Draw Me Close (28 page)

“I know, the guy can't see a good thing even when it's slapping him upside the head,” Callie replied. “He's not gonna be hot forever, then what's he going to do?”

Lindsey and Anne laughed, but the comment really stuck with Lindsey. Was this a good thing she had right now? She wanted to think it was. Just because something was scary didn't make it bad. And she certainly didn't want to be like Eric, letting a good thing slip away. She'd done that once before. Hadn't even put up a fight for Derek. Now that she knew the truth she figured it wouldn't have done much good, but she could have let him know how much she'd loved him.

“Well, we look good,” Anne said. “Now, everyone, please be safe. Watch your drinks, don't get too far away from the guys, and keep your phones on you at all times.”

“Yes, mom,” Callie said.

Anne rolled her eyes and then looked around. “Everyone have a room key?”

Callie and Lindsey held theirs up.

“Feel free to come back to this room until … say … midnight. But after that, if you open that door, I won't be responsible for what you walk in on,” Anne said with a wink. “But seriously, this room is open if you girls need it. You hear?”

Anne's gaze lingered on Lindsey and she gave her a small smile. The three of them left, walked down the hall, and then watched the elevator doors close as they headed down to the hotel casino lobby.

*   *   *

Derek turned to glance at the elevator one more time. An old white-haired couple stepped out. He sighed. Lindsey had left shortly after they'd woken up this morning and he'd been thinking about her all day long. He was pretty sure he'd never felt as close to another person as he had with her last night. Astonishing considering their past. But damn, he was glad. He finally felt like they were on their way to overcoming what they'd been through. What he'd done.

Right now he intended to take things one day at a time. He had said he'd let nothing come between them, and that was his plan. But that didn't mean he didn't have baggage, and his son to think about. He just needed to figure out how to make everything work. He knew it was possible. For the time being he saw no reason to talk to Lindsey about what Lisa had threatened until he was sure what was happening. He'd contacted his lawyer, prepped him for all the potential disasters, and was now going for what he wanted.

“Oh man, take a look at this.” Mike leaned over and held his phone in front of Derek on the bar. It was a picture of Anne, Callie, and Lindsey, obviously in the bathroom of their hotel room. They all looked very pretty, but he did a double take on seeing Lindsey. She looked incredible. Her lips looked like ripe-fruit, her hair was sexy and wavy, and she was wearing some sort of tight dress that showed off her amazing cleavage. The day of the photo shoot she'd been wholesome sexy, but tonight … goddamn, tonight she looked like a siren.

“Where did you get this?” Derek asked.

“Twitter.” Mike pulled his phone back in front of him.

“Since when do you have a Twitter account?” Derek asked in shock.

Mike shrugged. “Since I wanted to start following Anne. They have a blog account all the girls post on.”

Derek heard laughter from the lobby and turned. And there she was. The minute their eyes locked she smiled and intense relief and happiness fell over him. This was the feeling he wanted to have forever when he looked at the woman he loved. And damn, he loved her.

Mike got up as soon as Anne stepped near him, and Derek tried not to watch as his friend nuzzled into his fiancée's temple. “Happy Bachelorette Party, Perfect.”

At the same moment Derek saw a large guy come up behind Callie and grab her around the waist. She laughed and turned in his arms before plastering a kiss on his lips. Derek hadn't met Bennett yet, Callie's ex-pro-football-playing boyfriend, but clearly this was him. Mike liked him so Derek figured he would also.

Everyone was now coupled up and that left him and Lindsey. She stood next to the bar holding a little black purse in front of her. Her dress was black, tight, and strapless. He lifted a finger and beckoned her over to him.

She took the few steps up to him and he grabbed her hand before leaning into whisper in her ear. “You look so good I want to eat you.”

She laughed. “I borrowed this dress from Mel.”

He stepped back and looked down her body. “You should keep it. Although I'll bet I like you better without it.”

He pulled her against him and laid a quick kiss on the top of her head. He waited, expecting her to get upset. Be embarrassed. She did neither, just smiled up at him.

“David!” Callie yelled, startling them. Derek and Lindsey turned to see Callie rushing over to throw her arms around Eric's date. “We were just talking about you.”

Derek looked at Lindsey questioningly. “Eric and David have been off again on again. We would like it to stay on.”

“Ah,” Derek said.

They waited a few more minutes and then Emma—another employee of Callie's bakery—showed up with a friend of hers and they all headed to the steakhouse at the other end of the building. Derek grabbed Lindsey's hand, threading their fingers. He slowed them down so they could hang in back as they walked the length of the casino.

“Have you been here before?” Lindsey asked

“Once. It was some conference for developers, but it was a year or so ago. It's different now. New owner. And I'm not much for gambling so I haven't been back. You?”

She shook her head. “No, never. It's pretty cool. Is this what the casinos in Vegas look like?”

“You haven't been there, either?” Derek asked.

“Nope. I've lived kind of a sheltered life,” Lindsey said.

“This is pretty much what they look like. More flashy though, and probably more crowded. Oh and definitely more half-naked women.”

Lindsey laughed. “Sounds really boring.”

“Oh yeah, definitely nothing fun to do in Vegas.”

Derek liked that they could joke like this. She was so easy to talk to, that was what he remembered liking about her the first time. She was just … sweet. And funny.

They continued to talk about the casino as they walked and by the time they made it to the restaurant he had his arm around her waist. The group congregated at the hostess stand, and Derek caught Mike watching him and Lindsey. His friend gave Derek the classic sly Mike grin. Lindsey must have caught it too because she looked up at him and whispered.

“How long have you and Mike known each other?”

Derek considered this. “Since second grade, I think. Damn, a long time.”

“Really?” Lindsey looked shocked. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, we lived down the street from each other. Used to play outside almost every day. We stayed friends all the way through high school. Lost touch a little after that but we caught up again. It's nice having a friend that's known you that long.”

“I bet,” Lindsey said. Derek put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close to him. He placed another kiss on the top of her head and inhaled the sweet fruity scent of her shampoo. It was hard to keep his hands off her. He'd like to kiss her for real but wasn't sure if she was ready for that kind of public display of affection.

Soon they were seated and enjoying an amazing dinner. He was quick to inform their server that he and Lindsey were together, and she smiled, grabbing his leg under the table before leaning closer to him. So maybe she didn't have a problem with them being obvious. He gave her a wink. Once everyone was finished, they decided to head over to the nightclub.

The club required a walk through the main casino floor, and Derek watched Lindsey taking in the lights, sounds, and flash of it all.

“Wanna try some slots?” he asked.

“No way, I can't.”

“Blackjack? Poker?” Derek pointed to the rows of tables. “If I was inclined to gamble, poker would be my game. At least then you feel like skill plays a part, although it's still mainly luck.”

“The odds are not in your favor no matter what,” she said. Derek stopped and pulled her close. He glanced ahead to see that their group had kept moving. The lights of the room flashed in her beautiful eyes and he leaned down to kiss her. She kissed him back, her lips tasting like cherry lip gloss. He lifted his head and rested his nose against hers.

“Everything's a gamble, Linds. You just have to decide if it's worth the risk.”

She nodded. Their voices were fairly loud due to the noise, but there was no way anyone would hear their exchange. They could only hear one another. “I think you're worth the risk,” she said.

He gave her a slow grin and then squeezed her hand in his.

A siren went off behind them, and everyone in the near vicinity turned to the corner of the room where a giant board of lights began to flash on top of a cluster of quarter slot machines. Several people started clapping and cheering.

Derek leaned down and spoke to Lindsey over the noise. “Some lucky bastard just won the ten-thousand-dollar jackpot.”

When he looked at her face he frowned. She just stared toward the corner where the lights flashed, her eyes narrowing. “That's my dad.”

 

Twenty-One

Lindsey felt like she was going to pass out. At first she thought she'd been seeing things, but no, there he was, grin wide, as a casino employee headed over and shook his hand. The two men laughed and chatted. And still she watched in shock. They appeared to know each other. Lindsey started toward them.

“Linds, wait.” Derek tried to grab her arm but she shook him off.

When she was near enough she spoke. “Daddy?”

Her father's head jerked in her direction and instantly he looked ashen. His eyes scanned the crowd but as soon as he made eye contact with her again his expression went from horror to panic. “Lindsey, I just won. Can you believe it?”

“No, Dad. I can't. What are you doing here?”

Just then another older man with a floral Hawaiian-style shirt smacked her father on the back. “Isn't this your second win this month, Isaac?”

Lindsey gasped and her father's eyes darted right to her, full of shame. She was going to be sick. She felt Derek squeeze her hand again, but she yanked it from his grasp.

“Daddy, please tell me you haven't been gambling every time I give you money. Please.” The words didn't even make sense as they came out of her mouth. He'd been broke. Down on his luck. She'd been helping him.

“Answer me, damn it.”

Everyone had gone silent. Even the gaming around them had stopped, only the jingle of unused machines could be heard. He didn't say a word. His face was full of shame, his mouth falling open. She knew it had shocked him to hear her speak like that but she couldn't bring herself to care. Finally he stepped forward.

“Mi hija, I can explain. I only come here once in a while.”

“Once in a while? Is that why you've already won twice this month? Why this guy knew your name?” She pointed at the idiot in the ridiculous shirt.

“It's not like that, Lindsey.” He shook his head. She noticed the crowd had begun to thin and she knew their confrontation was making a lot of them uncomfortable.

“Dad, do you know that I'm broke all the time? Can you explain to me why my dreams have all been put on hold while I continue to loan you money? You told me your water was going to get shut off.”

“That was the truth!” He had the audacity to look indignant.

“So you thought the answer was throwing my money into the toilet?”

“I just won, didn't I?” He held his hand up to the flashing $10,000 sign.

“But how much have you lost in order to win? And I have a hard time believing I would have ever found out about this win. That's my money, Dad.” This time she pointed at the sign. “But obviously you would have sunk it all back into these stupid machines.”

His eyes darted from side to side. And he looked so lost. And old. She hated that she stood here still feeling sorry for him when all he deserved was her anger.

“I can't believe you would do this to me, Daddy.”

Her father reached out an arm. “Lindsey…”

She stepped back, out of his reach, as tears began to roll down her face. She had truly thought this man had needed her. Always had, and she'd been there for him time and again. Sacrificed so much to care for him. Not just recently, but her entire life.

The warm wall of Derek's chest closed in around her, his hand going to her waist. She'd almost forgotten he was there, and now her shame deepened.

“Who are you?” her father asked, his eyes on Derek. As if he had a right to question anything about her or her life.

“I'm the man that your daughter's going to be able to count on.” His voice rumbled against her back and she didn't miss the anger in his words. “Come on, Lindsey.”

He pulled her away from her father, causing her a mix of relief and sadness. They headed back the way they'd come, and before she knew it they were getting on the elevator. “What are we doing? The party…”

“I'll deal with that,” he said. Derek pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Closing her eyes she leaned her forehead into his chest.

“How much have you given him?” Derek asked.

She shook her head against him, not wanting to say it out loud. She was so ashamed for falling for her father's lies.

“Please tell me it's not as much as he just won.”

“Half that.”

“Goddamn it,” Derek said under his breath. “I can't believe how much I wanted to punch your dad.”

“Please, can we not talk about it anymore?”

He squeezed her tighter. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I would never hurt your father. Probably.”

She would laugh but she was too overcome with anger and sadness. Mel would just die when she found out, and that thought only added to Lindsey's humiliation.