Katherine Garbera - Their Million-Dollar Night

Max’s words hurt in a way he couldn’t understand—and she dared not explain. At one time, she’d have tossed her hair and given him a smile that would have brought him to his knees. But now…

“Not anymore.” She couldn’t believe those words had escaped. “How long will you be in Vegas?”

“Long enough to convince you that you are beautiful.” He took her hand in his, his thumb stroking over her knuckle.

“That’s not why you came,” she said, telling herself he was here for the Vegas allure. The mindless flirting, the hours of gambling.

“My plans have changed.”

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is the award-winning, bestselling author of more than twenty books for Silhouette and has been nominated for Romantic Times BOOKclub’s career achievement awards in Series Fantasy and Series Adventure. Katherine recently moved to the Dallas area, where she lives with her husband and their two children. Visit Katherine on the Web at www.katherinegarbera.com.

This book is dedicated to two of my cousins—Annette Queck, who is like my mom’s twin! And Michelle Griffin, who is like my sister. Thanks for making my summer trips to New Jersey so memorable. First as a teenager when we spent tons of money on the midway rides in Point Pleasant. Then as an adult when we went gambling in Atlantic City and certain ones of us had to lie about our ages. Finally as a parent when we sat on the beach huddled in sweatshirts (us Floridians aren’t used to a cold breeze at the beach!) watching our kids play together in the surf.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Roxy O’Malley stared critically at the body in the mirror. For the first time in her life she was embarrassed by how she looked. She skimmed her gaze and her hands down the tight Spandex running bra that ended just below her 36DD breasts. That part wasn’t bad.

Always when she got this far, she wanted to stop. She wanted to pretend that the last three months had never happened. Pretend that when she glanced lower all she’d see was the smooth skin of her midriff and stomach. Pretend that her life and what she knew about herself were still true.

She closed her eyes for a brief second, her hand going to her stomach. The ridges of the scars weren’t rough against her fingers, but she thought they should be. The texture was different—foreign—and Roxy O’Malley, who’d once been called the most gorgeous bod on the Vegas strip, glanced down at the three scars. Three of them. One would have been bad enough, but three?

“Hey, sexy lady! Admiring the view?”

Roxy glanced over her shoulder at her boss and friend Hayden MacKenzie. She forced a cheerful note into her voice. “Hi, Hay! What’s up?”

Hayden was a tall, good-looking man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes that always made Roxy feel like he could see straight to the heart of her vulnerabilities.

Quickly she dropped her hand and picked up the T-shirt she’d left draped on the back of the weight machine. She couldn’t look him in the eye until she covered up. She would have turned away from him for privacy, but her back was worse than her stomach. Alan Technety had made sure of that. Because she’d broken up with him, he’d decided to make sure no other man would want her.

He’d also ensured she’d never dance again by cutting her so deeply on her left leg that he’d damaged the muscles and tendons. She couldn’t even walk without a limp, which was worse than having the scars. Her body, which she’d always counted on, the one thing in her life that she’d always been able to control, was now out of her control.

Alan had done better than he could have expected. He’d made it so she didn’t even want herself anymore. And her face had never been her vanity—Alan had known that and had focused instead on the lean dancer’s body that she’d kept honed and in top form through careful diet and exercise.

“I need a favor, but only if you feel up to it,” Hayden said.

“Okay, what do you need?” She walked to the small refrigerator in the employees’ gym that held bottles of sports drink and water. It was only five o’clock in the morning. Normally Roxy was completely alone in the gym. She was surprised to see Hayden down here so early. The newlywed was besotted with his new bride and everyone in the casino knew Hayden and Shelby had a ritual breakfast every morning.

“Well, I want you to stop dealing,” he said.

She froze. For the last month, since she’d been off on medical leave, Hayden had assigned her to work at the blackjack tables. Dealing wasn’t really her thing, but she could do it—and she couldn’t go back to headlining the European-style revue in the main theatre of the Chimera Resort and Casino. Being a dealer was a bit of a struggle, because she was on her feet all day and thanks to her leg injury, standing was a pain. Literally. But there was nothing else for her to do at the casino and living off charity—even Hayden’s disguised charity—by taking an extended leave of absence was something she couldn’t tolerate.

“I can’t dance. You know I can’t have another surgery for six months…”

Hayden put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. “I’m not asking for that, Rox. I want you to be one of my VIP hostesses. Entertain the high rollers, keep them happy and in the hotel.”

She glanced up at him, feeling like a fool. She never reacted the right way. It was just like old Ms. Wiggins had said back at the group home. Blood always tells. And Roxy O’Malley’s blood, much as her name implied, didn’t include a pedigree worth mentioning.

She stepped away from Hayden, walking carefully so that the limp wouldn’t be obvious. He was always treating her like she was his kid sister, and there was a part of her that wanted to be his kid sister.

“When would I start?” she asked, grabbing a towel from the floor and draping it over her neck.

“Tonight.”

“Who will I be accompanying?”

“Max Williams. He’s a good friend of mine and I think you’ll enjoy his company.”

“That doesn’t really matter, Hay. I’m going to be working with him, right?”

Hayden shrugged.

“Please tell me you’re not setting me up with him.”

“I’m not. This is a legit job. But if you like him…”

“Hayden MacKenzie, matchmaker. There’s something very wrong with this picture,” she said. But deep inside, she was touched. “I think I’ll stick to the job.”

“Okay. I’ll have Kathy send you his information. I’ll need to see you in my office at three. We’ll meet Max in the lobby when he arrives.”

She nodded and Hayden started for the door. “Does he know about me?”

Hayden paused. “What do you mean?”