Luck of the Draw Read Free

the table.
    And took everything home, too.
    It was in these moments that nothing else mattered. He was on top of the world—could do anything, and he damn sure enjoyed that.
    Game over, all he wanted was to hit the sack, so he snuck out before his post-game interview. He’d hear it from his agent later, but right now he didn’t care.
    Stupidly, he’d made a stop in the bar for one beer before he went up to his room and now it was a struggle to get through the crowd. When he finally got the elevator to his floor, the second the doors opened and he stepped into the hall, he saw her. Not his redhead, Rowan. Hell, he wished it were her, though he didn’t know why. Maybe because she didn’t take his shit. She dished it right back, but in a fun, not psycho way— unlike the woman in front of him.
    “Taylor. What are you doing here?”
    “Who were you talking to before the game, Breck?” His ex crossed her arms.
    “It’s none of your business. Where’s Ace?”
    “Is she why you broke up with me?”
    He sighed. “I don’t even know that woman. Now tell me where my cat is.” Taylor gave him a wicked smile.
    Jesus. Why did this shit always happen to him? First Bailey—pain slammed into his chest. Even after all these years he couldn’t handle thinking of when he lost her—which was exactly why he didn’t let himself get close to another woman. Emotionally, at least.
    And now this. He knew damn well Taylor didn’t really care about him. She liked to win and she didn’t like the fact that he’d been the one to tell her good-bye. It had been months since he dated her and yet when Ace came up missing, he knew exactly who it had been.
    “I better go. I just wanted to say hi. Max is waiting for me.” Taylor winked at him.
    He couldn’t care less if she was here with Max, one of the other players. Let her move on to any of the guys she wanted. He just had to get his damn cat back first.
    “Where’s Ace?” he asked again. He’d informally adopted the cat after winning his first tour. He’d come home and she’d been wandering in front of his building and, crazy as it was, he took that as a sign and Ace became his. She was one of the only constants in his life, and damned if she didn’t mean a lot to him. She didn’t expect anything from him but food, water, and attention, and she loved him. He definitely didn’t trust this woman with Ace’s care.
    Meow.
    For the first time, he studied the bag on her arm and realized it was one of those small dog carriers. “You brought her? Give me my damn cat back!” Breck grabbed the strap, but Taylor pulled away. Damn her, she wasn’t letting go.
    “Give me that cat, Taylor!” He knew he sounded ridiculous, but he didn’t care.
    “Can’t handle losing the one thing in life you care about besides poker?” Taylor swung at him. Yep, the crazy woman tried to punch him. Breck dodged her and pulled at the same time, trying to be careful not to hurt her, but to still wrangle away Ace. Somehow he tripped and Taylor went down right with him.
    Ace meowed again, and he held the bag so the cat didn’t get squashed or hit the ground, but Taylor was on top of him, screaming and swinging away.
    Doors opened all around them. People shouted, “What’s going on!” “Break it up!” “He’s attacking her!”
    How they got that, considering he was on the bottom, he didn’t know. Knowing there was no way in hell he’d get out of this looking good, Breck stopped fighting and let his ex kick his ass.
    He’d lost Bailey and eventually ended up with a psycho pet-stealing woman on his hands. This was why he didn’t do serious relationships. Thank God the one woman who actually felt different to him, who’d felt genuine, had snuck out on him. It couldn’t have ended well anyway.
    He was done with women all the way around. All he needed was to get his damn cat back.
    And a vacation. That was suddenly high on his list.
    …
    Rowan McKinley surveyed the pantry that she’d just