Silver Bracelets: A Loveswept Contemporary Classic Romance (22 page)

She had to hand it to him. Nothing rattled him. Anyone named Rhett Butler Montana had to be tough.

When she came on board, she had headed for the poker tables on the third floor, thinking to get away from the slot machines and the noise. Counting the cards was easier when the atmosphere wasn’t raucous.

She forced herself to lower her gaze. She’d made contact with the man she’d come here to meet more quickly than she’d planned, and now she was having doubts. If her opponent had any weakness, he certainly didn’t show it. His hands were completely steady as he shuffled the cards. Only his half-mocking smile said he knew she was up to something, but just hadn’t figured out what.

“Name’s Montana,” he said, cutting the cards and shuffling them again. “And you are?”

“A gambler,” she said. “I take risks. What about you?”

He continued to shuffle. “I’ve been known to take a risk or two myself. What did you have in mind exactly?”

“For starters, what about upping the ante?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, then nodded. “Sure. To what?”

She hadn’t thought that far. Then, remembering her plan to lull him into a false sense of security, she said, “Double or nothing.”

Montana didn’t even blink, only his smile quirked almost imperceptibly, then disappeared.
Double or nothing?
She’d wanted him to think she was inexperienced. From the expression on his face, she knew she’d reached her goal.

“As you wish,” he agreed.

She let out an inaudible sigh of relief. She’d been afraid he’d refuse her challenge. The money she’d won so far wasn’t nearly enough. Not yet. Double that amount just might be a start.

The onlookers whispered among themselves curiously, then drew back. She could sympathize with their unease. It was obvious they weren’t certain what was happening, but they sensed that it was something big. Apparently Montana didn’t normally play.

“Would the lady in red like to cut the cards?” he asked, extending his hand across the table, his fingertips grazing hers as he opened his palm and displayed the cards. They weren’t touching any longer, but they might as well have been. She could still feel his heat.

Katie’s mouth went dry, and her heart started to tap-dance
against her rib cage. She took in a steadying deep breath, then raised her eyes. Big mistake. Up close, what she’d thought were eyes of bottomless black were in fact a rich, dark brown dancing with flecks of gold.

“I don’t think so,” she said in a sultry whisper instead of the in-charge tone she’d intended to use. So? What the hell, she’d intended to confuse and conquer. Like her friend Cat had said as she helped Katie plan her strategy, she might as well go for the gold. “Deal ’em, Mr. Montana. I’m ready to play.”

Their gazes met and sizzled like rainwater on a hot fire as he slid the top card off and placed it facedown in front of her, then dealt himself a card, faceup. He’d drawn a seven.

“Haven’t seen you here before,” he said.

“Haven’t been here before.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve heard it’s a dangerous place for a woman to frequent alone.”

“Oh?” he questioned, a hint of a smile at his mouth. “So what changed your mind?”

“Money, Mr. Montana. I need some and I intend to win a lot of yours.”

“I like a woman who’s honest about her intentions.”

“I never have been any good at lying,” she said.

He allowed himself a half smile. “Then you won’t mind if I tell you mine?”

“Not at all.”

“Good. If you win, you’ll have your money. If I win, I intend to have you.”

“I don’t think so,” she said in a voice more shaky
than she liked. “This is a gambling casino, money is the medium of exchange. You can’t change the stakes in the middle of the game. Deal the cards please.”

Her next card was a nine, his a ten. The dealer was showing seventeen points. Over twenty-one or under seventeen and she’d lose. Katie itched to peek at her hidden card, but making such a move would be a show of weakness or foolishness. Either characteristic would help her position. If she peeked she might even give herself away. She knew that was what he expected and maybe she wouldn’t discourage that thought just yet. But a little distraction might be good.

“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to add a little Southern honey to her voice as she stretched her shoulders and rearranged one shoulder strap. “All this”—she glanced around—“smoke and noise has made me thirsty. May I have something to drink?”

He countered with a glance of his own, up and down, never moving his gaze away from her. “Certainly. A glass of champagne?”

“Oh no, iced tea is more what I had in mind.”

This time he didn’t hold back a laugh. “Bring the lady an iced tea,” he said, taking a look at his hole card. “The dealer stands.”

“So do I,” she echoed.

“Without looking at your hole card?” he asked.

“I told you, I’m a risk taker.”

“I already knew that,” he countered.

“Oh? And how is that?”

“Any woman who wears a dress without a neckline or a hem has to be.”

She glanced down at the felt-covered table and said a silent thank you that the surface wasn’t glass. He was right. After the first few minutes of sitting on a stool, she’d given up tugging the skirt down and the top up. Not only that but her feet hurt. Why had she tried to look like a dark-haired Dolly Parton? She’d settle for her slender five-foot-five-inch body. She’d even settle for her modest bustline. It had been Cat, her friend and employee, who’d produced the Wonderbra that gave new interest to an area of her figure that she’d always considered in need of it.

At that moment her glass of iced tea arrived. Everyone was watching her to see how the game would proceed. Taking a sip, she blinked her lashes and in her most disinterested voice said, “Shall we see who won?”

“Why not? The dealer shows seventeen points.”

Katie’s heart jumped up into her throat and lodged there. If she hadn’t already swallowed the iced tea, it would never have gone down. “Let’s see what I’ve got.”

“My thoughts exactly,” he drawled, and she knew it wasn’t the card he was referring to.

Katie couldn’t handle any more suspense. She reached out and flipped over the card. “A ten. Nineteen points. Looks like I came out on top.”

“There are times when I like being on the bottom,” Montana admitted. “I don’t mind being dominated now and then—at cards,” he added, the gold in his eyes twinkling merrily.

Katie was out of her league. She might be able to hold her own playing cards, but this conversation was making her crazy. She’d pushed her luck as far as she
could for tonight. Even the steady riverboat seemed to be rocking beneath her feet. “I think I need some air, Mr. Montana,” she said, and stood. “Thank you for taking such a personal interest in one of your customers.”

“Please, drop the mister. Just call me Montana. And you haven’t finished your iced tea.”

“I’ve had enough, thank you.”

“But you haven’t given me a chance to get even.”

“Getting even,” she mused. “There is a certain amount of satisfaction in getting even.”

“I agree. Why don’t we talk about a rematch.”

“I don’t think so. But don’t worry—Montana—I’ll be back.” She glanced down at her chips and frowned. What was she supposed to do with them?

As if he understood her confusion, Montana raised his hand, beckoning to the dealer he’d replaced. “Just join me in my quarters while Royal cashes in your chips. He’ll bring your money.”

“No. I can’t. I’m meeting someone.”

At that, he frowned and glanced quickly at the door. “Where?”

“On the dock.”

He looked at his watch. “After one o’clock. I hope your date is patient—unless you plan to swim.”

Damn! She hadn’t thought about that. The boat left every night at midnight for a special journey upriver. A two-hour cruise had sounded just about right for her first foray into the world of gambling. She hadn’t expected to have everything go so smoothly.

She hadn’t worn her watch; her faithful Timex
hadn’t matched her outfit. Now she tried to sound disinterested as she asked, “How long before we get back?”

“About half an hour,” he lied. The truth was closer to twenty minutes, depending on the current. He’d better work fast. Taking her by the arm, he started through the crowd. “Shall we?”

Katie shrugged off his grasp. “I’d really prefer a walk on deck away from all this smoke and noise.” She didn’t want to be alone with him, but she couldn’t afford to make him suspicious.

Katie always did her homework on any project she took on. She’d been told that women found Montana irresistible. And apparently, he treated them as he did his playing cards, shuffling them around at his whim and changing them frequently. Yes, she’d studied the man, but there were still many things about his everyday—every night—life that she didn’t know.

“A walk in the moonlight sounds delightful,” he said, allowing her to call the shots, this time.

Moments later she found herself leaning against the rail watching the dark waters of the Mississippi rush by. The lights of the businesses along the river twinkled in the darkness, and in the distance she could see a bridge. Overhead, a crescent moon hung precariously, looking too fragile to withstand the breeze that kicked up suddenly and flung dark clouds across its light.

“Looks like we’re going to have some rain,” Montana commented.

“Will it keep us from getting back on time?”

“It could.” Actually—though he wouldn’t tell her this—it could make their return even faster.

“Damn!”

“What’s the matter, are you afraid he’ll think you stood him up?”

“He?” Her alleged date was Cat, and Katie was pretty sure that if Cat could have planned the evening, she’d have gladly written this little episode right into the script. Cat thought it was time Katie discarded her books, her calculator, and her pained expression. A man like Montana would be just what a financial director and accountant like Kate needed.

“Your late date.”

The wind blowing across the waves turned cool and damp. “It looks like I’ll be the one doing the standing up.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shivered.

Montana slid his arms out of his jacket and draped it around Katie’s bare shoulders, using the collar he pulled up around her neck to turn her toward him.

She tried unsuccessfully to twist away. “No, you don’t have to do this. I’ll be fine.”

“You wouldn’t want to cool off your streak of luck, would you?”

Cool off was exactly what she needed to do. How could she have miscalculated so badly? She’d been so intent on getting on board and attracting Montana’s attention that she never considered she might need to leave quickly. Her plan to win big and disappear into the night was not to be. A few hours of bravado was about all she could handle. Now she was trapped by the very man she wanted to leave intrigued while she got ready for her next attack.

“Guess you’ll be my guest for a while longer,
whether you want to be or not. If you’ve had enough blackjack, we could share a late supper.”

“No, I’m not hungry. I mean I told you … I came here to gamble.”

“That’s right, you said you wanted to win a lot of money. Maybe you’d like to change the game to one with higher stakes. What about a few private hands of poker?”

That was exactly what she’d had in mind. But now Katie didn’t like the look in Montana’s eyes. She’d seen it before. The last time she’d been invited to play poker, she’d been fifteen and her opponent had been a sixteen-year-old with more polish than a queen’s silver. If it hadn’t been for her younger brother, Carson, she might have lost more than her clothes. When Carson discovered them in the gazebo by the river, he’d defended his sister’s honor with his fists. Carson lost the fight and Katie lost her poker-playing admirer.

That had been Katie’s first, but it hadn’t been her last high-stakes game. Back then, she’d learned not to let herself be lulled into agreement by pretty words and a challenge, and later, when she’d learned she had an uncanny ability to count the cards, she’d taught Carson to play poker and had beaten him routinely.

Tonight had been meant as a trial run, a warm-up for the big event. But it looked as if fate had taken a hand. She couldn’t leave the boat, and Montana was inviting her to up the stakes. So her timetable had changed. She’d move to the next stage of her assault, make her strike tonight … and disappear.

She had no choice. Fate had dealt the cards.

Her answer had to be, “Yes.”

The Mississippi River gambler neither nodded nor smiled. Instead he used a more disarming means of sealing their agreement.

He kissed her.