All In (8 page)

Uh-oh.

Mariah snatched the remote from him and fumbled with it, trying to turn off the TV. She wished with all her might that the rewind button worked for real. All she needed was to go back to before she opened her big mouth, because she’d lied before when she said she’d only caught Tucker once or twice on TV. Tracking his progress on the World Poker Tour was her guiltiest pleasure, and while she knew this behavior probably qualified her for membership in Stalkers Anonymous, she had actually set it up as an erstwhile reward.

The fact was, Tucker was in town all the time, and because the damned Internet had handy schedules posted, it was easy as pie for her to go online and see he’d be at the Mandalay Bay on such and such days. But to purposefully/accidentally put herself in his path would have been pathetic and too much like those bimbos in the glass shop. So instead of putting herself on a Tucker starvation diet, she allowed herself to watch him on TV.

Unfortunately, as a result she’d become a bit of a WPT armchair expert and now he knew it.

Tucker laid his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. He tried to catch her eye, but she just couldn’t meet his gaze.

“You watch the World Poker Tour a lot?” he asked softly.

She thought about trying to convince him she just liked the game. Plenty of people followed that show like they did American Idol, but she decided that was cowardly, and frankly, she was tired of the self-recrimination.

“Yes,” she admitted, hating the quiver in her voice. “I watch it all the time. And if I’m not home, I TiVo it.” What the hell. The cat was already out of the bag. Might as well let the whole zoo out while she was at it.

He didn’t say anything at first, but then he scratched his temple and asked in that offhanded way of his, “Because of me?”

Not trusting her voice now, she nodded.

“Oh Mariah.”

To her surprise, he gathered her into his arms and hugged her. She went stiffly at first, unsure what was going on, but he had an uncanny knack for putting her at ease. It seemed as if he absorbed her tension into his own body, and after only a few moments, his slow, steady breathing calmed her.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he said at last. “If the roles were reversed, I’d have done the same thing.” His deep voice embraced her as much as his arms did. “’Cause I never forgot you, Mariah.”

Dumbfounded, she finally lifted her head to look at him. He knew about her secret vice, and judging from the tender expression on his face, he seemed touched by it. Like a warm comforter, a sense of wellbeing surrounded her and she felt surprisingly, marvelously free.

“Now, how about we go get that steak?” he said softly. “I think my number one fan deserves some dinner.”

Mariah really liked Tony and Rhonda. They were so friendly and so in love that their good cheer was contagious. She found it easy to fall into playful banter with them, as if they’d all been friends for years.

Unfortunately, because they hadn’t made a reservation, the four of them couldn’t get a table with a view of the fountains, so after dinner they trekked out to the Strip to watch from the railing. Plenty of others gathered there, many with video cameras and some with their cell phones open, ready to record.

While they waited for the fountain show to begin, Tony shared a story from his and Tucker’s college dorm days. Once upon a time, Tucker had blacked out Tony’s windshields and Tony, of course, had retaliated.

“Going with the paint theme,” Tony said, “I carefully pulled up the covers and did his toes while he was sleeping.”

“Oh my God.” Rhonda’s eyes twinkled with merriment. “What color?”

Tony grinned. “Hot pink.”

“And you didn’t notice the next morning?” Mariah asked Tucker.

Tucker chuckled. “At that time I had a job where I had to get up before dawn, and I got dressed in the dark so I wouldn’t bother Tony. Little did I know that he was wide awake and silently laughing at me.”

Tony held up a finger. “Wait, you haven’t heard the best part! He had a date that night. And the girl freaked out when she saw his toes. Tell them what she said,” Tony prompted.

“Oh, and spoil all your fun?” Tucker said with a raised brow.

Rhonda shook Tony’s arm. “Come on! What did she say?”

Chuckling, Tony leaned an elbow on the stone railing. “She said she’d never seen anything so sexy. And then she asked if she could suck on his toes.”

“No way!”

“Eww!”

Tucker dragged a hand down his face and turned toward the water.

“Did you let her?” Mariah asked, disgusted but curious.

Tony answered before Tucker could. “He never said one way or the other. Tucker’s kind of closemouthed about stuff like that.”

But Tucker gave a quick shake of his head to Mariah.

Rhonda linked her arm with Tony’s. “Well, it sure sounds like you guys had some good times together.”

“Those were the days, all right,” Tucker said, resting both elbows on the railing. “Sharing a bathroom with ten other people…”

“Tuesday Night Trivia Wars…”

“And most importantly, staying upwind—” Tucker said.

“Of Richter,” Tony finished, and they both laughed.

“Richter was always low on cash, and most of the time all he could afford to eat were bean burritos,” Tucker explained. “Strange how living in the dorm can be shitty in so many ways but still be the best time of your life, huh, Tone?”

Tony nodded. “Yeah. But now,” he said, turning to Rhonda, “the best times of my life are ahead of me.”

As corny as Tony’s line was, the sentiment behind it couldn’t be denied. Struck by a pang of longing, Mariah watched as he and Rhonda shared a kiss just as Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon” began to play. A collective hush fell over the crowd. Jets of water shot into the air in a flowing dance, perfectly timed with the jazzy music.

Although she’d come to watch the fountains countless times before, oh how different it was when a strong, sexy guy put his arm around her and was humming along with the melody. Tucker’s warmth seeped into her body where they touched. His breath stirred her hair as he pressed his cheek against her temple. Leaning against him, she let out a soundless sigh. The moment was so perfect she wanted to tuck it away in a scrapbook.

After the song ended—way too soon, as far as she was concerned—the crowd dispersed. Tony and Rhonda looked ready to call it a night, but Tucker proposed a trip to Risqué, a nightclub at the Paris hotel.

“I’ve never been there,” he said with a gleam in his eye, “but I hear there are couches and beds to lounge around on. Plus, the men’s and women’s bathrooms are next to each other and the only thing between them is this frosted glass wall.”

Mariah thought that sounded perversely interesting, but Tony nixed the idea. “Normally I would, Tuck, but Rhonda and me have to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s the big day, you know.”

Tucker rolled his eyes. “Aw, come on, Tone. One last hurrah. You don’t need that much energy to say ‘I do’, right?”

But Tony stood firm. “It sounds like a great place, but maybe another time. You guys go on ahead. Dance a little, check out those crazy bathrooms, but drop us off at the hotel on your way.”

Back at the Venetian, the happy couple exited the limo, but only after insisting that Mariah attend the wedding. Of course, she agreed. Pamphlet or no, the wish expired at nine tomorrow night and she intended to wring all the time with Tucker out of it that she could.

The limo driver cleared his throat. “Mr. Tucker, you getting out here or you want me to take you somewhere else?”

“Give me a sec, Al.” Tucker turned to Mariah. “You know where I’d really like to go?” he asked in a low voice.

“Where?”

“Back to your place.” He gave her a half smile. “Is that okay?”

Her place? Puzzled, Mariah nodded.

Twenty minutes later, when she and Tucker were lounging on her plum-colored chenille sofa nursing a couple of beers, she asked, “So why are we here in my boring little apartment and not in your luxury penthouse suite?”

They’d both kicked off their shoes and she had put on some music.

Tucker lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m in hotel rooms all the time. I like your apartment. It’s comfortable, lived in.”

This surprised her. With his aggressive confidence at the poker table, Tucker seemed like such a man’s man that she was surprised he liked the downright feminine flavor of the place.

“Makes you feel like you’re at home, huh?” she said with a self-satisfied smile.

He scoffed. “Like home? No. My place isn’t really…I don’t know. I don’t really spend that much time there.”

“What’s wrong with it? Is it a pit of empty pizza boxes and dirty laundry?”

He chuckled. “No. I’m not a messy person. It’s just not, you know, homey.”

“Then maybe you need to hire a decorator. If I could afford one, that’s what I’d do.”

“What I really need to do is just unpack.”

“New place?”

“No, I’ve actually been there over a year,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I just haven’t put away all my stuff. Most of it’s still in boxes. When I’m not traveling, I’m tired from traveling and not in the mood to put stuff on shelves or hang pictures.”

“Catch twenty-two.” Mariah tucked one leg underneath herself. “Well, mi casa es su casa. All I ask is that you don’t leave the toilet seat up.”

“Oh never. That’s another one of Bill’s Marriage Mandates.”

Mariah laughed. “Bill should write a book.”

Tucker took a sip of his beer. “Maybe you’re right. He and Claudia have been head over heels for as long as I’ve known them.”

“And it looks like Tony’s going to follow in their footsteps.”

“Yeah.” Tucker’s face fell slightly. “Sure looks that way.” He put his beer on the coffee table.

“Aw, come here,” she said, scooting to the far end of the couch and patting her thigh. “Put your head right here and tell Dr. Mariah what’s wrong. You’ve been pouting all night.”

“Have not.”

“Well, maybe not pouting, but definitely off your game. Are you a little jealous?”

Tucker hesitated, then with a sigh, stretched out like she asked. “Maybe a little.”

“Me too,” she said, combing her fingers through his hair. She liked that he felt comfortable enough with her to admit his feelings. “Everyone wants to be in love. It’s natural.”

“Yeah, but…oh, never mind. It’s stupid.”

Tucker tried to sit up, but she wouldn’t let him.

“Hey, we’re not done playing doctor yet,” she said.

That got a small smile from him.

“Oh, is that what we’re doing?” he asked. “We’re wearing too many clothes for that.”

Mariah pretended to write on a notepad. “Patient avoids the subject.”

“Okay, Doc,” he said with a wry smile. “It’s just that Tony and I have been friends since grade school. More like brothers, really. All he’s got is sisters and I was an only child, plus we lived next door to each other. I probably spent more time at his house than I did mine.”

Mariah rubbed his chest soothingly. “I can picture you two as little boys, playing video games or soccer.”

“Yeah, you name it, we did it together. And even though we don’t see each other as much now—I’m always on the road, you know how it is—I feel like I’m losing him.” Tucker made a disgusted noise. “Shit. Listen to me. I sound like a jilted lover.”

“Hey, I felt the same way when my sister got married. Seriously. I went through a period where I didn’t feel like I could ask her to do things with me, and when I
did
ask her, I’d feel resentful when she had to make sure Sean didn’t have something else planned for them. So I know how you feel, but trust me. It’ll pass. Things are never going to be the same between you and Tony because Rhonda’s always going to be there now. That’s a fact. Not a bad one, though. Just one that’ll take some getting used to.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said with a sigh.

“In the meantime, eat chocolate. That helps no matter what’s bothering you.”

They exchanged a long look before a corner of his mouth lifted. “I hear getting naked is a good remedy too.”

She thumped him playfully on the stomach and he laughed.

“I swear,” she said as he sat up. “You’re the horniest man I’ve ever met.”

He gave her a mock injured expression. “How can you say a thing like that to your own patient?” He stole a quick kiss. “You’re going to permanently damage my self-esteem.”

“No, not at all,” she replied, leaning her head back as he kissed her neck. “It just means that you’re ready for the next part of your therapy.”

“The sexual healing part, I hope.”

She inhaled sharply when he cupped her breast. “You got it,” she breathed.

With a sinful smile, he slid his hand around her neck and kissed her again. His tongue slipped between her lips and heat suffused her like it always did, but tonight Tucker’s kiss seduced instead of ignited, and as he pulled down the fabric covering her breast and caressed her naked skin, he murmured about how good she felt and how beautiful she was. His voice seemed to seep into her body and heat her up from the inside. By the time he drew back from her mouth, her panties were soaked and she was flushed with desire.