All In (Casino Nights #2) (22 page)

“Do I need to change for dinner?” He looked at his knit shirt and jeans.

“You might want to put on a dress shirt,” she told him.

“I’ll go change. Do you want to meet in the lobby or where?”

“We could take my car, but it might be faster if we grab a cab.”

“Then I’ll meet you by the hotel entrance doors, in what, twenty minutes?”

“I might need twenty-five. I want to freshen up.” She moved closer to him.

“I’ll see you then.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

She pushed her tongue into his mouth and turned the heat up on the kiss. He slowly pulled away. “See you soon, babe.”

“Ask Rico to escort you to the right set of elevators. I know he’s lurking in the hall. He isn’t as sneaky as he thinks he is.” She raised the volume on her voice so Rico could hear.

The man stuck his head in her office. “Come on Cooper, I’ll show you the way.”

Remy followed the man down the hall and out of the team’s suite.

“After you take care of what you need to do, if you want to pack your suitcases and leave them by the door of your room, I’ll get them moved to Francesca’s apartment while you’re at dinner,” Rico said.

“Think I should move that fast?” Remy was a little surprised by the offer.

“Absolutely man, your woman is on the edge. I hate it that she took that punch, but it may have turned out to be the best thing for the both of you.”

“Okay then, I will, and thank you.” Remy meant it.

“Good things, brother, give her good things.” They approached a bank of elevators, and the doors opened. Remy entered.

“Thanks man,” he told his new friend.

Chapter Thirteen

Dinner was delicious. They were seated in a booth in a secluded area. Remy kept the conversation light and covered general topics. It was obvious Francesca was exhausted. On the cab ride back to The Red Rose, there was a traffic jam and she dozed against his shoulder.

“Babe, time to wake up,” Remy said as they pulled into the casino’s drive. The vehicle came to a stop, and he gave the driver cash as a staff member opened the door for Francesca. He followed her out of the car. He took her hand as they entered.

She slowed and smiled at him. “Hadley sent me a text saying they had moved your things to my place.”

“Your people move fast,” he told her.

“So you’re okay with staying with me?” she asked shyly.

“Yep.” He wanted to add “for the rest of my life” but thought better of it.

She led him past a security officer monitoring a bank of elevators. “Sam, this is my friend Remington Cooper,” she introduced him.

“Mr. Cooper,” Sam studied him.

“Sam,” Remy nodded.

Francesca proceeded past and used a key card to call the elevator. “If they didn’t leave a card for you in my apartment, I’ll have Rico get one made.”

Remy fought a smile.

“The key card gets you past security and into the elevator. I’ll give you the code to my apartment, or would you rather have a key?”

“I can do the code.” He was a little surprised at how easily Francesca was letting him into her private space.

At her door on the fifteenth floor, she punched in four digits and the locks turned. He followed her through the door. She turned and threw the deadbolt.

“Not that it can stop Rico,” she told him smiling.

“It can slow him down.” Remy knew it would take about thirty seconds for Rico to work that style of deadbolt.

“Let me give you the tour.” They entered the living room area. “I have a great view of the range when it’s clear.” She pointed to the large window. “Luckily, I had the kitchen stocked with food yesterday, so you won’t go hungry.” She pointed to the small kitchen that had a bar separating it from the living area with two stools.

She continued to her left down the hall. She paused to point out a half bath, then continued. There were doors facing one another, she pointed to her left, “Office.”

The room held a desk, computer equipment, and shelves filled with books covering one wall. She let out a large yawn as he scanned the room.

She turned and walked across the hallway. “Bedroom,” she said as she motioned for him to enter.

Her bedroom was a light blue with deeper blue and gray accents. She had a huge bed that was unmade, which made him smile, and her drapes were closed with what he guessed to be blackout blinds.

“Bathroom is through there.” She pointed to the open door.

Remy walked around the room, checking out the photos displayed on her chest of drawers. He could pick out a younger Hadley and Francesca sitting on the hood of a Firebird. Another was of a teenaged Francesca wearing a cap and gown flanked by Jimmy and a very attractive woman, who must be his wife, Rose.

Francesca sat on the edge of the bed. “Some of those are really old,” she told him.

He continued checking the mementos. There was a large framed color print of Francesca with her team dressed in driving suits resting against a race car. “Where was this taken?” She was leaning into Blade laughing.

“Las Vegas Speedway. Blade found a team-building program. We got to do laps.” She chuckled. “I think he just wanted an excuse to drive really fast.”

“You look like you were having fun,” he said, studying their smiling faces.

“We did. Of course, it turned into a huge competition between Hadley and Rico, but Blade beat us all.”

“They really care about you,” he said, stating the obvious.

“I think we care about each other. I was really lucky we came together like we did,” she said softly. She stretched out across the bottom of the bed.

He completed his circle of the room and saw that his bag was sitting in front of the closet doors. He glanced at Francesca, but her eyes were closed. “Babe, take off your clothes and go to sleep.”

She rolled onto her back and stretched. “I feel like I could sleep for days.” She sat up. “I need to text Rico about getting you a card. That way, if you want to come and go, you can.”

“That would be good.”

“I know that we should talk,” she said, tracing a design on the comforter while avoiding looking at him.

“You’re hurting and running on a few hours’ sleep. Nothing good will come of talking now. I’m tired too. My body hasn’t adjusted to the time change. Let’s get some sleep and see how the day plays out tomorrow.” He started to unbutton his shirt.

“I’ll probably sleep in, so if you want to go to the gym or anything, just leave a note. I feel like I’m being a terrible hostess.” She stood and moved to her closet.

“I arrived unannounced, so I should be apologizing.” He watched her move around the room.

She opened the door to the huge closet and turned on the light. “You can use the empty space in here.” She pointed out a section for hanging clothes and a built-in chest of four drawers.

“Mind if I unpack tomorrow?” He wanted to strip and hold Francesca in his arms.

“I’m so tired, you could march a band through, and I wouldn’t wake up.” She grabbed a t-shirt from a hook by the closet door and headed toward her bathroom.

He walked to her kitchen and found a bag of frozen corn in the freezer. There was a note hanging on the door, telling him that it was there with a list of all of their cell and office numbers. It was signed by Hadley.

He opened several drawers trying to find a kitchen towel to wrap around the cold plastic bag. He returned to find Francesca exiting the bathroom. “Here, put this on your cheek.”

“I don’t know if I can sleep with that on,” she said, eying it warily, but she took it.

He toed off his shoes and unbuttoned his jeans. “Then leave it on as long as you can. The swelling isn’t going down.” He continued to undress.

“I took a pain pill, so I’m sure I’ll be out all night.” She started to pull back the covers on the bed.

“You need rest. It will help you heal.” He walked around the bed and climbed in the other side. He laughed to himself. They already had assigned sides.

Francesca was lying on her back with the frozen bag on her cheek. “I sent a text to Rico. He’s going to shove your key under the door.” Francesca shifted closer to him. “If you’re up at eight, you can join him for a run.”

“I don’t know if I could keep up, and I’m not sure that I can handle coming in second.” Remy wrapped his arm around her.

“Should I be concerned about this bro-mance?”

He could hear the smile in her voice. “He’s a good guy, but I’m here for you.” He was on his side, and she shifted her ass closer to him. He thought she had fallen asleep when she slurred, “I’m glad you’re here.”

***

Remy opened his eyes and checked the bedside clock, it read 6:41. He knew he was up for the day. He slid out of bed and made sure that Francesca was covered and still asleep.

He snagged his jeans, and after closing the bedroom door, he pulled them on. He entered the kitchen, selected a coffee pod, then dropped it into the maker.

He’d left his phone in his jean’s pocket, so after a sip of the warm liquid he checked his screen.

He had two texts, one from Rico and another from a Las Vegas number. He worked through his e-mail, and then called Rico.

“Ochoa,” Rico answered.

“I’m up, but I don’t think I’m into a run.”

“Pussy. Meet us in the lobby at eight for breakfast. But whatever you do, don’t get into a car with Hads. She’s crazy behind the wheel.”

“Got it.” Then the call clicked off.

Not a big talker, Remy chuckled to himself. He scanned the room and noticed there was an envelope on the floor in front of the door.

Inside there was the black plastic key card and a complete map of The Red Rose.

He sat on a stool at the bar and reviewed the map, committing it to memory.

After he had returned from a breakfast with the members of Team 2, Remy had done some more exploring of the property and had lunch poolside. He returned to her apartment and was currently trying to stay quiet since Francesca was still sleeping.

She finally woke up at two. She padded to the living room. Her hair was a mess, and she was gently touching her bruised cheek. She’d thrown on a robe that had dogs dancing with one another all over it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep so late.”

 He looked her up and down. “I’m sure you needed the sleep. Want something to drink?”

“I can get it,” she said and walked to the kitchen. “Need anything while I’m up?”

“No, I’m good.” He logged off his laptop and set it on the floor beneath the table.

She returned to her chair with a can of Diet Coke.

“Healthy breakfast,” he teased.

“Maybe not, but its caffeine. I think my brain’s groggy from the pain pill.” She looked at the can, and then took a drink.

“How long do you think it will take you to shower and pack for two nights?” He made sure the question came out casually, not filled with pressure or a demand.

She stopped staring at the can and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

He smiled at her. “I have a suite reserved for us at the Big River Resort, and I booked a spa day for you tomorrow.”

“Remy, you don’t have to do that. We have a spa here if I want anything.” She continued staring at him, finally lifting one side of her mouth in a half smile.

“I know that, but I also know you’re overworked and exhausted. I’m worried that the lure of being so close to your office means that, at some point, you are going to have to work.” He met her look and saw that she accepted that as the truth.

She started to speak, but then bit her lip and looked out the window.

Still angry at Francesca or not, Hadley had really come through for them. At breakfast, she’d presented her idea that they needed to get away. She had a connection at the resort, and when Remy called and dropped Hadley’s name, everything came together.

Rico, Hadley and Blade agreed it was only a matter of time before someone would call Francesca, and she would be needed to solve a problem. According to Blade, Francesca would rather take on a task than assign it to another, and that was why she was doing the work of two people.

“I thought we could get there, grab some dinner, maybe check out the sunset.” He continued applying pressure.

Francesca answered softly. “I guess it would take me like an hour to be packed.”

“Good, want some company in the shower?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and chuckled. He wanted to touch her.

“Sounds good. I’m still a little stiff, so I might need some help washing my back.” She stood up and headed to the bedroom.

Their suite at the resort was gorgeous. They ate dinner on their private patio and watched the sun go down. When the breeze turned cool, Remy suggested they move into the living room.

Francesca had agreed and turned on the gas fireplace. She now sat curled into his side on the wide sectional sofa.

He hated to disrupt the quiet moment, but he had to know what was going on in her head. “Babe, are you ready to tell me what’s been going on with you?”

Her body tensed for a moment, but then he felt her let out a sigh.

She pulled away from him. She turned on her sofa cushion and folded her legs facing him. “You’ve been very patient.”

“You’ve been a little bit of a zombie since I got here,” he teased.

She smiled then turned serious. “I keep screwing everything up.”

He absorbed her words. “No, you keep thinking that you’re screwing things up. You’re looking for things, and then assuming the blame. Then you use it to go silent.”

She did a quick intake of breath. They both knew what he said was true. “I’m not very good at this relationship thing.” She looked away.

This was an opening he’d been looking for. He laid his hand on her knee. “Frankie, I don’t want to know the whole story with your first husband, but Jesus Christ, you sure got head-fucked by him.” His voice was angry. “Things went bad between the two of you, and you think it was because you worked too much. He had a voice. He should have talked to you when it became a problem. He should have been supportive of you and your career. You’re helping run a multi-billion dollar corporation and being micro-managed by your father. When things got rough, he should have been up front with you and Jimmy. You needed him to have your back.”