Let It Ride by Katherine Garbera

hotel. Surely it had a clothing boutique. She’d need something sophisticated. “Okay.”
    “Good. I’ll see you then,” he said, and disconnected.
    “Not Angelo?” she asked.
    “God, no. That’s someone’s idea of a joke.”
    A silence fell between them. It was the kind of awkward moment she was used, to though she doubted that anyone who didn’t have her terminal shyness ever experienced it. She remembered the tip that Tina had given her long ago. Ask about work.
    “So does the gaming commission keep an eye on the merchandise operations, as well?”
    “Normally, no. I came in for some pain medication.”
    He held up a small bag bearing the hotel’s logo. “Do you mind some unsolicited advice?”
    “I guess not.”
    He took the two tank styles she’d chosen and put them back on the rack. He pushed some suits aside and pulled out a bikini in a tropical print. Then he pulled out a matching red scarf and handed them both to her.
    “This is something that Deacon will want to see on you.”
    It seemed odd to be having this conversation with a man old enough to be her father. But there was masculine knowledge in his eyes, and she knew he was right.
    Before she could change her mind, she checked the sizes and went to the register to pay.
    Mandetti winked at her as he walked out of the shop. “Ciao, amico.”
    “Bye, Mandetti.”
    She wondered if Deacon would recognize the signals she sent him. It wasn’t as if this was the first time she’d ever tried to seduce a guy, but this was the first time it had really mattered. And that scared her way more than anything ever had before.

Six

    D eacon knew that he shouldn’t use the security cameras as a tool to aid in his seduction but he’d been unable to resist stopping by the security room to check on Kylie. He’d seen her in the boutique purchasing a swimsuit. He’d watched Mandetti talk her into one that he knew was going to look exquisite on her slender frame. And he’d debated the merits of skipping his meeting to join her early.
    In the end he’d opted for business. Kylie was important and he didn’t intend to ignore her, but he had a strategy. And part of that strategy was to make her want him with the same intensity he wanted her.
    Of course, it was a double-edged sword, and he was uncomfortably aware of the cut of his pants as he sat in the meeting imagining Kylie lying in the sun and waiting for him. Finally he could stand it no longer, and he ended the meeting fifteen minutes early.
    He doubled-checked with Martha to make sure his orders had been carried out before leaving to meet Kylie by the pool. He saw Mandetti on the floor and stopped to talk to him.
    Mandetti reminded him of a guy his mom had dated when he was about twelve. For some reason Marco had never dismissed him and had taken time to talk to him. There was a slight physical resemblance between the two men, but what really struck Deacon as similar was their eyes. In Mario and Mandetti’s eyes Deacon saw the same thing he’d observed in his own shaving mirror.
    It was a cold and bleak place where he and these two other men existed. A place without commitment or family. A place that Deacon sincerely hoped to leave by marrying Kylie.
    “Mandetti, how’s things?”
    “Eh, compare . Things are good. I like your operation. Makes me wish I’d wised up a few years sooner than I did and gotten into this kind of thing.”
    “What’d you do before?”
    “You don’t want to know.”
    “I know where you’re coming from,” Deacon said.
    Mandetti nodded. “I saw your lady earlier.”
    “I noticed.”
    “Keeping close tabs on her?”
    Deacon shrugged, feeling a little foolish.
    “She’s shy,” Mandetti said. “How’s the bet going?”
    “I’ll win. I never lose when I set my mind to it.”
    “I’m rooting for you.”
    Mandetti’s cell phone rang and he turned away to take the call.
    Deacon made his way through the casino out to the pool. In the distance was the huge structure