Luck Be A Lady (Destiny Bay Romances-The Ranchers Book 5) (8 page)

But the wonder remained. She never would have thought that Cody would do anything so compassionate for a complete stranger. Was she wrong about the
man? Or was this just an aberration?

She got off at the fourteenth floor and glanced at
her last delivery. Sugar Delfinio. Now there was no
doubt about this one. She had to be a show girl.

She found the correct door and knocked. “Miss
Delfinio, delivery,” she called.

There was no response. She waited for a moment, but nothing seemed to move. “Miss Delfinio,” she called more loudly, knocking again. “Florist deliv
ery.”

A last sharp rap with her knuckles and the door creaked open. She looked inside. As far as she could
see, there was no one there.

“Miss Delfinio?” she called, stepping in gingerly.
“Are you here?”

Another step inside the apartment, and suddenly the door slammed shut behind her. Kelly whirled. Behind the door stood Cody, looking positively devilish in the
shadows. He held two fluted glasses of golden, bub
bling champagne, one in either hand, and his face was
alight with triumph.

“Oh no!” Kelly cried, jerking back. What a fool!
She should have known he would do something like
this. “Where’s Miss Delfinio?” she demanded, back
ing away from him and holding the box of flowers out
in front of herself like a shield.

“Out,” he said, his eyes sparkling with laughter. He
didn’t move a muscle, but managed to look tantaliz
ingly intimidating, nonetheless. “Shall we wait for her
together?”

Kelly swallowed. He had her trapped again. It was hardly fair. “I don’t want to wait. I’ll leave the flowers
and go.” She set them down on the dressing table.
“You can give them to her in person,” she suggested,
walking quickly to the door.

But he was there before her, blocking her escape
route once more. “No,” he said, just as she’d known
he would. “That’s impossible.”

Her chin rose in hopeless defiance. “Why?”

“Don’t you remember the conditions of our agreement?” he said softly. “The flowers must be hand-delivered, with a kiss on the cheek.” He frowned in
mock sternness. “You have been kissing each recipi
ent on the cheek, haven’t you?”

As a matter of fact, she hadn’t, but she wasn’t about
to admit that right now. “You don’t play fair,” she
said, resigned. She stared everywhere—at his shoul
ders, the smooth fabric of his suit, the turquoise ring
on his hand—all to keep from looking any longer into
his mysterious eyes.

“I play to win,” he told her just as quietly. “I have to play hard to hold my own with you. You’re a hard
woman, Kelly.”

“I try to be.” A small part of her, standing aside
and watching this ridiculous exchange, laughed out
loud. She’d never been hard. That had been her worst
problem. Hardness might have saved a lot of heart
ache, but that was all in the past. Maybe she could be
hard now. She could try.

“I hope I’m not going to have to resort to some
thing like kidnapping in order to get a moment alone with you, to show you how much I appreciate what
you did the other day.”

Her eyes flashed. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. You
can get prison for that, you know.”

“Ah, but prison might be worth it,” Cody said
silkily, “if it means I also get the girl.”

Kelly looked into his eyes then, almost laughing
herself. Did he take anything seriously? How could she
be offended? It was all a joke to him, all a party. And to tell the truth, she was getting tempted to join it. She
spread out her hands, palms up.
 

“What on earth do
you see in me?” she asked him, truly confused. “I mean, I’ve been to see your other girlfriends.” She shrugged, searching his face, struggling with the
problem. “I’ve seen what they’re like. They’re gorgeous, and, and—“ she shrugged again “—huge where men like things huge, and... look at me! I’m
none of those things. What do you see in me?”

His puzzled frown told her he didn’t really under
stand what she was trying to say. “I like looking at you,” he said simply. “There’s something about you,
Kelly Carrington. I don’t know what it is. But I like
it.”

“But—“

“But nothing. That’s not the point, anyway.” He
handed her a glass of champagne and she took it, be
yond protest. She felt limp, beaten. “The point is thanking you, not sweeping you off your feet. And since you hesitate so at letting me take you out, I’ve
come upon a solution.”

“Oh?” Her eyes felt heavy. She wanted to lean
against him, feel his strong arms around her. The urge
was infinitely intense, but she fought it back.

“Yes,” Cody was saying, watching her. “A public
dinner. Right out in the middle of the casino floor.
Will you join me?”

What did he mean? Kelly took a large gulp of the liquid, sputtered and made a face. “I hate this stuff,” she said helplessly. “I don’t really like to drink.”

Without a word, he took the glass from her hands
and set both of them down on a nearby table. “Will
you?” he repeated.

“What?” The room seemed to be spinning. Either
the man was insane or she was.

“Come on.” He linked an arm with hers. “Let’s go
down to the casino.”

“But...” Her feeble protest wavered in the air.

“You have to eat,” he told her firmly. “And I’ll
take you home right afterward. No funny business. I
swear on my honor as a—“ Even he had trouble
thinking up anything she could accept.

“A gambler?” But she was smiling. She was going to go with him. How could she resist? He was like a steamroller and she didn’t want to get flattened. “The
flowers,” Kelly reminded him, looking back at the
box, “What about Miss Delfinio’s flowers?”

“She’s working,” Cody said. “She’s in the dinner
show. She’ll be back between acts. Let her take care of
them.”

Fleetingly, she wondered why he had such intimacy with the woman that he felt free to use her hotel room
this way, but she didn’t want to pursue it. From what
she’d seen, he had a special intimacy with many
women. He was definitely not to be taken seriously,
but she had to admit he was fun. Against her better
judgment, he made her laugh. She would enjoy din
ner with him. And then she would go home—alone.
 

Cross my heart
, she swore to herself.

***
               
***
                       
***
                     
***

The casino felt like Mardi Gras. Bells jangled, mu
sic played, voices set a background hum of excite
ment, anticipation. Lights and colors swirled. Cody led
her past the green felt poker tables, the blackjack bars,
the chrome-plated one-armed bandits. Cody planted
his hand in the center of her back, guiding her. When she glanced around he was very close, his shoulder
touching hers, his face just inches away. Their eyes met
and something twisted inside her.

Kelly pulled her gaze away immediately, but her heart was thumping and she was blind to everything
around them. She felt like a schoolgirl with her first
crush. She felt like an idiot.

No! her mind was shouting at her.
This won’t do at all. You will not let yourself fall for this playboy gam
bler person—not even a little bit. Not even for fun.

They walked slowly past a bank of slot machines,
then stopped to watch the men in tuxedos playing baccarat, the dealer snapping the cards out firmly.

“Pure luck,” Cody whispered to her as they watched. “And clever betting.”

She thought she detected a hint of disdain in his tone. Turning, she looked up at him. “What’s your
specialty?”

He grinned. “Poker. Poker’s a science and a skill. I
love it.”

They moved on. He led her to a balcony overlook
ing the green felt of the blackjack tables. They
stopped, leaning against the railing and looking down
over the heads of the gamblers.

“Tell me exactly what you have against gam
bling,” he said to her quietly. “Just on a philosophi
cal level.”

Kelly answered without even thinking, “It’s an at
tempt at getting something for nothing.”

“Oh?” He chuckled. “You haven’t done much
gambling, have you?”

She shrugged. “No, I suppose not. But like you
said, most of it’s just a matter of luck. I think people
should work for things, not just luck into them.”

“You don’t believe in luck?” Cody turned to the
side, leaning on the rail while he watched her, his dark
eyes steady.

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought much about it one way or another.”

He tilted his head back and looked past her at the
flocked wallpaper. “I believe in luck. I count on it.
But luck is something you have to recognize when you see it coming your way. You have to hold on to it, keep
it happy while it stays with you. And when it’s ready
to leave, you’ve got to let it go.” He paused, watching
her so steadily that she grew embarrassed. “Luck
never stays in one place for long, and if you want it to
come back and visit you later, you’ve got to treat it
right.”

Kelly felt as though she should be making a defense
of her point of view, but in truth, it was getting fuz
zier all the time. Just what did she have against gam
bling, anyway? Here in the heart of the devil, as it
were, gambling took on a charming, seductive quality
she couldn’t find much fault with.

But she made an attempt to call up her old fire.
“Gambling ruins families, takes money people should be using to feed and clothe themselves and their loved ones. It’s a vice, a temptation. It encourages people to think they don’t have to work for what they want.
 
All they need is that Lady Luck you were talking about.”

His shoulders lifted in the hint of a shrug. “I be
lieve in free will, myself,” Cody said softly. “There are
a lot of temptations out there in this world. If you
can’t say no to them when you know they’re out to get
you, then you’ve got a problem and you better get some help in dealing with it.”

“Cold and hard, aren’t you?” she said, but couldn’t
seem to get up much emotion behind her words.

His grin was slow and mocking. “I suppose you want to take care of everybody, don’t you? Tell them
what’s wrong and what’s right and make them eat their vegetables.”

She bristled a bit at that. “I don’t want to tell others what to do. It’s up to them. But some people are
weaker than others, or hit a weak time in their lives.”

“Right.” Suddenly his fingers were smoothing the
wisps of hair back from her cheek. “And some people are born more beautiful than others.” His fingers curled softly around her ear. “Or hit a beautiful time
in their lives.” His voice was so soft, she could barely
hear it.

Kelly moved back, away from his touch. His hand
stayed in the air where she’d abandoned it. “And some,” Cody said aloud, “are luckier than others.”
His grin was suddenly wide and amused. “Like me.”
He rose from the railing and slipped a hand behind her
back to guide her again. “Come on, let’s go see if they
have our table ready.”

It almost felt as if she were floating. There was
something about this man that threatened to set
something free inside her. She wasn’t sure if she was
frightened—or thrilled.

The table had been set up beneath the main chandelier, right in the center of the floor, but far enough away from the slot machines to avoid their noise.
Nearby tables were filled with card-playing gamblers of the high stakes variety and their conversation was
muted. Off to the side, a small combo played light
music. Crisp white linen covered the table. Hand-cut
crystal and sterling silver reflected the light of the
chandelier above. The scene reminded Kelly of a
dream sequence—misty and shining and utterly un
real.

But it was set right in the middle of the action. They
might as well have erected a stage.

“We can’t eat here,” she hissed to Cody, clutching
his arm.

“Of course we can,” he countered, pulling out a chair with a flourish. “I’ve arranged everything.”

Kelly sat numbly, looking around, her cheeks two
bright spots of red in a pale face. Curious glances flashed their way, but after a few moments, no one
seemed to be paying any attention to the strange cou
ple picnicking in the middle of the casino. This was Las Vegas, after all. One didn’t stand on ceremony
here. The town was full of characters. What were two more on a busy Thursday evening? She tried to relax,
but her arms felt wooden.