Gambling on Love (Stories of Serendipity #6)

by Anne Conley

  Sure, this wasn’t the ideal way to get pregnant, but she’d never been one to do things the easy way.

  In fact, the only thing that had ever been easy for her was managing Connor’s kitchen. Something about the restaurant business just made sense to her and people listened. She had a knack for knowing what the customers wanted and providing it for them in a way that made Connor happy. She’d never been happier at a job than she was working with Connor.

  She’d just moved back to Serendipity and was staying in a boarding house until she could get an apartment of her own. Dan and the docent job at the museum hadn’t worked out the way she’d planned, so she was back home trying to find a job she could turn into a career.

  Unfortunately, she’d spilled coffee all over the skirt of her “interview” suit, so she had to wear her black pencil skirt, which was a little too short. It rode up every time she sat, and her incessant tugging was decidedly unprofessional. Thankfully, the man interviewing her didn’t seem to notice.

  She was interviewing for a soux-chef position, not that she really knew what that entailed, but she liked to cook, so she thought it might be fun. Connor Wright, the man opening the restaurant was tall, blonde and a tad delicious-looking. His interest level though, showed Kathy it would probably be a waste of time to pursue. Besides, she wanted him to hire her. A job was at the top of her priority list right now. Not sex.

  And then Luke had walked in.

  “Hey, did you want me to do the upstairs too?” His question trailed off, when his blue eyes landed on Kathy, and she felt the heat of his gaze caress her skin, as his eyes wandered over her legs and up to her face. “Hi. I’m Luke.” He held his hand out to her, impervious to his brother’s pointed glare. When their hands touched, a bolt of sensation shot across Kathy’s body, and she stifled a tremor. Crossing her legs the other way, she noticed Luke’s eyes following.

  He looked a lot like Connor, but smaller. He still looked powerful, though. Where Connor was tall and broad, Luke was slightly shorter and lithe instead of bulky. He moved with the same grace of Connor, but Connor obviously worked out, and Luke’s strength was more subtle. She could see muscles where his tee shirt stretched over his chest and biceps, and the way his jeans hugged his hips under the tool belt that hung over them. Where Connor seemed more formal and uptight, Luke held an air of casualness that suddenly made her priorities shift slightly. Maybe something more could happen with the boss’s brother?

  Connor had led her into the kitchen, Luke trailing behind Kathy silently, to watch her skills, since she had no formal training. She obediently sliced, diced, and after some clarification, julienned. She had to ask for instructions on the blow torch tool, and Luke had shown her, his fingers stroking hers lightly as he passed it to her. She named the different items that Connor had pointed to, not recognizing the emulsifier, the microplane (She’d always just called it a zester), and the kunz spoon, which looked exactly like a regular spoon to her. The entire time, Kathy felt Luke’s eyes on her, and when she risked glances at him, his eyes sparkled over a slight smile. She tried not to look too much, though. The upturned corners of his lips were distracting.

  Connor sighed heavily and opened his mouth to say something, when Luke grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the kitchen and into the office next to it. Kathy realized she wasn’t at all prepared for this job but was curious enough to listen near the door they’d left cracked.

  “Dude, please? Just give her a chance. She looks better than anybody else you’ve tried out.”

  “Are you serious? She doesn’t know her way around a professional kitchen, and you haven’t seen her resume yet.”

  A shuffle of papers told Kathy he was scanning it, and she knew what he was seeing. A succession of dead-end jobs, culminating in her dead-end docent position.

  “So? She’s willing to learn new things. She has varied experiences.” She could hear the grin in his voice.

  “I am not hiring somebody to fulfill your needs. I need somebody I can count on to help me get this restaurant up and running. Not a juggler.”

  “I just watched her, man. She knows just as much about that stuff as anybody else you’ve interviewed. And juggling skills could come in handy in a kitchen. You’re not going to find a suitable soux-chef in a town like this. You have bored me into oblivion enough times talking about all that shit in there. Give her a book to read and hire that girl.”

  His diatribe was met with silence, and Kathy pictured the older brother running his hand through his hair, like he’d done when she asked what a julienned carrot looked like, and again, when she didn’t know how to use the ice cream maker.

  “Fine. I’ll give her a week. If she doesn’t show signs of working out, I won’t waste more time than that on her. Don’t you have some fucking work to do around here?” Connor’s voice had been a growl, and she scrambled to get away from the door and was studying the pots hanging over the stove when he’d returned.

  “Here. Study this stuff, and come back tomorrow at eight sharp. You have a week to become knowledgeable of the cooking implements in this kitchen and how to use them.” He’d handed her an armful of books and papers.

  She left, grateful for the job, but disappointed not to get to see Luke again. The next morning though, he was in the kitchen, when she’d gotten there, drinking coffee, before starting his work for the day, the ever-present glint in his eyes. Kathy learned that he lived in Houston and had come up to do the remodel on the old house that Connor had bought to turn into a restaurant, as well as the carriage house behind it. He wasn’t staying in town, and Kathy regretted that. It meant she couldn’t really have a future with him, but she might be able to have a little fun in the meantime.

  Besides, she knew good and well, if it weren’t for Luke, she wouldn’t have the job with Connor. The job that eventually turned into Connor’s right-hand girl and manager. A job she loved, and was good at.

  And then Luke had ruined that too. How could she continue working with Connor, knowing that he had probably put his brother up to the entire proposal fiasco.

  Noises from the street outside pulled her attention away from her own maudlin thoughts. She really had picked a winner of a hotel. She walked over to the chair by the window and sat, pulling the curtains aside enough to look outside.

  She was across the street from a nudie bar. Nice. Most of the hollering she could hear was from a man outside, hawking the dancers inside like slabs of beef.

  “Come on in brothers and look at what we got! We got titties, real or fake! Big ones and little ones! We got some serious ass! Check it out, man!” He used the appropriate hand gestures to go with the merits of his dancers.

  A couple of blocks away, a small cluster of women stood in the dimly lit alcove of a business. With a shocked step backward, Kathy realized they were prostitutes. Not sure why she was shocked, except she’d never really seen a prostitute before, and she was fascinated. Watching carefully, she took in their clothing: short skirts, halter tops, knee-high boots. Weren’t they cold? They wore jackets, but they didn’t look very substantial at all. She saw a car pull up close to the curb in front of them, and one strutted over to the window and leaned over, before getting inside and riding off with whoever had just acquired her services.

  She saw people walking up and down the street, some with drinks in hand, others holding their bags tightly across their bodies. She saw a couple of young men swaggering down the sidewalk, wearing impossibly baggy pants, along with matching baseball hats. When they got to the prostitutes, one of them blew a kiss and grabbed his crotch, making Kathy giggle, before continuing on his way. The woman he’d made the gesture to returned the sentiment with her middle finger.

  Kathy was fascinated by the interplay and continued people-watching for a few more minutes. Before long, the car that had picked up the prostitute dropped her off in the same place, and she walked back up to her cohorts.

  “That was fast work.” She wondered how long the deed would take, when she picked
a prospective man to impregnate her. She liked the idea of a night of seduction, but the truth of the matter was, she didn’t want an attachment. She didn’t like the idea of becoming friends with some man that would impregnate her and then want to include himself in all sorts of aspects of the child’s life. She didn’t want that.

  Not unless it was Luke.

  Now that he was suddenly willing, Kathy didn’t know what to do. She was so mad at him, she still saw red every time she thought about him. And she’d already placed the ad. At eleven o’clock tomorrow, there would be a bunch of guys here, ready to be interviewed. She couldn’t leave them hanging, could she?

  Amy was right. This was a dumb idea. But it wouldn’t be the first dumb idea she’d had, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning, Kathy took a deep breath before venturing into the lobby.

  She cleared her throat for the attention of the thirty-odd men standing around. “Excuse me.” She looked at the desk agent sheepishly. He just nodded at her with a smirk on his mouth. “If you are here for the interview to be my prospective sperm donor, please follow me to room 528.” She turned and led the way to the bank of elevators.

  “Since we won’t all fit on one elevator, I’ll go let these guys in and see y’all up there? Is that okay?”

  “You from Texas?” One man asked, looking pointedly at her boobs.

  “Um…yes.” Without a word, he turned and left. “Okay…Is that a problem for anybody else?” Nobody moved, all eyes on her, until the elevator dinged its arrival, and she squeezed on with the first thirteen men.

  Once on the elevator, the doors closed and Kathy had a sudden sense of paranoia. The walls were mirrored, and she had situated herself in front so she could see. However, that meant that someone behind her was groping her, and she couldn’t tell exactly who it was. Someone stank. Badly. And there were a couple of suspects for the source of that, but she couldn’t tell whose hand was on her ass. She looked in the mirror to see who looked guilty, but everybody’s eyes were facing front, watching her, watching them.

  As soon as they got to the fifth floor, Kathy was off the elevator before the doors had finished opening, quick-walking to the hotel room. She inserted her key and turned the knob, allowing the men in first. Five minutes later, the second group of men came in, and five minutes after that, came the stragglers.

  She passed around a clipboard for everyone to sign up for interview slots on two separate sheets of paper.

  “Alright. The interviews shouldn’t last more than fifteen minutes or so, and I’ll be doing them in the bar. So, if you’ll just wait fifteen minutes after the last guy has left before you come down, I’ll see you down there. Okay? Any questions?” She taped one of the interview lists to the door so they would know when to come down. “Great! Who’s first? You can come on down with me, and the next one come down in fifteen minutes.”

  Eddie was first, a nice looking black man wearing a shirt that said, “My Lifeguard Walks on Water” written inside a red cross. She decided to go ahead and use the elevator time to start the questions.

  “I see you’re religious. What denomination are you?”

  “I am of Christ’s church. Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart? Do you have a relationship with our Savior? Are you saved?”

  “Um…Yes, yes, and yes. I live in the Bible-belt; no one reaches adult-hood without all that.” Since they’d made it down to the lobby, Kathy led him to the bar area and ordered two sodas before attempting to get the interview back on track. “Do you have any hobbies?”

  “I read the Bible.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I talk to my God in daily prayer,” his voice rose in fervor and Kathy could see she was in for a sermon. He didn’t come to be a sperm donor. He came to redeem her.

  Tuning out preacher man and his litany of ways to enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, Kathy’s mind wandered back to Luke.

  They were lying on a blanket by the banks of the reservoir, watching the stars. Tonight was supposed to be the busiest part of the meteor shower, and Luke was in town this weekend, so Kathy took him someplace secluded to see the falling stars.

  It was their first date after their long-distance status was established, since Luke finished working for his brother and had moved back to Houston. They hadn’t seen each other in almost a month, but they’d talked on the phone nightly and texted constantly.

  Luke’s hand rested on her hip, squeezing gently. He’d kissed her hello, but hadn’t done anything else, and Kathy was antsy for something more. She snuggled her nose in the crook of his neck, and he pulled her closer, but apparently, just wanted to talk.

  “You ever see that movie, The Time Traveler’s Wife?”

  “Yeah, it made me cry.”

  “I think it’s an awesome movie, the whole concept of knowing your wife from childhood, watching her grow up, from an adult’s perspective. It’s kind of cool…”

  Her heart beat a little faster at his words. Luke wasn’t much of a romantic, and this was the closest he’d come to telling her his true feelings about her. She wanted to know where it would lead.

  “What do you mean?” She propped herself on her elbow to see his face. His electric blue eyes were focused on the heavens above, and a wistful smile played across his face.

  “I just think it would be cool to go back in time and meet you as a child, to see you play, talk to you and stuff. Be the one to help you get through growing pains. That’s all.”

  This protective side of Luke was new to Kathy. Sure, he’d held an umbrella over her head once and let her borrow his jacket, but hearing him say he would have liked to be a guiding part of her formative years was…a little exciting and a little weird.

  “Do you have a little ‘Daddy-complex’? Why don’t you just have kids of your own?” She watched his eyes cloud in thought and wished she could take back the words. It didn’t look like he was thinking good thoughts.

  This was the first time she’d brought up the kid issue. It was a big deal to her, but they’d only been dating a couple of months, and she didn’t want to run him off. She liked him. A lot.

  “I’m not Dad material. I wouldn’t be good at it. I just wish I’d known you when you were a kid. That’s all.” His face changed expression completely, a startled look crossing his features before a smile lit his face. “Look, did you see that one?” He pointed with the arm Kathy wasn’t laying on, releasing her hip, leaving a cold spot where his hand had been.

  Her gaze followed where he pointed, to see the tail end of a small flash in the sky. She snuggled down to watch the show, dropping the topic of children. She cherished the thought that he’d allowed a rare glimpse into something Luke usually kept carefully hidden.

  They spent the evening oohing and aahing, pointing out shooting stars, and each time one fell, Kathy wished the same wish: Luke would want a future with her.

  She’d set the alarm on her phone to go off at fifteen minute intervals, so she wouldn’t lose track of time. When it went off, the Evangelist stopped talking and looked at her, annoyed. Kathy smiled wanly, exhausted already, and she hadn’t even been listening for the last ten minutes. She looked up to see a really good-looking guy leaning on the booth behind him.

  “Thanks for your time. I’ll be in touch.”

  She reached out her hand to shake his, but he obviously realized she hadn’t been paying attention, because he simply said, “Have a blessed day,” and left.

  “Hi there…” The sexy voice caught her attention, and Kathy’s eyes took in the tall drink of water in front of her. He was rocking a pair of brown leather pants, and a skin tight, baby blue tee shirt, showing off a rippling torso and tattooed biceps that could melt the panties off Mother Teresa.

  “Hi.” She shook his hand, reminding herself to firm up her grip, show some assertiveness. But the warmth in his hand traveled up her arm to her face, and she felt his gaze on her intensely.

  He
smiled a flirtatious grin, and she saw even, white teeth, making a mental note to ask about his dental history, whether it was natural or if he’d had a lot of expensive orthodontia to get that beautiful smile. Luke had worn braces as a teenager, but the whiteness of his teeth was all natural. Focus, Kathy.

  She motioned for him to have a seat, and he slid into the booth across from her with the grace of an athlete, so her first question was, “Do you play any sports? What are you good at?” She flipped to a new page on her notebook, after making a brief note about the Jesus Freak, and waited patiently for his answer.

  His eyes slowly consumed her while he composed his thoughts. “Well, it all depends on what you’d consider sport. But I do have incredible stamina, or so I’ve been told.” A deliberate smile spread across his face, and Kathy looked down at her paper in an attempt to conceal the flush she knew was taking over her face. This guy was forward.

  “Okay…Any medical history? Food or drug allergy? History of illness? Cancer? Heart Disease? Weird genetic stuff?”

  He shook his head leisurely, side to side, in a hypnotic rhythm as Kathy spoke. His hand reached for hers, and she found herself watching, trance-like, as his finger made little swirly designs on her palm.

  “Ahem. ‘Kay. Are you clean? As in STD’s? Of course, we’ll be tested, if you pass the first two rounds of questioning.”

  “Why all the questions? Why not just pay me and get it done. I can make sure it’s pleasurable for both parties. It’s what I do.” His finger continued tracing lines on her palm, sending little shivers up her arm.

  She was prepared for some men to ask why she asked her questions, but the second part of his statement gave her pause. “Excuse me?”