Going All In

“I call, and I raise you twenty dollars.” Julia Savage placed her bet. The evening was drawing to a close, and she figured she might as well take a bit of a chance before leaving Jay Baxter’s flat.

Jay gave her a look that scorched all the way through to her toes. “Raising the stakes, are we?” He checked his cards and winked, stirring up every dirty fantasy she’d ever had about him—and she’d had her fair share. “Cool. I see your twenty.”

Hunter Miles laid down his hand. Serious as ever, he shook his head, making his blond hair glisten like wheat under the lights. “Too rich for me. I fold.”

Julia resisted the overwhelming urge to run her hand through his silky locks. She nodded at Hunter instead, making sure her expression was blank. “Okay, Jay. Deal the turn.”

Jay burned a card then flipped one. Queen of Hearts.

This time Julia let a smile play on the corner of her mouth. Sometimes a little bluff went a long way in a game of poker. Real life, on the other hand, was a different story. “I bet another ten.” She added more chips to the growing pile in the center of the table.

Jay grinned and matched her bet.

Her heart lurched. “River card?”

“At your command.” Jay looked at her a second too long, then burned another card and showed her the river.

It took a moment to comprehend what the card was. Her brain couldn’t compute much besides the men on either side of her. They left her mind reeling and her heart thumping.

Ten of Spades.

Hunter whistled, his lips pulling into a sexy pout, and Julia made sure her gaze stayed on the cards. No point in examining his delectable mouth now. She had to focus on her game.

Two tens, a queen, a jack and a nine lay on the table.

Julia narrowed her eyes then opened them wide. She held a lousy Three of Hearts and Six of Diamonds. In other words—nothing. “Thirty dollars.”

Jay looked at her with a frown. Then he looked some more, after which he glanced at his cards one last time. “Pot’s yours,” he conceded with his charming Jay smile and laid down his hand.

Julia gave a satisfied nod, handed in her cards and helped herself to the winnings. She suppressed the snicker that fought for release. She’d played them both like a pro. No way would she show them her piddly hand. Bluffing was her forte and damned if she wasn’t good at it.

Heck, she’d been bluffing them both for months, pretending her interest in the two men ran no further than their weekly Friday-night poker games. Pretending she wasn’t head-over-heels in love with both of them, and she didn’t lie awake at night wondering which one would make a better boyfriend or lover.

God knew she wanted one as a boyfriend or lover. The question was, who would she choose?

Damn it, she couldn’t answer. That was her whole problem. She wanted them both equally. There was no way she could opt for Jay over Hunter, or Hunter over Jay. Not if being with one man meant never having the other.

The guys had no clue how often she dreamed of them or how each dream drove her insane with its lack of clarity. She’d see herself making love with one of them, and then midvision, that man would morph into the other. Hunter would become Jay, or Jay would become Hunter.

It was odd that she couldn’t separate them in her dreams, because the men were so different in real life. Jay was a loveable clown, and Hunter an earnest, focused go-getter.

Her affection for Jay had crept up on her over the last year or so. Like her, Jay was a pharmaceutical rep. They worked the same territory, Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, and had made it a habit to meet up often for lunch. Over salads and sandwiches he’d regale her with stories of doctor calls, keeping her in stitches of laughter. It was Jay who’d invited her—the only woman ever—to join his poker club after he’d learned about her passion for the game. Which was where she’d met Hunter, a product manager from another pharmaceutical company. She’d taken one look at the solemn, intense blond hunk and lost her heart to him too.

Julia glanced at her watch. Eleven-forty-five. The rest of their poker club had gone home already, leaving just the three of them.

Hunter took the pack and shuffled. “Up for another round?”

“Always,” Jay answered.

“You bet,” Julia chimed in. “But last one for me.” It was a good idea to leave before the night got too late. Before the idea of propositioning one of them became too appealing to refuse.

Jay poured her another glass of red wine and topped up his and Hunter’s scotch. “Should we up the stakes?”

Julia scowled at him, determined to hide the fact that the very idea sent shivers of desire racing up her spine. “Shit, Jay. How many times do I have to say it? I’m not playing strip poker.”

Jay grinned, once again sending flames shooting through her belly. “Chill, Jules. I’m talking about opening bets. Fifty bucks too high for you?”

God, the man was insufferable. Tall, smug, funny, gorgeous, sexy and way too confident for his own good. Julia would give her right arm to sleep with him.

“Make it sixty,” she dared.

Hunter gave a low chuckle. “You’ve got style, Jules. I’ll give you that.”

“You in then, Blondie?” She shot him a challenging look, and her heart skipped a beat. Men didn’t come much better looking than Hunter. With his square jaw, bottomless brown eyes and straight nose, he epitomized handsome. She’d give her left arm to sleep with him.

Hunter harrumphed. “So much for having style.” He counted out a pile of chips and pushed them forward. “I’m in, Four Eyes.”

It was Julia’s turn to harrumph at the nickname, but she didn’t. Hunter had been calling her Four Eyes for so long, she knew it was his affectionate way of referring to her. She simply pushed her glasses up on her nose and chanted, “‘They say men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses. But do girls who wear glasses make passes at men?’”

His smoldering gaze made her toes curl. “Don’t know about other men,” he said, “but this girl’s never made a pass at me.”

Damn the man. He was too sexy for his own good. And she would have made a pass at him months ago—when she’d met him at her first poker game—if she hadn’t had such strong feelings about Jay.

“Me neither.” Jay stared at her speculatively, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with humor. “Think that’s because she’s not interested, or because she wears glasses?”

Oh, she was interested all right. How could she not be? Jay could make her heart sing as easily as he could bring a smile to her face. And Hunter’s eyes seemed to see more than she ever showed him. His serious nature inspired soul-deep conversations. She adored talking to him, adored comparing their views of the world and discovering his opinions weren’t so different from hers. Heck she adored him. Which brought her back to her original problem—how could she choose one guy over the other?

Damn it! Why couldn’t she just be in love with one of them? It would make life so simple.

“There’s only one way to find out if she’s interested,” Hunter said. “Lose the specs, Four Eyes.”

When would she learn to keep her mouth shut? They’d take any opportunity to tease her mercilessly. She shoved forward sixty dollars’ worth of chips. “Deal the cards, Blondie.”

Jay added his bet to the pile. “It’s cool, mate,” he reassured Hunter. “Let her wear the glasses ’til the hand’s been played. She can’t see a thing without them.”

Again Hunter flashed his smoldering look. “It’s a deal. One more round…and then all bets are off.” He doled out the cards.

“You boys are full of it,” Julia told them as she inspected her hand. King and Ace of Spades. “There’s so much hot air in this room, I’m surprised the glasses in question haven’t fogged up yet.” She took a sip of wine to moisten her dry mouth. The three of them fooled around like this often, and the lighthearted banter, heavy with sexual undertones, got to Julia every time.

It was Jay who answered as he picked up his hand. “They will fog up,” he said, “just not from hot air.”

The corner of Hunter’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t give in to a full-blown smile as he dealt the flop. A four, a king and an ace.

Julia’s heart jumped into her throat—and it had nothing to do with the cards in front of her.

They all checked.

She tapped her glasses. “Still clear as crystal,” she observed.

Hunter flipped a seven.

Jay grinned at her and bet twenty dollars. She and Hunter matched the bet.

Hunter flipped the river. Another ace.

Jay bet thirty.

Julia went all in.

Hunter paused for a moment. “Things are heating up,” he said to his cards. “Get ready for the fog, Four Eyes.” He pushed all his chips into the center of the table. “I call your bet.”

Julia raised an eyebrow.

Jay folded. “Want me to get you a serviette?” he offered her. “To wipe off the glasses?”

“I’m good, thanks.” She grinned at him then looked at Hunter. “What are you holding?”

“Read ’em and weep.” Hunter showed his hand with smug look. A pair of kings. “Full house.” He leaned forward to gather the chips together.

“Not so fast, Blondie.” She laid out her cards. “Another full house. Ace high.”

Hunter stared in astonishment.

Julia turned to Jay. “Better give Hunter that serviette. It looks like he’s going to cry.” She polished off her wine. “And on that note, gentlemen, I believe I will take my leave. With my glasses still on and clear as crystal.”

“It’s because she can’t see well enough without them to drive home,” Hunter told Jay knowingly.

“Take them off, Jules.” Jay winked at her. “You can spend the night here.”