“Yes! Girl, you’ve made it to the promised land — a rich playboy wants to Pretty Woman you.”
“I’m not a gold digger, Sonia. I meant it when I said I don’t want his money. Money messes up everything. It’s just not ethical to date him and take his cash. I’m not some charity case.”
She rolled her eyes at my apparent naiveté, a move I didn’t exactly treasure.
“Honey,” she replied, her lips pulled back in a thin line. “You don’t really think he got that dough by ethical means, right? No, I know you don’t. I know full well that you understand his money is tainted with blood and tears. You deserve it way more than he does. This is a dirty town, but you wouldn’t be dirty for participating in it, for doing what you had to in order to make ends meet.”
Did Sonia have a point? Was I mounting a high horse that would just carry me off into the sewers of Vegas?
Then again — I didn’t have much else in this life besides my pride. If I lost that, I’d lose one of the few things that really defined me.
So, was it a little haughty, refusing his cash? Sure. Was it the right thing to do? Abso-fucking-lutely.
I smiled at Sonia. “I’m just gonna have to find a second job.”
At this, her eyes damn near bugged out of her skull.
“How the hell is that possible?” she asked, mouth gaping. “You already pull more double shifts than anyone I know. When are you gonna have time for something else?”
“I’ll make time.” Tate’s worth it, I added silently.
She tsked. “So what will you do then?”
“I dunno. Whatever makes money, I guess.”
This was a slightly idiotic answer, in that if there was another job I was qualified to do that made more money, I’d be out the door before I got to the end of this sentence.
Sonia apparently had the same thought.
“We both know it’s not job loyalty keeping you here,” she snorted. “Besides, the only thing that pays well in this town is sex. Case in point — your virginity.”
Okay, this was a fairly air-tight case.
I sighed, frustrated that Sonia was poking holes in my resolve. I wasn’t angry at her, per se, but rather the situation.
In a small, almost timid voice, I replied, “I don’t want to work another job. I don’t want to have to go scrounging for money. But I also don’t want to lose out on love because it was sullied by some kind of monetary transaction.”
“Love?” she repeated, incredulous.
Fuck, had I just said that?
“Well… not yet,” I corrected. “But maybe someday.”
She whistled low through her teeth.
“Okay then, that must have been some night,” Sonia murmured. “If that’s where you see this headed then, hell, maybe you’re right. Follow your heart, Kiki. I’ll be there for you no matter what.”
I smiled broadly at her and moved in for a hug, when I saw her eyes focus on something over my shoulder.
“Don’t look now, but I think Prince Charming has arrived.”
I whirled around to see that, indeed, Tate was striding across the floor of the casino, pants tight around his muscular thighs, belt cinching what I knew to be rock-hard abs.
Without realizing I was doing it, I let out a long exhale of satisfaction.
He had been mine. I’d fucked that godly specimen.
That knowledge alone was worth more than any damn check in the world.
CHAPTER 23
Tate
“HEY,” I MURMURED, sidling up to Kiki with a casual smirk before realizing that her co-worker was standing right beside us, probably uncomfortable at our proximity.
“Er, sorry,” I added, turning and stretching out a hand. “I’m Tate.”
“I know.”
The girl gave Kiki a look, and I couldn’t tell if she was impressed or dismayed. Either way, she sallied off before I could make a final judgement.
“What have you been saying about me to your pals?” I gently chided Kiki.
She shrugged. “Nothing too interesting.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
Kiki caved hard and fast, just like I knew she would.
“All right,” she allowed, “I might have told Sonia about last night. But just her, she’s my best friend.”
Shit, had I just been standoffish to her best friend? If I knew anything about women, it was that you had to treat their closest friends like queens.
But Kiki had already trod over my train of thought.
“Don’t worry about Sonia, she’s good at keeping secrets.”
Oh, we’d been going in two very different directions with our concerns.
I quickly assuaged hers. “I don’t care if she tells no one or broadcasts it on local access.”
“Well, I do,” Kiki noted with a pointed gaze. “Care, that is.”
“You ashamed of me?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” she laughed.
The jolliness in her tone was a good sign. It meant that she wasn’t really all that hung up about the question of the money. I took a step closer to her, leaving just enough space for us to still look like a boss and an employee. God, the little Dazzlers costume did a fabulous turn for her firm tits and long legs.