Their Million-Dollar Night Read Free

she wanted from life, it slipped away. So she knew luck wasn’t with her.
    â€œYou’re supposed to keep me happy.”
    She wanted to laugh at the way he said it. But didn’t. “Then I guess I’m going to dinner with you. Where do you want to go?”
    â€œI’ll take care of the arrangements,” Max said. He pulled her out of the flow of traffic and reached for his Blackberry.
    Immediately she knew she had to keep her head in the game with this man. This was a job. She couldn’t forget it, no matter how tempting it might be to do so. This new assignment was much better than dealing and she didn’t want to mess it up. “No, you won’t. That’s my job.”
    â€œAnd you take your work seriously?” he asked, arching one eyebrow at her.
    She sensed he was teasing, but she couldn’t joke about work. Anyone who’d ever lived off the charity of others learned pride at a heavy cost. “Of course I do.”
    â€œI thought you were new here.”
    â€œNew to hostessing. But I’ve worked at the Chimera for almost ten years now.”
    â€œWhat did you do before?” he asked.
    â€œDanced,” she said. She heard the longing in her own voice and cursed herself for it. She should have been prepared for the question. But most people she encountered either knew her story or didn’t care about her personal life. Max was the first stranger to ask about her since…
    â€œWhy’d you stop?” he asked.
    A simple little question. She closed her eyes for a moment. Years of practice and discipline gone in a few short minutes. Gone because she’d judged a man and his intentions badly. Don’t do it again, she warned herself.
    â€œInjury,” she said. The lie fell easily from her lips and she hated herself for it. She’d grown up in a world where lies were traded and accepted for the truth. She was becoming her own mother. Something she’d promised herself she’d never do. “But that’s old news. Give me a minute and I’ll get us a table for dinner.”
    She turned away from Max and took out her cell phone to call the VIP office. Thirty seconds later everything was set up, and she and Max were on their way to the exclusive five-star restaurant on the fifth floor of the casino.
    â€œHave you eaten here before?” she asked, hopinghe’d say no so she could slip easily into her role of tour guide. She led Max past the crowd at the front of the restaurant to the maître d’, very aware of his quiet presence behind her.
    â€œYes. In fact, the chef/owner is a friend of mine.”
    She smiled at the maître d’, Henry, whom she knew from her years at the hotel. Henry winked at her and she relaxed a little. This new job was not what she expected. Or should she say that Max Williams wasn’t what she’d expected. “Mr. Williams and I are ready to be seated.”
    â€œCertainly, Ms. O’Malley. Follow me.”
    Max put his hand on Roxy’s back as they moved through the restaurant. She tried to ignore the heat from his large palm, but she couldn’t. It made everything feminine in her pulse into awareness. That long-sleeping part of her, the part that had been dormant even before her accident started to awaken. That scared her.
    She was grateful when they reached the table and took their seats. Max asked for the wine list and the sommelier came to their table.
    â€œDo you have a preference?” he asked after the sommelier suggested some wines.
    â€œI usually buy my wine by the gallon in the supermarket,” she said. Then flushed as she realized how that sounded. “I mean—”
    Max chuckled. “I have cousins who own a vineyard in the Napa Valley. They’d be outraged to hear that anyone in the U.S. still drinks cheap wine.”
    â€œSorry,” she said.
    â€œDon’t be. Have you ever tried South African wine?”
    â€œDoes Gallo make