“That’s because I’m in pain.”
His arm immediately slacked off. “I’m hurting you?”
“Mental anguish.” And that wasn’t a lie.
“Give me a break.” He resumed the pressure on the small of her back as a balding man in a finely cut suit stepped forward to greet them.
“Mr. Garrison,” said the man with obvious enthusiasm. “So very good of you to join us.”
“Good evening, Maxim,” said Alex, reaching out to shake hands. “May I present my um, girlfriend, Emma McKinley.”
His voice softened ever so slightly over her name. Emma’s heart tripped for a split second, while Maxim did a double take.
“Maxim is the chairman of Teddybear Trust,” Alex explained.
The burly man smiled broadly as he reached for Emma’s hand. “And you’re the president of McKinley Inns. We haven’t met. But I’ve heard a good deal about you, Ms. McKinley.”
“Please, call me Emma.” Her smile was genuine now. “I have the utmost respect for the Teddybear Trust.”
The foundation had built a new children’s wing at St. Xavier’s last year, and they’d funded countless pediatric cancer research projects.
“This way,” said Maxim, gesturing through the cut glass doorway to the Tavern on the Green foyer. “Drinks are in the Terrace Room. And might I suggest the Pavilion as a starting point for casino games?”
“Blackjack?” asked Alex, tossing Maxim a wry grin.
Maxim grinned back. “Last year was unfortunate for you.” Then he winked at Emma. “But I know you’ll bring him good luck tonight.”
“I’ll try my best,” she promised Maxim, thinking that karmic forces might not be so quick to reward them for lying to the entire city.
Then Alex recaptured her hand and nodded to the doorman as he placed a quick kiss on her knuckles. Emma struggled to keep her head clear as they crossed into the richly decorated entry. The lobby was festooned with fine crystal and stained glass, while magnificent chandeliers refracted light as they started their way through the winding hallways.
She caught their reflection in a beveled mirror, shivering at the image of Alex, straight and tall, his strong hand resting on the small of her back, only a hair below the plunging V of her sparkling dress.
“Would you care for a drink?” His deep voice rumbled through her.
“A Chablis,” she replied, then cleared her throat against the sultry sound. They were playacting here. He was pretending to be her date for the benefit of the reporters and the other patrons. And she was pretending to like him for exactly the same end.
She dragged her gaze away from the mirror and vowed to ignore every facet of his sex appeal. She needed to get a grip here.
He pointed to a doorway. “Through there, then.”
They entered the Crystal Pavilion, catching the obviously curious glances of other guests.
Did they recognize Alex? Did they recognize her? She craned her neck, looking behind her for her sister’s reassuring face. “We’ve lost Katie and David.”
“We don’t need a chaperone.”
“But-”
“Tonight’s about you and me.” He smiled, nodded and waved a greeting to someone across the room.
They stopped next to the bar, and Alex rested a forearm on the polished top, giving the waiter their order before turning his attention to Emma. “You should try to relax and enjoy yourself.”
Emma couldn’t imagine relaxing under these circumstances. She couldn’t imagine relaxing around Alex at all.
“In a few minutes you get to start spending my money,” he said.
“I’ve never gambled in my life.” She didn’t mean it to sound snippy, but it came out that way.
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” He snagged a handful of nuts from a crystal bowl on the bar and tossed them in his mouth.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re way too conservative.”
The waiter set the drinks down on Teddybear Trust coasters.
“I am not,” Emma insisted.
Alex stuffed a bill in the tip snifter and nodded his thanks to the man. “Are too,” he chuckled low to Emma as they walked away.
She huffed out a breath.
“You can prove me wrong, you know.” He handed her the glass of Chablis, gently steering her back to the hallway. “Just belly on up to the blackjack table and make sure everyone knows I’m bankrolling you.”
She took a sip of the crisp wine and let the alcohol ease into her system. “Is that what the modern urban male does for the woman he loves?”
“Since it’s no longer practical to slay you a mastodon. Yeah. That’s what we do.”
She hid an unexpected grin behind another sip of the wine. “What if I want the mastodon instead?”
“Are you going high maintenance on me?”
“Apparently.”
He pointed to another entryway. “Through here to the tables.”
“Truthfully, I don’t know how to play blackjack.”
He shrugged. “It’s easy.”
Beyond the glass wall, lighted gardens spread out before them, lanterns swaying in the breeze as the well- dressed guests mingled from the restaurant to the patio and back again. The dealers, dressed in black jackets and bow ties, chatted with the guests as they doled out the cards.
Alex steered her toward a green felt table with high chairs and small white squares printed on the fabric.
“Hop up,” he whispered against her ear, and she tried not to react to his nearness.
But then his arm casually brushed her bare back, raising goose bumps and sending pulses of energy to very inappropriate spots on her body.
“There you are.” Katie’s voice interrupted the moment. “This is fabulous!”
“Fabulous,” Emma echoed, grateful for the buffer.
Katie hopped up next to Emma. There were already two men at the opposite end, of the table facing the dealer. That left one empty seat in the middle.
David stood behind Katie’s chair, and Emma gave him a smile.
“Buy me some chips,” Katie told him.
In her peripheral vision, Emma saw Alex place some bills on the table in front of the dealer.
“I thought we were going to the roulette wheel,” David said to Katie.
Katie patted the tabletop. “I want to play blackjack.”
The dealer slid four stacks of purple chips in front of Emma. She half turned to Alex. “What do I do now?” she whispered.
She could almost feel his smile. She inhaled his scent, and the fabric of his suit gently touched her bare back.
“Make a bet,” he whispered back. “Put it in the white square.”
The man at the far end bet two green chips, and the other bet a black one.
“What are the colors?” she asked Alex.
“Don’t worry about it.”
The dealer placed stacks of black chips in front of Katie.
Emma pushed two purple ones into the square in front of her, and the dealer gave them each a face-up card.
She glanced at everyone’s cards, wondering if the man had made a mistake. She leaned back to talk to Alex. “They can see-”
“It’s okay. You’re only playing the dealer.”
