He grins. “You want to let me take you out to Bavette’s. Have you tried their steak?”
“Maybe I’m a vegetarian.”
“Are you?”
I shrug. “No.”
I continue my walk, and he’s beside me again within a couple seconds.
“So we’ve established that you’re hungry, and I happen to be hungry, too. We’ve also established that you like me, and I like you, too. Are you in a relationship? Is that why you’re blowing me off?”
“Maybe I just don’t like you.”
“No, you definitely like me.”
I step around a drunk guy who’s about to run into me, and Maverick scowls at him.
“How did you find me?” I ask as we continue our walk.
He shrugs. “I visit lots of poker rooms. Apparently, you visit lots of poker rooms…it was bound to happen.”
“Guess how attractive I find lying?” I say pointedly.
“What makes you think I’m lying?”
“I don’t just think it. I know it. You can’t win at poker unless you can read people well.”
His nostrils flare slightly—I think I’ve just aggravated him.
“Okay, so I looked for you. Is that so wrong?”
“You knew I didn’t want to be found, though.”
He stops walking, throwing his arms in the air. “Look, if you don’t like me, just tell me. If you’re with someone, or you’re gay, or you don’t like guys who go out of their way for you, just say it and I’ll turn around right now.”
I stop walking, too, studying him for a few seconds. He’s very attractive, and there’s an intensity about him that’s sexy as sin. I want to drop my guard, smile, and ask him if the dinner offer still stands. Poker, shmoker. It’s been a hell of a long time since I had a fun night out with a man.
And that’s exactly the problem. I can either stay focused on poker or I can spend my evenings going out with friends and on dates. I can’t do both. Since the day my dad died, I’ve lived and breathed to prepare myself to sit across a poker table from Will Roan. I won’t lose sight of my goal.
“Listen,” I say softly, looking up at him. “If I wanted to go out for dinner and take a guy home with me, you’re exactly who I’d want to do that with. I mean…as long as you’re single. Are you single?”
“Yeah, completely. I wouldn’t be standing here if I wasn’t.”
He seems to have it all—looks, charm, fame and, I assume, money.
“How are you single?” I ask, my brow furrowed in confusion.
He furrows his brow in return. “Well, I’m not seeing anyone at all, so…that makes me single.”
“I get what it means. But it has to be because you want to be single. Unless you have a drug problem or a really bizarre fetish…?”
Maverick laughs. “No.” He pauses, turning serious. “Wait, is wanting to give my woman multiple orgasms, each one in a different position, a fetish?”
My heart started racing when he used the words “my woman,” and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. This guy is dangerously sexy.
“Poker is my job,” I explain. “It’s like if I went out on the ice during a game and asked you if we could go out.”
He grins. “If you can get past security and do it, I’m in.”
“Not really, though,” I say softly. “You wouldn’t leave the ice—and your whole career—over a date.”
His grin falls a bit as he considers what I said. “No, I guess not. I had no idea poker was your job, Gia. I didn’t realize I was asking you to ditch your workday to go out with me. Can we go out on your night off?”
“If I dated, I’d say yes.” I wipe the sweat from my forehead and lift the back of my hair, fanning my neck. “Can we keep walking?”
“Yeah. You want to stop for a drink in a place with air conditioning?”
I consider it. Sitting in a darkened, air-conditioned bar with Maverick Hagen, sipping on piña coladas while we flirt and lose track of time sounds like heaven. But then what? I’ll want more, and I won’t be able to focus on poker anymore tonight.
“Thanks, but I need to get to the Bellagio.”
“I’ll call an Uber and take you,” he offers, taking out his phone.
“No, you don’t need to do that. I like to walk.”
“Already called one. They’ll meet us up at the next block in six minutes.”
“Really?”
He gives me another of his sexy smiles. “Do you mind if I play at the Bellagio too? At a different table, so you’re not distracted by me?”
I laugh. “Don’t you mean so you’re not distracted by me?”
“I won’t deny it. I also like winning, so separate tables it is.”
His acknowledgment of my poker skills makes me warm all over. Not many people know how I make a living, and most who do know are dismissive of it.
“How late are you playing?” he asks.
“It just depends. Sometimes I’m out by three, other times more like five.”
He cringes. “Ouch. I’ve got practice in the morning or I’d offer to take you to breakfast when you’re done working.”
“Another time,” I murmur, both relieved and disappointed we won’t be spending more time together.
“Can I get your number?” he asks.
I hesitate, then say, “As long as you know upfront that I’m not going on a date or sleeping with you.”
“What about heavy making out? High school style, with our clothes on?” His grin and wink tell me he’s joking. “Gia, I’d love to just take you out for breakfast and talk poker with you. Can we do that sometime?”
I nod. “Sure, we can do that.”
“And if you decide to run onto the ice and ask me out, give me a heads-up so I can make sure the security guards are distracted that night.”
Another grin. God, he’s cute.
The Uber pulls up and I sigh happily as soon as I slide in and the air conditioning washes over my sweaty skin. I type Maverick’s number into my phone and give him mine, too.
A girl’s gotta eat. Might as well have some sexy company.
Chapter Seven
Maverick
“Did you hear?” my teammate Alexei asks me in a low tone.
“Yeah,” I respond tightly, shoulders hunched.
We’re sitting alone on a bench in our locker room, and he puts a hand on my shoulder. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get blindsided. I’m here anytime, okay?”
I nod. “Thanks, man.”
Dane strides into the room with a shit-eating grin. “Mav, I hear your buddy Hunter Paul just got engaged to Alana McCall. Don’t you know her somehow?”
“Fuck off, Dane,” Alexei says, standing up.
“Who’s gonna make me? One of you two gimp leg washouts?”
Fucking Dane. Of course he has to stir the pot as we’re all dressing for our home opener, which is also our franchise opener. I hardly slept last night because I’m so worried about how I’ll play tonight after my leg injury. Then I woke up to headlines about my former fiancée getting engaged to my asshole former friend she cheated on me with, who is a forward for Tampa.