On the other side of the bathroom door, I heard a bright, happy spate of laughter. That would be Astra. It suited her, that wild laugh, the name. Piety’s laugh was calmer, more subtle. No reason for such a smooth, easy sound to hit me right in the gut, but it did.
Looking around the bathroom, I figured I had as much privacy now as I was going to get, so I dialed the number and waited.
“You tell me one good reason I shouldn’t fire your ass,” Jim Romo snapped, his smoke-roughened voice harsher than normal. He paused, taking yet another drag of his cigarette. Cancer would bypass his mean ass, looking for more fertile ground. “Come on, I’m waiting.”
“I can’t,” I said calmly. There was no point in beating around the bush and leaving him hanging. “Something’s come up, and it will be pretty much impossible for me to keep the job.”
There was a faint pause, followed by a not so faint explosion. “What in the hell do you mean you’re quitting? This is the thanks I get after giving you this gig?” He paused to suck in a breath. “You ungrateful piece of shit. You had no talent, no skill, but I took you on anyway. Now you’re leaving me hanging.”
“I’m sorry.” Reaching up, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I can’t say anything more than that. I didn’t plan to leave you hanging, but there’s nothing I can do. Something’s come up.”
I wasn’t about to tell him the truth. I was already coming off like an ass. I didn’t need to make it worse by telling him it'd been a bad combination of alcohol and a woman.
“Fine,” he bit off. “You do whatever the hell you want, pretty boy. But don’t think you can come back. I’m done with you.”
The phone went dead. Lowering it, I closed my eyes. That had gone about as well as I'd expected, and I'd deserved every bit of it. Still, it was nothing compared to what I had to do next.
Eying the phone narrowly, I picked it up and swallowed the bile that had been rising up my throat ever since I woke up – and not all of it because of the hangover.
“Just get it over with,” I muttered to myself.
I dialed the number and waited. One ring. Two. Three.
It went to voicemail, and I gritted my teeth, swearing silently as her voice came on the line.
“This is Camry. You know the drill!”
I didn’t bother leaving a message.
She hadn’t called back the last few times I’d left one, and I didn't really have anything new to say.
A wild hoot of laughter came from beyond the door, drawing my attention to the women waiting in the main part of the suite. Despite myself, I was drawn to the levity between the two of them. Drawn to her. I’d like to hear her laugh, and maybe see her smile again – not that caustic one that had flashed across her face when she spoke about her parents.
I wanted to see a real smile.
And damn what I would've given to have met her under different circumstances. Shoving away from the counter, I moved to the door and opened it. Time to face the music...
Silence fell, the conversation between them falling to a complete stop.
Two gorgeous women looked over at me, and I had another fleeting thought about how crazy my life had become. Not just in the past twelve hours, but in the past few weeks, the past few months.
A year ago, it had been almost boring. I surfed. I went swimming. I worked at the shop. A nice, boring routine.
That was it.
Now, I was staring at a woman I had somehow married, and I decided this was about as awkward as it had been the first time I’d gone out on stage. Well, maybe not quite that bad. But it was damn close.
“So…” I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my worn, faded jeans. “What do we do now?”
Piety got to her feet, her wide, sexy mouth curled into a smile that made me wish I could remember anything from last night. “Today, we’re going to have fun.”
“Fun?” I repeated. Running my tongue across my teeth, I debated whether or not I should say anything, but then I decided what the hell. “You’ve already paid me two thousand dollars. You’re paying me another eight–”
“Actually, another ten. I said I’d give you five times that. That’s ten.”
She’d changed and showered, her hair a little damp. Her pale blue sundress showed off her long legs, and offered just enough cleavage to be tempting but not enough to be scandalous. She looked tired, but I’d be hard pressed to tell that she was suffering the same hangover I was. If I hadn’t seen her earlier, I never would have guessed she'd been black-out drunk less than twelve hours ago.
Distracted by everything about her, it took me a moment to catch up with what she said. “Wait – what? You’re paying me twelve-thousand dollars?”
“Yes.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”
“Yes!” Without realizing it, I’d half-yelled and lowered my voice. “No. It’s just…why in the hell does this matter so much to you?”
“Wait until you meet my parents, and you’ll get it.” She glanced over at Astra before moving toward me. “Anyway, I figure you have clothes to pick up. You need to check out of your hotel, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She was dressed similarly to me, in jeans and a t-shirt, her amazing subtle curves making my cock take notice. “Then we’ll take care of that, spend the day getting to know each other before we leave.”
“We’re leaving?” I rubbed my neck, the headache that had been threatening edging closer and closer. “Where are we going?”
“Philadelphia. My family reunion.” She pushed her hair back from her face and shrugged. “I’ve already bought your plane ticket – hope you don’t mind. I…um…well, I checked your wallet while you were showering and took care of the arrangements.”
“Oh. Okay.” Wow. She was…efficient. Efficient. Confident. Capable. Sexy. Man, was she sexy. I realized I was staring at her mouth and jerked my attention back to her eyes. “Okay, so let’s go to…well, my hotel first, right?”
She nodded, and we moved to the door.
Behind us, Astra called out. “Have fun, you two! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, PS!”
“Yeah.” Piety snorted. “That probably covers murder and dismemberment. I don’t think there’s much else.”
I was smiling as we left. Once the door closed behind us, I looked over at her. “PS? Why'd she say that?”
“Because she’s weird.” Piety rolled her eyes. “My middle name is Sabine. The whole name is a mouthful – Piety Sabine Van Allan. PS. Also, I told her more than once that I think my folks had me as an afterthought to help my dad’s career. Afterthought…PS.”
She glanced up at me and shrugged. If I hadn't been staring at her, I probably would've missed the flash of pain that moved across her eyes, then disappeared. I didn't need to know much about her to understand what had prompted that look.
I shook my head. “I don’t see how anybody could think of you as an afterthought, Piety Van Allen.”
Chapter Six
Piety
Those words tugged at my heart, and as we stood out in the hall, I found myself reaching up to touch his cheek, wanting that contact. His eyes widened a little, and it was that alone that made me realize what I was doing.
I forced a smile. It was fake, but I knew from experience it would come off as real enough. One thing a politician’s daughter learned how to do at a young age was how to offer a sincere-looking false smile.
“Sorry…you’ve just got…” I pretended to brush something off his cheek. “There. All better. Come on, let’s get going.”
I started down the hall, my face flaming as he caught up with me.
What had I been getting ready to do?
Oh, man.
What was I doing, period?
Paying him twelve thousand dollars to be my pretend husband so I could get my parents to leave me alone?
Except it’s not pretend, my conscience whispered. You did marry him.
He was quiet as I pushed the elevator button, and I
glanced up to find him studying me. The elevator door slid open, and we stepped inside, but my wish to have company to keep the conversation at a minimum went ungranted.
“Do you want to do this?” he asked softly. “Or did your mate talk you into it?”
I didn’t blink twice at the word mate. I’d spent one of the best summers of my life in Sydney the year after I graduated high school. He'd dropped a lot of the terms I would have expected somebody from fresh out of Oz to use, and I found myself smiling a little at the language.
“Astra and I have been friends a long time. She can nag me into a lot of things,” I admitted, “but she can’t push me into doing anything I don’t really want to do.” I met his eyes and smiled. “This isn’t a bad idea.”
Oh, yes, it was.
“You don’t sound too convinced of that.”
I blinked, wondering if he was guessing or if I'd lost some of my skill at masking what I was thinking.
“What makes you say that?” I asked as the elevator doors slid open.
“Something in your eyes. You look…nervous.” He shrugged as we came to a stop in the middle the lobby. All cream and gold, it was understated elegance in the middle of one of the glitziest cities in the world.
Not too far away lay one of the many entrances to the casino. I reached over and took his hand. “Come on.”
He followed along, but when he saw where we were going, his brows went together. “If you want to gamble, I’ll probably just stand at your shoulder.”
“That’s fine.” I slanted him a glance over my shoulder. “Or you could let me spot you a hundred dollars. If you don’t do much with it, fine. And if you win anything…it’s yours.”
“I…” He scowled even harder and I wondered if he ever let himself have a little fun. I would've thought a stripper would've been a little more daring.
“Come on.” I winked at him. “It’s Vegas. You gotta live a little bit while you’re here.”
“I’m living plenty, thanks.” He flashed me a wry smile, one that managed to set my heart to racing. “I ended up with a beautiful bride, didn’t I?”
That prompted a real smile even as I rolled my eyes at him. “I…well, I don’t think that counts. We were drunk off our asses.”
I continued to tug him along with me as I sought out one of the cashiers. After getting some cash, I pushed a hundred into his hand. “Know how to play Texas Hold’Em?”
“Yes.” He shook his head as he gave me a wry grin. “I guess you don’t know how to take no very well, do you?”
“Sure I do.” I nudged him with my elbow as we made our way over to the gaming tables. “The problem is…you haven’t exactly said no. Come on. One hand, and if you don’t have fun, I’ll leave you alone.”
“One more hand.”
“No.” I glared at him and his ever-growing pile of chips, although I wasn’t really mad. He’d taken that hundred I'd given him and somehow turned it into over seven. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a card shark.”
The dealer laughed.
So did Kaleb.
“It’s just luck.” He winked at me and a couple of others chuckled.
“The little lady’s a sore loser,” a heavyset man next to me said, leaning close enough that I could smell the remnants of his breakfast on his breath – onions and sausage.
Pleasant.
“Not really. I’m just a better winner.” I gave him a bland smile and got up to take the seat that had been vacated next to Kaleb. “I’m done though. I’m going to find a slot machine and engage in something a little less strenuous on my poor little female brain.”
He half-choked on the water he’d requested from the server when I fluttered my lashes at the man across from us, who blinked at me, clearly wondering if I’d somehow insulted him.
The dealer was holding back a smile.
I left her a tip and gestured to Kaleb where I’d be. He could see me from the table, and I could see him. We’d exchanged phone numbers earlier, and since he was enjoying himself – and kicking ass – I figured it was as good a time as any to move onto something I didn’t totally suck at.
Plus, I could get away from sausage and onion breath.
At least that was the plan.
I’d only been at my chosen slot machine for ten minutes when the one next to me opened up. When Sausage and Onion sat down, I mentally groaned but ignored him, focusing on the machine in front of me. All the luck I was lacking in Poker today, I was making in spades on my shiny slot machine. I was up to almost twelve hundred dollars, and I’d started out with a hundred.
“Well now, looks like you found your groove, sweetheart.”
I didn’t respond.
Sometimes if a girl ignored the creepers, they went away.
And…sometimes they didn’t. When he patted my shoulder, I glanced over as if just now noticing him. “Oh, hi. Bored with poker, I see.”
“Yeah. That Australian shit is cheating or something, I kid you not.” He smirked over toward the table and then smiled at me. “Maybe you and I could go hit up another game…or something.”
“No, thanks.” I focused back on the machine, then laughed when three 7s lit up on the play line and music began to jingle.
“You’re doing pretty well there,” he said, admiration a little too thick in his voice.
I made a low noise in my throat that could have been a thanks – or anything else.
“How about I buy you a drink?”
Geez. The man wasn’t getting it. Looking over at him, I said, “I’ve got one. I’m not interested, okay?”
“Hey, I’m just being friendly.” He leaned a little closer. “Seeing as how you aren’t here with anybody–”
“Piety.”
Kaleb’s voice was entirely too welcome. I didn’t let myself smile or show any other response as I glanced over my shoulder at him. I just nodded before looking back at Sausage and Onion. “Actually, I am here with somebody. My husband is that Australian shit you were insulting.”
Face going a florid shade of red, the man glared at me before looking over my shoulder at Kaleb. “Hey…I didn’t…look, buddy, I wasn’t meaning nothing. We were just talking.”
“Of course you were. Now you’re done.” Kaleb’s voice was cold.
I smiled into my coffee as the seat next to me quickly became vacant. Kaleb sat down, placing a fresh coffee down in the empty space between the machines. “Was he bothering you?”
“Yes.” Looking over at him, I offered a smile of gratitude. “I was handling him, but he had a head like a rock. Getting through would probably take a sledgehammer.” I paused, head cocked as I considered. “No. Just the right amount of testosterone. Some men only respond to that.”
He skimmed his fingers along my shoulder. It was a light, friendly touch, almost platonic. “Makes me want to apologize for my gender as a whole.”
“No need.” I traded out my nearly empty coffee cup for the one he’d brought over. “Is this mine?”
“Yes. You seem to inhale it.”
“It’s my addiction.” I sighed lustily and took a sip before focusing back on the machine. “You’re a sweetheart, you know that, Kaleb?”
“A nice quality to have in a temporary husband, I suppose.”
“Well, I think it’s a nice quality to have, period.” Before I could get too wrapped up in my pretend spouse, I pulled the lever on the machine and watched the numbers spin.
“No.” I looked at the ride in front of me. The damn thing looked like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a roller coaster or a giant see-saw. Nerves jangled in my belly, and I stared at it a minute longer before shaking my head and backing away. I ended up backing right into Kaleb and almost, almost, stayed there. Laughing nervously, I turned to look at him. “Sorry. And um…no. Hell, no.”
“Oh, come on. It'll be fun.” He moved in a little closer and the scent of him flooded my head.
Flooded my head and threatened my senses too. It was mid-afternoon, an
d with every passing hour, I had to remind myself more often that we weren’t on any sort of date.
This was…well, it was business.
Kind of.
Sorta.
Business that had brought us to the infamous roller coaster located on top of one of the tallest hotels in Vegas – the one that went speeding over the edge of the hotel itself. And he looked excited about getting on it.
“Look, I’m all fine and dandy with regular roller coasters,” I said. “If you want to ride Space Mountain or something like that…” Inspiration struck. “Hey, I know! We can go to Disneyland. Maybe skip my family reunion and go to Disney, and I’ll send them a postcard. Sorry we missed it. Honeymooning at Disney with my new husband.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Now you’re just trying to distract me. Okay. If you really don’t want to ride, do you mind if I do anyway?”
“Um…” I glanced at the ride again. “Sure.”
“Awesome.” He squeezed my arms and moved around me, heading toward the ride.
He got maybe ten feet away, and I swore, telling myself that if I went plummeting off the side, I’d at least die a relatively painless death. He shot me a look when I caught up with him. “Change your mind?”
“You’re up here because of me,” I said sourly. “If that thing breaks down and you plunge to your death, you shouldn’t do it alone.”
To my surprise, he broke out into a deep, sexy laugh.
The sound of it sent shivers down my spine, my nipples tightening in response. Thoughts whirled through my brain as I tried to remember something, anything about last night. I was so distracted by that, I didn’t realize how little of a line there was until he came to a stop just a few feet away from the gate and announced, “Looks like we’ll get to be on the next one.”
“Great…wait, the next one?” I looked around, panicked.
“Hey, look at me.” His voice, low and cajoling, had me doing just that, and I sucked in a breath when my eyes met his. He’d dipped his head, and we were practically eye to eye. “It’s just like any other roller coaster. Anchored with steel into concrete. It’s safety checked just like any coaster.”