Calling Her Bluff (What Happens in Vegas) (8 page)

Chapter Eight

A
few weeks later, Jack was back doing “just one more favor” for Ben, filling in for one of the guys who had called in sick. They had just caught some guy counting cards. Jack was in the process of throwing the scumbag into a metal folding chair in the security office.

Ben had to grab Jack by the shoulders to haul him off the guy. “Whoa there, Alderisi. What bug crawled up your ass?”

Jack yanked his shoulder out of Ben’s grasp. He shot both Ben and the perp an evil eye. “He lied to me,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “I don’t like it when they lie.”

Ben was now standing between the two men, with one hand on each man to keep them apart.

“You, asshole. In the chair. Now.” Ben pushed the perp down into the chair and handcuffed his hands behind his back. Then he turned toward Jack. “You. Outside.”

Once they were in the hallway, Ben read Jack the riot act. “What is your deal? You’ve been a grumpy bastard for weeks now.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Not since that romance convention ended. Have you called her yet?”

“Who?”

Ben fumbled inside his desk drawer and produced a business card. He handed it to Jack. “You know who.”

It was Chastity Rollin’s card. Kamaria’s agent. “It didn’t work out between us. Leave it alone, Ben.”

“If you don’t call, I will.”

“Fine.” He had never gotten Kamaria’s phone number. Sending her an email through her author website felt too creepy. Chastity had all but thrown them together. Maybe she would help him find her. He grabbed his suit jacket and headed for the door. “You look like you can handle it without me.”

Ben called out after him, “Yeah. Now get your shit together.”

Jack stomped down the hallway toward the employee parking area. He slammed the door behind him. Once he was in his truck, he loosened his tie. He was done with these part-time weekend security gigs anyway. He was at a point of turning away home renovation jobs during the week.

He pulled his cell phone out of the inner lining pocket of his jacket. He didn’t want to think about Kamaria anymore. Or her big brown eyes. Or her seductive smile. Or how, despite his resemblance to the hero on her book, he failed to be the hero she needed him to be in real life. He wanted to hold her. Use his hands and his mouth to show her how sorry he was. He hadn’t been able to think about anything else since she left town. And, damn it, he missed her.

His cell phone vibrated in his hand. It was his sister Sofia. He swiped the screen to answer it.

“What?” he barked into the phone.

“Hello to you too, big brother.” Sofia sounded way too cheery.

He took a deep breath. “What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to remind you that my graduation is coming up in a few weeks. Since you handled most of my tuition, I wanted to give you first dibs on tickets. But it sounds like you’d rather not be bothered. I’ll let you go.”

“Wait. My bad. You just caught me at a bad time. Your graduation is important.” Jack forced his voice to soften. “Of course I’ll be there.”

“What’s her name? Should I put you down for two tickets?”

“What makes you think there’s a ‘her’?”

“It’s me, Jack.”

“Okay, fine. She’s one of those romance authors…”

“Which one?”

“Her name is Kamaria…”

“Oh my God, you met Kamaria Wilson? Why didn’t you tell me?” Sofia made a high-pitched “ee” sound. Jack had to hold the device away from his ear until she finished.

“Yeah, her.”

“Why’d you say ‘her’ like you’re PMSing?

“Sofia,” Jack warned.

“Oh my God, you’re sprung, aren’t you? This is so freaking cool. My brother is in love with Kamaria Wilson. You totally have to bring her to my graduation. I’m telling Mama.”

“Sofia!”

“I gotta go anyway. Whatever you did to screw it up with her, fix it. I can’t wait to meet my future sister-in-law. Bye!”

Jack threw his phone onto the passenger side seat. Great. Knowing Sofia, she and their mother would have a wedding all planned and booked by the time he saw them at graduation. He started the ignition and pulled out of the parking space. Traffic exiting the property onto the Strip was backed up. It looked like it wouldn’t be moving anytime soon. Chastity’s business card was still sitting on his lap.

He imagined Sofia’s pout if he showed up at her graduation without Kamaria on his arm. So he had to invite her, right?

Besides, he could see Kamaria becoming fast friends with his sister. She would adore his tough-as-nails mother. Mama didn’t let anyone push her around anymore, either. And then his grandmother… He could see Nonna giving Kamaria the secret family cannoli recipe as soon as she laid eyes on her.

He snatched up his phone. He was such a sucker. His little sister had him wrapped around her finger, even from three thousand miles away. Not that he could really blame Sofia, it was Kamaria that had him tied in knots. Yes, he’d been a bastard lately, but only because he’d been hurting for any excuse to go after her. “Christ, fine. I’ll call.”

He didn’t need to look at the card. This wasn’t his first time dialing the number on it. But, this was the first time he stayed on the line long enough for someone to answer.

“Tough Ta-Tas Literary Management.”

Jack took a deep breath. “Chastity, it’s Jack Alderisi.”

“You say that like I should know who you are.” From the tone of her voice, she knew exactly who he was. And she didn’t sound too happy to hear from him. He steeled himself for an uphill battle.

“The security guy you hired,” he replied slowly. “From Vegas.”

Silence.

“Where is she?” Jack winced as he blurted out the question. He sounded desperate, even to himself.

“Oh, Mr. Alderisi. It’s been so long I figured you weren’t ever going to call.”

Her snarky jab hit him in the chest. “I deserve that.”

“Yes, you do. I was disappointed with how you handled my client at the end of that weekend. My gut told me you were the man for the job. I’ve never been wrong before… Too bad. ’Cause you have a really nice butt. Did Mari ever tell you that she has a thing for nice butts?”

Jack could tell that Chastity was smiling now. He released the breath he had been holding. “I know I fucked up. I have no idea how to fix it. I need your help.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He could hear her ruffling through some papers on the other end. “Kamaria mentioned that you do home renovations. Is that true?”

“Yes, ma’am. But what does that have to do with Kamaria?”

“She’s at my family’s property in Arizona. The place could use some work. It’s several hours from Vegas by car. I doubt she’ll open the door for you if you’re only there to say you’re sorry. But she might if you tell her you’re there to do an estimate on the warped floor for me.”

“You don’t have to hire me for a job. If it’ll help me make things right with Kamaria, I’ll do the work for free.”

“Nice ass and you do freebies? Kamaria was right. You are the perfect man. Please don’t mess this up with her again.”

The traffic light changed. The cars in front of him started moving, giving Jack just enough space to turn off onto a less crowded side street.

“I won’t,” he promised. “Just text me the address. I’m on my way.”

K
amaria stared off at the red rock formations in the distance. Being in Sedona usually gave her the peace of mind she needed to tackle huge chunks of writing. But not this time. Whenever she sat down at her laptop, all she could think about was Jack.

She pushed away from her desk, causing her chair to roll backward. Dammit. She didn’t know why she was so hung up on this guy. There were so many reasons why nothing long term could ever happen between them. But the fact that the last time she saw him, he had automatically assumed the worst of her… She wondered how something that should’ve been insignificant had the power to devastate her so much.

What happened in Vegas was supposed to stay in Vegas.

She looked out the window again. She saw a pickup truck pull into the driveway. It said
Alderisi Home Renovations
on the side. It couldn’t be… Kamaria snatched up her phone and called Chastity.

“Tough Ta-Tas Literary Management.”

“Chastity, tell me why Jack’s truck is parked in front of the house.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I have someone coming out to do an estimate for some renovations.”

Kamaria pinched the bridge of her nose. “Chastity, you don’t forget anything. And this isn’t a random someone outside.” 

“I can’t help it if the fix-it guy happens to be cute.” Kamaria watched Jack jump out of his truck and look around the property. “I have it on good authority that he has a great ass.”

Kamaria tightened the sash on her robe. She glanced in the mirror. Her cleavage still peeked out. Her tousled locks framed her face. Today would be the day that she looked like a disheveled sex goddess. God, would he think that she’d planned to greet him in only a silk robe? Helloo, desperate much? She could run upstairs. Maybe hide. Change into some clothes. “Please tell me that you hired a look-alike male prostitute to put Jack’s business logo on a truck and drive all the way out here.”

Chastity sighed. “I can’t, because I did no such thing. I didn’t hire anybody to drive anywhere. He called me.”

She could hear his boots crunch up the gravel walkway. When he reached the rickety step outside of the screen door, it shook the whole house. He tapped the knocker against the door.

“He’s here. I can’t believe he’s here. Chastity, I’m gonna get you for this.”

“How about getting me a decent maid of honor dress for the wedding? Have fun, Mari. You’re getting a second chance. Don’t mess this one up, hon.”

The dial tone rang in her ear. Who was thinking about wedding bells when she and Jack couldn’t even figure out the first date? 

A second heavy knock on the door made her jump. She flew down the staircase to the ground floor and yanked open the door. She quickly folded her arms across her chest.

“Kamaria.” Jack breathed her name through the screen door.

“What are you doing here, Jack?” Even though he still stood on the lower step, his chin cleared the top of her head by a few inches. She felt her nipples pebble beneath her arms at the sound of his voice. She squeezed herself tighter. No, she wouldn’t cave that easily. He was the one who had been in the wrong.

“Can I come in?”

She felt her pulse quicken. The tortured look in his eyes made her want to reach out to him. No. She needed to stand her ground. “That depends. Chastity said she wants you to look over the house for a renovation estimate. So, did you come all this way for Chastity…or are you here for me?”

“I came for you.” Jack shifted the tool box under his arm. “But she wasn’t kidding when she said this house needed some work. I’m glad Chastity asked me to come out to take a look.”

“Come out to take a look?” Kamaria stepped aside and pushed the screen door open. “You make it sound like you were around the corner instead of a four-hour drive away.” 

“It was no biggie. The landscape on the way was almost as beautiful as you.”

He came for me.
She would’ve swooned if she wasn’t supposed to be mad at him. If this is what those grand gesture moments in romance novels actually felt like, she had been totally writing them wrong. “Ha! Cute. Just keep the noise down while you do whatever you need to do. I have a book to finish.”

“No problem.” The normal gleam in his eyes looked flat. But his expression told her nothing. Now, of all times,
now
he was going to master a poker face.

“Jack, seriously, why are you here?”

“I told you. I’m. Here. For.
You.
”

“Chastity said you called her. What about all that talk about keeping her out of our business?”

Jack paused. “We didn’t part on the best of terms. And I never got your phone number so I could contact you directly.”

“All of my contact information is in the hotel database. Why didn’t you swipe it from there?”

“Because that…” Jack pulled open the screen door. He stepped forward to brush a stray lock from her face. “…Is considered stalking.”

“And showing up like this isn’t?”

“I was invited.”

“Not by me.”

“It’s not your house.”

Kamaria scrunched up her face. “That’s not entirely correct. What did Chastity tell you?”

“Nothing, except the address and that this was her family’s property. Look, I know I hurt you. I assumed the worst without gathering the facts. I apologize for that. Chastity told me what happened. How you had that breakthrough during your speech. I hate that I missed it.” Jack paused to run his hand through his hair. Kamaria wished he hadn’t done that. The gesture made her want to drag him upstairs into her bed. “She told me how you came into the casino to tell me about it, not to play.”

She nodded her head.

“All I wanted to say was that I’m proud of you. And that I’m sorry.” Jack picked up his gear. “I’ll get to looking the place over now. We can keep it strictly professional this time. I won’t bother you again.”

“Wait.” She grabbed Jack by the arm. “Why did you brush me off when I said I was ready to take us past that weekend?”

Jack stared at her hand. She detected a ghost of a smile curving his lips. “I didn’t mean it that way. Of course I wanted to keep seeing you, but
away
from Las Vegas.”

“So…” She returned his smile. This was starting to feel like a middle school “you hang up first” conversation.

“Don’t you have a book to finish, Kamaria?”

“Don’t you have a major renovation to plan? Look, thanks. Your apology. I appreciate that. So what now?”

“If you think you’re ready, I’d love to have something more with you. I told you I’m not a fling kind of guy. I’m all in or nothing. But, I care enough to not put you in a situation that’s not good for you. It’s not like I can ask you to come back to Vegas with me.”

“And I can’t ask you to stay here with me in the boonies. You have a business to run.”

“A business that sometimes requires working on projects out of town,” he reminded her. Jack tapped his boot upon the warped wooden floor in the living room. He looked back to inspect the creaky screened porch he had just walked through.