The Marriage Dare

The dealer looks at me, and then at cards on the table. “You sure?”

“I am.”

He simply shrugs. Only one other person at the table has the guts to go all in with me, but that’s too bad, because he’s about to lose a lot of money. Across the table I see the handsome man in the shadows smile. God, that smile gives me goosebumps. It’s a smile that’s meant for darkness and pleasure and whispered words.

I smile back. Maybe this win will make him come talk to me. I think I’d like that. Money and a handsome man to talk to would be a start toward making this day better. Hell, toward making this year better.

The dealer burns a card and flips the last one.

It’s a seven.

Oh my God.

No.

No, that’s not what was supposed to happen! I’m dumbstruck by it, especially when the other man who went all in flips his cards and reveals that he had two spades matching the three on the table. I hadn’t even noticed that they were all spades. Shit.

The dread swirling in my stomach is overwhelming, and I watch the dealer reign in all of my chips—the only money I have left, and give it to the man on the other side of the table. But never let them see you sweat. Never.

I flash a smile at the dealer and the rest of the table. “You win some, you lose some. Thank you for the games.” And then I step off the chair, careful to gather up the too-long train of my dress so I don’t trip, and flee as quickly as possible. I need somewhere to think and breathe. I knew that this was a stupid idea. I knew it, and I did it anyway. Because I just needed some kind of hope. I needed to believe that some kind of miracle could happen to get me out of this place I’m in. But miracles aren’t real. I might as well have spent that money on lottery tickets for all the good those games did me.

I’ve known that for a long time now.

Across the casino floor is a bar that’s relatively quiet. Dimmer lights and calmer music, generally less frantic than the neon lights and high energy of the rest of the casino. Perfect. I tuck myself onto a stool in the corner where I hope no one will notice me, and I try to take a deep breath.

I don’t get very far. It feels like my lungs won’t take in air, and tears are threatening to rise up and overwhelm me. What do I do now? I have nowhere to go. Absolutely nothing to my name. The shelters around here are decent, though I never thought that when I did research into them that I’d actually have to take advantage of them. Never.

There’s a clink of glass as one of the women behind the bar sets down a glass at my elbow, and I look up, startled. It looks like whiskey. “I didn’t order this,” I say. Not only did I not order it, there’s no way that I can afford it and I don’t want to fight with anyone over a bill that I don’t owe.

“I know,” she says, smiling. “He did.” She points to a man standing a few feet away, and I startle. I hadn’t even noticed him get that close. But I immediately recognize that he’s the handsome man who was watching the poker match that just spectacularly blew up in my face.

He approaches, and I get to see him more closely. What I had thought was handsome turns out to be devastatingly gorgeous. Chiseled jaw with the right kind of stubble—the kind that you want to feel on your thighs. He looks vaguely familiar, but I must be crazy because I’m pretty sure that I would remember someone like him. Any woman with eyes and an imagination would remember that face and put it to good use with her hand between her legs.

There’s a little smile on his lips, and he lifts his own drink in salute. I put on my best beauty queen smile. “Thank you for the drink.”

He laughs softly, and it’s almost like a purr. I swear that I can feel that sound in my gut, making me long to lean forward to get closer. “You looked like you might need it, after that last hand.”

I toss my hair over my shoulder, taking a sip of the whiskey. God, that’s good. Definitely top shelf. And goddamn right I need a drink. “I was tired of playing,” I say. “I figured I should go out big.”

“You were tired of playing after only three hands?” he asks. “I don’t think that’s true, but you’re as cocky as you ever were.”

“What?” I’m confused. He’s talking to me like he knows me, but I’ve never been in this casino before. And I’m pretty sure I’ve never met him before.