by Susanna Carr
An idea formed in his mind. Travis rose from his seat, his pulse quickening with anticipation. Forget a bunch of drunk, rowdy men. He knew exactly how he wanted to spend his weekend. “I’ll be with the brunette.”
His friend snorted at the claim. “Her? Never going to happen.”
“How can you say that? I’m holding on to your emerald,” Travis replied. The emerald suddenly felt heavy in the breast pocket of his jacket.
Aaron laughed. “That emerald is lucky, not magic. But you’ll find out soon enough.”
* * *
SHE WOULD NEVER listen to Jill again, Christine Pearson thought as she tugged at the hem of her dress. Her friend insisted on this fancy outfit, telling her she would blend in with the crowd. Did Jill think she was staying at the Bellagio or something?
Christine took a step forward and felt her skirt rise up her thigh. She tried to yank it down as she walked, but she wasn’t used to wearing high heels. She turned her ankle and almost tripped.
I should have stayed home. That had been the thought running through her mind the moment she got off the plane at McCarran Airport. She had headed straight for the restroom, found an empty stall and struggled into her tight dress and high heels.
The moment she had stepped out of the stall and seen her reflection in the mirror she knew the plan wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t the kind of woman to wear this dress. It was no use pretending. At least no one back in Cedar Valley would see her make a fool of herself.
Christine closed her eyes, but the chimes and bells from the machines were distracting. She took a deep breath only to inhale the stench of smoke. You’re here. Might as well make the most of this weekend.
She opened her eyes and blinked as the bright lights flickered in the dark casino. It was time to focus. Flipping her hair back, Christine tried to remember her to-do list.
She sighed and rolled her eyes in self-disgust. That should have been her first clue that this plan wasn’t going to work. Who made a to-do list for a wild weekend?
Her thoughts only proved that somehow, somewhere, she had lost her impetuous spirit. She hadn’t realized it until she discovered the list of dreams she had written when she had turned eighteen. She really wished she hadn’t found it. Every naive, ridiculous and impractical goal was on that list.
And yet, ten years later, she hadn’t accomplished any of them. Not one. The regret weighed heavily on her. Where had all the time gone? What had she been doing? She marched across the casino floor. Was it possible that she had changed so much in ten years? Was she a completely different person now?
Christine stumbled to a halt in the middle of the casino as she considered that question. Was it too late to follow this list? Should she let it go and move on?
No. Christine raised her chin and rolled back her shoulders. If she were a different person, it wouldn’t have hurt so much to see that list. She would have laughed it off and thrown it away.
Instead, she’d memorized it and decided to take action. It was time to resurrect her wild side and become the bold woman she’d always wanted to be. She was starting it all off with a three-day weekend in Las Vegas so she could have the freedom to try something daring.
She walked by a row of old-fashioned slot machines and paused. Fishing through her backpack, Christine pulled out a crisp dollar bill and fed it through the machine. She pulled the lever, but didn’t feel any excitement as she watched the row of symbols spin and settle.
She lost.
No surprise there. But that was dream number forty-three. Win money. She knew why she had written that down ten years ago. Back then she had big dreams and a poorly paid summer position at the bank.
Now she was the manager of that bank.
Christine’s shoulders slumped. That hadn’t been the plan. The plan had been to get out of Cedar Valley and find her passion. She’d failed on both counts. Worse, she had a pristine dream list with nothing checked off.
Her eighteen-year-old self would be horrified.
Her twenty-eight-year-old self wasn’t that impressed, either.
But she was changing that. All she had to do was check off one thing. She could do that in Vegas, where no one would judge her or rein her in.
Christine sat down next to the slot machine as she considered her list. What about number nineteen? Climb Mount Rainier. Yeah, that’s in Washington state and she was in Nevada. Perhaps number eight? Get a tattoo. No. Christine immediately discarded that idea. It was too permanent. She needed to take a baby step.
Christine reached into her backpack for another dollar. She saw a movement from the corner of her eye and looked up to see a man stride down the aisle of slot machines.
Wow. Christine’s eyes widened. The man was tall and lean. She was mesmerized by the confident and smooth way he moved. Her gaze went from his scuffed boots and his powerful legs encased in low-riding, faded jeans. She noticed how his dark jacket hung from his broad shoulders and the way his white-collared shirt stretched against his muscular chest.
Christine glanced up and found herself staring. The man did little to control his dark wavy hair and her hands itched to sink into the softness. And then she would trail her fingers along his high cheekbones and angular jaw. She wanted to trace the grooves that bracketed his firm mouth and the lines that fanned from his sparkling brown eyes.
The man flashed a lopsided smile and Christine’s breath hitched in her throat. Excitement bubbled inside her, heating her body and pressing against her skin, ready to burst.
Christine slowly looked over her shoulder, wondering if he was smiling at a pretty waitress or an exotic dancer. No one was behind her.
She frowned and turned around. The handsome stranger stood in front of her. His smile was brighter, a slash of white against his golden-brown skin. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes.
“You have so many games to choose from and you try the slot machines?” The man’s husky voice sent a thrill down her spine. “Where’s the challenge in that?”
Why did that sound like a metaphor of her life? Christine cautiously returned his smile. “It doesn’t require any skill.”
“It’s also the simplest way to lose money.” He leaned against the machine. “The odds aren’t in your favor.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” She nervously shifted in her seat and felt the short hem inch up. “I don’t think the casino will offer a sure thing.”
“Depends on what you’re looking for.”
Christine saw the gleam of interest in his eyes. She dragged air into her lungs as her skin felt tight and flushed.
No, no, no. She shouldn’t entertain this idea. He was just chatting with her. He wasn’t flirting. He wasn’t suggesting he was a sure thing. That was just wishful thinking on her part.
Anyway, hot sex was not on her list. There was no mention of a fling or a one-night stand.
But that didn’t stop her from allowing her gaze to drift down his body. There should be something about sex on her dream list, she thought as she bit down on her bottom lip. Something impossibly wild. A fantasy that would rock her world.
In fact, there was no reason why she couldn’t add this sexy stranger to the list.
“I’m Christine.” She held out her hand and belatedly realized her formal manner.
He wrapped his large, calloused hand around hers. He was big. Strong and masculine. She hoped he didn’t feel the fluttering pulse at her wrist.
“Travis.”
Hello, Travis. Otherwise known as number one hundred and one: have a weekend fling.
She froze as the words tumbled in her mind. One hundred and one. This was a mistake. How could she add him to the list when she hadn’t crossed anything off? Was she trying to sabotage her goals the moment her vacation started?
Christine relu
ctantly withdrew her hand from his grasp. She immediately missed the warm, masculine touch, but she tightly folded her hands on her lap.
She wasn’t going to get distracted from her dream list. Especially not with a man. She couldn’t let that happen again.
2
TRAVIS WAS SURPRISED at Christine’s withdrawal. One moment he saw the glow in her eyes and the next moment she’d banked it. It was as if she took one look at him and decided pursuing him wasn’t a good idea. That he wasn’t a good idea.
It wasn’t the first time for him. Good girls and proper ladies kept their distance...unless they were looking for a good time. He was a momentary lapse of judgment or a vacation from real life.
He felt a twinge of disappointment that Christine wasn’t going to act on the instant attraction. He liked the way she’d looked at him. It was a mix of excitement and trepidation. Anticipation and doubt. He knew that feeling—it was what he experienced every time he was about to embark on a great adventure.
He liked the idea of being someone’s great adventure, and he wanted to see that wicked glow in her eyes again. Hold on to the promise of something special. It had nothing to do with his goal to blend in and everything to do with exploring the wild streak he saw inside her.
Travis knew he would have to be careful in his pursuit. He realized now that Christine wasn’t as bold as she appeared. Despite the sexy dress that hugged her curves and the thirst for adventure in her serious brown eyes, this woman was quiet and reserved.
He should have picked up on that in the way she checked out the casino when she first stepped inside, but he wasn’t used to hesitant women. This one observed before she moved forward. She didn’t run headfirst into a situation, nor did she see an opportunity and grab it.
This was a woman who considered the pros and cons. She saw potential problems before she saw possibilities. He remembered how his grandmother used to do that and he always pushed himself to do the opposite. His mind-set worked because most people he met on his travels were impulsive, ready to forget common sense in their quest to go crazy before they had to return to their real life.
“What brings you to Vegas?” Travis asked. She was playing the slot machines with a decided lack of interest but was perched on the gold seat as if she were waiting for something wonderful to happen.
Christine was an intriguing puzzle. He felt the buzz of interest in his veins. Normally he felt like this right before he stepped into uncharted territory. But those times he knew the payoff would be big. Christine wasn’t a sure thing but she was the challenge he was looking for in Vegas.
She tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look. “What makes you think I’m not from around here?”
Where should he start? Her attire was wrong for a casino and a Las Vegas native would know that. She was dressed more for a nightclub. He could also tell that the desert sun never touched her pale skin. Travis curled his fingers as he imagined she would be smooth and silky to the touch.
There was also the fact that she was dragging around a bag that had an airline sticker on it. He gave a casual shrug. “Just a wild guess.”
“Do you live here?” she asked as she gave him a longer, more thorough look. “Is that how you can tell?”
“No, I don’t have a home base.” After feeling trapped in his childhood home, he chose not to have a permanent address these days. In the past few months he had lived everywhere from a hut in Belize to a pickup truck along Route 66. He made good money along the way. Once he picked up a skill, he turned around and taught them to tourists. He could do anything from teaching people how to surf to guiding them through the jungle. “I don’t really see the need for one.”
“I don’t think I follow,” Christine said as her eyes widened. “You just pick up and leave whenever you feel like it?”
He nodded as he watched Christine’s eyes cloud over. She obviously couldn’t comprehend that kind of freedom, but he couldn’t tell if she was envious or horrified. “I don’t mind roughing it,” he added. “Comfort and excitement don’t go hand in hand.”
She dipped her head and her long hair fell over her face like a veil. “You’re right, they don’t.”
Christine’s voice had been so quiet he almost didn’t hear her above the ringing bells and shouts of laughter in the casino. Yet he caught the regret in her tone.
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Once you have a comfort zone, it doesn’t grow wider,” Christine said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “It gets smaller and smaller until you realize you’ve put yourself in a cage.”
“Exactly,” Travis slowly agreed. It was why he didn’t stay in one place for more than a month. There were moments when he longed to call a place his own, but he’d grit his teeth and keep moving until the feeling passed. “Sometimes you need to shake things up. The way you’re doing now.”
“You can tell that just by looking at me?” She glanced at her dress and automatically pulled at the short hem that revealed her long, slender legs. “What else can you tell?”
Travis paused. He was usually good at figuring out people; the skill helped him survive whenever he found himself in sticky situations. But he got the feeling that Christine was trying to be someone different during her Vegas trip. He saw that a lot in the more touristy areas he’d visited. It was like role-playing, trying on a more exciting or an entirely different persona.
“This is your first time in Vegas,” he guessed.
Christine jerked her head back in surprise. “That’s true,” she reluctantly admitted. She glanced around the casino as if she wondered how he’d come to that conclusion.
“First trip anywhere?” he asked.
“Not at all,” she scoffed. She rubbed her fingers over her bare collarbone. Her hand stilled as if she realized something was missing. “I travel around the world all the time.”
Travis silently nodded his head. It may not be the first time she’d been out of her hometown, but it was definitely the farthest she’d been away from home. Only she didn’t want him to know that. Christine wanted to look more sophisticated and experienced than she really was. How far was she willing to go to live out this role? Travis was willing to play along.
“I’m taking advantage of a long weekend,” she said with a defiant thrust of her chin, “and I decided to try something closer to home.”
He didn’t buy that excuse. Christine was definitely the kind of person who would make incremental goals. Once she found success, she would build up to a bigger goal. He couldn’t imagine living like that.
“What do you do?” he asked. It was probably a desk job that dealt with numbers. She would want something that was climate-controlled and dealt with absolutes. But what would her alter ego say? Would she pick something creative or something dangerous? What she decided would give him a little more insight into her dream life.
Christine pursed her lips. “What do you think I do?”
Travis arched an eyebrow. It was time to rattle her cage. He reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Are you going to tell me my fortune?” Christine asked with a nervous laugh.
“No, but I can tell a lot about a person by their hands.” Hers were soft and delicate. The nails were short and unvarnished. There was no wedding ring and no indication that there had been one.
“I can’t tell what you do for a living,” he said as he trailed a fingertip down her palm before resting it against her wrist. Her pulse skipped under his touch. “You are searching for a challenge. You’ve done it all. Seen it all.”
Her hand jerked but she didn’t pull away. “Go on.”
“You’re looking for a jump start.”
She snatched her hand back. “What makes you think that?”
He wasn’t sure why he said it. A jump start suggested she had once been adventurous but now found
herself in a routine. That didn’t sound right. She was too cautious. She wanted to be reckless but just couldn’t let herself go.
“It’s been a while since you had an adrenaline rush,” he continued, watching her closely. He needed to see her response or have her correct him, but Christine’s expression didn’t give anything away. “Vegas may be too tame for you.”
The corner of her mouth twitched as she leaned back in the gold seat. “Are you talking about me or yourself?”
“Can you read people, too?” he teased.
“No, but I looked around this casino when I came in,” she said. She did a quick survey and looked back at him. “We don’t fit into this crowd, so I have to wonder why you’re here. The only other guy who’s around thirty is the blond guy with a beard at the blackjack table. Are you with him?”
Travis froze. He hadn’t expected Christine to be that observant. How had she already connected him with Aaron? Had she seen him talking to his friend or was there a detail he had missed?
“That guy?” He casually glanced over at where his friend was sitting. His gut clenched when he noticed Underwood and Pitts talking to Aaron. “Never met him before. I was giving him blackjack tips, but he didn’t need them.”
Aaron and Pitts looked over at him. Travis knew that wasn’t a good sign and refused to make eye contact with his friend. He needed to distance himself from Aaron before they realized he was the one who had the emerald.
He didn’t know why he assumed Pitts and Underwood wanted to steal the emerald. He just knew. Maybe it had to do with the instincts he had developed over the years. Or it could be because those two were around the last time someone tried to take Aaron’s gem.
That emerald was bigger than any gem he and Aaron found on their treasure hunts. Any of his poker compatriots could be after it, but Hoffmann had more of an emotional investment in it since it was a family heirloom.
“Why are you in this casino, Travis?” she asked. “Do you work here?”
The idea of working hours in a dark and windowless room sounded like torture. Travis shuddered at the thought. He hated being indoors. It reminded him too much of home. “No, I’m here looking for business.”
