The dealer flips over her other card, showing a king. She needs to go again; otherwise, the house loses regardless. She flips another card; it shows a four. She loses, and I’m the only winner on the table.
“Yes,” I whisper as I grin at Charlie, but it’s a pity my bets are so low.
“I’m going to find Bree and Jade,” Charlie says.
The surfer dude guy gets up when she does. The chairs are quickly taken.
“Hi,” a guy with the deepest voice I’ve ever heard sits beside me.
“Hello,” I reply with a smile.
“English,” he says.
“I am,” I reply, watching two men sit on the other side of the table.
As the dealer skillfully maneuvers the chips and money, my eyes dart around the room, searching for any sign of Charlie, hoping she found Jade, and Bree. Though I’m just five years older, I can’t help but feel a motherly bond with her.
“You are?”
“Sorry... I’m English,” I say.
“I mean your name,” he says and grins.
“Oh sorry. Amber. You?”
“Hunter,” he replies.
“Ah, cool name,” I say, picking up my cards.
I glance at my hand and smile as I lay them on the table. When I glance up again, I can’t help but notice the man on the opposite side of the table, his intense gaze fixed on me.
During our drinks earlier, I caught sight of him sitting with a group of men, his confident demeanor making him stand out from the crowd. And then, like now, he was staring at me, or perhaps he’s staring into space.
I glance my head over my shoulder, looking behind me, wondering exactly who he is looking at. My gaze instinctively returns to the table, meeting his eyes once again.
His hair, dark and impeccably styled, is cut short, and his eyes, a mesmerizing blend of blue and green, stand out against his tanned complexion. At first, I thought he was daydreaming or looking elsewhere, but now I realize his eyes are firmly fixed on mine, refusing to break contact.
As I finally blink, I’m captivated by the sight of his beautiful lips curling up into a slow, alluring smile.
“Miss?” the dealer says.
How did it get so quickly to me?
The moment the dealer captures my attention, I feel a pleasant warmth creeping into my cheeks. Forgetting my cards in my fluster, I hurriedly retrieve them and bring them close to my face, and assess them again. As the house is showing a king, I have no choice but to take another card. The dealer throws me a queen, and I can’t believe my luck.
“Stand,” I say.
Hunter is grinning as he decides to hold his cards, too.
The dealer uncovers their second card—a ten.
Everyone realizes I've won again.
Hunter groans next to me. “Another grand lost,” he says.
A freaking grand.
“Probably why I’m winning,” I say, pulling my winnings in front of me. I’m betting so low; the man watching through the cameras is letting me win.
