Wild Weekend Read Free

could have the freedom to try something daring.
    She walked by a row of old-fashioned slot machines and paused. Fishing through her backpack, Christine pulled out a crisp dollar bill and fed it through the machine. She pulled the lever, but didn’t feel any excitement as she watched the row of symbols spin and settle.
    She lost.
    No surprise there. But that was dream number forty-three. Win money. She knew why she had written that down ten years ago. Back then she had big dreams and a poorly paid summer position at the bank.
    Now she was the manager of that bank.
    Christine’s shoulders slumped. That hadn’t been the plan. The plan had been to get out of Cedar Valley and find her passion. She’d failed on both counts. Worse, she had a pristine dream list with nothing checked off.
    Her eighteen-year-old self would be horrified.
    Her twenty-eight-year-old self wasn’t that impressed, either.
    But she was changing that. All she had to do was check off one thing. She could do that in Vegas, where no one would judge her or rein her in.
    Christine sat down next to the slot machine as she considered her list. What about number nineteen? Climb Mount Rainier. Yeah, that’s in Washington state and she was in Nevada. Perhaps number eight? Get a tattoo. No. Christine immediately discarded that idea. It was too permanent. She needed to take a baby step.
    Christine reached into her backpack for another dollar. She saw a movement from the corner of her eye and looked up to see a man stride down the aisle of slot machines.
    Wow. Christine’s eyes widened. The man was tall and lean. She was mesmerized by the confident and smooth way he moved. Her gaze went from his scuffed boots and his powerful legs encased in low-riding, faded jeans. She noticed how his dark jacket hung from his broad shoulders and the way his white-collared shirt stretched against his muscular chest.
    Christine glanced up and found herself staring. The man did little to control his dark wavy hair and her hands itched to sink into the softness. And then she would trail her fingers along his high cheekbones and angular jaw. She wanted to trace the grooves that bracketed his firm mouth and the lines that fanned from his sparkling brown eyes.
    The man flashed a lopsided smile and Christine’s breath hitched in her throat. Excitement bubbled inside her, heating her body and pressing against her skin, ready to burst.
    Christine slowly looked over her shoulder, wondering if he was smiling at a pretty waitress or an exotic dancer. No one was behind her.
    She frowned and turned around. The handsome stranger stood in front of her. His smile was brighter, a slash of white against his golden-brown skin. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes.
    “You have so many games to choose from and you try the slot machines?” The man’s husky voice sent a thrill down her spine. “Where’s the challenge in that?”
    Why did that sound like a metaphor of her life? Christine cautiously returned his smile. “It doesn’t require any skill.”
    “It’s also the simplest way to lose money.” He leaned against the machine. “The odds aren’t in your favor.”
    “That doesn’t surprise me.” She nervously shifted in her seat and felt the short hem inch up. “I don’t think the casino will offer a sure thing.”
    “Depends on what you’re looking for.”
    Christine saw the gleam of interest in his eyes. She dragged air into her lungs as her skin felt tight and flushed.
    No, no, no. She shouldn’t entertain this idea. He was just chatting with her. He wasn’t flirting. He wasn’t suggesting he was a sure thing. That was just wishful thinking on her part.
    Anyway, hot sex was not on her list. There was no mention of a fling or a one-night stand.
    But that didn’t stop her from allowing her gaze to drift down his body. There should be something about sex on her dream list, she thought as she bit down on her bottom lip. Something impossibly wild.