Page 8 of Capturing Love

He smiled and raised his index finger. “Check. Except you seemed to have more interest in the crowd than you did the show.”

I shrugged happily. “It still counts.”

“Okay, so what’s next?”

“Number three. Play legit poker.”

Grayson raised one eyebrow. “Legit?”

I nodded eagerly. “When in Rome, right?” I chuckled. “One problem though. I have no idea how to play poker.”

Grayson grimaced. “Well this isn’t exactly the place to learn. Unless you’re a secret millionaire and can afford to lose a couple of grand.”

My face fell. “I guess the slot machines will do.”

“No, no.” He shook his head. “You want to play poker, let’s play poker.”

“It’s okay.” I waved him off. “I have no money anyway.”

Grayson placed his hand over my elbow and led me off in a new direction. “Come on, you won’t need any.”

I tried to think of a game of poker that didn’t require money and my eyes grew wide. “I’m not playing strip poker!”

He laughed wholeheartedly and I resisted the urge to take a photo of the exquisite sight. “As much as I would like to see that, no, your clothing will remain on.” His cheeks turned pink when he realised what he said.

Following Grayson up the Strip, we reached Caesar’s Palace. As we walked through the breath-taking casino, all the staff appeared to acknowledge him with a nod. It only took a whisper into an employee’s ear before we were ushered to a room full of serious gamblers.

“I told you, I can’t play,” I murmured as we approached a large table surrounded by extremely well-dressed players and onlookers.

He leant down to my ear. “But they don’t know that,” he whispered, guiding me into the empty chair beside him. “Bluffing is everything.”

Grayson nodded to the dealer and he slid over a pile of poker chips.

“What are you doing?” I gasped. “How much is there? Like a hundred bucks?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.” Grayson grabbed a handful and placed them on the table in front of us. He continued to whisper the rules as the dealer shuffled the cards. His warm breath on my neck distracted me from his words, leaving me just as clueless about poker as I was when we started.

We played as a team and lost terribly. Grayson didn’t seem too upset, so I figured he must have exaggerated how much the chips were worth.

As we sauntered out of the casino, I paused at the slot machines, fishing in my pocket for the quarter I was supposed to throw in the fountain earlier. I pulled it out and held it up triumphantly.

“Last chance,” I said with a grin, and pulled down the lever.

To my delighted surprise, I won a ton of free spins and at least a hundred dollars. I couldn’t believe my luck. Grayson crossed his arms and shook his head with a chuckle.

“Here,” I said, handing him the overflowing bucket of coins. “This should cover my poker debt.”

Grayson held up his hands and stepped away. “You don’t have to repay me.”

I forced the bucket into his chest. “Yes, I do.”

Lowering his eyes, he slowly lifted his hands to cradle the container. “Thanks.” He hesitantly turned around and handed it over to an employee, who was hovering nearby.

“What are you doing?” I gasped, pulling his arm back.

“It’s okay.” He chuckled. “I’m staying at this hotel. He’ll just put it on my account.”

“Oh. I guess that explains why everyone seems to know you.”