Leanne Banks - Flirting with Fortune

“The boy is a man.” A muscle in Jude’s jaw jumped. “And I can speak for myself.”

His father only chuckled.

“Coming over and insisting on fixing a meal is something my mama would have done.” Gabi’s voice softened the way it always did when she thought of her mother. “She loved to putter in the kitchen.”

Deke’s eyes turned dark with sympathy. “I heard you lost her several years back.”

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Gabi forced a lightness to her tone she didn’t feel, then sighed. “Or so everyone says.”

“I told you she wouldn’t give us another one,” a male voice groused.

“She might have if you hadn’t—” The dark-haired man stopped speaking when he saw Gabi. “Well, hel-lo, pretty lady.”

Jude placed a proprietary hand on Gabi’s arm as the two men trooped into the room, cowboy boots clicking on the hardwood.

“Dustin, Rowdy, this is Gabriella Mendoza,” Jude began.

“Gabi, please,” she said quickly.

“She’s filling in for Ryan this evening,” Jude said, then continued with the introductions.

“Pleased to meet you.” Dustin, sandy-haired with a broad smile and a baby face, pumped her hand.

Rowdy had a shock of dark hair and a gap-toothed grin. His gaze settled appreciatively on Gabi. “You’re much better-looking than Ryan. If we’re voting, I say he’s out, you’re in.”

“If I take your money, you might not feel the same way,” Gabi teased back.

They spent the next few minutes bonding over light banter about poker prowess. Jude had just finished explaining that his father was filling in for Liam, who’d come down with the flu, when Jeanne Marie appeared in the doorway.

“Gabriella.” Jude’s mother smiled broadly. “I thought that must be you at the door. You simply have to try one of my chocolate hazelnut cheesecake brownies.”

Gabi hesitated.

“If she doesn’t want it, can I have it?” Rowdy’s question earned a scowl from Dustin, who obviously also had his eye on the sweet treat.

“She wants it.” Jeanne Marie crossed the room and extended the plate holding a large chocolate square to Gabi. Though he was at least fifteen hundred miles away, Gabi swore she heard her cardiologist gasp when her gaze settled on the decadent brownie.

“My mother’s brownies are legendary in this area,” Jude told Gabi.

Not seeing another option, Gabi graciously accepted the treat. Before she could succumb to temptation, she broke off a bite-size piece then let Dustin and Rowdy devour the rest.

As the savory blend of chocolate, cream cheese and the faint hint of Nutella melted against her tongue, Gabi nearly moaned aloud. She found herself wishing she’d broken off a bigger piece. “That was simply heavenly.”

“Won a purple ribbon at the State Fair in Dallas.” Jude’s mother smiled indulgently as the ranch hands once again began to pester her for more then disappeared into the kitchen when Jude announced it was time for the game to begin.

While Jude teased Gabi about not giving him any of her brownie, everyone took seats around the table. Deke picked up a deck of cards and began to shuffle. Dustin collected the money from all the players while Rowdy divvied out the brightly colored chips.

Ignoring the bowls of snack food already on the table, Gabi slipped carrots and bottles of water from her bag. When the urge to munch hit, she’d be ready. For now, her focus shifted to the cards she’d been dealt. Gabi fingered the slick surfaces and experienced a familiar thrill.

It quickly became obvious to Jude that Gabi not only knew how to play, but play well. He could tell she’d grown up around men by the easy way she teased the others at the table.

Dustin and Rowdy treated her like a sister, not a woman they’d like to date. If they had, he’d have had to make it even clearer that his friend, Gabriella Mendoza, was off-limits.

The final hand was dealt, and Jude stifled a low whistle when he set his gaze on his hand. Three aces. Smug satisfaction settled over him even as he kept his face impassive.

Rowdy dropped out first, then Dustin. His father held on a little longer before folding.

Gabi chewed her bottom lip, a clear indication she wasn’t nearly as confident of the cards in her hand as she appeared. Still, with a toss of her head, she shoved all her chips into the center of the table. “I call and raise you.”

It took everything Jude had to keep a grin from his lips. If she thought she could bluff a master like him, she was mistaken.

Once his chips were in the center of the table, he laid down his cards, fanning them out. “Three aces.”

He started to pull in the pot, when he felt her hand on his sleeve.

“You haven’t seen my cards.” Her voice held cool amusement.

Dustin and Rowdy glanced at each other. Deke took a long pull of beer.

Dustin grinned. “This is going to be good.”

“Show us what you got, honey,” Rowdy said with a wink.

With great precision, Gabi laid out her cards. “I believe a straight beats three of a kind?”

Though she posed it as a question and her innocent expression gave nothing away, Jude wasn’t fooled. He’d been taken by a master.

Dustin whooped. “It’s your pot, Ga-bri-ella.”

Jude cocked his head. “How long did you say you’d been playing?”

Gabi shrugged and pulled the chips to her. “Since I was, oh, eight or nine. My father says I have a knack.”

“We’ve been snookered.” Rowdy choked back a laugh before pushing his chair aside with a clatter.

Gabi looked startled when Dustin and Deke also rose to their feet. “You’re leaving?”

“Gotta get a little shut-eye. Sun will be up before we know it.” Dustin’s gaze locked on Gabi’s. “Come back and play anytime.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Gabi.” Rowdy tipped his hat then shifted his gaze to Deke. “See you in the mornin’, boss man.”

Deke patted her on the shoulder. “It was a pleasure, little lady.”

Gabi rose to her feet. “It was nice meeting you both. And seeing you again, Mr. Fortune Jo—”

She stopped at the look on his face. “Ah, Deke.”

While the older man headed to the kitchen to fetch Jeanne Marie, Gabi walked the two cowboys to the door, the men in a jovial mood despite leaving with empty pockets.

Once the two cowboys were in their vehicles and she and Jude were cleaning up, he cast a sideways glance at her and made a confession. “When I saw you chewing your lip, I was certain you were bluffing.”

She couldn’t quite suppress a smile as she pocketed her winnings and put the chips back in the carrier.

“That was deliberate?”

Gabi laughed. “I love a good game of cards.”

Was that what he’d been meant to learn this evening? That she was not only pretty, fun and sexy as hell, but possessed a mind that would constantly challenge him?

Though at the moment it was her pretty face and those full, pouty lips that called to him. He tugged her close, pleased when she melted against him. His mouth had just begun its exploration when the kitchen door swung open.

“I heard the vehicles leave—” Jeanne Marie, with her husband behind her, came to an abrupt halt in the doorway. One brow winged up.

Gabi shoved tousled hair back from her face and flushed. “I was just leaving.”

Deke’s gaze shifted from his wife to Gabi and Jude. “What’s up?”

Ignoring her son’s dark look, Jeanne Marie smiled at her husband. “I interrupted your son saying good-night to Gabi.”

“Don’t hurry off on our account,” Deke told Gabi. “Jeanne Marie and I are heading home.”

“I really have to go.” Two bright dots of pink colored Gabi’s cheeks.

“Don’t forget this.” Jeanne Marie crossed the room and lifted the market bag with a bold paisley print from the floor. “This one has to be yours. My son doesn’t own anything this stylish.”