2. Anna
ANNA
FIVE YEARS AGO
Four years of late nights, ramen noodles, and caffeine-fueled study sessions, all for this moment. Graduation .
Freedom.
No more exams. No more late-night studying. No more worrying about maintaining my GPA to keep my scholarships.
I was done. Finally done.
The very first one in my family to ever go to college—at least that I knew of.
I was so proud of myself for doing this.
There was a point in my youth when I was being moved around so much from foster home to foster home that my teachers had sent home notes saying I was likely going to be held back due to poor grades.
Now look at me. Graduating magna cum laude from the University of Nevada - Las Vegas School of Journalism .
I was normally a very rigorous student—no drinking on weeknights, a minimum of thirty minutes of studying every night, and no crazy parties.
I had heard a few stories about some of the rowdy parties getting broken up by the cops and kids who had spent the night in jail, risking their entire collegiate future just for a party.
I wasn’t going to chance my future like that, or my scholarships—no way.
But now it was all done. Final exams had been turned in, and I was free.
I had freedom from stressing about school for the first time to do whatever I wanted for a week until the graduation commencement ceremony.
Well , freedom from school responsibilities, but not life ones.
I had sent out what felt like an infinite number of resumes and video reels to prospective TV stations and newspapers about job inquiries.
I’d had a few interviews, but no solid job offers yet.
I had two weeks to keep searching and sending things out so that hopefully when the commencement ceremony was over, I could hit the road and pack up for my new job somewhere.
But tonight… Tonight , I had promised my two roommates I would go out for some celebratory drinks and gambling.
Believe it or not, I had lived in Las Vegas for four years and had never once gambled. Look … I was a poor college student. I’d rather spend any extra money I had to splurge on food—there were only so many ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches I could eat in a week.
But today was a celebration, and I was going to go to the casinos and have a little fun.
With that said, I still didn’t have a lot of money, so I told myself I was limiting my evening to a hundred dollars out of my own pocket.
Hopefully , I would win some along the way and be able to stretch that money all night.
We were all dolled up and headed to the Las Vegas Strip .
Go big or go home. I had on a pair of dark jeans—my favorite pair that hugged and molded my body perfectly.
I was average height and had more of an athletic build, but these jeans made my legs look longer and my butt look amazing.
I’d paired it with an emerald-green sequin, V -neck tank—the perfect color to highlight my hazel eyes and auburn hair.
I’d always been told that wearing green brought out my eyes, and I loved it.
Plus , it matched my emerald-green glittery heels I had borrowed from my roommate Jess , so it felt perfect for a night out.
The girls and I went to one of the most famous casinos right in the heart of the strip and started with the slot machines.
These were easy since you just pushed a few buttons or pulled on a lever, so we could chat and have a drink while we played.
Then , my roommate Karyn —the wild one in the bunch—wanted to go try some of the card tables.
I’d played card games before, but mostly things like solitaire, war, and rummy. Not poker or baccarat or blackjack.
We decided on roulette because that seemed easier than card games since you just had to pick a number or color to bet on. Karyn was on fire, and a small crowd had started to form to watch her as she won her fifth game in a row.
We weren’t betting high amounts—mostly just trying to make our money last longer—but the crowd didn’t seem to care.
Suddenly, my eyes caught a man off to the side wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
Despite all the attention on Karyn while she played, his gaze seemed to be on me.
Once our eyes met, he smiled at me, causing a small dimple to pop out.
He had olive-toned skin, Italian or Mediterranean was my guess.
Dark , close-cropped hair, and chocolate brown eyes.
He was tall, several inches taller than me, even with my heels on.
It was more than that, though. He had a presence, one that commanded the attention of the room, even in that ridiculous, bright-colored floral shirt.
I briefly smiled back at him, because who wouldn’t? The man was sexy as hell. But then I brought my focus back to my roommate, who had once again won. People were cheering and clapping around us. She played two more rounds before she finally lost, but it was all in fun since she hadn’t bet much.
“Okay, let’s try something else,” Karyn said to us. “ How about blackjack? That’s an easy card game to start with because it’s just simple math.”
I knew the basics of blackjack, even though I’d never played before. Plus , I was good at math, so I figured this would be a good card game to ease into.
We sat down at a table, and a few of the people who had watched Karyn play earlier had followed us to the new table—likely to see if she would continue her lucky streak.
It started with just us roommates at the table for the first round. Thankfully , the dealer explained the basics to Jess and me.
“Hello, ladies. My name is Tara . Welcome ,” she said politely to us.
She explained that all player cards were face up, except the dealer’s.
For the dealer, the first card was up, and then the second card was facedown.
The person who got closest to twenty-one without going over wins.
That didn’t seem quite fair to me that they got to see all my cards but I couldn’t see theirs, but whatever.
I was nervous but excited. I could see why some people loved playing these games. I hadn’t even won at roulette, but it was fun to watch everyone else around you. Hopefully , my luck would be better at this game.
Right out of the gate, my first card was an ace, followed by an eight for Karyn , a four for Jess , and a nine for the dealer. Then , as the dealer dealt our second cards…boom! I got a king.
“Blackjack,” the dealer said out loud.
“Lucky bitch,” Karyn teased, smiling at me.
The dealer continued to lay the cards down, with Karyn getting another eight, a queen for Jess , followed by a ten for the dealer. I’d won!
It seemed that while Karyn’s luck may have shifted, mine was just starting to pick up. Two more rounds, two more wins for me!
After three straight losses, Jess decided to call it quits, so it became just Karyn and me. To Karyn’s right, a woman who had been cheering for her earlier decided to join in and take Jess’s seat. To my left, the good-looking man in the Hawaiian shirt sat down.
“Hoping some of your good luck rubs off on me,” he said to me with a grin that should be illegal in all fifty states.
He was already incredibly attractive, but when he grinned, he was dangerous. A grin like that could make a grown woman say yes to things she never knew she wanted.
I didn’t respond. Instead , I just smiled back and then turned back to the dealer.
My next hand came out to yet another ace, but this time along with a ten, giving me another winning hand.
“Oh my God , girl, you are on fire!” Jess said behind me.
“Maybe I should bail now while I’m ahead,” I said to the girls.
“Hell no. Keep going while you’re hot!” Karyn enthusiastically added, and Jess and I chuckled at her excitement.
“You’re definitely hot,” the man next to me said as he leaned in a little closer.
Not enough so that he was in my personal space, but just enough so only I could hear him and not anyone else. Not sure what to say back to that, I just gave a small smile in return.
“Not that you need it, but good luck, Ace ,” he said and then gave me that sexy grin.
“Ace?” I asked, not sure what that meant.
“You keep getting lucky with the aces—seems fitting,” he said, and his grin became a full-blown smile.
Oh, I felt that smile take over my body. Heat filled me, and I started to sweat. I’d never played blackjack before, but I knew getting aces this many times in a row was uncommon, so his joke seemed appropriate.
“Okay, one more round for me, and then I’m out,” Karyn said next to me.
I smiled at her, my excitement too big to form proper words, as we waited for our next hand.
Tara dealt everyone’s first card. As I looked down at the table, I saw the dealer’s up card was an ace, but since the second card was facedown, I had no idea what else she had.
My cards showed yet another ace along with a two. Knowing that an ace can either be worth eleven points or one point, and knowing this may be my last game of blackjack since Karyn wanted to leave, I decided to chance it.
“Hit me,” I told the dealer.
She flipped another card for me, revealing another two, bringing me to either fifteen or five. Not liking either of those numbers I hit again. Just my luck… Another two.
Hmmm… What to do?
Sitting at either seventeen or seven, I looked around to see what everyone else had. Karyn had nineteen and decided to stay. I looked briefly next to me to see that Hawaiian hottie had fourteen, and he decided to hit for another card. He hit a six, bringing him to twenty.
“Looks like I’ve pulled some of your luck,” Hottie said beside me.
Not yet ready for this to be over, I chose to hit again. A three.
I was no blackjack expert, but I was pretty sure I should stay since my total was twenty, but knowing the dealer had an ace showing, twenty may not be good enough. I was going to have to play this hand as a ten.
I knew the man next to me had twenty, but what I didn’t know was what the dealer had.
“Whatcha gonna do, Ace ?” the hunky man beside me asked.
Now, here was the thing about me. I was a big competitor. I didn’t always need to win, but I would never be the first one to give up. It wasn’t in my nature. Because of this, I decided to hit again and take a chance like he had.
A ten.
Now I had twenty, same as hottie. Sweat started to form all over my body. But who knew what the dealer had? With an ace showing, I was convinced she had twenty-one.
I either had balls of steel or was filled with stupidity. I turned to the man next to me, hopefully sending him the message that I wasn’t backing down. “ Hit me,” I said, turning back to the dealer.
The group of people that had formed around us gasped.
Jess, holding on to my shoulders behind me, squealed a little from the thrill of it.
The dealer flipped the card over in front of me—ace.
The man next to me chuckled, mumbling, “ Another ace.”
Holy shit! Twenty -one total on six cards! The dealer turned over her other card revealing a nine. I’d won again—this time in dramatic fashion.
The table went wild as Jess and Karyn screamed next to me.
“Oh my God , that was insane!” Jess half yelled, half laughed.
“Your turn to buy drinks!” Karyn announced to me.
“I’ll let you buy me a drink too,” the man next to me said.
I turned to look at him, laughing a little.
“That’s not how this works, Vacation Vinnie ,” I told him, taking aim at his tropical shirt. “ I’m pretty sure the loser buys—which means you.”
I gave him my best confident smirk, and he smiled back at me.
God, that smile.
“Deal,” he said and then leaned in closer. “ Just so you know, Vinnie is my cousin. My name is Archer . Nice to meet you, Ace .”
He held out his hand. The gesture was simple enough, but all of a sudden, my hands started to sweat.
After wiping them quickly and subtly on my jeans, I put my hand in his.
The touch of his skin against mine sent a mild shock through my system.
His calloused hand brushed against mine, and his thumb slid across my skin.
Lord , I imagined those hands could do wonderful things to a woman.
“There’s a bar right around the corner here in the casino,” Archer said to my friends and me. “ How ‘bout it?”
“You buyin’ for all of us, Coconut Cowboy ?” Karyn asked with a gleam in her eye.
“I think between the three of us, we can take care of that,” one of the other men standing next to Archer said. “ I’m Manny , Archer’s roommate, and this is our good friend Nick , who’s in town visiting.”
We all introduced ourselves and made our way to the bar.
As we walked the short distance there, Archer placed his hand on the small of my back, and I knew this man was going to be trouble.
I just didn’t know how much.