“You can’t leave now.” Cole continued his protest. “What about all those chips?”
“I don’t really feel like playing. Why don’t you take them?”
“Are you kidding? Jarrett and I are both cold as ice tonight, but you’re hot—in more ways than one.” His eyebrows danced a jig, coercing a reluctant smile. “Anyway, house rules… contestants aren’t allowed to transfer chips to each other. That’d be cheating.”
“I still think I’ll call it a night.”
“Wait.” His hand gripped her arm as she turned to go. “Why not make a few big bets? If you lose, you lose. But you might accidentally win enough to get ahead of Finn and Branson. Think how they’d hate having to admit you bested them the first time you ever played craps.”
“That would be fun,” she agreed, though instead of Finn and Bran, she pictured Carina’s shocked expression. “What should I do?”
“To start, take maybe a fourth of your chips and bet them on the Pass Line with this new shooter. You’ve been doing well with that bet.”
She pushed a large stack of chips forward. Two rolls of the dice later, her chip stack had grown a bit bigger. Across the table, Carina flicked her blond locks behind her shoulder, laughing at something clever that passed between her and Bran. From the haughty expression in her eyes, Steph wondered if the comment was at her expense.
Steph bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. She had to get away from everyone, before she lost it.
“Hey, Cole.” She swallowed hard, hating the way her voice trembled. “Can I add a bigger bet to my Pass Line?”
“You can, but the casino has rules about how much you can add.” He motioned for the boxman and relayed the question. “Good news. There’s no limit to the Odds bet, for the tournament. But you might want to go easy with a four as the opening roll. I wouldn’t bet too much.”
“I’m betting it all.” Before Cole could stop her, Steph pushed her chips forward, in hopes of ending her torturous evening. She couldn’t handle any more stress. Right now, all she wanted was to be home with Ellie, away from Branson Knight and his beautiful fiancée. To be hopelessly in love with her boss had been painful before… now it was excruciating.
Suddenly, her feet were dangling in the air as the room turned in circles. Cole cheered and hollered, spinning her around and sending her crutches crashing to the floor. “You did it! You doubled up!”
“Can’t breathe,” she wheezed. “Put me down.”
Obediently, he let her slide to the floor and steadied her while retrieving her crutches. His expression was full of merriment as he waved across the table, calling out, “Eat our dust!”
It took every ounce of energy Steph had to muster a small fake smile.
Oblivious, Cole said, “Let’s go cash you in before you bet again and lose it all. Finn and Bran are going to lose their shirts trying to catch up with you, now.”
Daring a surreptitious glance across the table, she found Finn’s mouth hanging open and Branson wearing a confused frown. But it was Carina who caught her gaze. Her steely eyes skewered Steph like a pinned butterfly. She could only watch as Carina slowly caressed Branson’s arm with her delicate, manicured fingers. Then she planted a slow, deliberate kiss on his neck, leaving a red slash of lipstick behind.
The air turned caustic. It hurt to breathe. Steph twisted and hobbled after Cole, blinking through watery eyes. Carina had made one thing perfectly clear. She had staked a prior claim on Branson Knight, married or not.
Branson accepted the drink Carina shoved into his hand, but he couldn’t make himself take a swallow. Sitting on a barstool at a round table, surrounded by hundreds of celebrants, most of whom already sounded drunk, he felt like a man adrift in an ocean.
“Finn,” he called, hearing his friend’s voice in the crowd a short distance away.
“Finn’s not here. What do you need?” Carina’s petulant tone had begun to irritate him like a festering splinter.
“Since I called Finn’s name, I might want to speak to him.”
“Why not talk to me instead? Especially since you ignored me the entire evening.”
“Ignored you? Where do you get off saying that? I spent the last two hours with you.”
“Yes, but you didn’t hear a single thing I said.”
He wanted to deny it, but this time, she was right. When he came downstairs with Cole and Stephanie, he’d split his attention between wagering at craps and Stephanie’s conversation in his ear, rather than listening to Carina’s babbling. He’d hoped she wouldn’t notice. When Steph turned off the mic, he’d been too worried to give Carina his undivided attention. And Fordham’s phone message was driving him to distraction, as well.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Carina. There was a lot of noise, and I had to listen carefully to keep up the action on the craps table.”
“What’s your excuse now?” was her sarcastic response.
“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but you’re still grouchy. Why aren’t you drinking your champagne? I waited in a long line to get it for you. The least you could do is drink it.”
One drink. Why not? After all he’d been through in less than twenty-four hours, he needed it. Bran picked up the glass and took a sip, wincing at the unpleasant taste. He’d never cared for champagne, but then he didn’t really like the taste of any alcohol, except dry red wines. Might as well get it over with. He upended the glass flute, gulping it down and ignoring the tickling bubbles in his nose.
“Satisfied?” he snapped.
“You know what?” Her frigid voice could’ve made icicles form where her breath landed. “I’m going to find someone else to talk to. Someone who won’t bite my head off. I’ll come back after that drink has time to work.”
Before Bran had time to apologize, she was gone. He strained his ears, but failed to hear any of his friends in the milling crowd and Stephanie was still maintaining radio silence. He was about ready to get out his cell phone, when someone wedged beside him at the table.
“Hey,” said Cole.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Bran said. “Do you know what happened to Stephanie?”
“She went back upstairs. I couldn’t make her stay down here, even though she might’ve won the whole tournament.”
“I thought she’d at least come talk to me before she disappeared.”
