“Are you the person I’m dating? Because I wouldn’t care.”
“Just…never mind.” She rubbed his arm. “Just keep things to yourself, alright?”
Dad gave a sigh then sat down again.
“Alright, now that we’ve gotten that straightened out, I’m gonna head out.” I turned back to the door.
“Whoa, where are you going?” Mom came over to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Stick around. We have leftovers.”
“I would, but I’ve got to pack.”
“For what?”
Dad spoke from the couch. “She’s got a poker tournament in Vegas.”
“Oh, I forgot.” She patted me on the back and walked me to the door. “Good luck. But I don’t think you’ll need it.”
Dad left the room to pull on a shirt and grab his keys.
“Dad, I don’t need a ride home.” I held up my palm and walked out the door, Mom coming with me. “Why does he still do that?”
“The same reason he remembers your tournament—because he loves you.” Mom walked beside me and headed to the elevator. “So, how are things with Atlas?”
“Ugh. Terrible.”
“Really?” she asked skeptically.
“Really good…that’s why it’s terrible.”
“You and I must have different definitions of the word.”
I hit the button and waited for the elevator to rise to our floor. “He just seems too good to be true.”
“I thought the same thing about your father, but he’s not.”
“Yeah, but…”
“But what?”
“I don’t know, Mom. He’s perfect. But no one is perfect.”
“I doubt he’s perfect, but he might be perfect for you.” She gave me a hug when the elevator doors opened. “Mason was a bad apple, and now you got the good apple. Don’t overthink it. Go with it. Want my advice?”
“You know everything, so I guess.”
“Wear your heart on your sleeve. If he’s the right guy for you, he’s going to like that.”
He definitely wore his heart on his sleeve for me.
“Don’t risk losing him because you’re afraid. Don’t let your heartbreak from Mason affect this relationship.”
“You’re right…like always.” I stepped into the elevator and turned around to give her a wave. “Well, wish me luck.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled as she watched the doors close. “You don’t need luck, honey. Kick their asses like you always do.”
He drove me to the airport in a black Porsche SUV, my suitcase in the back.
“Nice ride.”
“Thanks. We can have sex in the back if you want.” He kept his eyes on the road and navigated the traffic with ease.
“I’d rather try the shower next. Or maybe your desk.”
He grinned, his aviator sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. “Now we’re talking.” He took the exit to the airport and followed the lanes to get to my airline.
“What are your plans this weekend?”
“Other than the Zoom sex we’re going to have, which I’m really looking forward to? Just work.”
“I’ll probably work from my laptop during the day.”
“Not going to hit up the spa or the pool?”
“Hmm…that does sound better. You’re a terrible boss, you know that?”
“You handed off your patients to me, so may as well enjoy your vacation.” He pulled over to the curb and parked the car. “Well, here we are. Time for me to watch that beautiful ass walk away.” He pulled off his sunglasses and looked at me.
It was just for the weekend, but I was actually sad to be apart. We were both busy during the week, so the weekends were all we really had.
His hand went to my thigh, and he gave me a squeeze.
I turned off my filter and spoke my mind. “I’ll miss you.”
He didn’t grin in arrogance like he normally did. His eyes slowly lost their smile, turning serious as if he continued to absorb the echo of my words. He leaned forward and cupped my face, giving me a hot kiss that made me forget we were at the airport. “I’ll miss you too.”
Fuck, I was a goner.
18
Daisy
Vegas never changed.
The second you stepped into the lobby, the constant hum of moving chips was in the background. Beautiful women in tight little dresses and sky-high heels strutted by, even if it was nine in the morning. It wasn’t rare to bump into a celebrity in the bathroom.
But it wasn’t as much fun when I was alone.
I checked in to my room, slept, then spent the next day by the pool, getting some sun while I had a couple drinks. My paperwork was next to me, so I would look it over then sit there and think. Most of my job was spent sitting still and thinking. A very small fraction of my time was spent actually doing something.
When evening arrived, I got ready, wearing a short dress like the other girls in the casino just to throw off my opponents. When I passed by, I got stares and whistles, and my only response was a flip of my hair.
I checked in with my buy-in then got a drink from the bar. Cameras were everywhere, pointed at the table where the game would begin. Some of my opponents were there, all men.