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What Happens In Vegas...: His Wedding-Night Wager
Katherine Garbera
HIS WEDDING NIGHT WAGERAfter ten years Shelby had returned to Vegas. But unlike the last time – when she was paid one million dollars to jilt casino owner Hayden MacKenzie at the altar – she was now being blackmailed by Hayden!Shelby would do anything to keep her secrets hidden… even give Hayden the wedding night he had lost.HER HIGH STAKES AFFAIROf all the men for director Raine Montgomery to be attracted to – Scott Rivers, really!Professional gambler Scott had bet fifty thousand dollars he’d bed her before they finished filming the Vegas poker showdown. No one – not even sexy Scott – was going to trump her!But the allure of the forbidden might be too irresistible…THEIR MILLION DOLLAR NIGHTWas one night worth one million dollars? Millionaire Max Williams would have said no – then he set his eyes on scandalous and sinful Roxy O’Malley.Roxy knew her secrets could cost Max his million-dollar deal, yet she couldn’t resist one evening in his arms!
About the Author
One brief trip to Las Vegas and KATHERINE GARBERA was hooked with endless story ideas and a fascination with that playground known as Sin City. She’s written more than twenty books and has been nominated for Romantic Times BOOKclub’s career achievement awards in Series Fantasy and Series Adventure. Katherine recently moved to the Dallas area where she lives with her husband and their two children. The only thing she loves more than writing is talking to readers. Visit Katherine on the web at www.katherinegarbera.com.
What Happens in Vegas…
His Wedding Night Wager
Her High-Stakes Affair
Their Million-Dollar Night
Katherine Garbera
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
His Wedding Night Wager
This book is dedicated to Matt! Thanks for a fabulous wedding night and all the nights that have come after!
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Special thanks to Chris Green who answered all of my Vegas questions and gave me an insider’s perspective.
Thanks also to Natashya Wilson and Debbie Matteucci for their editing insight!
One
Long legs, expensive silk hose and the kind of hips that he could sink his fingers into. She had it all. She always had. Hayden still couldn’t believe Shelby Anne Paxton was here in his kingdom. He’d never thought to see her again.
Her calves were well formed, tapering down to trim ankles and a pair of stilettos that sent his libido into overdrive.
The Chimera Hotel and Casino was his life. The 24/7 world of Vegas had always been his home. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the success of the hotel and casino. He’d sacrificed to make it into one of the premier destinations on the Vegas Strip. And he owed it all to this woman who hadn’t believed in him and to his father.
Hayden had made the Chimera the number-one casino in Vegas to prove that their lack of faith wasn’t an obstacle in getting what he wanted from life.
His entire operation was first-class, right down to the hotel’s own shopping wing, which housed only sophisticated retailers. Always expanding and changing, it was about to add Bêcheur d’Or, a high-end lingerie boutique.
Bêcheur d’Or was on the fast track to the top. It’s owners, Paige Williams and Shelby, had been profiled in Entrepreneur magazine earlier this year. Apparently Shelby had made more of his money than he’d ever expected her to.
But it had been Paige with whom he’d spoken to cinch the deal, and Paige with whom he’d met to sign the contract. Funny that Shelby had shown up here and now, especially considering he’d never expected her back in Vegas after she’d left him standing at the altar.
A long, low wolf whistle jolted Hayden back to the present and the hallway outside the newest merchandise location at the Chimera. “Well, well, well. What have we here?”
Hayden turned to see the tall, lean, dark-haired form of his best friend stroll up. Pain tightened in his gut. He didn’t want even Deacon Prescott to know who this woman was. He’d simply referred to her as the gold digger that one time he’d gotten drunk and talked to Deacon about his marriage.
Hayden glanced at Deacon and fought the surge of possessiveness swamping him. “You’re a married man.”
“Definitely. But that doesn’t mean I’m dead. Besides, Kylie knows I’d never stray.”
Deacon and Kylie had been married for almost two years now and things were going well. They were the exception to Hayden’s golden rule that marriage was a business deal.
“No, you wouldn’t,” Hayden said more to himself than to Deacon. Deacon had found something that Hayden would never admit he’d once wanted. His friend had found forever love and happiness. As for Hayden…well, he’d learned his lesson long ago.
Still, Hayden didn’t begrudge his friend. Deacon had come a long way from the man Hayden had first met several years ago. A long way from the mob enforcer who’d wanted to go straight, longing for a better life that he didn’t know how to find. Now Deacon owned the Golden Dream, a very successful resort and casino that was second only to the Chimera in terms of success.
Deacon had also found love and seemed to buy into the whole illusion of it since his marriage. Hayden knew better then to try it himself.
He wished the ending for his own story had been as happy, but reality had a way of making sure the scales were kept firmly balanced. And to Hayden’s way of thinking, if you grew up with every luxury money could buy but a father who couldn’t seem to love you, then something had to give. For Hayden it had always been the softer things.
“Are you going to go inside or just stand in the doorway?” Deacon asked.
Normally he’d walk on by, but not today. “I’m waiting for the right moment.”
“And that would be when?” Deacon asked.
“When you get the hell out of here.”
“You didn’t leave me alone when I went after Kylie.”
“Hey, we had a bet. I had to keep tabs on you,” Hayden said. He’d bet Deacon that Kylie wouldn’t marry him. It was one of the few times that Hayden had lost when he’d gambled, but he hadn’t minded the loss.
“Want to make another wager?” Deacon asked. “Only this time—”
“I’m not looking for Ms. Right like you were.”
“Why aren’t you, Mac?” Deacon asked. His friend always called him by that nickname. It was a holdover from when they’d first met and Deacon had needled Hayden about being the “Mac Daddy.” The big guy with lots of cash.
“You know I already tried marriage and didn’t find it to my liking,” he said, playing off the incident as if it were nothing more than a minor inconvenience, instead of a life-defining moment.
“But you didn’t make it to the finish line, so to speak,” Deacon said.
“I got close enough,” Hayden said. No woman was ever again going to get him to stand in front of a church full of his friends and family and wait for her. There were few feelings he could recall as clearly as the humiliation and anger that had simmered in his gut as he’d faced all of his guests and told them that the bride wasn’t coming.
Was it getting closer to forty that was catching up with him or was it Deacon’s happy union?
“That doesn’t mean it won’t work with another woman. This one looks fine.”
“Deacon, stop staring at her ass or I’m going to send the surveillance video to Kylie.”
Deacon put his hands up and backed away. “I thought you might want a little of the good life.”
“I think I’ve already got it.”
“Yeah, well, if you change your mind, I’m here and I’ve got good advice.”
“On what?”
“Romance.”
“I don’t need advice from you, Prescott.”
Deacon flipped him the finger and walked away. Hayden leaned against the wall opposite the glass storefront, continuing to watch the lady unpack her boxes. Damn it had been a long time since any woman had gotten to him like this. Why did it have to be Shelby?
He couldn’t stand outside her shop forever, so he pushed away from the wall and entered.
She straightened and her auburn hair fell in waves down the middle of her back. She had a phone tucked between her shoulder and ear as she pulled items from the open box.
“I haven’t seen him yet. I’ll check in on Friday like we planned. Please don’t call me again.”
She disconnected the call, turned on her heel and froze. Her jaw dropped and he knew she’d spotted him. Her face went pale as she reached behind her and braced one hand on the countertop, on top of her cell phone.
He walked through the room with a long, easy stride that he strove to keep nonchalant. He schooled his features and forced himself to treat her the way he’d treat any other businessperson who’d leased space from him. He wasn’t a first-rate gambler for nothing. He knew how to bluff with the best and how to keep his emotions under wraps.
But he couldn’t resist slipping his hand deep into his left pocket and rubbing the top of his left thigh where he had a tiny tattoo of a medieval knight’s fist wrapped around a bleeding heart. It was his constant reminder that he no longer allowed his emotions to be a part of his sexual relationships.
It took a lot of guts for Shelby to come back to Vegas after what she’d done. It took the kind of gall of someone who had nothing left to lose. And she’d not only come back to his home turf but taken up residence in his kingdom.
She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. But she’d changed. Before, she’d been kind of wild—more untamed. The kind of woman who’d made his dad crazy because she was obviously eye candy.
God, he’d been an ass when he was younger. He hoped like hell that Shelby hadn’t been aware of that part of him. But he suspected she must’ve been. Otherwise why would she have taken the million dollars his dad offered and left him?
“What are you doing here?” he asked silkily.
“I own this place,” she said.
God, her voice was still soft and sweet. Everything he remembered about her was the same. She still looked twenty-two. It wasn’t fair that time had been so kind to her. He’d be able to handle this reunion a lot better if she’d gained weight, had gray hair, something like that.
“I meant in Vegas,” he said, leaning in closer and putting his hands on either side of her, caging her between his body and the counter. Ten years had passed, but right now it felt as if she’d just left him. That had been more than enough time to get rid of any lingering anger, but seeing her again had brought it all to the fore. He wasn’t ready to let her go.
He’d never forgotten Shelby’s voice. The way it sounded when she was happy. The way it deepened when she came in his arms. Or the way she’d sounded on the phone during that hurried conversation when she’d explained that she had to leave.
“I’m working,” she said now.
“I remember a girl who used to say she’d never work a day in her life.”
“I changed my mind. Money has a way of running out.”
“Even the cool million you took from my dad?” he asked.
But when he saw the color leave her face and watched her pupils dilate, he didn’t have the rush of adrenaline that he’d thought he’d feel. Instead he felt big and mean, like the bully his father had always been.
“Of course it did,” she said. But inside, a part of her was aching. It had been easy to forget the implications of what she’d done while she’d lived on the East Coast. Distance had provided a kind of barrier for her.
Shelby Anne Paxton stared at the man she’d almost married for his money. She’d been looking for a rich boy to marry and Hayden had been looking for a nice-looking girl to annoy his dad. She couldn’t explain it even now, but there’d been a connection between the two of them that she’d always thought went deeper than his money and her looks.
He’d changed in the last ten years but not nearly enough. He still had a thick head of dark hair that curled rakishly over one eye. He had bright blue eyes that had always been able to see past her defenses, and thick lips that made her remember how they’d felt on hers.
Damn, where had that come from?
“Did you know this was my hotel?” he asked.
“Yes, I did,” she said softly. There was no way she was going to tell him that his father had flown to Atlanta and suggested she bid for this location. Suggested was really too nice a term for what he’d done. Alan MacKenzie had practically blackmailed her into coming back here. He’d threatened to leak the information about her gold-digging past to several magazines. Bêcheur d’Or was gaining an international reputation for class, and the last thing she needed was negative exposure. But Alan had also dangled a carrot—he’d offered her anything she wanted, within reason, if she agreed. Shelby knew he expected her to ask for money.
Yes, Alan had pushed her to come back, and she had. But now that she was here, she wasn’t sure she should have listened to him. The problem was, she still had an obsession with Hayden. He was the man she thought of late at night when she was alone.
“Then why are you here?”
“Um…” She couldn’t tell him the truth. Would he believe a part of it—that she needed some closure and to pay him back for what he’d unknowingly given her by asking her to marry him? If he hadn’t done that, Alan would never have paid her the money she’d needed to get started in business. Her exclusive line of boutiques turned a huge profit and were considered a value-added chain to many luxury resorts around the world. All of that was thanks to this man.
“I’m waiting, Shelby. Tell me why you’re here. Are you hoping to strike it rich again in Vegas?”
In ways he’d never understand.
He stood before her, seething with anger. But she couldn’t explain why she was back. Or that she couldn’t stay away once Alan had approached her.
She’d forgotten about the anger. Maybe because of the way she’d left. Their last meeting had been a joyous one. The night before their wedding. She swallowed hard. She’d forgotten about her own emotions and how hard they could be to deal with.
“When you say it like that—”
“You sound like the gold digger you are,” he finished for her.
“Not anymore, Hayden. I’m here because it’s a smart business move.” She’d left him at the altar. Called him from the airport with his father’s check in her hand. How was he ever going to forgive that?
“Nice touch with the boutique name,” he said after a few moments had passed.
A brief smile played at her lips. Naming the shop with the French word for “gold digger” had been her idea. After all, she’d always been unflinchingly honest when it came to what she was. She’d grown up too poor to pretend that money meant nothing to her. “At the time it seemed kind of tongue in cheek,” she explained. “I mean, you know how I started out.”
“With nothing,” he said. She realized some of the anger had faded from his eyes and he was looking at her with something akin to lust.
Passion had never been the problem between them. She’d always been the biggest obstacle in their relationship. Only after a few years of therapy was she able to see that they probably wouldn’t have lasted together even if she hadn’t taken the payoff his father had offered. Hayden had been more interested in having the most attractive woman on his arm, and she’d been too interested in having financial security. Their relationship had been very shallow.
“And now you have this,” he said.
His aftershave hadn’t changed in all the years they’d been apart. Still a spicy, masculine scent that she knew he had custom blended in France.
“What do you want from me, Hayden?” she asked when she realized he was staring down at her.
He lifted one of his hands and stroked down the side of her face. His touch was gentle. She stood still, fighting the urge to close her eyes and lean into that hand. Hayden had always been so gentle with her.
Something few other men ever had been.
He’d wanted a wife and she’d left him to deal with their friends. She’d always felt guilty about that. She doubted that Hayden wanted her back in his life. Though now that they were face to face, she was beginning to realize that was something she wanted.
“The wedding night we never had.”
