I had him on the hook before I knew what was happening. Now I just had to explain to Uncle Max that I’d already taken a contract for the new bar top even though he’d only mentioned it that afternoon.

Normally I’m sure he would have told my father who would have sent it out to any number of his shady contracting companies and they would have used the entire project to wash some dirty money.

But there wasn’t time for me to wait, I wanted to get close to Hatch and make sure my father found out so he would eventually send me to Paris to the school of fashion I was determined to attend.

I kept an eye on Hatch for the time he was in the bar and was more than a little pleased that he never seemed to look at any other woman.

Other than me, that was. I did catch him following me with his eyes more than a few times, and I pretended not to notice just to encourage his attention, but also to drive him a little wild with the show I was giving him every time I bent down to pick up a glass or something I dropped on purpose.

I don’t know why I did it, sure he was unbelievably sexy, all man and more than enough to handle somebody like me, but it was more than that. I liked the way it felt, how powerful it was to command the interest of a man like Hatch.

He caught my eye one last time to let me know they were leaving. His pal Brady was chomping on the bit like a horny race horse, but Hatch was cool and composed. He wasn’t off to bang easy women at one of the many clubs in Vegas that catered to out of towners looking to have a good time. I didn’t know how I could tell, but it was obvious that he wasn’t a man like that.

“I’ll see ya tomorrow, bright and early,” I said. “Well, not too early. How about noon? We can go over what needs to be done and I’ll introduce you to the man who signs the paychecks around here.”

“Your Uncle Max?” Brady asked.

I shot him an annoyed look and said, “Yeah, Max.”

“I’ll be here with bells on,” Hatch said and then paused for a moment as if wanting to say something else, but he didn’t. He flashed me a quick smile that hit the pit of my stomach with a force like a fist, leaving me shaky and uncertain if my plan even made sense.

I waved him off and walked away to deal with a couple old guys from the insurance convention in town just to get over the strange feeling Hatch left behind.

It worked, nothing got rid of being all worked up over a hot guy like a few half dead boring out of towners. They talked my ear off about the ins and outs of insurance planning and I felt myself dry up like the desert.

I’d have to remember that feeling for when Hatch came back the next day. It wouldn’t do anybody any good to have me acting like a love struck fool in front of my uncle, or god forbid, my father.

I was dead tired by the time my shift was over, I headed upstairs to sleep soundly until I saw Hatch at noon.

As I drifted off, I couldn’t help but wonder where he was right then. What was a man like him doing out on the town at four in the morning?

As curious as I was, it was probably best I didn’t think about it too much. I’d been cheated on by my long term boyfriend, the son of a local millionaire casino owner and apparently a real playboy.

Not when I was with him though, at least not that I’d known. But yeah, he’d broken my heart and made a real fool out of me in front of my father and everyone I knew.

That had been over a year ago, and I’d sworn to never let myself fall in love again to protect my heart.

But man, with Hatch hanging around, that might be a tough thing to stick to. Then again it could be fun to fool around with Hatch until it was time to head off to school, once my father saw everything my way.

“Right on time,” I said, watching the tall, muscled hunk cross the club towards the bar. We were never closed, but the day shift wasn’t exactly high excitement. A few girls stood around checking Hatch out as he passed, but there were only two customers seated at a table near the back.

“I’m a punctual man,” he replied, his voice rumbling deep in his chest. “Besides, this is a job and I never slack on a job.”

“Ah yes, a job,” I grinned and slid my hand along the pitted, grooved top of the bar. “This needs to be replaced, you can work on it in the back room and install it during one of our less busy times. That way we interrupt our customers as little as possible.”

“I could handle that. You got the material already?”

“We do. It’s a living edge custom cut from the Pacific Northwest. Max had it flown in last week, I think he won it in a bet.”

“Of course he did. Isn’t that the currency of Las Vegas?”

“Pretty much, but don’t worry, we’ll give you a check. No betting on whether or not you’ll get paid.”

“Good to know,” he grinned. “Although I could be talked into a friendly wager or two if the stakes were good enough.”

“Like what?”

“Oh I don’t know, like maybe something that might win me a date with you.” His smile softened and my heart fluttered like I was fifteen again and Bobby Taylor was asking me to the spring formal.

“What’s the bet?”

“How about if I can guess your favorite cocktail, you agree to dinner with me?”

I narrowed my eyes as if I was thinking carefully about it, weighing my options. In reality I was simply doing my best to not appear too eager.

Of course I wanted to take him up on the offer, and of course I wanted him to win. Not just for my father’s sake, but for my own if I was letting myself be honest. If I was admitting how I really felt.

But I would only admit it to myself, never out loud.

“I guess we could make a friendly wager. And what’s the worst thing that could happen if I lose, I get a free dinner, right?”

“So if you win and I can’t figure it out, what do you get?”

“I don’t know, how about you have to do this work for free?”

He gave me a slow smile that melted the last vestige of defense I had and he chuckled. “Well, kitten, it seems like I’ll have to win. I can’t afford to work for free, even if it is for somebody like you.”

“Welcome to Vegas, the house always wins,” I replied and pursed my lips to disguise the insane feelings of lust that were threatening to overwhelm me. I turned on my heel and walked away towards the back room. When I turned to look, he was standing and watching me with a confused expression. “Well, are you coming? You have work to do.”

I didn’t mean for it to be so snippy, but he had that effect on me. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the next few days without climbing him like a mountain and seeing him naked.