He shrugs again. “I don’t know, Alexander. I love her. I love her more than anything, you know that. But I feel like I can’t make any progress with her because I don’tunderstandher. And she won’t let me in far enough to figure it out.”
“Well,” I say, climbing out of the booth. “I, for one, am totally for the white chapel shit. I’ll drive you there myself.”
“I bet you would,” he says, tossing a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “You’d love to see her kill me.”
“Kari’s a good girl. If you don’t lock her up quick, you might get stuck with something like that.” I grin and nod toward the server coming back our way. “She’d be a good piece of ass.”
Max quirks a brow, not wanting to encourage me to continue.
Too late.
“You might want to try that out since you’re so unsure about what you’re gonna do with Kari. Sampling the goods never hurt anybody.” I smile, trying to gauge his reaction. I want to rile him up just a bit. “Hell, she might be down at the pool right now getting some—”
“Shut your mouth, Cane. I’m not fucking kidding.”
I roar with laughter. “Now we’re getting somewhere!”
“You’re such an asshole.”
“It’s been said before.”
FIFTY-SIX
Jada
The casino is burstingwith people. There’s so much to see and do that it’s hard to focus. I have no idea how people pay attention to the games enough to win anything. Everything is one giant distraction.
The guys played in a poker tournament earlier this evening. Kari and I had a late lunch at a bistro in the hotel and then played slots while our boys finished up. Cane was eliminated in the fourth round and Max made it a little longer, but they both came out empty-handed.
We meander through the maze of machines when I spy a roulette table. Kari and I watched a few games of it earlier and it looked like fun. I think most games are rigged to beat you, but roulette seems fairly objective.
“I wanna try roulette,” I say, tugging on Cane’s hand. “I like this game.”
We all stop and watch the table in front of us. The bets are made and then the ball bursts outs and spins around the wheel.
“You played before?” Max asks.
“No. But I think I’d be good at it.”
“It’s just luck, Jada,” Max says. “You can’t be good at gambling unless you know how to count cards.”
“Well, sheislucky. She’s got me.” Cane wraps his arm around my waist. I giggle and lean against him.
“Yeah. She got you. Good point,” Kari says, taking Max’s hand and leading him toward the table. “Let’s see if we can change her luck and save her before it’s too late.”
“Better watch your girl, Quinn,” Cane mumbles.
Max snorts. “She’syoursister-in-law.Youdeal with her.”
Kari shoves Max’s arm. “You’re not going to defend me?”
“Nah, it might be good for you two to just have at it. One of you is going to have to establish dominance eventually.”
“Dominance? Really? If he even thinks he’ll dominate me, he’s crazy.” She turns to look at Cane. “You’re stuck with me and my mouth.”
“Yeah, butI”—Cane grins over her head at Max—“don’t have to live with ya.”
“I don’t either,” Max mutters and places his chip on the eight. “But on the bright side, I can think of numerous ways to occupy her mouth.”
