The shiny doors opened and they walked out and along the hallway that led to the honeymoon suite Lisa was sharing with her great-grandmother.
Ryan paused before swiping the keycard in the door.
“Thanks again for everything, Ryan. I mean it. You know how I feel about all this wedding nonsense, but you’ve made it a special day for my Nana. And for today, that’s what counts.”
Ryan knew he wasn’t ready for his Vegas tourist evening to end. He didn’t want to be like Cinderella and go back to his cynical, local life. But he also knew he couldn’t make a move on her, even though no one else was around to see. He leaned down and gently touched his lips to her cheek, then pulled back and turned to the door so he could swipe the key. He didn’t want to see the look on Lisa’s face. She’d set boundaries on that sidewalk earlier, and he knew he’d just pushed them—but he didn’t want the full confirmation.
The door opened with a click. Lamps glowed in the main living area and the curtains across the back were open to let in the thousands of twinkling lights that packed the Vegas night sky. But everything else in the room was dark and quiet. Even so, it wasn’t the dark and quiet of sleep. It was the dark and quiet of empty.
“Nana? Where are you?” Lisa called out as she walked across the room. Clearly, she’d picked up on the vibe as well.
She opened every door in the suite, poking her head in each room and closet.
“Ryan, they’re gone,” Lisa called from the bedroom. “Nana left me a note.”
“They’re what?” He walked quickly toward the bedroom and pushed back the door to see Lisa reading a note written in cramped handwriting on a piece of hotel stationery.
“Dear Lisa,” she read aloud. “Bill and I had a lovely time planning our big day, but we’re so excited we can’t sleep. We decided you only get married in Vegas once—at least at our age—and we thought we’d go be tourists. We’ll probably be down at the slot machines. Bill said he’s going to take me to the buffet too. Don’t wait up for me. I’m in good hands. If we need anything, Bill said everyone knows his grandson, so someone will be available to help. We’re going on a day trip to Lake Mead tomorrow. You’re welcome to come. XOXO Nana. PS, just remember what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I think I’m supposed to say that. It’s a rule or something.”
Lisa lowered her arm and shook her head.
“Slot machines? Buffets? Lakes?”
Ryan could see the edge of the paper wrinkle as Lisa dug her nails into the sheet covering her palm.
“Do you want me to call someone and have them go look for Pops and Gina Mae?”
The lines of worry furrowed deep across Lisa’s brow and Ryan wished he could do something to erase them for her. To say she’d had a long day would be an understatement.
“No, not yet. If she’s not back in a little bit, I will.” She reached back and started pulling out the pins that anchored her twist of hair. She placed the pins in a pile at the edge of the dresser to her right, then ran her hands under her hair and fluffed out the curls and tangles. “I don’t know what to think, Ryan. This isn’t like her. I really am going to need to call her doctor in the morning and make an appointment. It scares me to think that something’s truly wrong, but I don’t have any other explanations.”
“I’ll wait with you if you want. Come on, let’s go sit in the living room. Maybe we can find a movie on TV or something.”
She walked toward the door, then stopped. “You really don’t have to. You’ve got that tournament tomorrow.”
“It starts at ten. I have to be there a little early to do my buy-in and get settled, but I’ll be fine. I’ve done all this before. It’s routine.”
Lisa threaded her fingers in her hair again. “I’m not sure what’s given me this headache—my hair pulled back like that, the Cosmopolitan, or Nana. Maybe it’s all three. Either way, I think I need to change out of this dress and heels and try and be a little more comfortable. Do you mind giving me a minute?”
Ryan tried to keep every clichéd thought out of his mind when she mentioned slipping into something more comfortable. What happened in Vegas, as Gina Mae pointed out, was indeed supposed to stay in Vegas. But that rule was probably not coined with one’s future step-something-or-other in mind.
And he knew he’d do well to keep that fact in his consciousness instead of keeping that dress and her pitch-perfect voice at the top of his train of thought. If they weren’t successful in keeping Pops and Gina Mae from walking down the little white chapel aisle, Ryan and Lisa would likely be seeing more of each other in the years to come. Letting his thoughts wander right now would only make Thanksgiving and Christmas awkward.
“Sure. I’ll go check what’s on TV.” Ryan walked back to the living room, but stopped at the phone on a side table and punched in five numbers.
“VIP Concierge Desk, Winter speaking. How may I help you?”
“Hi, Winter. It’s Ryan McBride. Listen, I need your help with something.”
“Certainly, Mr. McBride.”
Ryan tried to keep his voice down. He knew Lisa had told him not to call, but he was just as concerned about Pops as she was about her nana. There wasn’t any harm in having someone check. There were thousands of cameras in this casino. A welfare check could be done quickly and efficiently.
“My grandfather left a note that he and his...” Ryan paused. “Well, his fiancée, left a note that they were going to the slots and the buffet. Can someone check on them for me? It’s late and I just want to make sure everything’s okay.”
“Certainly, Mr. McBride. I’ll make a few calls and then I’ll let you know.”
Ryan pushed his left shoe off with the toe of his right shoe. Lisa wasn’t the only one who felt confined. “Thanks. And can you send some sparkling water and cheese and fruit up as well?”
“Certainly, Mr. McBride. You’re not calling from your penthouse, though. Am I sending it to Mrs. Fleming’s suite?”
“Yes. I’ll be in here for the time being. Until we get everything settled with my grandfather.”
“Very good, Mr. McBride. I’ll have everything taken care of for you.”
“Thanks, Winter.”
Ryan hung up the phone, freed his other foot from the Italian leather shoe, and took off his sport coat, then laid it carefully across the back of the closest chair.
He was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels on the flat-screen TV mounted to the wall, when Lisa came out.
Ryan stifled a laugh as he looked up. Lisa acknowledged Ryan’s expression, then sashayed across the marble flooring. The gentle tilt of her hips as she walked made him forget all about the crazy get-up she was sporting.
“I told you Nana packed my suitcase. Apparently, she’s forgotten where I keep my pajamas because she packed this rockin’ number for me. Like it?”
She looked as though she were barely holding in her own laughter. Clad in a lightweight cotton nightdress made out of white fabric with a yellow buttercup motif, it was accentuated—if you could really call it that—with some old-fashioned lace, yellow ribbon, and a Peter Pan collar.
“As your grandmother so eloquently said, ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’ I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thanks.” Lisa rolled her eyes a little and landed in the far corner of the couch with a small flop. “I’m pretty sure this is older than me. If I hadn’t already decided to call Dr. Reynolds, this would have definitely made up my mind.”
“It’s...um, fancy. I put on a chick flick. I figured you’d like that best.”
“Thanks.”
A knock sounded at the door. Lisa popped straight up and out of her lounging position. “Who could that be? I can’t answer the door like this.” An edge of panic slid into her voice. “Nana should have taken her key.”
“It’s probably room service. I’ll get it.”
“I didn’t order room service,” Lisa said, still pressing back into the cushions as though she wished they’d swallow her and he
r nightdress whole.
“I did. I thought you might like a snack as you waited up.”
Lisa’s face relaxed and the corners of her mouth inched up briefly. “Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you.”
Ryan walked to the door. “Well, it’s easy to pull off when you have twenty-four-seven concierge access. Living attached to a hotel has some perks.”
A young man in a starched white jacket brought in a large tray and placed it on the sideboard in the entry. “Winter wanted me to let you know that he spoke with Ray in security. Your grandfather has been playing in the casino for the past hour, but they’ve just moved to the restaurant.”
“Thank you for the tray and the information.” Ryan reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handful of bills and offered them to the attendant. Contrary to what he’d told Marie in the nightclub earlier, he always carried cash around. He lived at the Renaissance Grand. There was always someone he needed to tip.
The young man folded the money and stuffed it in the lower pocket of his jacket. “Anything else I can do for you, sir? Can I put the tray in the dining room for you?”
Ryan looked over his shoulder and caught Lisa waving a hand emphatically. “No. I’ll take it from here.”
As soon as the attendant left, Ryan picked up the tray and placed it on the low table in the center of the living area. He twisted the cap off a bottle of water and handed it to Lisa. “Would you like some ice or a glass?”
“Bottle’s fine. I would like one of those strawberries, though. Thanks for checking up on Nana. I know I said not to, but...”
“I wanted to put your mind at ease. And mine too, honestly.” Ryan handed her two berries on a napkin, then picked up some grapes for himself and sat back down. “Tell me more about this teaching thing.”
Lisa screwed the cap back on her water bottle and placed it on the table. “So you’ve actually thought about it?”
“I didn’t even know something like that existed.” He wanted to hear more about the program, but not so much for himself. He wanted to know more about Lisa and he figured this would get her to share more about her own experiences teaching.
He also wondered how he could steer the conversation around to find out if she was single.
Not that it mattered. As soon as the two of them figured out how to talk Pops and Gina Mae out of their wedding, she’d be on the next plane flight back to Texas, and he’d still be here in Nevada, trying to figure out where his luck would take him next.
Lisa told him more about the alternative certification programs and what the kids were like at her high school and what she knew of the vision for the STEM Academy. The light in her eyes as she talked about her students shone almost as brightly as it had when she’d stood in front of a baby grand piano with a spotlight shining down on her.
She clearly cared about her students and the work she was doing. Even at his highest point, Ryan didn’t know if he’d loved being on the tour that much. It was challenging and a good way to make a living, but as he’d come to find out, it wasn’t a way to really make a difference.
“Tomorrow’s tournament is a one-day event to raise money for education, actually.”
Lisa reached for another berry. “Really?”
“Yeah, part of everyone’s buy-in goes to the pot, but then the rest of the money goes to the Cards for Kids foundation. The Shamrocks for Students tournament helps buy technology for underprivileged schools.”
“That sounds like a great cause.” Lisa gave a small yawn and Ryan caught his gaze lingering on the circle shape of her mouth. “I didn’t know something like that could come out of a poker tournament.”
“This is the largest one the Global Poker Challenge does for charity. I won last year.”
Lisa stood up and walked to the trash can near the open sliding glass door to throw away her empty water bottle. “When you say you won, what exactly does that mean? I don’t want to be nosy, but how much does one win in a charity poker tournament?”
“Well, last year, there were forty-five players. The buy-in is one million dollars.”
She cut his explanation off. “One million dollars? Just to play?”
Ryan nodded. “And the pot was just over forty million.”
Lisa stood still as a statue. “You made forty million dollars? In one game?”
“No, I didn’t. That was the total pot.”
She nodded. “Oh, okay.”
“I made just over sixteen million.”
Lisa let out a low whistle and turned to face the Vegas skyline. “I take back everything I said about teaching. Stick with poker. Go tell that little reporter it was all a joke.”
“Not going to do that. That wasn’t the first time I’ve won an eight-figure pot. What do I need more money for?”
She gave him a laugh over her shoulder. “I don’t know. It’s not something I’ve ever had to think about. Maybe you could buy your own private Caribbean island.”
“I own a condo on Eleuthera in the Bahamas.”
“Of course you do. I stayed at a chain hotel in Biloxi last summer. It’s probably about the same.”
Even though Lisa’s eyes remained fixed on the twinkle of lights and shine of neon below, Ryan knew the way she saw him—really saw him, not just vision—had changed. He could feel it.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the money, Lisa. But everyone makes assumptions because what I earn is a matter of public record. It’s splashed on a TV screen if the event’s televised, and the big ones I play in now are. But it’s not who I am.” Ryan walked over to the expanse of glass and nighttime glitter and stopped just over a foot behind Lisa. “It’s brought me some nice things, but the most important thing it’s brought me is peace of mind. It means I have Pops in the best assisted living facility in this part of the country, and no matter what happens to him between now and Heaven, I can make sure he’s taken care of.”
“I’m jealous,” she whispered.
Ryan leaned forward, trying to hear Lisa.
“I don’t have that. I never will. I’ve spent all day knowing I have to take Nana to Dr. Reynolds when I get her home, but I’m terrified of what he’s going to say. What if it is Alzheimer’s? Alzheimer’s patients require hands-on care. I can’t quit my job, but it sure doesn’t pay me enough to afford some fancy care facility. And whatever savings Nana planned on having was eaten up when her deadbeat granddaughter dropped me on her doorstep to raise with no additional financial support.”
Her story sounded a lot like his own, just with a slightly different ending. He knew about being raised by a grandparent and wanting to provide them the world.
He couldn’t give Lisa the world, but maybe he could let her know she wasn’t alone. Ryan closed the space between them with one step and put his hands on her shoulders. The cotton and ruffles of the nightdress flattened under his palms. Lisa craned her head slightly and looked back at him.
Gently, he adjusted the pressure on her shoulders and coaxed her to turn toward him. The light glowing behind the waves of her hair, still gently lacquered with a coating of hairspray, gave her a gentle look he didn’t get to see often on women in Las Vegas.
There were too many hard people in this town, looking out for the next good time or the next big break. Since the minute Lisa Fleming had walked into Ryan McBride’s life, the only thing she’d been looking out for was the woman she called Nana. And she’d just admitted her best wasn’t good enough.
“You don’t know what the doctor is going to say, Lisa. Don’t beat yourself up over something that may not happen.” He lifted a hand and brushed the hair back from her cheek, tucking it behind one ear.
Lisa looked down toward the floor and nodded. “Something’s not right. It hasn’t been right for a while. I’ve just chosen to pretend otherwise. She’s Nana. I can’t even think about something happening to her. She was there for me when no one else—not even my own mother—wanted me. I can’t even think about not having her, not having anyone.”
She rolled her eyes as she looked up at him. “What was in that fancy scotch of yours? Because in case you haven’t noticed, I’m wearing some flowered thing from the seventies.”
“I don’t care what you’re wearing. That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Ryan found his way into territory he hadn’t wandered into for a long time. When you went out with models, you didn’t usually have to tell them they were beautiful. They heard it every day—they already knew it. And most of the ones he wound up with weren’t much for deep conversation anyway.
But Ryan was not about to let Lisa sell herself short. The woman who loved her Nana, who loved her students? She was beautiful in a way that no woman on a catwalk ever could be. But he didn’t know which words would be enough to make her believe it.
Again, his fingers stroked the curl he’d tucked behind her ear. Before he’d realized what was happening, his pointer finger traced the edge of her jawline, meeting her soft skin where it curved from her cheek down to her throat.
The soft sound of her breath catching in her throat brought his hand lower, tracing the column of her neck to the space between her collarbones, then following the line of the collarbone back out to her shoulder. Ryan’s other hand moved up and settled at the base of her skull.
He could feel her hair thick between his fingers and the side of his hand pressed against the hollow between chin and neck where her heartbeat came rapidly. His own pulse matched hers, beat for staccato beat and he gently tugged with his fingers, tilting her head back and raising her lips to his own.
This time, he wasn’t trying to show off.
This time, she kissed back.
This time, all bets were off as the first tentative moments of touch gave way to a more realistic exploration of the moment.
Ryan gave what momentary security he could to Lisa, and she leaned in, laying her forearms over his shoulders and taking the sanctuary offered. She might have been a trained actress, but there was no pretense between them as she moved as close to him as the folds of floral cotton and lace would allow.
Lucky in Love Page 8