like to get crazy.”

  Heather laughed a little. “There’s some truth to that. I was never really a crazy kind of girl.”

  “Don’t worry. I can fix that.”

  Tony grabbed her champagne, set it down with his, then reached up to open the limo’s sunroof. He got on the seat, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up to stand next to him. He stuck his head out of the sunroof and coaxed her to do the same. The wind caught her hair and whipped it behind her like a flag in a hurricane-force wind.

  “My God, you are crazy!” she said.

  Tony put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. “Heather, sweetheart, you have got to learn how to have a good time!”