Читать книгу Bet on Love - Devon Archer Vaughn - Страница 11

Chapter 2

“Since when did you start arriving at work in a limo?” Melanie Rice, Bianca’s coworker and friend asked.

“Since the limo driver ran into my car,” Bianca said as they both went inside the building.

Melanie, who was the same age and a little taller, cast Bianca a doubtful look. “And that’s how he’s repaying you?”

“Something like that.” Bianca suppressed a smile. “The limo actually belongs to Tanner Long.”

“The Tanner Long?” Melanie asked, her blue eyes widening.

“Unless there’s another one I don’t know about,” Bianca joked.

“There’s only one man who looks that good,” declared Melanie as they entered the elevator. “Maybe two, if you include his brother.”

Bianca found it hard to argue the point, but decided to do so anyway. “He’s not that great. But Tanner did step up and offer to have my car repaired, free of charge.”

“Oh, really?” Melanie pushed a strand of curly dark hair from her face. “How’d you manage that?”

“Wasn’t too difficult,” Bianca said. “After all, it was his driver who was too close to my car when I had to stop suddenly to avoid hitting someone else.”

“Either way, my guess is that you left as much of an impression on Mr. Long as he did on you.”

Did I? Bianca wondered. Or would any attractive woman who kept herself in shape have impressed him?

“I doubt that,” she responded. “He was too preoccupied with the grand opening of his hotel-casino to be thinking about leaving impressions.”

“We should go to the grand opening,” Melanie said as the elevator doors opened to the sixth floor. “I know Oscar Presley has been assigned to write a piece for the paper. But now that you know one of the owners personally—”

Bianca chuckled. “I wouldn’t exactly put it that way,” she said, then admitted, “But he did invite me.”

“Then it’s settled,” Melanie said, practically jumping for joy, as if they had both won the lottery. “I’m sure he won’t mind if I tag along, and maybe I’ll even put a few dollars in the slot machines.”

“I’m sure he won’t mind,” Bianca agreed, especially when they would probably fade into the woodwork with all the city’s dignitaries on hand to welcome the Aloha Seas to Las Vegas.

Melanie beamed. “Now I just have to decide what to wear. You never know who we might run into.”

Knowing that her friend turned heads all the time, Bianca was certain that would be no problem. “I’m sure we’ll both look great no matter what we wear.”

“Maybe so,” Melanie said. “But there’s nothing wrong with a little icing on the cake, so to speak.”

Bianca grinned. “Whatever you say.” She reached her workstation. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Sitting at her desk, Bianca attempted to concentrate on a few articles she was working on. If only her thoughts weren’t filled with images of Tanner Long.

* * *

Tanner walked into the hotel. Everything sparkled, and it was a damned good imitation of Hawaii, complete with palm trees, sand, pool replicas of the ocean, an amazing luau area, and authentic Hawaiian cuisine and drinks. There were two nightclubs and a concert hall. Of course, there was also a casino that was pure Las Vegas with plenty of slot machines, blackjack tables, card dealers and a professional and friendly staff to keep things running smoothly.

He thought about Bianca. Perhaps it was serendipitous that their cars had collided. Otherwise he might never have laid eyes on the beauty. He was a firm believer in fate and that all things happened for a reason.

He liked the idea of getting to know Bianca better. But first, she had to show up for the grand opening. Then they could take it from there, assuming she didn’t bring a date. He certainly didn’t mind a little competition from time to time. But when it came to women, he preferred not to have to compete for anyone he had his eye on.

And currently that was Bianca Wagner, whom he knew far too little about at the moment. He hoped to rectify that soon.

“There you are....” Tanner heard the familiar voice, breaking his reverie.

He turned to see his brother approaching with Frank Regan, the general manager.

“For a minute there, I thought you’d gone to the wrong place,” Solomon said.

“I had to make a slight detour,” Tanner explained, gazing at his brother. They were the same height. Many had said they would be hard to tell apart between their close features and size, except Solomon chose to wear his black hair long and curly instead of shaving it all off. Tanner was glad that set them apart. The last thing he needed or wanted was to have people getting him confused with his brother and vice versa. Particularly where it concerned the ladies, as their tastes were about as different as night and day.

“Oh, right, the accident,” Solomon said.

“What accident?” Frank asked, scratching his thinning blond-gray hair.

“Just a slight fender bender,” Tanner said. “I took care of it. No big deal.”

“Glad to hear that,” Solomon told him. “We’ve got less than forty-eight hours till the big opening, and there’s still a lot to be done.”

Tanner smiled. “Including cost cutting?”

“Hey, someone has to watch the bottom line,” his brother said with a chuckle.

“And you’re the right man for the job. Don’t you agree, Frank?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Together, you two are unbeatable.”

“Which makes the three of us that much more formidable,” Tanner told him, patting the fiftysomething general manager on the back. They began walking and Tanner regarded both men. “So bring me up to speed on anything I’ve missed, and I’ll do the same.”

“Well, for one, you missed the glamorous Kendre Kelly rehearsing for her opening act in the concert hall,” Frank told him.

Tanner frowned. She was one of the top singing talents around these days. They had secured her services for the next three months. He would have more than enough time to see her perform.

“Is she as good as they say?” he asked for effect.

“Better,” Frank claimed. “Back me up on this, Solomon.”

“Yeah, she’s good—including on the eyes.”

Tanner chuckled. “Leave it up to my brother to focus more on her looks than talent.”

“Look who’s talking,” Solomon tossed back. “I’m not the one who dated a hot-to-trot dancer, awed much more by her beauty than her footwork.”

“Guilty as charged,” Tanner said. “But then, she didn’t work for me. Have to draw the line somewhere.”

Solomon grinned crookedly. “Understood.”

Tanner wasn’t so sure he did, knowing Solomon had a weakness for beautiful women. The fact that Kendre was now employed at the Aloha Seas would not likely change this any.

For his part, Tanner could also appreciate a lovely, sexy woman. Bianca Wagner came to mind again. Good thing she wasn’t working for them, so there were no barriers standing in the way of them getting together, assuming the opportunity presented itself.

* * *

Bianca resisted the urge to overdress for the grand opening event, preferring to keep it simple and stylish with a sleeveless blue A-line dress and low heels. She decided to leave her hair down and loose, and wore little makeup, as usual, preferring the natural glow of her complexion.

Accompanied by Melanie, she entered the packed Aloha Seas and both women were immediately in awe.

“This is so cool,” Melanie said, taking in the glamor and glitter of the tropical-themed hotel. “Makes me want to check out Hawaii in person.”

“You should,” Bianca told her. “You’d love it there.”

“I’m sure I would, especially with the right man on my arm.”

Bianca smiled. “That’s always a plus,” she said.

“Aloha!” Bianca heard the familiar deep voice. She turned to find Tanner standing there with another tall, well-dressed man who, by the looks of him, could only be Tanner’s brother.

“Hello,” she said.

Tanner grinned. “Glad you could make it.”

“We wouldn’t have missed this,” Melanie said enthusiastically.

“This is my friend, Melanie,” Bianca said.

“Nice to meet you,” Tanner told her, shaking Melanie’s hand. “And this is my brother, Solomon.”

“Ladies,” Solomon said, smiling.

Bianca smiled back. She could see the resemblance between the brothers right down to the neatly trimmed mustaches and goatees, aside from the fact that Solomon had hair atop his head and Tanner did not.

“Was your car repaired to your satisfaction?” Tanner asked her.

“It will be ready in two days,” Bianca told him. “Thank you.”

“It was the least I could do, since Johan caused the damage.”

“I really love the hotel,” Melanie said.

“Mahalo!” Solomon responded, thanking her.

“Can’t wait to see the casino.”

“I’d be happy to give you a tour,” he said.

“I’ll take you up on that,” Melanie responded, beaming.

Solomon grinned. “Then let’s go for it.”

Bianca watched as the two walked away, leaving her alone with Tanner. “That was quick,” she commented.

“For Melanie or Solomon?” he quipped.

“Both.”

Tanner chuckled. “Solomon’s always had an eye for pretty ladies. Your friend certainly fits the bill.”

Bianca couldn’t argue the point. She only hoped Melanie knew what she was getting herself into. Or maybe Melanie didn’t care. Bianca was well aware that her friend was a free spirit, often living for the moment rather than the future.

“Why don’t I show you around,” Tanner said loudly, amidst an exquisite setting overflowing with invited guests, tourists and employees moving this way and that with blended chatter. “If you’d like?”

“Are you sure I wouldn’t be keeping you from anything?” she asked tentatively.

“I’ve got a lot on my plate today,” he admitted. “But I think I can spare a few minutes for a beautiful lady.”

Bianca warmed to the compliment, even though she suspected he used that line quite a bit on women. “Okay, in that case, I’ll take a few minutes of your time to check out the place.”

Tanner flashed a pleased smile. “I like your dress.”

“It’s just a dress,” she said, trying to downplay it.

“Not on you,” he insisted.

She laughed. “Are you always this smooth?”

He chuckled. “It’s not a line, I assure you. I always say just what I mean.”

“Then, thank you,” Bianca gave in, figuring she would accept the flattery since she could just as easily have complimented him on the designer clothing that seemed made just for him.

Tanner flashed another devastatingly handsome smile and proffered his long arm, pointing toward an enormous lobby. “Shall we...?”

* * *

Tanner was only too happy to give Bianca a tour of his pride and joy. He knew Solomon felt the same way when showing Melanie around. Though this hardly meant either of them was expecting more, Tanner would not deny that he was attracted to Bianca, and he sensed she was attracted to him, too. How far they would take that was anyone’s guess, but he was more than happy to see if it could go anywhere.

“Wow!” Bianca marveled as he showed her one of the pools that had the feel of being on Maui’s famed Kaanapali Beach, complete with palm trees, golden sand and plenty of sunshine.

“You like?” Tanner asked.

“I love it!”

“I take it you swim?”

“Of course,” she said.

“Then feel free to drop in sometime for a dip. The water’s always comfortable.”

Bianca looked at him. “Have you tested it?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve been in a couple of times to break it in, so to speak.”

“Maybe I’ll take you up on that sometime.”

“I hope so.” And I just might join you in the water for some real fun, he thought. “Let’s go look at the lounges.”

“Sounds good.”

Tanner ordered them each a Mai Tai in the Island Lounge. “So what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a writer,” Bianca responded.

“You write novels, articles or—”

“Yes, articles for the Vegas Valley Happenings and some freelance stuff for online publications.”

“Cool,” he said, picturing her at work on her next article.

“Not as cool as owning your own hotel-casino,” she said flatly.

He chuckled. “It definitely has its perks and advantages, but that’s only a part of who I am.”

“And just who are you?” Bianca asked as she sipped her drink.

“I’m someone with a wide range of tastes and experiences.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

“Such as...” she asked.

He was about to answer when his cell phone rang. It was Frank.

“I have to get this,” Tanner said reluctantly.

“Of course,” Bianca said.

He stood up and took the call, listening as Frank informed him that he had a welcoming speech to make in fifteen minutes.

“I’ll be there,” Tanner said. He gazed at Bianca, feeling that he could look at her all day and night. If only he had the time. “I hate to cut this short, but I have to play host in welcoming some dignitaries to the grand opening.”

“I understand.” She gave him a polite smile.

“Can you hang around for a while?” he asked hopefully.

“Maybe,” she said hesitantly.

He grinned. “Good. I’d like to finish what we started. In the meantime, have another drink on the house.”

Bianca tilted her head. “You’re not trying to get me drunk, are you?”

Tanner chuckled. “No, I’d much rather have you clear-headed. It’s sexier.”

“So you think I’m sexy?”

He saw no reason to deny it. “Not think. I know you are,” he said. “Well, I’ll leave you with that thought.”

Tanner walked away from the bar, hoping this might be the start of something good for both of them.