“He’s all kinds of wrong,” I said with a bite.
“What if he’s all kinds of right? You’ll never know unless you take a chance.”
I was too afraid that he would break my heart. “He sleeps around.”
She clucked her tongue. “What college guy doesn’t?”
“Ladies,” the bartender piped up behind us, “drinks are ready.”
“I wonder why Lucas is here,” I asked myself more than Justine as we collected our tray of drinks.
“Maybe he’s looking for you.” She waggled her brown eyebrows.
He didn’t strike me as the type to gamble. Nor did he give me the vibe that he chased women. After all, he had girls lining up to get in his bed.
As Justine and I entered the casino floor, Greta, our boss, marched up to us like a soldier going to war. “Customers are waiting for drinks. The more they imbibe, the more they spend.”
I ignored Greta, who was an extreme micromanager, as Justine and I padded deeper into the room. Then Justine went one way, and I went the other. I was trying to keep my eye on Lucas and serve drinks at the same time, but he wasn’t at the roulette table any longer.
If it weren’t for Greta keeping her eye on me, I would’ve gone in search of Lucas, curious to know why he was here. Instead, I served drinks, my tray feeling heavier for some reason. Or maybe it was because my nerves were making my arms weak.
I had three drinks left to serve, then I needed to take a bathroom break and to shake off the cobwebs making my brain cloudy. Lucas shouldn’t be affecting me as though I had a crush on him like a high school girl had on the yummy quarterback.
I turned down an aisle between two craps tables, watching a woman throw the dice, my mind on anything but serving drinks, and suddenly my tray and drinks were on the floor. Swear words zipped through my head, and as I glanced upward at the wall of muscle I’d run into, my brow flew to my hairline.
“Josh?”
What in the world was my ex doing in a casino? To my knowledge, he didn’t gamble. But I didn’t know every detail about him. I also hadn’t seen him in ages, not that I wanted to either.
He gave me a lopsided grin as he hiked his gaze up and down my body as though he was remembering me naked.
I snapped my fingers. “What are you doing here?”
He adjusted his Stetson. “I didn’t believe it when I saw you from the across the room.”
“I’m surprised you’re in a casino,” I said. “If I recall, you told me your dad didn’t want you anywhere near this place.”
The Turley family owned a cattle ranch in Cedar Ridge.
“I’m a big boy,” he said in a deep baritone voice. “It’s you who shouldn’t be here. This is no environment for you.”
And there was that dictator side of him. The possessive side that wanted to control me, tell me what to do.
“I’m working.”
“You couldn’t find a job in Lakemont?” he asked.
I huffed. “What do you want?” I was in no mood to deal with my ex.
“I’ve been trying to call you, but I keep getting some dude,” he said. “I’ve even tried to track you down on campus. Did you change your number?”
I gritted my teeth. He’s a customer. Don’t incite him. Greta would fire you if you pissed off a customer. Servers had been fired for sneezing the wrong way.
“I changed it when I got a new phone.” And all because Josh had too many flaws and the breakup hadn’t gone well. He was the type who didn’t take no for an answer. “I need to get back to work.”
I was about to bend down to pick up my mess when he grabbed my arm. His grip wasn’t light either.
I sneered at him. “Tread carefully.”
