High Stakes (9 page)

“Of course, sir. I’ll get it ready for you
right away. Would you like me to gift wrap it and have it delivered to your
suite?”

“No, I’ll take it now, thanks.” He glanced
over his shoulder, praying Alisa wouldn’t pass by and catch him in the act. He
knew she would never allow him to spoil her with such an extravagant gift,
which is why he wanted to. Because she didn’t expect it, and it would put a
smile on her beautiful face. And every time she looked at that ring from now on,
she would think about him and… what they could have had, if things were
different.

He cursed the fates for bringing her into
his life only to take her away again tomorrow.

The sales clerk polished the diamond and
slipped it into a black velvet box, holding it out for his perusal. “It’s five
carats, total weight, and the center stone is VVS clarity—”

“It’s lovely. But I really don’t have a lot
of time.” He took the ring out of the box and slipped it into his pocket while
she processed the sale.

She passed him the handheld machine to
complete the sale and smiled. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Bryson. Your
girlfriend is a very lucky lady.”

“Thank you.” He strode out of the store and
back into the private dining room, breathing a sigh of relief when he confirmed
Alisa hadn’t returned.

The blackjack dealer, a uniformed man in
his mid to late sixties, looked up at Liam, a genuine smile splitting his
wrinkled face. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Bryson.” He extended
his hand. “I’ve heard so many good things about you, and I have to say, my time
with your company has been the best of my career.”

Liam glanced at the older man’s name badge
as he accepted his hand. “Thanks, John, I’m glad to hear that.”

“You waitin’ on a lady?” he asked, his soft
green eyes crinkling at the corners.

Liam nodded. “She shouldn’t be too much
longer.”

John chuckled. “Reminds me of that song,
‘Waitin on a Woman.’ You ever heard that one?”

“Yeah, I think I have.” He caressed the
ring in his pocket, trying to imagine Alisa’s reaction when he slipped it on
her finger.

“Let me tell you,” he said, laying the
cards out on the table. “Truer words were never spoken. I was married for
thirty-nine years.” His eyes glazed over. “My Mary died of a heart attack just
last year.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Liam said
quietly.

“You ever been married?” John asked,
looking up at him.

“No.”

“Best thing I ever did.” He smiled. “Sure,
I was scared at first, but once we tied the knot, it made me wonder why the
hell I ever had a doubt in my mind.”

Liam smiled. “Did you two know each other
very long before you got married?”

“Just about two days.”

Liam threw his head back and laughed. “Come
on, seriously?”

“Seriously.” He joined in Liam’s laughter
and shook his head. “I was in Vegas for my older brother’s bachelor party, and
she was home from college for the summer, working at the casino. We had one
incredible weekend together, but she had to go back to school and I had to go
back to work. We talked about tryin’ the long distance thing, but we both knew
that would never work.”

Liam sat down in the chair on the opposite
side of the table as he tried to process the older man’s words of wisdom. “So
you married her, just like that, huh?”

“Sure did. Everybody thought we were crazy.
Her parents, my parents, they were all mad as hell at first. They demanded we
get an annulment, but we were determined to see it through. We loved each
other, and we were gonna be together, no matter what anybody said. Our son
Tommy was born right around the time we celebrated our first wedding
anniversary, and two more after that.” He pulled a battered leather wallet out
of his back pocket and, with trembling hands, offered Liam a wrinkled picture.

Liam’s gut clenched when he looked at
John’s beautiful family. He and his wife stood proudly in the middle of the
large group, surrounded by children, grandchildren, and in-laws. He realized he
wanted that for himself. He’d spent so many years building a business and
raising his little girl that he nearly let his opportunity for love slip past.

“You have a beautiful family, John,” Liam
said, passing the photo back to him. “You’re a lucky man.” Though, it was
difficult for Liam to imagine how the older man got through the day without his
soul mate to share his life.

“Don’t I know it.” He smiled as he slipped
the photo back in his wallet. “I still miss her every damn day.” He wiped his
eyes with a white handkerchief and sniffled. “I keep thinkin’ it’s gonna get
easier, but it doesn’t. Some days I just wish the Lord would take me too, so we
could be together again.”

“You have a family who needs you,” Liam
said, trying to fight back his own emotion. “You need to stay strong for them.”

“It was easy to stay strong with Mary by my
side. I felt like I could face anything. But now, it’s a struggle just to get
out of bed most mornings.” He blew his nose. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bryson. I didn’t
mean to unload all this on you. It’s just that some days are harder than
others, ya know?”

“Yeah, I do.” Liam watched the older man
for a long time. “John, can I ask you a personal question?”

He chuckled. “Sure, you know my whole life
story now anyways. Not much more to tell.”

“Did you know right away that Mary was the
one?”

“Sure did, hit me like a ton of bricks.” He
shook his head. “First I thought I was just imaginin’ it, but when I realized I
couldn’t let her go back to school without me, I knew it was the real deal.”

“And you never once regretted that choice,
huh?”

“No, sir. But I know if I’d let her get
away, I sure as hell would’ve regretted it.”

In that moment, Liam knew without a doubt
he’d never forgive himself if he let Alisa walk away without a fight.

Alisa sat on the edge of a gilded bench
outside of the ladies’ room and dialed her best friend’s number. She and Lena
had been like sisters since the wayward girl came to live with them as a teen.
If anybody could talk some sense into her, Lena could.

“Hello?”

Her voice was groggy with sleep, and Alisa
felt guilty for waking her, but this couldn’t wait. “Is James there?” Lena’s fiancé
spent more time at her apartment than his own these days, so it was a
reasonable guess.

“No, he had some things to take care of at
his place. What’s goin’ on?”

“Um, I met someone, and I could use your
advice.” She needed someone to tell her she couldn’t possibly be feeling what
she thought she was.

“Ohhh, this is gonna be good.” There was
rustling in the background. “Okay, I’m awake now. Fill me in.”

“His name’s Liam Bryson,” Alisa whispered,
careful not to alert Liam’s staff that she was talking about their boss. “He
owns Bryson’s… You know, that boutique hotel chain?”

“Shut. Up.”

Alisa couldn’t help but laugh. Her friend
had always had a flair for dramatics. “Seriously. He was seated beside me on
the plane, and we just started talking.”

“Go on.”

“Well, I came back to his hotel with him,
and we’re having dinner now.” She drew a deep breath. “I like him… a lot. I
mean,
a lot, a lot
.”

“Define a lot.”

Alisa laughed as butterflies flitted around
in her belly. “I wish I could. This connection we have is so… intense. That’s
the only way I can think of to describe it. I mean, I’ve never felt this way
about anybody.”

There was a long pause before Lena asked,
“Not even Nick?”

“Not even Nick.”

“Oh my God. So, what’re you gonna do? You
gonna sleep with him?”

Alisa winced at her friend’s candor, not
that she was surprised. “I don’t know. I want to, but… that may make it even
harder to walk away tomorrow, ya know? This was just supposed to be a fun
little fling, to get my mind off of work for a while, but it’s turning into so
much more than that.” She held her hair back from her face. “And I don’t know
what the hell to do about it.”

“Where does he live?”

“San Fran.”

“Damn.”

“I know. Not only that, but he has a
daughter. And he’s older, a lot older.”

Lena laughed. “Your dad’s gonna bust an
artery when he hears about this.”

“I know, that’s part of the problem.”

“Oh. My. God!” Lena shrieked.

“What? What is it?”

“I just Googled your hotel tycoon.”

Alisa’s stomach fell. She should have known
he was too good to be true. “What’d you find out about him? Is he married? Gone
down for tax evasion? Kids in every state?”

Lena laughed. “And you say I
over-dramatize?”

“Would you just tell me already? I need to
know whether I’m going back in there or hailing a cab, so I can get the hell
out of here.”

“He’s freakin’ gorgeous, girl!”

“That’s it?” Alisa’s heartbeat finally
started to return to normal. “That’s what you’re freaking out about, the fact
that he’s good-looking? Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, but good-looking… to describe this
guy? Come on, Ali. Did you forget your glasses again?”

“Shut up. Okay, you’re supposed to be my
friend. Tell me what I should do.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No! If it was, I wouldn’t be calling you,
would I?”

“Honey, if you let this guy get away,
you’re crazy.” There was a moment of silence before her friend said, “Listen,
just by scanning this stuff about him online, he’s the real deal. He donates a
fortune to charity. Oh, and look, there he is with his daughter at some
father/daughter thing. Awww, that’s so sweet.”

“Would you stop? I already know he’s
incredible. I called you because I wanted you to tell me I’m acting crazy,
falling for a guy I just met.”

“Honey, I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced
it, but enough people have claimed to have fallen in love at first sight. So I
guess it can happen.”

“Stop! I didn’t say I’m in love with the
guy. That would be crazy.”

“Who says?”

My father, for one.
“It just is.”

“Who the hell cares what anybody else
thinks? You deserve to be happy, and it’s been a long, long time since I’ve
seen you happy. Hell, even with Nick you were guarded ’cause you didn’t think
you could trust him.” Lena sighed. “Speaking of that dirt bag, I guess I should
tell you he dropped by the store looking for you today.”

Lena was the manager of Alisa’s store and,
according to her, her self-appointed bodyguard. “Oh hell no. What did he want?”

“He brought a couple dozen roses. He said
today would have been the anniversary of the day you started dating.”

Alisa glanced at the date on the diamond-studded
watch her parents had given her as an engagement gift. Just because the
relationship hadn’t lasted didn’t mean she didn’t still love the watch. Even if
it did serve as a bitter reminder that she’d trusted the wrong man. “Oh God,
he’s right.” He found new ways to torture her every day, as if his lying and
cheating hadn’t been enough.

“I threw his flowers in the trash and told
him to go to hell.”

Alisa smiled through her tears. “I love
you.”

“I’ve always got your back, you know that.”

A dark shadow fell over her, and Alisa
looked up to find Liam towering over her. “Um, I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you
tomorrow, okay?”

“You better, and just remember what I said.
You deserve to be happy. If this guy can make you happy, I say go for it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She disconnected
the call as Liam sat down on the bench beside her. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

“I was worried you weren’t feeling well.
You had quite a bit to drink.” He settled his arm around her and drew her
close. “You seem upset. Is everything okay?”

“Nick stopped by the store with flowers.”
She felt his arm tighten around her waist. “Today would have been our
anniversary.”

“Great,” he muttered.

She looked up at him. “I’m sorry, we only
have this one night together, and I keep talking about my ex. That’s not fair
to you.”

“I wish you’d stop saying that,” he said,
brushing away the tear sliding down her cheek. “Why can’t we have more? Hell, I
have a private jet. I can fly anywhere I want, whenever I want, including
Nashville.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “Yeah,
and you also have a daughter to raise and a company to run. As it is, you
probably don’t have enough hours in the day. How do you propose fitting a long-distance
relationship into the mix?” When he didn’t respond right away, she knew she’d
made her point, but it still hurt. She didn’t want it to be impossible. She
wanted to explore this thing between them more than she wanted anything in a
long, long time.