Chapter One
Connor McFarland knewhe’d regret bringing Candy Armstrong to Las Vegas. Sure, she was gorgeous but she was also flaky. Still, he’d ignored her general flakiness and asked her anyway because she was a lot of fun. And he’d been having a good time since they arrived that afternoon.
Until she dumped him for another man.
Connor liked women. He enjoyed dating them, even though the vast majority—some would say all—of his relationships were short-lived. All but one, and that one had died a long time ago. As far as anyone from around his hometown of Marietta knew, he’d never been serious about a woman. And he liked it that way. Both of his brothers were married and happy. He was glad for them but not particularly envious.
Even so, that didn’t mean he was good with being dumped for another man. He’d have been really angry but that was more trouble than it was worth.
So here he was, standing at the craps table—alone—and wondering how long it would be before he lost the money he’d earmarked to gamble with. Connor liked to gamble but he really hated losing money. Whenever he gambled, he allowed himself a certain amount and once that was done, so was he. If he lost, he considered it entertainment; if he won, he considered it even better entertainment.
Candy had left him at the baccarat table. He wasn’t doing any good there, so he wandered over to a craps table that was rocking. Someone was winning big. He worked his way up to the table until he discovered who the big winner was. He managed to grab a place close to her. When the sea of people around her parted, he stared at her, completely stunned.
She was gorgeous. Long, dark hair falling in waves past the middle of her back. Plump, red lips. High cheekbones. Beautiful complexion. But her eyes were what drew him. They were a clear, light blue, the irises encircled by navy. No surprise, she was smiling. Who wouldn’t be winning like that?
What did surprise him was she seemed to be alone. There were men standing beside her, naturally, but she paid them absolutely no attention. Connor played but he didn’t bet much. He was far more interested in the woman who was cleaning up. Finally she cashed in—up, he judged, by many thousands. Connor cashed in too, down a couple of hundred. He watched the lady leave and nearly swallowed his tongue.Whoa, baby.She wore a black turtleneck, tucked into a short—very short—red skirt, and thigh-high black boots. Sexyandclassy.
What in the hell was a woman like her doing alone? In a place like Vegas yet.
He lost sight of her and shrugged mentally. Clearly not his lucky night. He wandered over to a blackjack table that only had a couple of people playing and took a seat. He won a little, lost a little, and just when he’d decided to look for a more interesting table a female voice asked, “Is this seat taken?”
He looked up. It was her. The hot woman from the craps table. “It is now. Have a seat.”
She smiled and sat, cashed in one of her hundred-dollar chips, and placed a bet. She won steadily for the next few hands, increasing her bets each time. After that she lost occasionally, but more often won. Before too long she had a large stack of chips in front of her. “You’re watching me awfully closely. Are you with the casino?”
He laughed. “No way.”
“I’m not counting cards.”
“I didn’t think you were. I saw you winning at craps earlier.”
“I saw you too. You were watching me closely there as well.”
“How could I not watch a gorgeous woman win like you’ve been winning?”
“Apparently tonight is my lucky night,” she said with a smile.
In between hands, they talked. “Why did you leave the craps table?”
She shrugged. “I wanted to see if my luck held with another game.” She looked at her winnings, which had been steadily growing. “Looks like it did.”
“I wasn’t doing that great here until you sat down.” Since then he’d been winning. Maybe it was an omen. Good or bad, he wasn’t sure yet. “My name’s Connor.” He held out a hand.
“Sierra,” she said as she put hers in his and shook with a firm grip. “I’m having a run of ‘lucky in cards, unlucky in love.’”
“You? You’re kidding.”
“No.” She shook her head and placed another bet. “This is my ‘celebrate my divorce being finalized’ trip.”
Shocked, he blinked. “What kind of fool would divorce you?”
She smiled again. “Thanks. One who fell in love with another woman.”
“What a dumbass.”
She laughed. “Yes, he is. You must not be having the same problem.”
It was his turn to laugh. “Until you sat down I was unlucky in cardsandlove. At least the luck in cards has changed.”
