Gambling on Love (Stories of Serendipity #6) (3 page)

Kathy was honestly surprised at her sister’s vehemence. Amy was usually much more mild-mannered, causing Kathy to snare the role of the “crazy sister,” but this time, Kathy was the calm one.

“I’m not having sex with all of them. There’s a series of questions for them to answer, so I can choose the perfect candidate. I’ve got a plan for testing in place; the ad is clear on my expectations. I’m meeting them all in a room that I’m not staying in. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Luke’s really sorry. He thought his grand gesture would work. Just call him and talk to him.” Jessie’s eyes held sympathy, but Kathy wasn’t in the mood. She turned on her friend, hands on her hips.

“And you just played right along with it, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me he was going to do that? That was supposed to be a private conversation between the two of us, and instead, he makes a spectacle of the whole thing. I bet the whole set-up was a ruse. Is he even starting a plant nursery?” Kathy hadn’t seen Luke before the proposal fiasco since Christmas, when he’d said he wanted to start a family with her, just not yet.

“Yes, he’s been planning it since Thanksgiving. It was supposed to be a surprise for you.”

Kathy’s jaw dropped. “What?” He’d been planning this? She didn’t know how to feel about that. She was still pissed, but something inside told her she should call him. Hear him out. But the newly liberated part of her wanted to hear none of it. It would only make her second-guess herself. And she was tired of being second-guessed. She wasn’t about to start doing it to herself.

Jessie shrugged, and offered a hopeful smile.

“His last words to me before Valentine’s Day were, ‘Fine. Go have your baby.’ That was January. Almost two entire months between ‘Fine’ and ‘Marry Me’ with nothing. Incidentally, I never heard an apology in that little speech he gave, did you?” There. That made her feel a little better.

“You have every right to be angry, Kathy. But going to—”

“You’re damn right I have every right. But I’m tired of being angry, Jess. Don’t you see? I’m ready to take control of my life again and to stop depending on others for my own happiness. I’m going to go get pregnant. And shoot some craps while I’m at it.”

“So, you’re flying to Vegas alone, to hook up and get pregnant by some random guy that you haven’t even met yet? Do I have that right?”

Kathy nodded. “I have questions, as well as a two-day interview process set up. I’ll get through the preliminary interview to weed out the unsavory ones, then have the remaining prospects get tested. I’ll be back in the interim time period getting everything here ready for me to move, then go back up there for the deed.”

“What move?” Jessie’s eyes were wide, and her hands jabbed her hips, around her volleyball. Kathy sucked back the twinge of envy she felt for her friend and her new little family. Barely.

“You don’t expect me to stay here, with him living here do you? I’m moving to Dallas. I’ve got a friend there who said I could stay with her until I find a place.”

“There are so many things wrong with this plan, I don’t even know where to start.” Amy said disgustedly.

“You’re going to be freshly knocked-up, living on a sofa in some chick’s apartment, while looking for a job and a place to live? Why not just use a sperm bank?” Jessie’s hands were still firmly placed on her hips, and now her foot was tapping.

“Oh, pshaw…Listen to this!” Amy gestured for Kathy’s answer to the question she’d asked an hour before.

“I don’t want to have to go through the paperwork and the waiting periods and all the prerequisite stuff with a sperm bank. They’re awfully particular.” It had sounded better when she told herself. Saying it all out loud made her sound whiny. But she didn’t care. This was her plan, and her friend and sister wouldn’t talk her out of it.

“Shouldn’t you be? This is the father of your child we’re talking about. You don’t know who’s going to show up for your ‘interview.’ Are you taking a gun?”

“What? No!”

“You should. I’ll loan you mine.” Jessie started rummaging through her purse. Everybody who knew Jessie, knew she took her Second Amendment rights seriously.

“Stop! I’m not taking a firearm on an airplane across state lines. Can you imagine the trouble I could get into with that?”

Amy let out a sigh mixed with a groan. “How can you not see the irony in this conversation?”

“Look. I love you both tremendously. But you have to leave. Now.”

“This idea is way worse than clown college,” muttered Jessie as she let herself out.

“I can’t let you do this. You’re my sister.” Amy had tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Don’t be so dramatic. I’ll be fine. And I’ll come home with what I’ve been wanting.”

“Don’t you see? You’ve won with Luke. He’s giving you everything. You don’t have to do this. Please, Kathy? Just talk to him.”

“No. I’ve got to finish packing and leave on time.” Besides, she didn’t love Luke anymore. If she kept telling herself that, surely it would be true. She just needed to quit thinking about him every second of every day. The change of scenery in Vegas would help with that.

Kathy opened her arms for a hug from her sister, who didn’t let go for a long time. “Do you have plenty of money?” Her voice was resigned, and Kathy smiled at her.

“Yeah. Now go home and fix supper for your family.” Her effort at not choking on the words was valiant, and Kathy gave herself a mental pat on the back.

“S
he’s what?!?” Luke’s fingers clawed at his hair in an attempt to straighten the whirling thoughts and emotions.

Luke knew hanging up on that phone call in January was hanging up his only chance at happiness, but he’d taken a gamble. One that he’d clearly lost.

He’d been intending to surprise her with the nursery business in Serendipity, along with a house, and a romantic Valentine’s day proposal. He hadn’t planned on her ultimatum, effectively ruining his surprise. He’d hoped that she would see reason and come back to him before his proposal, but when she didn’t he went ahead with his plan. He should have listened to Jessie, who told him it was a dumb idea. But he’d done it anyway, and now look where he was.

“She’s going to Vegas to get pregnant. Nobody’s been able to stop her, Luke. She’s hell-bent.”

“Get me a ticket on the next flight out of Dallas/Ft. Worth airport, will you?” He slammed his phone into his pocket and raced out the door. He could see nothing good coming out of this.

Sure, when Kathy had initially started talking the baby talk, he’d had cold feet. There weren’t very many single men he knew who sat around talking about how great it would be to be a father and how they couldn’t wait to meet a girl and settle down to make babies.

So when Kathy had first brought up the baby issue a few months into their relationship, he’d balked. He couldn’t deny it. There was a fear of fatherhood attached to his emotions. But then, he’d spent more time with Kathy’s extended family and seen their relationships. Kathy’s niece and nephew were great kids, and yeah, he’d admit, he enjoyed watching her interact with them. Then he’d enjoyed interacting with them. And seeing her dynamic with her sister and her parents was enjoyable too. It took a while, but he realized, eventually, he wanted that for himself.

His “eventually” turned into “someday,” then “someday soon.” Then he wanted it with Kathy, and he’d started putting his plan into place.

And then he’d fucked up, royally, and now Kathy was on her way to Las Vegas to do the unthinkable. He had to stop her.

Kathy’s flight was uneventful, even though she looked at every unattached man with new eyes. Every male she saw ran through her mental check-list: good looking, successful looking, clean, good-smelling, nice smile. None of them compared to Luke, but they were all qualities she wanted for her future child. She realized how superficial it all was, but it only added to her list of questions for potential mates: interests, hobbies, intelligence, talents. Things that couldn’t be measured by just looking at someone. She ran over her process again, looking for flaws. She’d made some amendments, after hearing Jessie and Amy’s arguments. For one thing, she wouldn’t meet the men in a hotel room. Too private. She’d meet with them in the bar. She’d let everybody else wait in the hotel room.

The descent into Las Vegas was breath-taking. Flying at night was one of Kathy’s favorite things. All the lights on display on the strip were like a beacon to the party-goers of the world. Too bad she couldn’t afford one of those hotels. She didn’t think she’d done too badly, getting a hotel room a couple of blocks off the strip. If she was going to take two trips here, stay a couple of days each trip, and still have money left over for her move, she really needed to save where she could.

The cab drive to her hotel with the friendly driver was pleasant.

“You new in town?”

Well, duh. He’d just picked her up from the airport. “Yes. Just flew in from Texas.”

“I love the way you guys down there talk. Say something.” His eyes crinkled at her through the rear-view mirror.

“Something?” She offered, weakly.

“Ah…A sense of humor. I get it, lady. What brings you to Vegas?”

“I’m looking to get pregnant.” She looked the cabbie over. He wasn’t too bad. Hispanic, kind eyes, nice arms, friendly. He might pass the first round of questions. “You interested? I’m having interviews tomorrow at eleven.”

“No thanks, miss. My wife wouldn’t like it much.”

Good point. She made a mental note to add that to the list of questions.

“Gotcha.”

When they got to the hotel, Kathy was a little disappointed to see that it wasn’t as nice as the pictures online had led her to believe. Maybe it was the plethora of pan-handlers outside; she couldn’t be sure. But when she got to her room, her disappointment was palpable. The carpets were stained, the walls were stained, and the bedspread was stained. A musty odor permeated the room with undertones of urine and stale cigarettes. Ugh. She used two fingers to peel the bedspread off the bed, kicking it into a corner of the room. She said a little prayer that the sheets were clean, before locking the deadbolt and taking a shower.

Lying on top of the sheets, Kathy remembered her sister’s words and tried not to doubt herself. Sure, Luke had capitulated and agreed to her terms, but too late. And the wrong way. He’d embarrassed her in front of her friends and a hundred strangers. He should have called her to talk before airing their laundry in front of a pasture full of people. He should have asked her to marry him and have his babies. Not told her to.

Sure, this wasn’t the ideal way to get pregnant, but she’d never been one to do things the easy way.

In fact, the only thing that had ever been easy for her was managing Connor’s kitchen. Something about the restaurant business just made sense to her and people listened. She had a knack for knowing what the customers wanted and providing it for them in a way that made Connor happy. She’d never been happier at a job than she was working with Connor.

She’d just moved back to Serendipity and was staying in a boarding house until she could get an apartment of her own. Dan and the docent job at the museum hadn’t worked out the way she’d planned, so she was back home trying to find a job she could turn into a career.

Unfortunately, she’d spilled coffee all over the skirt of her “interview” suit, so she had to wear her black pencil skirt, which was a little too short. It rode up every time she sat, and her incessant tugging was decidedly unprofessional. Thankfully, the man interviewing her didn’t seem to notice.

She was interviewing for a soux-chef position, not that she really knew what that entailed, but she liked to cook, so she thought it might be fun. Connor Wright, the man opening the restaurant was tall, blonde and a tad delicious-looking. His interest level though, showed Kathy it would probably be a waste of time to pursue. Besides, she wanted him to hire her. A job was at the top of her priority list right now. Not sex.

And then Luke had walked in.

“Hey, did you want me to do the upstairs too?” His question trailed off, when his blue eyes landed on Kathy, and she felt the heat of his gaze caress her skin, as his eyes wandered over her legs and up to her face. “Hi. I’m Luke.” He held his hand out to her, impervious to his brother’s pointed glare. When their hands touched, a bolt of sensation shot across Kathy’s body, and she stifled a tremor. Crossing her legs the other way, she noticed Luke’s eyes following.

He looked a lot like Connor, but smaller. He still looked powerful, though. Where Connor was tall and broad, Luke was slightly shorter and lithe instead of bulky. He moved with the same grace of Connor, but Connor obviously worked out, and Luke’s strength was more subtle. She could see muscles where his tee shirt stretched over his chest and biceps, and the way his jeans hugged his hips under the tool belt that hung over them. Where Connor seemed more formal and uptight, Luke held an air of casualness that suddenly made her priorities shift slightly. Maybe something more could happen with the boss’s brother?

Connor had led her into the kitchen, Luke trailing behind Kathy silently, to watch her skills, since she had no formal training. She obediently sliced, diced, and after some clarification, julienned. She had to ask for instructions on the blow torch tool, and Luke had shown her, his fingers stroking hers lightly as he passed it to her. She named the different items that Connor had pointed to, not recognizing the emulsifier, the microplane (She’d always just called it a zester), and the kunz spoon, which looked exactly like a regular spoon to her. The entire time, Kathy felt Luke’s eyes on her, and when she risked glances at him, his eyes sparkled over a slight smile. She tried not to look too much, though. The upturned corners of his lips were distracting.