High Stakes Read Free

incredible
woman you are on the inside and value the treasure he’s found in you. That’s
what you deserve, sweetheart.”
    “Spoken like my mother.”
    Sierra laughed. “Maybe, but it’s true. Your
dad was young when we got together. He still had a lot of growing up to do.
That’s why we grew apart. It took five years of being apart to realize we
belonged together. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you. You can make the
right choice the first time around if you’re clear about what you want and
you’re willing to hold out until you find the man you deserve.”
    “I thought I had found the right man and
look how that turned out.”
    “Maybe you just need a break from
relationships for a while, but don’t avoid getting involved just because you’re
scared.”
    “I am scared,” Alisa said, looking at their
joined hands. “What if I make the same mistake again? What if I trust the wrong
man and he breaks my heart, too?”
    “It’s a risk, but if you’re not willing to
take that risk, you can’t expect to find happiness.”
    Alisa drew a shaky breath. “I think I’ll
start with the business first, see how that goes.”
    Sierra reached down to kiss her cheek. “I
believe in you. I know amazing things are out there waiting for you; you just
have to be brave and face your fear head-on.”

Chapter Two
     
    Alisa eased into her seat in first class,
barely able to contain her excitement. She’d flown all over the world the past
few months, buying inventory for her new, upscale retail store, and Las Vegas
was her last stop before her grand opening next weekend. She’d heard great
things about a funky new handbag designer from her contacts, and if she was as
talented as her online portfolio indicated, her products would be the perfect
addition to her boutique.
    Alisa had gone to great pains to ensure her
retail haven was on trend, but incorporated enough classical pieces to appeal
to the upscale middle-aged set as well. She bought the pieces she loved and
could only hope her patrons would share her enthusiasm.
    A tall, broad-shouldered man with subtle
silver streaks highlighting his black hair claimed the seat beside her. Wow .
Alisa normally didn’t go for older men, but this guy exuded a sexy confidence
that was impossible to ignore. 
    She waited for him to glance in her
direction, for a flicker of awareness or attraction to pass between them, but
when he pulled a Harvard Business Review magazine out of his black
leather briefcase, it was obvious he intended to ignore her.
    For some unknown reason, his rejection
offended her. It shouldn’t. She wasn’t in the market for a man. She hadn’t
indulged in bedroom recreation for months, not since she’d signed on the dotted
line and promised not to disappoint her father or herself. She had to stay
focused on her business. The first year was the most important. She knew it
could be the launching pad for the future stores she hoped to have, or she could
go down in a burst of flames. The latter wasn’t even an option. She had to
succeed at this, and that meant she couldn’t afford any distractions.
    Opening the latest copy of Vogue ,
she tried to ignore the muscled thigh pressed against her bare leg. She was
going for comfort when she’d selected the lightweight black cotton skirt and
matching tank that morning, but she suddenly wished she opted for a little more
coverage instead. Bare skin provoked naughty fantasies of being tangled up in
the sheets with a certain sexy stranger. She realized she chose the wrong
moment to look up when his light blue eyes captured hers in a look filled with
enough sparks to set off an explosion.
    “Good afternoon,” he said, beginning a lazy
perusal that started with her bare, bronzed legs and ended where it had
started, fixed on her eyes.
    Alisa was too shocked by her physical
reaction to his scrutiny to respond to the casual greeting. She was used to
male admiration, but when a man was this obvious, she usually felt