Page 7 of Say it Ain’t So

My brow furrowed. “But you said…”

Rylan’s voice floated through my head as I dropped my eyes to where his fingers wrapped around mine.

I won a jackpot earlier. Got distracted by the most beautiful girl in the world and shoved a twenty in a machine. Now I’ve got money to burn.

He couldn’t have meant me, could he? I glanced up and found him smirking down at me in a way that made me think I was the stupidest woman in the world.

How did I miss that? How did I not realize he meant me? How did I let Peter ruin my confidence until I couldn’t even tell that someone was giving me the biggest compliment in the world?

A shaky smile lit my face. I pressed my hand against Rylan’s stomach to steady myself and was momentarily distracted by the hard-packed muscles under his shirt. He was damp with sweat, but the feel of it didn’t make me want to cringe away. It made me want to peel the shirt right off him and see what was hiding underneath.

“Come on, gorgeous. Let’s get you out of this dress and into something new.”

3

RYLAN

The door to Joss’s dressing room opened, the hinges creaking as it neared the wall, and I held my breath. The last outfit she stepped out in had my insides doing all sorts of funny things—flipping and twisting and melting at the mere sight of her. I didn’t know which of the items I’d snagged off the racks she was coming out in next, but the anticipation was killing me.

“So…” One of her long legs became visible as she took a small step into the doorway, and my mouth threatened to overflow with drool. My heart kicked in my chest, harder than it had when we were hanging over the side of the Strat and I’d had images of her slipping through my fingers flitting through my head. “What brings you to Vegas?”

That banging in my chest was so intense, I thought I might pass out. Holy fucking shit, she was gorgeous. In nothing but a satiny, spaghetti strap tank and a sequined skirt that hugged her curves, Joss had me rethinking all of my life’s goals.

I pushed off from the wall I was leaning against—because quite frankly, sitting in those plush chairs they had lining the dressing area became more impossible with each change of her clothes—and walked her way.

“Gorgeous.” I couldn’t not touch her. I slid my hands down her silky arms, stopping myself at her fingers when I really wanted to touch every last inch of her. “You’re absolutely stunning.”

She dipped her head—always so self-conscious—and smiled. I wanted to taste her lips, to see what their flavor was and drown myself in it. Color spread across her cheeks as I lifted our hands to the side, taking in more of her gorgeous body.

Joss peeked up at me and her shy smile went crooked. She shook loose one of my hands and brought hers to my face, wiping at the edge of my mouth. “You’re drooling a little.”

“Yeah?” A chuckle rumbled through me as I wiped the rest of the saliva away. It’d only be replaced by more, I was sure, but it was the least I could do in this posh boutique. “You’d be drooling too if you saw what I saw.”

She rolled her eyes and turned toward the mirrors at the end of the room. “I can see just fine.”

“Can you?” I snagged her hand before she could get far and pulled her back to me. Her chest bounced off mine and I caught her around the waist. “You see the most beautiful woman in the world when you look at yourself?”

Her voice was just a whisper. “Rylan, stop.”

“Can’t stop, gorgeous. Not until you see the truth, and probably not even then. You are stunning.” My hand gravitated toward her waist. I slipped it around behind her, pulling her close. “It hurts that you can’t see what I see.”

She sucked in a shaky breath, turning her pretty eyes to meet mine. “Where does it hurt?”

My heart. My lungs. The blood pulsing through every inch of me.

“Everywhere.”

Her eyes darkened as she stood there pressed against me. She smoothed her hand up my chest until her fingertips ghosted my jaw. “You didn’t answer me before.”

“I was a bit distracted.” I curled my other arm around her, rocking the two of us back and forth. “What’d you ask?”

“What brings you to Vegas?”

She traced my jaw, from my chin to my ear and back. I felt like my neighbor’s old cat, sunning himself on our front porch while I dug my fingertips into his fur, purring up a storm.

“Adventure,” I told her before I dipped her like we were dancing. She let out a squeal, her fingers curling into my shirt to keep me from dropping her.

I’d never drop her.