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Before he’d even gotten to the really good parts, it was over. He forced himself to get up, go to the bathroom, but now, exhaustion had taken over full-force. Once he was back in bed, the minute he’d plunked his head on the pillow he fell into a deep sleep.
TAYLOR DIALED BEN’S cell from the pay phone next to the Pink Taco. It rang once, and she heard his sleepy voice growl his “Hello.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry. Go back to sleep. Call me later.”
“No, no. I’m up. I just haven’t had coffee yet.”
“Have it down here. Let’s meet at the coffee shop.”
“Sure. Give me about ten minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll get a table.”
He hung up and so did she. Damn, even his voice made her twitchy. That low grumble made her want to be there in person when he woke up. She desperately wanted to see his hair tousled, the first smile of the day. Maybe tomorrow.
She brushed her hair back from her shoulder, and went looking for the coffee shop. It was called Mister Lucky’s, and there was a small line of people waiting for a table. Almost everyone wore shorts and T-shirts, mostly brightly colored, although more so with the women than the men. Sandals were the footwear of choice, and the accessory of the day was small cameras, equally divided between still and video.
She had chosen her outfit with care. Khaki culottes with a nice leather belt, a pale green sleeveless cotton shirt, nothing spectacular at all, but she felt really comfortable in the outfit which was the important thing. She’d worn her angel earrings, the ones she’d picked up in Sedona two years before. They were kitschy, but she didn’t care. They were her favorites.
Her gaze went toward the elevators, but she didn’t spot Ben. And then she did.
He had on jeans, well-worn and perfect, with a navy polo shirt. His hair was slicked back, still damp from his shower. Her stomach tightened, and she had the urge to squeeze her legs together. What he did to her had to be illegal in most states. Luckily, Nevada wasn’t one of them.
He walked right to her, leaned over and kissed her on the lips, stealing her breath and her equilibrium. She put her hand on the wall behind her to steady herself, and when he smiled at her, she gripped harder.
“Morning.”
“Hi.”
“I hope this doesn’t take long,” he said. “I’m a bear before my first cup of coffee.”
She cleared her throat and her head, amazed at her reaction. Sure, she wanted the guy, but to flip out completely from a pleasant peck on the lips? What would she do when he really kissed her? She’d have to make damn sure she was lying down.
“What’s that smile for?”
“Nothing.” She turned toward the café entrance. “It’s moving pretty fast. Don’t worry.”
“Did you speak to your mother?”
She turned back to face him. “Yeah, I did. She’s just as mystified by this whole thing as we are.”
“Did she have any ideas?”
The people in front of them were led to their seats, and a moment later, a second hostess took them to a quiet table near the breakfast bar. They both ordered coffee, and didn’t speak until it arrived. Ben liked his black, which made some kind of weird sense. She wondered what else he liked. Wine with dinner? Sweets?
“Okay,” he said, putting his cup down on the saucer. “Where were we?”
“You asked if my mother had any ideas. She did, but she’s not sure what to make of it all. About six months ago, they had dinner together, and Steve got real maudlin talking about Dad. He was beating himself up over disappointing Dad by not taking over the business.”
“Your dad didn’t care.”
“I know. But obviously, Steve didn’t get it. I think going into business with Lisa’s dad is his way of making things right.”
“It can’t work.”
“Of course not. But I don’t think Steve’s thinking too clearly about that.”
Ben drank some more coffee, staring just past her shoulder while he thought. The waitress came by, and he ordered eggs and bacon. She chose a cheese omelet. After refilling their cups, they were alone again, but Ben didn’t say anything.
She waited, not wanting to interrupt.
Finally, he looked at her. “We need a plan. I don’t want to alienate Steve, and I don’t want to hurt Lisa. But we’ve got to do something.”
She nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it all morning. What if we just talk to him? Tell him our concerns?”
Ben nodded. “That’ll be me. Maybe give him a couple of beers to soften the blow.”
“I’d like to talk to Lisa. Find out if she realizes what she’s getting into.”
“That should be fun.”
“Oh, yeah. A real walk in the park.”
The food came, and for the first few minutes, it was all business. Ben liked his toast with jam, and his eggs over-medium. She watched him while she ate her omelet, liking the way he chewed. Amazed that he could even make that sexy.
When he’d downed about half his breakfast, he smiled at her. “So talk to me.”
“What?”
“Talk. Tell me about your life in the city by the bay.”
That caught her by surprise. She had to reshuffle the deck in her head, pull out the cards she wanted to play. “I like my job,” she said. “I’d thought about going back to school, getting my law degree, but honestly, I don’t want the headaches. I like the research a lot, which I didn’t expect. I work for a major law firm. They pay me well to look up the right statutes, dig on the Internet. I imagine in that way, our jobs are similar.”
“Sounds like it. You hang out with attorneys?”
“Not if I can help it. I have a small but eclectic group of friends. I play pool on Thursday nights.”
His brows rose. “No kidding?”
She grinned. “We got the league championship last year, and we’re gunning for it again. We have a good team.”
“Eight ball?”
“Yep. Sometimes nine ball. But mostly eight.”
“Maybe we can find a pool hall somewhere nearby.”
“Actually, there’s a place across from the Rio. It’s called Pink-ees. Great place to play. Lots of tables.”
“Did you bring your cue?”
She shook her head. “Didn’t know if there’d be time.”
“Let’s make time.”
She took a bite of toast to hide her ridiculously happy grin. He liked pool. Excellent.
“So what else?” he asked. “Besides being a pool shark?”
“I ride my bike on weekends a lot.”
“You said you have a Shadow, right?”
She nodded.
“What got you into that?”
“A guy I went out with. He was kind of a dick, but he did turn me on to bikes. I got hooked immediately.”
“Not afraid you’ll get hit?”
“Nope, not really. I operate on the principle that everyone’s trying to kill me.”
He laughed, and she felt all squishy inside.
“What about you?”
“Yeah, I think people are trying to kill me, too.”
“No, I meant what you do. When you aren’t being a private eye.”
He frowned a little, two lines appearing on his forehead. “I read too much.”
“How can anyone read too much?”
“Trust me, it’s possible.”
“What kinds of books?”
“Everything.”
“I doubt that.”
He grinned. “Okay, so I’m not real big on romance novels. Or fantasy. But pretty much everything else.”
“Cool.”
“And I hike.”
“Where?”
“Wherever I can. I go out to the Catskills from time to time. And upstate New York. There are some nice places in Connecticut and Vermont, too.”
“How strenuous.”
“Have to be able to run. Remember, people trying to kill me and all that.”
She leaned forward. “Has anyone really?”
“Tried to kill me? Yep.”
“Oh, God.”
“They didn’t succeed.”
“Obviously. Why?”
“I was faster. From all the hiking.”
“No, why did they try to kill you?”
“I found out stuff they didn’t want known.”
“Scary.”
“Yeah. I try to avoid that kind of thing, but sometimes you get surprised.”
“That’s not the kind of surprise I like.”
“But you do like surprises?”
She nodded. “Love ’em. Especially when there are gifts involved.”
He laughed. “Hey, let’s finish up here. I’m starting to feel lucky.”
She quirked her head to the right, but he was busy with the check. She wondered if his idea of feeling lucky involved a locked door, a bedroom and getting naked.
4
THE CASINO WAS HOPPING, tourists and locals all focused on winning the big one, the one that would change their lives forever. Ben knew the odds of that happening were slim to none, but he didn’t care. He wanted to play, and to watch Taylor.
“You like blackjack?” he asked.
She nodded. “The last time I was here, I won two hundred dollars. I spent the whole wad on a pair of shoes that hurt my feet.”
He grinned, took her hand. “Let’s see if we can get another pair.” He led her past the machines, surprised as always at the silliness of the glorified tic-tac-toe slots: Little Green Aliens, The Beverly Hillbillies, Elvis and The Munsters, just to name a few. Then they hit the banks of video poker machines, which was a little more understandable, but still confusing. If he was going to play poker, he wanted to do it with other people, preferably in someone’s basement, with plenty of beer, sandwiches and good cigars.
Now blackjack, he liked. The only exception to that was when some obnoxious twit came to the table. He’d walk away before he’d play with a drunk who hit on seventeen, and doubled down on face cards.
