The Sheikh's Stolen Bride-To-Be(28)

"Let's put it this way." He smiled and tapped my chin affectionately.  "You must be some kind of lucky charm, because that throw I made just  won me over twenty thousand dollars."



My mouth dropped open and a very undignified gasp escaped. And then I  shrieked with joy, overcome with relief at not having ruined this guy's  day.



Twenty. Thousand. Dollars. I'd never even seen that kind of money  before. The fact that this guy had just won it because I hadn't quite  mastered the art of walking made me positively giddy.



Mr. Afsal's grin grew wider and he turned back to the table, pulling me  with him to present me to the crowd. With a gentle arm around my  shoulders, he nudged me forward. "This gorgeous woman is my new lucky  charm!"



People all around us cheered. A couple of them even surged through the  crowd to place a hand on my arm or my hand for good luck. I was too  excited to find it creepy. My heart was going a million miles a minute.



"Mr. Afsal," the dealer interrupted. "I'll need you to watch while I count out your winnings."



"Of course." He stepped around me to where the dealer began counting out stacks of chips.



I took that as my cue to leave, though that didn't stop me from  lingering just a moment longer to check out my mysterious savior from  behind. He was wearing a deep purple button-down shirt that probably had  my face print on the front of it now but was immaculate from the back.  His pants were jut normal black dress pants, but they fit him so well  that I suspected winning twenty thousand wasn't nearly as big a deal to  him as it would be to me.         

     



 



I took one last look and slipped off back toward the slot machines,  dreaming about what that kind of money would mean for Sam. I would put  most of it away for college, of course, but I would spend a little of it  now. Maybe we'd go on trip together somewhere fun, like Disneyland.  Maybe even Disney World, if I was feeling really spendthrift.



I found my friends exactly where I'd left them. Elyse turned to me as I sat down, her expression stern.



"Sorry, that seat-oh." She smiled. "Skyler. You're back!"



The rest of the girls glanced down at me from the line.



"We thought you'd got lost," Heather said.



"Sarah wanted to send a search party," Ariana added. "I told her you'd make it back to us eventually."



"You told me she probably fell asleep somewhere," Sarah objected.



I laughed. "You guys won't believe what actually happened."



"If it's crazier than the idea of you falling asleep on a busy casino  floor, then I'm all ears," Sarah said, sliding back from her machine and  sipping at her drink. The rest of the girls followed suit, until I had a  line of cheery faces waiting to hear my story.



I told them about falling face-first into the guy at the craps table and  about his lucky throw. Before I even had the chance to tell them how  good-looking he was, Elyse interrupted to ask if he was sexy.



"He was," I confirmed. "Really sexy. He had these dreamy, expressive  brown eyes. If he hadn't turned away from me for a minute, you guys  might never have gotten me back."



"Go back there and talk to him!" Sarah insisted. "He sounds like a total babe."



I shook my head, chuckling. "I can't do that," I said. "Just because I  fell into him and caused him to win a ton of money doesn't mean he wants  me hanging around."



"You can't profess to know that about him," Heather pointed out. "You  never asked. Maybe he did want you to hang around and you totally  ditched."



"In which case, he probably wouldn't want me coming back," I reasoned. "Going back would just be really awkward."



"You're talking yourself out of it because you're scared," Sarah  observed, pointing one perfectly manicured finger at me. "You always do  this."



"Hey!" I objected. "I'm just being realistic."



"You're being a scaredy-cat," Elyse said. "You're in Las Vegas-this is  the place to do crazy stuff like chatting up a handsome stranger."



"You don't understand," I reasoned. "He's too handsome. I haven't dated  anyone since Sam was born, and the last time I flirted with a guy it was  a complete accident. If I'm jumping back in the pool, I need to start  at the shallow end."



"Since when has that ever taught anyone how to swim?" Sarah took a sip  of her drink and raised an imperious brow. "If you can touch the bottom,  you're never going to learn how to stay afloat."



"I'm getting mixed messages from this metaphor," Elyse said.



"I'm with you," Ariana chimed in. "But I do agree that you should go talk to this guy."



I released a sigh of frustration. "He was model hot, you guys. And  really tall. He looked like the kind of guy who would pop up if you  googled ‘tall, dark, and handsome.' The only time I'd ever have enough  confidence to approach a guy that attractive would be if I was really  drunk and he was taking my order at McDonald's."



All of a sudden, Sarah paled. Ariana and Elyse snickered. But it was  Heather's reaction, a tight, lip-biting smile, that let me know the  reactions of the other three weren't due to my unfunny joke.



A feeling a dread settled into my stomach like a lead weight. The  faintest whiff of male scent drifted to my nose. It was familiar. Too  familiar.



I turned to see the man I'd just been gabbing on about like an excited teenager standing right behind me.



"Hello, ladies," he said smoothly. He was smiling like a Cheshire cat.         

     



 



My friends continued to titter among themselves while I stood there,  dumbfounded. Heather eventually took the lead on the conversation.



"Hello," she said. "I think congratulations are in order."



He chuckled. "Thank you, though your friend should really take the  credit for that." He turned to me and inclined his head. "I failed to  introduce myself at the table, and for that I apologize. I'm Sheikh  Jalaal Afsal."



One of the girls gasped. I managed to keep it together, thankfully. "I'm  Skyler Monroe," I said. "These are my friends, Sarah, Heather, Elyse,  and Ariana." I pointed at them without turning around. Part of me was  afraid if I blinked he'd be gone, like some sort of fever dream. The  other part of me just couldn't stop looking at his perfect face.



"Do you think I could possibly steal you away for a thank-you drink,  Skyler?" Jalaal asked. "I meant to ask you at the table, but you ran  away from me."



I laughed nervously, heat flooding my face. "Uh, it's my friend's bachelorette party," I said. "I don't know if I-"



"Go!" Sarah interjected, before I could finish my sentence.



I glanced back at her. Her eyes were nearly as wide as the impish grin that cut through her face.



"Are you sure?" I asked.



It all seemed too good to be true. There had to be some reason I  couldn't have a drink with this guy, but Sarah looked anything but  apprehensive at the thought of me leaving them.



"Oh my God, yes!" she urged. "Get out of here, Skyler."



"If you don't go, I'll go," Elyse added.



Ariana nodded along, gobbling up my suitor with her eyes. Heather waggled her eyebrows at me.



Embarrassed, I turned back to Jalaal and offered up an apologetic smile. "I suppose the people have spoken."



He extended a hand to help me up and I took it, hoping to God my hand  wasn't as sweaty as the back of my neck. The moment our hands touched, I  felt an electric current skim through me.



I was excited that Jalaal had come to find me, but everything I'd said  about being nervous was true as well. I had no idea how to talk to men  anymore. For the most part, I hadn't wanted to over the past few years.  I'd been occupied with raising my son and paying the bills, and I still  hadn't quite gotten over the taint my ex had left.



What kind of dirtbag disappeared when his girlfriend was eight months  pregnant with his son? It was a nightmare scenario that had made it hard  for me to even think about dating in the years since. If Jackson hadn't  been able to commit to his own flesh and blood, how likely was it that  I'd find a man who wanted to commit to me and all of my crazy problems  now that I had a son, too?



But I tried not to think about that as Jalaal pulled me to my feet. I  thought about him instead-how strong his grip on my hand was, how good  he smelled, the way my stomach did a little backflip every time our eyes  met. And all that just from him helping me off a darn stool. How was I  supposed to get through a drink with him and not turn into a puddle of  mush on the floor?





FIVE





A light breeze teased through my locks, bringing with it the smells and  sounds of a city at play. I gaped at the sight before me, blinking to  make sure it wasn't a mirage.