All In (Casino Nights #2) (3 page)

“No.”

She raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean ‘no’?” Who greets someone like that?

“Frankie, I’m on my way. I’ll be there in seventeen minutes.”

He sounded curt. Was he pissed? “Look, if you’re busy, I can do this. No problem.” Her heart was racing. She didn’t know if she wanted him to insist or to acquiesce. She was nervous about seeing him again. So many things could go wrong or very right.

“You sound nervous. Are you nervous?” he asked, his tone teasing.

It was freaky how well he knew her. “A little,” she admitted.

“We’ll be fine Francesca, ” he calmly assured her, sounding confident.

“I hope so,” she whispered, shocking herself with that admission.

“Sixteen minutes. Stop 1. Be there.”

“Okay.” Christ, she was walking around with a stupid smile on her face. She was so into this man it was ridiculous.

She had originally planned to make this trip to visit her birth mother’s family when she had been in Chicago. It only made sense—she was four hours away. After the Blake attack, she flew back home with Rico. Luckily, the land sale could be pushed back to accommodate her schedule, not that she was worried about her investment. The goat farm was a success. Besides taking care of business, she could see Remy. This was a big step for her, an indication of how much she was interested in him.

When she exited the automatic doors at Stop 1, she spotted the white Explorer and the very handsome man leaning against the front fender. Her heart skipped a beat, and she knew that once again she wore that dorky smile.

He wore a light blue, button-down shirt, his tie loosened at the neck, and dark gray pants. She bet his suit jacket was thrown in the back seat. The color of the shirt made the golden highlights in his hair more obvious. He also sported aviator-style sunglasses so she couldn’t read his eyes as she approached. “Hey,” she said, sounding breathless to her own ears.

“Hey, yourself.” He straightened and closed the four steps between them.

“I decided to stop in the bathroom as soon as I—”

He cut off her sentence by pulling her into his arms and kissing her senseless. This wasn’t a quick kiss. No, this was hungry and hot.

A horn honked behind them, causing her to pull away from him. Apparently Remy had no concerns about lingering in the pick-up zone as his arms tightened around her for a brief moment. He gave the driver of the car waiting to pull in behind them a fierce glare and then a low chuckle escaped. He dropped his arms slowly from her back. “Is this all you have?” He lifted her carryon bag and walked to the back gate of his SUV.

She shrugged. “I’m only here for three days.” She opened the passenger side door and climbed in.

Remy shut the back gate, and then got in. “I’m not complaining. I figure less luggage—less clothes.” He gave her a leering smile and wiggled his eyebrows.

She laughed. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Doesn’t matter. Now, I’m half-hard thinking about getting naked with you.” He started the engine and pulled out into the traffic.

She felt her cheeks heat. “Can you please crank up the air? I’m suddenly really hot.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “A meeting ran late, and we need to go back to my place so that I can pack and change. I’m sorry. I thought I’d only be in the office this morning, but Bennett wanted an update, and that became an ordeal.”

She could tell by the tenseness in his jaw that he wasn’t happy with the last minute meeting. “So, I get to see your place?”

“You’re lucky the cleaning lady came by yesterday, so it’s still decent.”

She would bet her plane ticket that his condo was always neat. His SUV didn’t have any trash on the floor, nor did she see any dust on the dashboard. “As long as I’m in Brownstown tomorrow by eleven, my schedule is flexible.” She was to meet her cousin and family for lunch, before seeing the attorney handling the land sale at three. She and Remy had planned to stay that night in a nearby hotel and the next day in Bloomington.

“Yeah, about that… Since it’s almost five now, how about we spend tonight at my place, and then head south in the morning?” He glanced at her.

“S-stay at your place?” Duh, she sounded stupid. But suddenly, she felt uneasy, like this was her first overnight with a man.

“I have a couple of steaks in the fridge. I can make dinner, and we can relax.”

“You want to cook for me?” Francesca took a deep breath to still the racing of her heart. She was curious about Remy’s place, and to be honest, she was tired of travelling.

“When we get home, you can change and relax.”

“I didn’t bring any hanging-out-at-home clothes.” She started running through what she’d packed—Capri pants and a blouse for tomorrow, and then a t-shirt dress for Sunday and her late night flight back to Las Vegas.

“We’ll figure something out.” He gave her a sexy grin.

Instantly, she felt her pussy dampen.

Remy lived in a townhouse about ten minutes from the interstate. It had a patio with a great view of a small lake. He gave her the tour, and then tossed her suitcase on his king-sized bed. “Do you need to hang anything? I’ve got extra hangers in the closet.”

“No, everything is fine.” She was looking at the framed photos grouped on one wall of his room. His parents at their wedding; with his mom at what she guessed was his college graduation; a group of men in their dress blues. The photo that was in the center of the grouping was of five men in camouflage leaning against a jeep. The same group standing in front of a partially-built deck. They were drinking beer, shirtless, with tool belts around their waists.

“Can you find me in those pictures?” He had stripped off his dress shirt and was unzipping his pants.

She turned to answer and paused. Christ, he was naked under his suit. “Wow,” she whispered.

He grinned at her and moved to his chest of drawers. “What?”

“I just didn’t expect that.” She motioned her hand in an up and down movement, encompassing his nakedness. “You know, commando.” Her mouth had gone dry. She was a total mess.

“I like the way it feels.” He took out a pair of gray shorts and pulled them on. He then rummaged through the drawer and located a pair of navy shorts. “These have a drawstring, so they might work for you.” He laid them on top of the chest.

“Can I borrow a shirt, too?” She watched him open another drawer and paw through the neatly folded shirts.

He found a red T-shirt and dropped it on top of the shorts. “It’s going to be huge.” He then pulled out a white T-shirt for himself.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she said faintly, already making plans to take the shirt home with her. She turned back to the photos. “I’ve found you in both of these. You’re always in the back row.”

He moved behind her and pointed to the group of five. “The second guy on the left, he’s the one getting married in a few months. It’s his engagement party in Denver that I told you about.”

“Will all of you be able to go to the wedding?”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his body. “I know Bruce invited us all and our ‘plus ones’. I don’t know if Marc,” he pointed to a slender, African-American man, “will make it.” He dropped his chin to her shoulder. “He’s had some problems. He checks out from time to time.”

She could hear the worry in his tone. “What about the engagement party? That might be a little more relaxed for him.”

“Marc is going farther and farther off the grid. He’s really good with computers, and when we got back, he studied investing and shit. He’s made a lot of money, or at least I think he has. The last time Trevor saw him,” Remy pointed to another man, “he said he was living in a basement of a house in Detroit, and it looked like he was one of those Doomsday Preppers.”

“I hope he can make it, and that he’ll be better.” She let her arms rest on top of his, liking the feel of his warm body against her back. Some of her tension eased. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze as they continued looking at the photos.

“Why don’t you change, and I’ll get us a couple of beers.” He kissed the side of her neck and headed downstairs.

“Can I take a shower?” she yelled after him.

“Sure, fresh towels are hanging over the laundry hamper in the bathroom.”

***

Remy pushed back his chair and started to clear the table.

Francesca waved him away. “I’ll do that. You cooked, so I’ll clean up.” She started to gather the used plates and utensils.

“You cooked, too.” He continued clearing.

“Remy, I don’t think unwrapping the foil from the potatoes and mixing up a salad counts as cooking.” She was enjoying herself. They’d worked well together in the kitchen. She stopped insisting and followed him into the kitchen, laying the dishes on the counter top. “Why don’t you deal with your grill, and I’ll take care of the dishes?” She laid her hands on his chest to push him backward out of the kitchen, or that was her intent. However, her hands slid upward, around his neck, and she stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

His hands dropped to her ass. “Too bad about the shorts.” He squeezed one ass check and then the other, flashing a sexy grin.

Even with the drawstring pulled tight, the shorts had ridden so low on her hips she’d decided to go without. His t-shirt hit mid-thigh, and it was just the two of them... “I can put them on, but every time I move I have to hold them up.”

“I’m glad you didn’t bother. I like this. In fact, I’m trying to figure out how to get your panties off, too.”

She snickered. “Go deal with your grill, and then we can think about panties-off time.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Not long after the dinner clean-up was complete, and she was sitting beside Remy on his patio watching the sun set. She had a cold beer in one hand, and her feet were draped across his long legs. “This is nice.” She sighed contentedly.

“My neighbors either don’t stay in their places much, or they never come outside. So, it’s quiet back here. I like to sit and have a beer to unwind.” He ran his hand down her smooth leg.

“About a year ago, I realized that I went days without ever stepping outside,” she confided as she let her head rest against the back of the loveseat.

“In the summer, I don’t blame you one bit.” He continued stroking her leg.

“True, but I’ve let a lot of life pass me by. Now, I try to make time to go out for a walk after dinner. Sometimes, I make Hadley or one of the others go with me. We usually end up discussing business, but at least I’m getting fresh air.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Babe, air on the Strip isn’t exactly fresh.”

“After I got back from my first trip to meet my mother’s family, I considered buying property around Brownstown. A little place to get away, but realistically it’s too far to travel.” She had loved the lush green grass and the velvety night sky in the rural farmland.

“You could get a place outside of your city. A guy I know from college has a fantastic spread out in the middle of nowhere. It’s two hours away from the Strip, but it feels like he’s miles away from anything.”

“I’ve thought about a vacation home. If I had one, then maybe I’d take time off and go there.” She knew it was never going to happen, but at least she’d finally accepted she needed to get away from The Red Rose every now and then.

“You could buy a house and move out of the tower,” he said it quietly.

She gave a rueful smile. “I moved into the tower when I separated from my ex. It was supposed to be temporary, just until we got divorced. My plan was to move out once everything was over. Then I was working so much, and it was so handy to take the elevator upstairs, that I never left.”

“So, what’s stopping you now?”

“All of the time it takes to go look at properties, and then you have to deal with the closing bullshit. I’d have to hire someone to decorate because I don’t have any decent furniture, and I suck at that anyway. I’d have to find somebody to deal with the yard. And then with all of the hours I’m putting in, would I even be there?” She sounded pathetic to her own ears. She had no life and no home, and she wasn’t sure how to change it.

He squeezed her knee. “You are your own boss, Frankie. You want more time for yourself. Make it happen.”

She kept silent and sipped her beer while watching the sun fade. She would never say the words aloud, but she knew the main reason that she hadn’t bought a house was that she wanted it to be a home. One she shared with her man and maybe a kid or two. But she had enough trouble trying to fit a boyfriend into her life. How would she ever manage a family? “I blocked out time to go with you to Denver next month.” That came out sounding defensive. She frowned.

He grunted. “Glad to hear it. I want you to meet some of my friends, and for them to meet you.”

She gave him a smile, glad he’d let her divert from the conversation about her lack of movement on finding her own place. Besides, she was looking forward to the trip. She’d called her personal shopper who’d found a gorgeous dress to wear to the party.

“I just hope that nothing comes up so you have to cancel the trip.”

She stiffened. That had sounded like an accusation. Alarms sounded in her head. Was he saying that she had better not cancel on him? She started to reply with a multitude of explanations about what could come up at work, but she paused and thought about it a moment longer. What was he really saying?

Realization tingled through her. Inviting her to meet his friends wasn’t a casual thing for him. Was this his way of signaling he was ready to take the next step in their relationship? Was she even ready? Suddenly, she wanted to be. “I know this is important to you, so it’s a big deal to me.” Her throat was dry, and her voice had gone rough. “I want to meet your friends, and I…I want to be there with you.” She could feel her body shake from nerves. Being open with him was still difficult.

Suddenly, Remy pushed her legs off of his and stood up. He pulled her to her feet beside him. “Bed.” His smile was full of mischief.

“Wait, what?” He was towing her behind him.

He stopped and turned to face her. “I want you Francesca. I want to be inside of you. So, let’s go to bed.”