If he’s heartbroken, he’s hiding it well. After checking that there is no lasting damage from last night’s strawberry fiasco, Brock is all sunshine and smiles.

“Come on. Mark tells me the slots pay out like crazy,” Brock says as we leave the suite, full of energy.

“You clearly slept well last night,” I observe with a wry grin.

“Like a baby,” he confirms. “You?”

“I wish I could say the same.” The last time I checked the clock, it was after five. No matter how long I waited with my eyes closed, I couldn’t fall asleep. Not with Brock’s face swimming around in my head, not with the scent of him still alive in my memory.

He frowns deeply. “I thought you said you were okay?”

“I am. It wasn’t anything to do with the allergy. I guess I’m just not used to drinking.”

“You only had three.”

“Which is two more than I’m used to having before going to bed.” I shrug. I wish he would let it go. I should’ve told him I never slept so well in my entire life. He doesn’t need to know the truth.

“I’ll keep that in mind from now on. You don’t sleep well after having a few drinks.”

I look up at him as we walk through the courtyard which leads to the adjoining casino. “You won’t have to keep it in mind for much longer.”

“Careful when you say things like that,” he warns. “We’re engaged, remember?”

“Of course, of course.” I roll my eyes when he’s not looking. It’s impossible not to get a little annoyed with him when he says things like that. I’m glad he still thinks this is all a game, but it isn’t for me. That’s not his fault, but I can’t help the way I feel either. I need to keep in mind that I’m doing this for the money.

“Are you all right?” he asks, like he just read my mind.

Or my face. I know it’s pretty expressive. I can’t count all the times I’ve gotten into trouble after letting my true thoughts shine through on my face. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I force a smile. “Do you gamble a lot?”

“No. Do you?”

“I’ve never gambled before.”

“You’ve never gambled? Not even a lotto ticket?” he teases.

“No.” I laugh. “I haven’t even been legally allowed to gamble for very long, you know.”

“Aww… my baby.” He winks, and takes my hand as we enter the casino.

I blink hard, looking around, taking it all in at once. I don’t know what I expected. Something louder, I guess. Smoky. Seedy. Nothing like what I see in front of me now.

“It’s actually quite beautiful,” I whisper, instantly embarrassed at what a nerd I must sound like. Who says something like that? But it’s the truth. A giant, blown glass chandelier hangs in the center of the room, shining down on the chrome slot machines and their blinking lights. There are banks of them just about everywhere, along with tables with all sorts of games. I only recognize a few of them. I should’ve done a little research last night, instead of wasting all that time trying to sleep.

Brock doesn’t look as though he thinks I’m a nerd. He looks thrilled, in fact, his eyes are shining like the ocean on a bright sunny day again, as he leads me further into the casino. “Come on. Let’s have a little fun.”

“What do you want to do?” I ask, my head swiveling back and forth. There are so many people here, all at once. It’s not even noon, but here they are. And I’m one of them. I never dreamed I would spend this weekend in a place like this. What an adventure this has turned out to be.

“Oh, so many things…” he mutters cynically, and just loud enough for me to hear.

I don’t think I was supposed to hear it, honestly, but I did. And my palms instantly start to sweat. “Why don’t you pick something we could do here, in the casino?” I suggest with a giggle.

“Since you insist.” He scans the room. “We can start on the slots. I’ll take it slow, and be gentle with you. Since you’re a virgin.”

“Shut up!” I squeal, slapping his shoulder with my palm.

He grabs my wrist and holds it behind my back and pushes himself right up against me. “Hey. No shame. We all start off as virgins, right?”

I stare at his mouth as it curves up in a knowing smile. This man is sex on a stick. Why does he have to be so sexy? “Don’t be a jerk,” I croak.

He lets me go with a smirk, and turns toward a bank of machines.

I’m almost relieved for the distraction. My knees are a little weak, and there goes the tingling between my legs again. Stronger than last night, even. I pick a machine at random and sit.

He slips a hundred dollar bill into the machine and I start to play…and darned if this isn’t the most fun I’ve had in forever. How in the world is this so much fun? “All I’m doing is pulling on this arm over and over. Why is it so addictive?”

He chuckles as he leans in over my shoulder, while his hand closes over the one I’ve wrapped around the machine’s arm. “If you think it’s fun to pull on this…”

“Oh, come on!” I laugh, elbowing him even as my heart skips a beat. “Sorry, but unless you’re going to open your mouth and spew out a fortune…”

“I thought I already had,” he murmurs.

I give him my best withering look. “Is that what you think I think of you? That you’re just a slot machine?”

“No. At least, I hope not. And if you do, I’m more than willing to prove otherwise.”

“You don’t need to prove anything. I hope you know me well enough by now to know I would never think that about anybody, especially not you.”

He sits on the stool next to mine, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees until only inches of air separates us. “Maybe I want to prove to you that I’m more than that.”

I must be imagining this. I’m back up in the suite, finally sleeping, dreaming the most vivid dream of my life. But the sound of bells and cheers are real, just like the goosebumps running up and down my arms. I can’t be dreaming them. “And how would you go about doing that?” I ask in a voice that shakes and gives away my nerves.

“I’m sure I could think of something.”

“I bet you could.” I reach for the arm of the slot machine just to have something to do, and pull down. We both jump in surprise when a siren sounds.

“What?” I scream.

“You won,” he says, laughing.

“I won?”

He nods.

“I won!” I scream, jumping up and down, clapping hard enough that my hands hurt.

Brock picks me up and swings me around in a circle, his laughter ringing in my ears as the machine’s screen lights up with, WINNER!  

I’m almost excited enough to not notice the way his hands warm my skin even through the sundress between us.

Almost.

A casino employee issues a huge payout slip with my winnings, but Brock and I are too busy staring at each other to even look at it. Everything I told myself last night about protecting my heart just slips away. I don’t even know how much the machine paid out. It sort of doesn’t matter at that moment. There are more important things to focus on. Like the way Brock’s hands linger on my back. The way my breasts are pressed up against his chest. And the way it feels like something is choking me and I can’t quite breathe because of that look in his eyes.

Something is going to happen, and I’m not going to stop it. I want it too badly.

When he takes me by the hand and leads me from the casino, I follow without a word.