The Gambler (18 page)

A strange look filled her eyes, and for a second he thought she was going to reach up and kiss him. Instead she wrapped her arms around his back and pressed her cheek to his chest. “Yeah, I have you.”

“Libby, you know you can talk to me. I know something’s bothering you.”

“It’s my birthday. I had . . . a wish I was sure would come true, but it didn’t. Now I’m questioning everything.”

“Sometimes questioning everything is good. It puts you on the right track.” Didn’t he know that firsthand? Meeting her was what had made him question everything, and he didn’t want to go back.

“Look at you.” She lifted her head and grinned up at him. “Noah McMillan: life coach.”

“Maybe I’ll make it my new career.”

Worry flickered in her eyes. “Is something wrong with your old one?”

The wind blew her hair into her face. Without thinking, he reached up and tucked the strands behind her ear. “It’s always good to keep your options open.”

She nestled her cheek against his chest and they stood like that for nearly a minute. He marveled that he could be this close to her without planning on how to get her into bed. Not that he didn’t want to get her into bed, but that wasn’t what she needed.

Was this real love? Being with someone and somehow getting something from it even if sex or talking wasn’t part of it. For the first time he got what people meant about growing old with the one they loved.

In the scheme of his life, this was such a small moment, yet every preconceived notion about love was being chucked over the edge of the dam. He’d always thought true love—a love worthy of a lifetime commitment—was full of fireworks and passion. He had never suspected there could be more. His love for Libby was like a river of peace threading through his troubled soul. She quieted his demons and made him believe he could be a better person. That he had a purpose in the world. And while he wanted fireworks and passion, he now realized he needed both.

He kissed the top of her head, letting his lips linger longer than he should have. He expected her to back away and break the moment, but she hung on tight.

“I want to throw the coin together,” she said. “I want to share our wish.”

He wanted to share more than that, but it was a start. “What if we wish for different things?”

She shrugged, a grin lighting up her face as she looked up at him. “Then I guess the one who wishes the hardest will win.”

“Challenge accepted.”

She laughed. “It wasn’t a challenge.”

“It most certainly was. If you tell a guy something’s a test of strength or will, you better believe he’ll try his damnedest to win.”

“Fine.” She grinned as she dug the coin out of her pocket and held it up. “How do we do this?”

“How about you hold it and I’ll cover your hand with mine?”

“I think both of us should touch it,” she said. “Then we can just drop it.”

He shook his head. He knew how superstitious she could be. He wasn’t superstitious at all, but he’d agree to anything she wanted. “How about you hold out your hand.” He grabbed her hand and turned it palm up, spreading out her fingers, then placed the quarter on her palm.

Her body stiffened slightly and she sucked in a tiny breath.

Noah had been around enough women to know when one had a physical reaction to him.

Could she really want him?

With his index finger, he lightly traced around the coin in her palm. “Do you know what you’re going to wish?” he asked, his voice huskier than he’d intended. But now that he knew she might want him physically, his body was ready to go from zero to sixty in less than two seconds.

“Yes.” Her voice was low and she kept her eyes on her hand. “Now what?”

Was she talking about them or the coin? But even if she
was
talking about them, he knew he had to take it slow.

“Now I put my hand over yours.” He did just that, lacing their fingers together and pressing the coin between their palms. “Then we hold our hands over the edge and on the count of three, we let it drop.”

“Okay.”

They maneuvered their arms over the edge and she looked up at him, the sadness in her eyes replaced with hope.

“One,” she whispered.

Her chest was still pressed to his, their hands linked, and Noah realized he’d never felt more connected to anyone in his life.

“Two.”

What was she going to wish for? Was it fair to hope his was stronger than hers? All he knew was what his heart wanted. Her. He’d heard love was stronger than any force in existence. His wish might prove if that was true.

“Three.” By unspoken agreement, they kept their fingers linked and opened their palms. The coin dropped, but they continued to look into each other’s eyes for several seconds.

Libby finally lowered her hand and released his, looking over the edge of the dam. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

The change of subject was so abrupt, he chuckled. “I told you that you have a bladder the size of a thimble.”

“I do not.”

“I’d challenge you to prove it by holding your pee until we get to Caesar’s Palace, but I don’t want to pay for the rental car to be detailed.”

She laughed and smacked his arm. “You’re a cruel man, Noah McMillan.”

“You like me that way.”

They stopped outside of the restroom and she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. “I’ll never admit it.”

“I’d never expect you to.”

She continued to stare up at him and he wondered what she wanted. Did she want him to make the first move? But he couldn’t. Not yet.

Then she disappeared into the bathroom and he pulled out his phone to call his brother. Noah suspected her thirtieth birthday wish was to be married, but it didn’t make sense that she would care this much about a pact she and her friends made when they were kids. Other than Mitch, Libby had made no real attempt at a relationship. The goal of getting married by a set date didn’t fit her behavior over the last decade. He hoped Josh knew something that could help him understand what was going on with her.

“I’m surprised to hear from you,” Josh said, sounding condescending. “Has something happened to Libby?”

“Nothing has happened to Libby.” Noah tried to remind himself once again that he’d earned his brother’s distrust. “But I
am
calling about her.”

“If this is about her driver’s license, Gram’s bringing it.”

“
Bringing
it?”

Josh laughed, but it sounded like he had something up his sleeve. “Megan’s grandma caught Libby’s bouquet when she tossed it while running to your car. Gram heard you were going to Vegas, so she decided to head there herself to find a man for a quickie wedding. In fact, she’s probably checking into Caesar’s Palace as we speak.”

“And Megan’s mother
let her?
”

“She may be in her seventies and she may be a bit eccentric, but she’s not senile. Knickers really couldn’t stop her,” Josh said. “Besides, when Megan realized she couldn’t be talked out of it, she convinced Gram to act as your chaperone.”

“Our
what?
”

“You don’t mind Gram hanging around, do you?” Noah heard the challenge in his brother’s voice. If Noah was up to no good with Megan’s friend, he wouldn’t have reason to protest. While Noah appreciated Gram’s eccentricity more than most people, he wasn’t sure he wanted her hanging around. Josh had him. “That works out for us. In fact, we’re checking in tonight instead of tomorrow. So she came by herself?”

“No, believe it or not, she’s brought Garrett’s nana with her too.”

“Oh, God.” Everyone knew they’d hit it off at Blair’s reception for the wedding that didn’t happen, but a trip to Vegas together? “How’d they arrange it so quickly?”

“It’s Gram. That says it all. I’ll text you her number so you can arrange to meet her somewhere.”

“Yeah,” he said absently. “Thanks.”

“Now what were you calling about?” 

Noah hesitated, wondering how much to tell him. “Something’s going on with Libby. She’s not herself.”

“Well, she
did
just dump a guy at the altar.”

He shook his head, wondering how much to tell of what he knew. It only took him a millisecond to realize he didn’t want to break her trust. He’d play dumb. “No, that’s not it. It’s something else. Something bigger. She’s upset that she hasn’t reached some goal by her thirtieth birthday. Do you have any idea what it is?”

Josh groaned. “It’s that stupid curse.”

“Yes,” Noah said, getting excited. This sounded exactly like something that would motivate her. “When we talked about Libby getting married, you said something about a wedding curse. But you didn’t remember the details.”

“That stupid curse and pact have been about the only thing Megan and Blair have talked about since the wedding.”

Noah glanced toward the restroom door, wondering how much time he had left. “So enlighten me.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure I should tell you anything. You should ask her yourself.”

The bathroom door opened and Libby came out, but she stopped to say something to a little girl who was walking out with her mother. Noah started to panic. He hadn’t learned anything. “Josh! What about the curse? This is important.”

“They all made a pact when they were girls. Megan and Blair didn’t even remember it, let alone take the curse part seriously.”

Libby was heading toward him now. “The pact is the curse?”

“No. The pact was that they were all supposed to be
married
by thirty. A fortune teller cursed them. She told them their weddings would be a disaster and each of them would end up marrying someone else. The person they were destined to marry.”

“Thanks.” He hung up, still dazed as he watched her make her way to him.

Libby had asked Mitch to marry her. She’d tried to set the curse in motion. But whom had she wanted to marry instead? Could it be
him?
But maybe not. Blair had broken up with Garrett years before her wedding to Neil, and Megan hadn’t even met Josh until the week of her wedding. Both men had needed to convince their now-wives that they were meant to be together.

Libby stopped in front of him and a smile lit up her face.

And suddenly, Noah had hope they could work out after all.

Libby practically shrieked with happiness when Noah told her the news about Gram. “So Gram’s really coming to Vegas?” she asked as they walked toward the car. “And Garrett’s nana too?”

“That’s what Josh said . . .”

Libby heard the hesitation in his voice, not that she blamed him. While Noah seemed to love Gram, the older woman was always trying to talk him into being her nude model in her senior citizens’ art class. Lord only knew how wild she might get in Vegas. But Libby was thrilled she was coming. After Libby’s abuela died when she was seven, Gram became a loving substitute grandmother. Libby was just as fond of the older woman.

“Knowing Gram, she won’t be that tired when she gets there. I bet she’ll want to do something tonight.”

Noah turned to face her as he opened the passenger door of the car. He seemed to be studying her more intently than usual. “You’re really happy about this, aren’t you?”

His question surprised her. “You aren’t?”

He shook his head. “This isn’t about me, Lib. It’s about you.”

“No, it’s about both of us, right? It’s
our
road trip.” Libby was surprised to discover she meant it. She was willing to give in to Noah’s wishes—without resentment—if being with Gram wasn’t what he wanted.

A smile spread across his face. “You know I love Gram, and it’s a riot to watch her and Nana Ruby together. They’re like the Geritol Odd Couple. It’ll be fun.”

“Are you sure?” He sounded convincing, which should have been enough. Noah McMillan never did anything he didn’t want to do. But she wanted to be certain.

The wind gusted and blew her hair into her face again, and Noah reached up and brushed it aside. The touch of his fingertips on her cheek shot lust straight to her core, but something else warmed inside her, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. She stuffed it down along with her rising libido.

“I’m very sure. How about we see if they even want to hang out with us. For all we know, Megan and Knickers concocted this whole thing for us to be
their
chaperones, and they’ll try to ditch
us.
”

She laughed and couldn’t stop herself from throwing her arms around his neck. “You’re brilliant.”

He held her close. “Just tell my brother that.”

“Surely he knows by now.”

But he didn’t answer, and when she looked up at him, he just flashed her a smile. “We have two silver foxes waiting for us at Caesar’s Palace, ready to have a good time. We can’t leave them hanging for too long, can we?”

“I love you,” she said jovially as she climbed into the car. “You’re amazing.”

Noah stood beside the open door for a couple of seconds as if frozen in place, then teased, “That’s me. Amazing. I wish more people would recognize that.” He shut her door and moved around to get into the driver’s seat.

She was excited to see Gram, not to mention the no-nonsense Nana Ruby, but the sun had set and her early funk had worn her out emotionally. She closed her eyes and let the lull of the car soothe her jagged nerves. It hardly surprised her that her thoughts immediately went to Noah.