Betting on the Wrong Brother (What Happens in Vegas) (10 page)

Jan popped a mint into her mouth and handed the container to Andi. “
I just don
’t want to see you hurt, okay?”

Andi shook one into her hand. “Don’t worry. I know what I’
m doing.
”

She didn’t. Not really.

Chapter Ten

Ryan was more mesmerized by the woman beside him, and the look of fascination in her eyes, than he was in watching Criss Angel perform his magic tricks. Andi was quickly becoming an addiction. He hadn’t known her for very long, and couldn’t believe how fast she was getting under his skin. She almost made him forget he didn’t believe in marital bliss.

Where the hell did that come from
?

He couldn’t keep his eyes, or his hands, off her. He’d watched her from a distance today at her book signing, watched the way she’d interacted and turned it on for her readers, playing the part of romance novelist. She was sweet, kind, and cared a great deal about her readers. But he’d seen the real
Andrea
at the ‘Dig This’ arena the other night, and again tonight as she let down her guard and enjoyed the show.

Yep, there was something different going on here. He had it bad for her. And it scared the hell out of him.

She turned and caught him staring, her long hair loose around her shoulders. When she smiled, a beautiful genuine smile that told him how much fun she was having, he couldn’t hold back any longer. In the dimly lit room, he leaned into her and lightly pressed his mouth on hers.

Her hand went to his face, a light, gentle touch that did the weirdest things to his gut. Her mouth moved under his—a tender kiss that somehow felt more intimate than any sexual encounter he’d ever experienced. It made him want to take her back to his bed and lock the rest of the world out.

Christ, what the hell was going on with him? He closed his hand over hers and held it there, savoring the closeness as his heart crashed against his chest. When she broke the kiss, he linked their fingers together, needing to hold her, feel her, lose himself in her, tonight…
forever.

Fuck.

He sucked in a quick breath and turned toward the stage, trying to sort through the things she stirred in him. But how could he focus on the performance when he was feeling things he’d never before experienced, thinking things he’d never thought would cross his mind?

When the show was over and the lights came back on, Andi stood and stretched. Around them everyone hustled out of their seats and the noise level went up an octave as people began talking about the show. He took a moment to look at her standing there, dressed in her comfortable jeans and purple shirt that brought out the color in her eyes. She was so fucking perfect and he loved that she dressed for herself tonight.

What did she have on underneath? Bloomers? Or another sexy black lace number? Either way, no matter what she wore, he wanted her—all to himself.

“Hungry?” he asked.

She angled her head and gave him a curious look. “More peanut butter?”

He climbed to his feet and shot her a mocking look. “Are you saying I’m predictable?”

Her eyes gleamed with pleasure. “Believe me, you’re anything but.”

He put his hand on the small of her back and she exhaled a fluttery breath. He loved how his touch affected her. They followed the crowd outside, onto the bustling Strip. The warm air fell over them as they walked along the sidewalk, maneuvering through the crowd. Up ahead he spotted a wedding party coming their way.

“That looks like fun,” Andi said, inching closer to him as the group started past.

He linked his fingers through hers. Her gaze darted to their joined hands. For a second he thought she was going to pull away. Christ, he knew she was mortified after getting caught sneaking from his room. But instead of breaking the contact, her fingers tightened around his and it filled him with warmth.

“You don’t strike me as a Vegas wedding type of gal,” he said.

Surprise lit her eyes. “No? What kind of wedding do you think I’
d want?
”

“The big church, white gown, family, pictures in the park, all the decorations.”

“Add a Caribbean beach and you nailed it.” She looked at her feet. “But that’s never going to happen.”

He caught a glimpse of some deeper vulnerability and his gut clenched. “Why would that never happen?”

“Oh, nothing. What kind of wedding would you like?”

He didn’t miss the quick shift in focus. He shrugged and answered her question. “Vegas. The Elvis package.”

She squeezed her fingers around his. “Wait. I thought you said you didn’t believe in happily ever after?”

“
I don
’t. I’m just saying if I ever got married, that’s what I’
d want.
” What the hell was he saying? He’d never pictured himself getting hitched before. He swallowed, and it felt like he just ate a handful of dirt. Turning things back to her, he said, “If that’s the kind of wedding you want, then that’s the kind of wedding you should have. I’m not sure why you don’t think it can happen.”

“It’s not something I have to think about right now. I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

“Right,” he said. Why the hell did it feel like he’d just been kicked in the gut? He asked for a week-long affair, nothing else. Why all of a sudden was the self-proclaimed bachelor wanting more?

A group of rowdy guys came stumbling onto the sidewalk. Loud and obnoxious, they were cursing like sailors, and barreling their way through the crowd. He pushed Andi behind him as they walked past. Once they’d moved on he tugged on her hand and brought her back to his side.

“Crazy place,” he said as another wedding party started their way.

“It sure is,” she said, when they broke through the mass.

“It’s a far cry from Cedar Point.”

“Even New York,” she added and went quiet.

“Where do you live in New York?”

“The Village.”

She cast her eyes downward, and watched her feet as she walked. “Will it be so bad moving back?” he asked, squeezing her hand so she’d look back up at him.

She looked away and shrugged. “I miss my parents, but it wasn’t easy growing up there. People weren’t very nice to me. They’ll always think of me as that fat, unlovable nerdy bookworm who had no…” She stopped talking abruptly, and pinched her lips shut, like she’d said too much.

Jesus, kids could be so cruel. “But you’re not that girl anymore. Look at you, you’re gorgeous.”

“I lost weight.” She straightened her shoulders. “I like my life, and being around people who know me for who I am now. Why put myself in a situation where I’m thrown back into the past where I was some kind of unlovable freak. You know that better than anyone.”

What the hell was that? Did she not see that on the inside she was sweet and kind and totally loveable? That it was
that girl
he was falling for.

Jesus I
’m falling for her.

“People like that aren’t worth worrying about. If they can’t see someone for who they really are, then fuck them.”

She stopped and looked at him like he’d just grown another head. “I never expected to hear you say something like that.”

“You’re beautiful, smart, and have a successful career. You shouldn’t care what others think.”

She shook her head. “Maybe a leopard really can change its spots,” she mumbled under her breath, but he suspected she was talking about Nolan, not herself.

He led her along the Strip until they reached the famous Bouchon Bakery. He pulled the door open and once again she stopped dead in her tracks.

“What?” he asked, his glance going to the sweets behind the glass dome and back to Andi again. “Sometimes you have to just eat dessert first.”

“
I try
not eat too many sweets anymore.”

He pulled her into his arms. “Didn’t I read on your bio that you never say no to a brownie?”

“You read my bio?”

“Sure, and sweetheart,
you
go ahead and eat the brownie.” He inched back, and let his gaze run the length of her. “Leave the watching to
me
.” Color moved onto her cheeks as he drank in her body. “I like everything about you, Andi.” He pushed against her, his semi-hard erection pressing against her stomach. “Can’t you tell?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,
oh
.” He put his mouth close to her ear. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been hard since I first saw you in your bloomers.” As soon as the word bloomers left his lips, she clamped her hand over her mouth and stifled a laugh. “So, come on. Eat the brownie.”

Refusing to take no for an answer, he placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her inside. Her eyes lit when she looked at all the sweets behind the dome.

“I’m having one of them,” he said, pointing to the huge chocolate éclair. He turned to her “You?”

She tapped the glass over the chocolate brownie covered in chocolate icing and nuts. “You’re bad for me,” she said. “You know that, right?”

He put in their order and grabbed them coffee. With their food in hand they stepped outside to sit at one of the café tables. Andi looked around at the people talking and eating sweets around them. She was a people watcher, like him.

They sat, their knees touching beneath the small table. She took a sip of her coffee and bit into her brownie. “Oh my God,” she said, her eyes going wider than he’d ever seen as crumbs fell into her lap.

“
Good, huh?
” he bit into his é
clair.

“Oh yeah.”

He arched a brow. “Maybe I’m not so bad for you after all.”

“Oh you are,” she said and reached out to brush cream from the side of his mouth. She licked her finger and he damn near fell off his chair.

He leaned over the table, his words for her only. “Don’t do that,” he growled.

“Do what?” she asked with innocent sensuality.

“Don’t put your finger in your mouth like that.”

She looked at him blankly. Jesus, she really was an innocent. Suddenly, her eyes lit in understanding and a smile tugged at her mouth. She ran her finger over the chocolate icing. “You mean like this?”

He gripped a fistful of hair. “Keep it up and I’ll bend you over this table and take you right here.”

Her lips thinned into a fine line as a tortured noise crawled out of her throat. “You wouldn’t,” she murmured.

“Try me. This is Vegas. No one would even care.”

Her glance went from him, to her brownie, back to him. Christ, was she actually debating it? Okay, time to change the subject.

He pushed back in his chair, and turned his neck from side to side, giving it a good hard crack. “Do you remember my sister, Allie?”

She looked up, like she was searching her memory banks. “Vaguely. She was a lot younger, right? I also vaguely remember your older brother, Jack right?”

He nearly choked on his éclair. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee. “Yeah, Jack. Anyway, I was just going to tell you that she’s having another baby. I’m hoping to get back before she goes into labor.”

“You two are close?”

“Yeah, we’re all close. Things changed a lot after mom and dad died.”

She reached across the table and put her hand over his. “I’m sorry. I never did tell you that in person.”

The warmth of her hand, the care in her voice tugged at his heart. “Thanks. It was a long time ago, and we’re all doing okay now.”

She gave his hand a squeeze before she pulled it away and reached for her coffee. “Is Cedar Point still where you spend most of your time? When you’re not flying, I mean.” She crinkled her nose and looked at him. “Shoot, that’s personal and we have this whole stranger thing going on between us.”

He was glad that she kept forgetting, and while he really wanted to reveal his true identity, he didn’t want to ruin this moment with her. She was finally opening up to him.

“It’s okay. You can ask whatever you want.”

“Okay, is Cedar Point where you spend most of your time?”

Anything but that
. He shifted, and hoped it hid his discomfort. “Yeah. It’s home base. I bought a house there a few years back.”

“Oh, yeah. Which one?”

“Do you remember the old house at the end of Five Mile Road?”

Her cup stopped at her lips, and it hovered there for a moment as her eyes widened with something that resembled unease. “You’re kidding? Isn’t that place haunted?”

“Not really.”

“Not really? Either it is or it isn’
t? I don
’t think there’s any ‘not really’ about it.”

He grinned. “I think it was just a way for old man Keller to keep kids away. He probably started the rumors himself.”

She shivered at the mention of Mr. Keller. “He was a mean old bastard.”

He took his last bite of éclair, chewed, and swallowed. “It kind of backfired on him, though. Everyone wanted to get a peek at the ghost.”

She shivered. “Not me.”

“Afraid?”

“Yeah, I’
m afraid.
” She took a sip of her coffee and set it down. “What is it with you and haunted places, anyway?”

He brushed the crumbs from his hands onto his plate. “Meaning?”

“Your room at the hotel is supposed to be haunted.”

“
I don
’t know about that, the only moans I ever heard in there were coming from us.”

“Ryan,” she warned, and glanced around to see if anyone had overhead them. “You are so bad.”

“I believe you’re the bad one,” he teased, loving all her contradictions. Wild and brazen one minute, shy and demure the next.

She lowered her head and mumbled into her cup. “Can we talk about something else?”

“So, uh, what do you remember about Jack?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

She pursed her lips, continued to stare into her coffee cup and then said, “Just that he was mentally slow and the kids on the playground called him some pretty politically incorrect names.” She shook her head. “Believe me, I know his pain. I had my fair share of bullies, too.”

He sat up straighter, feeling the need to defend Jack…or rather, himself. “He wasn’t mentally slow he had dyslexia. It took a while for a proper diagnosis.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’re a huge advocate of literacy. I don’t remember you ever being a big reader.” She bit into her brownie, chewed, and added, “I remember Jack being a fighter, though. I always admired him for standing up to those bullies.” She finished off her brownie and wiped her mouth. “How’s he doing now? Has he completely overcome his dyslexia or does he still have symptoms?”