by Susanna Carr
Christine gave a skeptical look. “You’re a businessman?”
Travis shook his head. No one would believe that. He realized he should have planned a cover story so he didn’t get caught in a lie. But why should he start thinking ahead now? He always thought on his feet. Not knowing what he was going to say or how he was going to get out of trouble was half the fun. “Most of these guys are senior citizens who like to gamble and invest in expeditions.”
She blinked and it was as if the light went out in her eyes. “I see.”
He knew that look. He got it all the time when he tried to fund his next extreme adventure. “I’m not a con artist or a grifter,” he insisted, flattening his hand against his heart as if he was making a pledge. “I plan and guide friends through adventures.”
“Yes, I can imagine there’s a huge difference.”
“I’m trying to raise money for my next trip,” he added. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to tell Christine. He wanted her to open up, but it felt as if he was the one who was telling her everything. “I want to climb the volcanoes of Indonesia.”
“Never been there,” she said coolly. “But then, if you climb one volcano, you’ve climbed them all.”
Travis pressed his lips together. No climber would make that kind of declaration. “Yes, I can tell you’re an experienced mountaineer with that backpack.”
She reached down and touched the pack, as if making sure it was still there. “I take it with me everywhere.”
“It’s in great condition for a world traveler,” he commented as he leaned more comfortably against the slot machine. “So where have you been?”
She hesitated. “Everywhere but here.”
“Hmm...” She wasn’t giving him any information. He needed a new tactic. Travis didn’t think she was trying to be mysterious. Was she worried she’d get caught in a lie or was she out of practice talking about herself? “How long did you say you’re staying in Las Vegas?”
“Just for the weekend.”
He could do a lot in Vegas in forty-eight hours. Take Underwood and Pitts on a wild-goose chase. All he needed was a woman at his side who was game for anything. “Christine, it sounds like you need a guide,” he said with a smile. “I’m happy to be at your service.”
* * *
OH... CHRISTINE FOUGHT to keep a mildly interested look on her face as disappointment washed over her. So that was what this was all about. Her pulse had fluttered when she realized Travis had crossed the casino floor to meet her. Her heart had thumped against her ribs when she met his piercing brown eyes. She felt like the exciting and fascinating woman she’d always wanted to be.
It had only taken a moment to believe in the fantasy. But Travis set her straight. He wasn’t flirting with her. He wasn’t interested in her as a woman. Travis had given her his full attention because that was his routine. He didn’t want to bed her; he wanted her money.
Not even as a gigolo. No, her luck never worked like that. He wanted to be her tour guide.
She should have known. If she wasn’t exciting enough for her ex-boyfriend, Darrell, then she really wasn’t going to be spellbinding for a guy like Travis. Darrell was the most eligible bachelor in Cedar Valley, but honestly, there wasn’t that much competition.
Travis, however, was different. He was so handsome that it almost hurt to look at him. He walked with the confidence of a man who had faced life-and-death situations. His hooded eyes couldn’t hide the shadows or the hard-earned experience. Women were immediately drawn to a man like Travis. He was danger, fantasy and sex wrapped in raw masculinity.
He could have his pick of women. Travis probably had met thousands of women just like her. She had nothing new to offer him, nothing to hold his attention, except for her money. He should have picked someone richer.
“You’re a guide?” she said, her voice high as she tried to hide her disappointment.
“I’ve been a guide all over the world,” he said. “I’ve taken travelers through the jungles of South America, the mountains in—”
“How many did you start out with and how many came back?”
Travis’s knowing smile made her pulse skip hard. “I haven’t lost a client,” he said proudly. “There were a few I wanted to push over the cliff, but that’s bad for business.”
“And what makes you think I need a guide?” she asked, not really sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Did she look lost and out of place? Was it obvious that she didn’t know what she was doing?
He had figured her out pretty fast. Did most women visiting Vegas alone feel as if their lives were in a rut? What did they do to get out of it? Something told her that their Vegas to-do list was sexier than hers. That wasn’t a surprise. She wasn’t a sexy woman and passion never ruled her dating life.
“You’re not interested in the gambling or the shows,” Travis said. “You want the wild side of Vegas and that isn’t so easy to find.”
“You don’t know what I’m looking for,” she pointed out.
Travis’s gaze captured hers for a beat. “I have a pretty good idea.”
She chuckled. If he knew, he would offer an indecent proposal and the key to his room. It was best that he didn’t know. She didn’t need any distractions while she tried to cross something off her list.
“I want to do something I haven’t done before,” she said, rubbing her fingers against her collarbone, belatedly remembering that she’d left her dainty pearl necklace at home. “And I’ve had so many experiences that I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few.”
“I know the feeling.”
He would know. What was she doing pretending to be a worldly woman with this man? Her blood was pumping through her veins harder than it had in a long time. Travis was the real deal. He was going to catch her in a lie.
So what? The question swirled inside her head. After this weekend, you’ll never see him again. Tell outrageous lies and do something daring. If you crash and burn, no one will ever know.
Yet she still hesitated. “I don’t think I can afford you.”
Travis’s smile grew triumphant. As if he knew he had hooked her and only had to reel her in. “Yes, you can, Christine. I’m giving you this night for free.”
That instantly made her suspicious. “Why?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Because I like you.”
Sure he did. There had to be a catch somewhere. “Wait, did you say tonight? You want to start now?”
“Of course. Did you have other plans?”
She nervously bit her lip. This was the moment when she could find her wilder, more adventurous side. Suddenly the idea of getting settled in her room and having a good night’s sleep sounded better. Safer. “Nothing set in stone.”
“Then let’s go.” He pushed away from the slot machine and reached for her.
Christine looked at his hand. It was large and masculine. Rough and weathered. Not the kind that had earned a living working on a computer. “What are we going to do?” She cautiously placed her hand in his.
He closed his fingers around hers and helped her up. “See everything Vegas has to offer.”
“That’ll take more than one night.”
He looked over his shoulder. “That’s the plan.”
Her instincts told her this guy never had a plan. He was a bad boy looking for trouble. She knew she could see Sin City on her own, but she doubted it would be as much fun as the Vegas Travis knew. She hadn’t crossed anything off her list in ten years, but with this man at her side, she’d get more done than she had in a decade.
Christine squared her shoulders and took a deep breath as her stomach twisted with nervousness. “Let’s do it.”
3
SHE WAS SCARED. Travis could tell Christine was trying to act calm but she was almost doubled over with tension.
Her breath stuttered as she looked out the window from the top of the Top of the City Hotel and stared down at the Las Vegas Strip. “How high is this jump?”
“Over eight hundred feet,” Travis said as he watched Christine close her eyes and whisper something. “More than one hundred floors.”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it. It’s very high.” She pulled uncomfortably at the powder-blue flight suit. “Is it hot in here?”
“No, it’s fine,” he said. Christine looked very different with her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a baggy flight suit. She was adorable, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t think that was a compliment.
He heard her groan before she put her hands on her waist and doubled over. He wasn’t sure, but Christine looked like she was about to become sick.
Travis felt a sharp pang of guilt. He thought this was a good introduction. A baby step. It wasn’t as if she was hurtling out of a plane or BASE jumping. Obviously his idea of a beginner’s jump was completely different than hers.
“You’re overthinking this,” Travis said encouragingly as he rubbed his hand on her back. “It’s a very controlled jump. You are hooked up to so many lines and cables. It’s like a vertical zip line, but the jump is slowed down so you land safely on the ground.”
“Oh, this is so not on my list,” she muttered.
“List?” Travis asked. He bent down until his face was level with hers. “What list?”
Christine opened her eyes wide. “What? Nothing.” She straightened to her full height.
What kind of list? Travis wondered. It didn’t surprise him. Just on the walk along the Strip from the casino, he had learned that Christine Pearson was not a spontaneous person. She was the type who had tunnel vision and to-do lists. “Wait a second, is this a bucket list?”
Christine looked away as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Uh, I guess so. I didn’t see it that way. It’s just a list of dreams. Things I want to accomplish.”
“So basically things you want to do before you kick the bucket. Hence the name,” he said as he continued to rub her back. He should stop touching her. He wanted to give her comfort and support but he was very aware of her. His hand glided low on her back and he knew he should stop.
“If you say so,” Christine said.
“Why did you make it?” He dropped his hand as he studied her carefully. She was healthy and strong as far as he could tell. “Were you sick?”
“Bored,” she replied. She tilted her head and clucked her tongue as if she didn’t like that answer. “No, that wasn’t it. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. So I wrote a list of one hundred things that sounded fun.”
What did Christine think was fun? He was deeply curious about that. She had been interested in everything she had seen on the Strip. She enjoyed watching people and taking in the sights. She wanted to know more about the street performers who were dressed in silver and acted like statues, and she had never heard about the persistent card clickers who lined the sidewalks offering cards about escort services. Everything was new to her. What was it that she found really exciting? “Like what?” he asked.
She shook her head, refusing to give details. “Some of the stuff on my list are stupid. Not this stupid,” she said in a low voice as she looked out the window.
A hundred entries on a bucket list would take time. However, Christine seemed organized, and he had a feeling she didn’t dream big. She could have blown through that list in record time. “How many do you have left?”
Christine dipped her head. “A few,” she said tightly. “That’s one of the reasons I came to Vegas.”
“What’s on the list?” And why did it require visiting Sin City? Most of the guys he knew would have winning the jackpot in strip poker or skinny-dipping in the Bellagio fountain on their Las Vegas bucket list.
Christine blushed bright pink and looked away. “I’m not telling.”
Could her list be just as naughty? No, Christine was too innocent, too much of a lady. She might try to rock a sexier persona but she was a good girl. He didn’t know many good girls. What would they want out of life? Probably a husband, kids and a house with a picket fence. The idea sounded claustrophobic to him.
“Become a rock star?” he teased. “Find the end of a rainbow?”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “I was eighteen when I put the list together, not six! They’re a list of experiences. I wasn’t thinking about milestones like graduating high school or getting a driver’s license. When my friends were looking at colleges and deciding their career paths, I was planning to backpack across the globe. But I had to put some of those ideas on hold when my dad walked out of our lives. I stayed to look after my mom. You know how it is.”
Travis nodded as if he understood, but he didn’t think he would have done the same. He had been desperate to break free from his grandmother’s strict rules and debilitating fears. When she had died, he had left town after the funeral. He didn’t know where he was going to go, but he knew he was not going to end up like his grandmother. He wanted freedom and nothing was going to tie him down.
“By the time Mom got remarried and moved away, I was dating someone who hated traveling.” She rubbed her hand over her face, took a deep breath and gave a determined smile. “But now, nothing is holding me back from completing my list.”
Travis watched her closely. Christine didn’t seem to realize that she had given herself away. She had stayed home. Was she still going to pretend that she was a world traveler?
Why had she stayed home? Travis would never have made that choice. Did Christine love her ex-boyfriend so much that she had given up something she enjoyed? It occurred to him that Aaron was making the same choice to be with Dana. Travis couldn’t imagine loving someone so much that he would ignore the wanderlust that drove him.
“So you came to Las Vegas to cross something off your list. And sky jumping isn’t on it.” He wanted to see that list. It would give him more insight into Christine. “You know, we can go back to the aquarium so you can swim with the sharks.”
Christine shook her head vigorously. “Nope, can’t do it.”
“Really? All you need is a scuba certification. I’m sure you have that.”
She snapped her fingers with regret. “I’ve been so busy. Never should have allowed my scuba certification to expire.”
Travis bit back a smile. Anyone who trained to dive underwater would know that scuba certifications never expired. Obviously she was still determined to play this role. He wondered why she felt the need to pretend to be something she wasn’t.
“What?” she asked as she watched him with suspicion.
“Nothing,” he said. “I’m just glad you don’t need any experience to free-fall.”
She went pale. “Yeahhh...” The word dragged out of her. “Isn’t that great?”
Travis noticed she was beginning to shake. “Christine, are you afraid of heights?”
“No,” she said. “I’ve done some rock climbing.”
He held her by the shoulders and bent his head so he could meet her gaze. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said. “You have nothing to prove.”
“No, I’m doing this.” Travis recognized the determination in her voice. She would regret stepping away from this challenge. “Why aren’t you suited up? I thought you liked this kind of thing.”
She was right about him. He’d rather climb, jump or run than stand on the sidelines. He needed to push himself to the limit and prove he wouldn’t let fear control him. But he wasn’t letting anything happen to Aaron’s emerald. “I did a free fall once into the water. Without restraints.”
Christine’s mouth dropped open. “On purpose?”
“I didn’t plan it. It shredded my clothes.” And he wasn’t going to tell her about the broken bones and lacer
ations he got from the fall. “Let’s just say it was the better option at that time.”
All of her attention was focused on him. She stared into his eyes, hanging on to his words. “I would love to hear all about it,” she said quietly.
Christine wanted to know every detail of his travels and mishaps. On the way to the sky jump, she didn’t just want to know about the tallest mountain he’d climbed. She wanted to know how he kept going in the face of danger and failure and how it felt to accomplish his goal. No one had asked him that before.
“And I would love to see that bucket list of yours,” he replied. What did she hope for? What did she dream about?
Her eyes twinkled at his insistence. “That’s not going to happen. There is no comparison.”
What did she want to do that could only happen in Las Vegas? What could make her shy about revealing it? Did she want to be a showgirl? Learn illusions from a famous magician? “Then tell me what one thing you’ve crossed off your list.”
“I would but the statute of limitations hasn’t expired,” she answered primly.
“Christine Pearson?”
Christine flinched, startled, when she heard her name called. She slowly, almost reluctantly, turned to the man who was looking for her. “Yes?”
“You’re up next.” The guide motioned at the jump platform outside the windows. “Mr. Cain, you can wait with her.”
Travis saw Christine’s balance wobble as her legs threatened to buckle. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. “Christine,” he said huskily in her ear, “why do you want to jump?”
* * *
WHY DID SHE want to jump? Christine stared at Travis as she considered the question. Was it because she wanted to become an exciting person? Was it because she just wanted to do one stupid thing to tell her friends?
Or was it because she needed to stop making excuses? She made choices knowing it meant she didn’t pursue her interests. She had placed other people and goals first. She had delayed her dreams of travel to be there for her mother and, later, for Darrell. She didn’t know why she did it, but she had no one to blame but herself.