Page 4 of Gin & Jewels

“Ha!” Nick yelled. “Told you it won’t be me.”

“Calm down.” I chuckled. “I don’t think anyone thinks it’s you.”

“Why is that?” Cassie asked.

“Because he’s what women call a ladies’ man,” Seth replied.

“Are the rest of you married?” Cassie asked as the dealer dealt another hand. The last round, she (the dealer) won with twenty and beat us all.

“I am,” Paul stated and then motioned to the rest ofThe Fallenas he spoke. “Gabe here is too, Seth as well, and this guy”—he clapped Vinny on the shoulder—“is getting hitched in a month.”

“I see.” Cassie gave a cute smile—maybe it wasjust a smile, butIthought it was cute. “Well, I’m still sticking with Galen. He has this boy-next-door vibe.”

“Hey,” I protested. “What about me?”Why was I protesting?

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You look like the one who would break my heart.”

My eyebrows furrowed, and I grunted. I’d never broken a woman’s heart in my entire life. I always knew I wanted to be a Marine, so I didn’t bother having girlfriends in high school, because I knew as soon as I graduated, I would go off to boot camp. I quickly became a sergeant and was sent to various countries on special details, which I’m not allowed to discuss. After being stationed in Barstow, California, and spending free days in Las Vegas because it was less than three hours away, I became friends with an escort who had previously worked for Saddles & Racks ...

“I can’t hang tonight,” Colin, my friend in Vegas, stated into the phone.

“Why not?” I asked, the phone cradled between my ear and shoulder as I buttoned my shirt to get ready for our night out in Sin City. Two of my officers—Wells and Romero, my first and second lieutenants and the men I was closest with on-base—had made the drive to Vegas with me for the weekend. It was what we did to let off steam and relax.

“I have a date.”

“Well, cancel it. You said you’d get us into Tryst.” Tryst was the hottest club in Vegas, and we wanted to find out why—and also meet some ladies.

“I’m still getting you into the club, but I have a date and can’t meet up with you.”

“Bring her with us.”

“It’s not that kind of date.”

I stopped buttoning my shirt. “What do you mean it’s notthatkind of date?”

“Remember how I told you that I have a side job?”

“Yeah?”

He took a deep breath. “It’s escorting.”

“Escorting?” I balked. “What do you mean, escorting?”

“I get paid to go on dates.”

I laughed. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

“Nope.”

I sat on the end of the bed and looked over at Wells as he ironed his shirt. Romero was still in the shower. “How?”

“I work for an escort service, and when a client books me, I do whatever it is they’ve specified they want.”

“Like sex?”

Colin chuckled. “Well, not legally, but if the date is going well, I don’t turn them down.”

“So, what you’re saying is you’re bailing on me to get laid?”