“Well, you did. And I can’t imagine my life without you by my side,” he said. “I want to marry you, but I also want you to feel safe enough with me that you can say yes without hesitating.”
“I want that, too, eventually,” she admitted. But she needed time.
“I can work with that. I can wait forever as long as you are by my side,” he said.
“Me too,” she said.
“I have something to show you,” he said, his hands going to the buttons of his shirt.
“Uh, I’ve seen your chest,” she said wryly.
“Not this,” he said, pushing the sides of the shirt open. Over his heart he’d had her name written in a scripty text.
“You own my heart, Talia. The winning hand was part of what gave me the path out off the streets and to this life, but you are the one who has made me realize what life is really all about.”
She put her hand on the tattoo. “What if I didn’t love you?”
“I still would love you,” he said.
“I realized that, too. I was mad and hurt but I couldn’t stop thinking about you and missing you. Love is cruel that way, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved and as long as we are together, I think I’m okay with it,” he said.
She had to smile at the way he said that. “Me too.”
“Good.”
He lifted her in his arms and carried her away from the motocross area up to the penthouse where he made love to her. When Gran got home from her trip, they drove out to Gran’s house. She was happy for them and Talia realized she had everything she’d ever wanted. She had always thought that the only way she’d find happiness was without a gambler in her life and outside of Las Vegas but she had found her heart with Casey.
Epilogue
He was back again.
Zelda Quincy couldn’t ignore the man dressed all in black. He was over six feet tall and wore black jeans that hugged his muscled thighs and a fitted shirt that made him look lean and a bit mysterious.
She figured he had to either be a thief, competition, or a magician looking for something. And since her shop sold one-of-a-kind, antique magic props she was betting on the latter.
She made sure the register was locked and walked straight toward him. He glanced up, those pale blue eyes of his so light against his tanned skin and dark hair that she hesitated for a moment, but she wasn’t about to let him stand outside her shop again.
This was day three.
She should have put a stop to it yesterday, but he’d intrigued her. And twice could be a coincidence, right?
But three times…that was a pattern.
She opened the door to her shop that was housed on the corner of a retail strip on the outskirts of Las Vegas. She got a lot of high-end customers which was why she had opened her shop here. But she also got her fair share of oddballs as well. This guy didn’t look like a weirdo.
But her best friend Molly said that weird and sexy weren’t mutually exclusive.
She wondered what Molly would make of this guy.
She lifted her cell phone and snapped a picture of him.
“I suggest you think twice about whatever it is you’re about to do here,” she said. “I have your photo and I think…well I think you should know I’m also pretty much a badass, so stealing from my shop isn’t going to be easy.”
“You think I’m a thief?” he asked.
His voice was low with a deep timbre like a bass guitar, surprising her. And though he hadn’t spoken loudly there was a force to his words that made them echo in the back of her mind.
“Or a creeper.”
“Creeper?”
“Stalker…dude, you’ve been standing in front of my shop for three days and that’s straight-up odd.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. I’m not here to harm you.”
“Then why are you here?” she asked.
“I was waiting for someone who stole something from me,” he said.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What did they steal?”
“Houdini’s water chamber. I read on your website that you would have one available this week,” he said.
“I will. I bought it on an auction site. I didn’t steal anything,” she said.
“Who did you buy it from?” he asked.
“Elite Magic in London. So I’m pretty sure they didn’t steal it from you,” she said.
“All I know is my cabinet is missing and you have one for sale…sounds like more than coincidence to me.”
“Sounds like you’re grasping at straws,” she said. “Seriously if you’re not buying anything I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Would you at least let me look at the cabinet when it comes in?” he asked. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“How?” she asked. Because she still wasn’t sure if he was some kind of shady or not.
“Money,” he said. “Name your price.”
He snapped his fingers and a business card appeared in it. He handed it to her.
She glanced down at a blank card but when she shifted her wrist the name appeared.
Nicholas Pine.
“The illusionist?” she asked. Molly had been trying to get tickets to take her eight-year-old son Stetson to his new show since it had been announced but every show for the first seven months was straight-up sold out.
“How about you give me tickets to your show for letting me look at the cabinet?” she suggested. “And if you want to buy it I’ll make you a fair deal?”
“Tickets?” he asked. “Why? It’s clear you’re not a fan.”
“How do you figure?”
“You thought I was a stalker,” he reminded her.
“Just because you’re famous doesn’t mean you can’t be a cray-cray,” she said with a wink.
“True. So tickets for you and a guest?” he asked.
“No. Tickets for Molly and Stetson Saunders.”
“If you come to my show I promise you’ll enjoy it,” he said.
“I don’t want to be greedy, there aren’t any tickets for the foreseeable future available except through scalpers,” Zelda said. “I’ll call you when the cabinet gets here.”
“You are an interesting woman…what’s your name?” he asked.
“Can’t read minds?” she quipped, then grinned at him. “Zelda. Zelda Quincy.”
“Pleased to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand.
She reached out to shake it and an electric tingle went up her arm. She held his hand for longer than she should have and when she did break contact she rubbed her thumb over her palm where their hands had touched.
“I look forward to your call,” he said, then vanished with a snap of his fingers.
She stood there wondering if she’d imagined the entire encounter but the card in her opposite hand reassured her she hadn’t. She immediately went back into her shop and looked at the photo.
Nicholas Pine.
She’d always thought magicians were nerdy and odd, but there had been something more to Nicholas than she wanted to admit.
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Acknowledgments
I have to acknowledge one of my best friends who I consider a kindred spirit, Eve Gaddy who listens to me endlessly talk about my books and helps me figure out where I’ve gone wrong.
Also my deepest thanks to Brenda Chin who can always find the gold dust scattered in the pages of my manuscript and shape it into something better than even I anticipated.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Katherine Garbera writes emotionally sexy contemporary romances. An Amazon, BN & iBooks bestseller, she is also a two-time Maggie winner, and has more than 7 million copies of her books sold worldwide.
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