On Thin Ice (The Baltimore Banners Book 8) (5 page)

"We need to get downstairs for the casino games. The VIP event was only for an hour." Harland wrapped his arm around Lindsay's shoulders then faced forward, dimples showing as he smiled for the camera. Lauren gave herself a mental shake and looked straight ahead, trying to smile.

The waiter nodded, took several pictures in quick succession, then held the camera out. Lauren moved to take it but Kenny beat her to it. She gave him an odd look and held her hand out, expecting him to give it to her. All around them people were already moving, a slow stream making their way as one to the bank of elevators that would take them downstairs.

"Everyone's leaving. I need my phone back." Lauren gritted her teeth and held her hand out again. "Please."

Kenny stepped closer, the corner of his mouth tilting up in something that was either a smile or a scowl, Lauren couldn't tell. "Not yet. I wanted to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" Lauren dropped her hand and stepped to the side, away from the stream of people brushing by them. Lindsay kept going, walking so close to Harland Day that she may as well have been glued to him. Did she even notice that Lauren wasn't with her? Probably not. And she probably didn't care, either.

She turned back to Kenny, surprised to find those long-lashed deep brown eyes fixed on her. "What could you possibly want to talk to me about?"

"Taylor's not my niece."

"I'm sorry. Excuse me?" Lauren didn't bother to hide her confusion.

"I said, Taylor's not—"

"I heard you the first time. I just don't understand what you're talking about."

"The other week. At the hockey game." He watched her, waiting for…something. Lauren frowned and shook her head. "When you so graciously kicked me out?"

"Because you were acting like an ass and I can't afford to let anyone get away with that. There's a zero tolerance—"

"I'm not talking about that."

"Then what's the problem?"

"You told me to man-up. You accused me of sending my niece to ask questions for me. Taylor isn't my niece, she's JP's. I didn't send her to do anything."

Lauren bit down on her lower lip to keep her laughter—and surprise—in check. This is what he wanted to talk to her about? Something that happened several weeks ago, something that she hadn't even remembered until he brought it up? She couldn't stop the smile, no matter how hard she bit down on her lip. She didn't miss the way his gaze dropped to her mouth, didn't miss the way he frowned at her. Lauren looked away, trying to force the smile from her face.

"My apologies, then. I shouldn't have assumed anything. Now if I could have my phone back." She held her hand out once more, thinking he'd give it to her now.

A young girl dressed in a black skirt and matching jacket came up to them, a clipboard held in front of her and an expression of worry on her face. "Mr. Haskell? We need you downstairs, sir."

"What? Oh, right. Lead the way." He turned, following the girl to the bank of elevators. Lauren bit back her sigh of frustration, following him.

"My phone?"

He turned and waited for her, his empty hand held out to hold the doors open, leaving her no choice but to get on the elevator with him. She moved to the back wall then frowned when he moved next to her, right into her own personal space. He either didn't notice her frown, or he chose to ignore it. She cleared her throat, wondering if it would be worth the hassle of moving when she noticed him doing something with her phone. Was he actually punching in some numbers? Yes, he really was.

"Excuse me, but are you using my phone to call someone?"

He looked up, a grin on his face. "Yes."

"Really? You don't have your own phone? You need to use mine?"

"Kind of hard to call my own number with my phone." He hit send then held the phone to his ear while Lauren struggled to find the right words to express her outrage. Her mouth snapped shut and she glared at him when he ended the call and finally gave her the phone. The grin on his face sent another thrill of excitement shooting through her, which only angered her more.

"I didn't think you'd give me your number if I asked so that was me, manning up. Just like you suggested I do."

Lauren's frown deepened, her mind at a complete loss for words. He wanted her number? But why? And why on earth was she acting this way, anyway?

"What? Nothing to say?" He chuckled, the sound warm and inviting. Lauren shoved the phone into her small purse then stepped forward as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"Yes. Remind to get a new number tomorrow."

He didn't say anything, just laughed a little louder, the sound following her as she tried to disappear into the milling crowd.

Two hours later, Lauren was still irritated, but for an entirely different reason. Well, mostly a different reason. And definitely at someone besides Kenny Haskell, although she was experiencing a different kind of irritation at him.

She had moved to the bar for another glass of wine, only taking occasional sips as she collected her play money and moved from table to table. Roulette first, then blackjack and craps. No matter what table she went to, no matter if there was a crowd there or not, Kenny Haskell seemed to find her. It had turned into a game of sorts, like some kind of twisted hide-and-seek filled with a silent dare. Would she stay, or would she leave after some playful sarcastic banter between them?

Lauren wouldn't admit it, at least not to anyone but herself, but the encounters had been fun. Kenny Haskell had a dry wit she would have never expected from a man she had at first thought to be nothing more than an obnoxious, overbearing jock. Was he still obnoxious? Maybe, if he was provoked. But he wasn't overbearing and now Lauren was trying to figure out why she had initially thought that of him.

No, he definitely wasn't overbearing. In fact, she got the impression that he was actually one of those quiet types who wasn't completely comfortable with the attention he was receiving. At least, not the attention from the growing number of women who seemed to get bolder as the night went on, coming up to him with their smiles and light touches and silent invitations.

Lauren's irritation came from the fact that her sister was one of those women—except Lindsay wasn't exactly being subtle with her touches or quiet with her invitations. Kenny and Lauren had been at one of the craps tables, standing next to each other and watching the roll of the dice, alternately cheering or booing with each roll. Lauren had hit a lucky streak and laughed each time she scooped more chips into her growing pile. No, the money wasn't real, but she was still having fun. Kenny had commented on her luck and had joked about taking her to Vegas when Lindsay came up beside them.

Only her sister wasn't content to just stand beside them. She pushed her way between them, shoving Lauren to the side with a dirty look.

"You're too tall, Lauren. Nobody can see anything because of you." Her voice was nasty, the words slightly slurred. Then she turned to Kenny and leaned closer, grabbing his arm as she brushed her chest against him. A look of horror crossed his face, quickly masked by a carefully blank expression as he tried to step away.

"She's not tall."

Lauren looked over, surprised by his simple defense. But Lindsay shook her head and laughed, the sound sharp and brittle. "You're just being nice because you have to be. But that's okay. We all know my sister is a freak."

Lauren clenched her jaw, swallowing back her comment along with the flash of hurt at her sister's words. She shouldn't let it bother her, she knew that. Lindsay was spoiled and reckless, thinking only of herself. No, the words shouldn't hurt.

But they did, which only angered Lauren more.

She watched the shooter throw the dice then waited for the dealer to pay out chips. She scooped her bet off the table then gathered up all of her winnings, cradling the colorful chips in her hands before walking away without a word. She thought she heard Kenny calling her but that was probably just wishful thinking on her part.

It didn't matter anyway because it was almost time to cash out and get ready for the live auction. Not that Lauren would be bidding on anything. She had learned at her first Casino Night a few years ago that the bids went up—quickly. Yes, the money was for a good cause and yes, it might be fun to actually win one of the packages. Who wouldn't enjoy a night of bowling or miniature golf with some of the players? But she wasn't like a vast majority of the crowd in attendance tonight, with thousands of dollars available to spend on a whim.

She'd already added her name to a few items in the silent auction. Nothing more than a few safe bids here and there on items she didn't really need. Now she could collect tickets from her winning chips and use them to drop into the bags for the other auction. Would she win anything? Probably not, but there was always a chance her ticket might be pulled.

She took the tickets given her in exchange for the chips—all ten of them—then moved across the lobby to the room holding the silent auction items. The crowd was smaller in here, with only a few people walking around the tables, looking at the different items. Lauren joined them, tearing off the individual tickets and tossing them in one or two of the bags. She was going to splurge and throw in the last five tickets on the one item she really wanted: an autographed picture of the team surrounding the Cup when the Banners won a few years ago. No, she didn't have any place to put it, except for maybe her office at work. But that was fine, considering she wouldn't win it anyway.

She glanced at her watch then moved back to the middle lobby, glancing around the nearly empty room in search of Lindsay. Of course she wasn't there. She was probably back in the gaming room, getting as close to the players as she could while the auction was going on. Lauren chided herself for at least the fiftieth time, wondering again what had possessed her to bring her sister. She should have known this would happen. Putting her sister within a hundred feet of men and alcohol would always end with the same result. She was a fool to think tonight would have been any different.

Sure enough, there was Lindsay, on the far side of the room standing just behind a group of players near the stage. Lauren made her way through the crowd, finally reaching her sister as the auctioneer explained how everything worked.

"Lindsay, come on. Time to leave."

"What?" Her sister turned, weaving a little as she frowned. "Why do you want to leave?"

"Because it's time to go. I have games in the morning."

"I don't want to go."

"I don't care what you want. It's time to leave, now come on." She reached for Lindsay's arm but her sister moved out of the way, an expression of impatience on her face. And something else, something dark and cold that made Lauren step back in surprise.

"Everything always has to be about you, doesn't it? You're just pissed because he's paying more attention to me."

"He who? Never mind, I don't care. And I'm not pissed. It's time to leave."

"I'm not going."

"Lindsay, I'm not in the mood for your drama. It's time to—"

"And I said I'm staying here."

"Really? And how are you getting home?"

"I'm sure I can get one of my friends to take me home."

"Your friends? And what friends would those be?"

Lindsay waved her hand around. "Any one of the guys."

Lauren closed her eyes, searching for control, telling herself to not get into it. She opened her eyes and looked back at Lindsay, not surprised to see her sister glaring at her. "Lindsay, it's getting late. The event is over after the auction so you're not going to miss anything. Let's just go home—"

"I told you, I'm staying." There was no doubt in Lauren's mind that her sister meant to hiss the words, but they came out too loud, almost as a shriek. Lauren winced, noticed that a few bystanders had turned their way and were watching them now instead of the auction that was going on.

She didn't want to deal with this now. Or ever. Why had she brought Lindsay? She should have known something like this would happen. But what was she supposed to do? She didn't care about anyone watching them. If they wanted to be entertained by family drama, then let them be entertained. What she didn't want to deal with was Lindsay's theatrics. She didn't want to deal with the cold hatred and spite and whatever else it was Lauren could feel coming off her sister in waves. She stepped closer, searching for calm and lowering her voice.

"Lindsay, let's just go home. There's nothing else going on—"

"No!" Lindsay didn't even bother to keep her voice down that time. She stepped away, shaking her head as her mouth curled in a snarl. "I'm not leaving. I'm not like you, a stiff freak who doesn't know how to have fun. If you want to leave, then go. But I'm not going with you."

She turned on her heel and pushed her way through the crowd, leaving Lauren standing there in shock. Now what? Should she leave? Just go outside and wait for Lindsay? Go after her sister?

No, not go after her. Not yet. She knew Lindsay too well, knew what would happen if she did that. Lauren needed to let her cool off first. Then maybe she could talk some sense into her.

Lauren turned around and walked out, wondering how long she'd have to wait outside before Lindsay came looking for her, hoping it wouldn't be too long.