Hearts in Vegas (Harlequin Superromance) by Colleen Collins - Hearts in Vegas (Harlequin Superromance)

Author:Colleen Collins - Hearts in Vegas (Harlequin Superromance) [Collins, Colleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: AcM
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

Dance lessons-COME OVER NOW

He started to put his phone away when a ping sounded.

MY BROTHER, I AM THERE

He made a mental note to later tell Li’l Bit they didn’t need to text in big letters from here on out.

“Hey,” Drake said, “what’s the latest with your mystery blonde?”

“She’s still a blonde,” Braxton muttered, putting away the phone.

It’d been nice being distracted with the family dinner, talking about the baby, even the damned dance moves. But Frances? It hurt just to think about her.

He wasn’t ready to talk about what happened earlier at Bally’s because he still didn’t understand it. Oh, he knew how he’d reacted—what Frances would probably call expressive—but he didn’t comprehend why she’d agreed to spend time with him, then conspired to run away.

When he’d lived the vida loca life, women had been like a revolving door, and he’d been the same for them. Somebody took off? There was always another number to call, another party to go to.

But he was different now—tried to live with dignity, tried to be honest with himself and others. Which made it feel all the worse to be on the receiving end of someone else’s deceit.

“I think Lauren Bacall and Sam Spade had a spat,” Drake said. He took a pull on his beer.

“I think you should keep your thoughts to yourself,” Dorothy muttered.

“I agree,” Braxton said, shooting a mind-your-own-business look back at Drake.

“Well, I’m too old to keep my thoughts to myself,” Grams said. “Anyway, what’s so wrong with our asking about the blonde? She’s hardly a secret, plus she sounds lovely. Li’l Bit said her name’s Frances, has hair like a lion and loves The Big Lebowski.”

“Braxton,” his mom said, handing him the martini shaker, “would you mind making up another batch?”

“Happy to,” he said, silently thanking her for an excuse to leave the room. He needed a moment alone to settle his thoughts, calm his heart. Yeah, his big ol’ former-bad-boy heart. Who woulda thought it would crack?

“The Big Lebowski?” Drake snorted a laugh. “Lauren Bacall loves that stoner flick?”

“She’s a fan of the Coen brothers’ movies,” Braxton corrected, heading to the kitchen, “not stoner flicks.”

“Defending your lady’s taste, Braxy Boy?” Drake laughed, followed by “Ouch!” He looked at Val, who demurely took a bite of her creamed corn.

Braxton didn’t respond as he left the room, but in his mind that word defending released a torrent of thoughts.

Even as a kid, he had wanted to be a defender, a protector, like James Bond or Batman. Maybe that stemmed from his dad, who said he chose to be a cop and work in security because he wanted to “be the guy who ran toward danger, not away from it.” Or his mom, who volunteered to be a human-rights advocate for his dad’s casino union because she wanted to “help the employees articulate their needs for better working conditions.”

Funny how she’d always disapproved of his dad’s, brother’s and his investigative and security careers, all defenders in a certain sense, when she had the same instinct, too.

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