He smiled, revealing perfectly white but slightly crooked teeth.
He extended his hand to me, a movement that brought my attention to his nicely defined arms.
"Daniel."
I placed my hand in his.
"Eva.
Nice to meet you."
He crossed his arms on the bar and leaned over it.
"What brings you to Vegas? Business or pleasure?" "R and R.
You?" Daniel had an interesting tattoo written in a foreign language on his right biceps, and I admired it.
He wasn't traditionally good-looking, but he had confidence and poise, two things I found more attractive in a man than just his physical features.
"Work."
I shot a look at his swimming trunks.
"I've got the wrong job."
"I sell - " "Excuse me."
We both turned to face the woman who had intruded on our conversation.
She was a compact brunette dressed in a dark polo shirt embroidered with both her name - Sheila - and Cross Towers and Casino.
The earpiece in her ear and the utility belt around her waist gave her away as security.
"Miss Tramell."
She greeted me with a nod.
My brows rose.
"Yes?" "There's a server who can take your order by your cabana."
"Cool, thanks.
But I don't mind waiting here."
When I didn't move, Sheila turned her attention to Daniel.
"If you'll move to the other end of the bar, sir, the bartender will see that your next drinks are on the house."
He gave a cursory nod, then smiled winningly at me.
"I'm good here, too, thanks."
"I'm afraid I'll have to insist."
"What?" His smile turned into a scowl.
"Why?" I blinked at Sheila as realization sank in.
Gideon had me under watch.
And he thought he could control what I did from a distance.
Sheila returned my look, her face impassive.
"I'll escort you back to your cabana, Miss Tramell."
For a minute, I considered making her day hell, maybe grabbing Daniel and kissing him senseless just to send a message to my overbearing boyfriend, but I managed to restrain my temper.
She was only doing what she was paid to do.
It was her boss who needed the kick in the ass.
"Sorry, Daniel," I said, flushing with embarrassment.
I felt like a scolded kid and that really irked me.
"It was nice meeting you."
He shrugged.
"If you change your mind ."
I felt Sheila's gaze on my back as I preceded her to my lounger.
Abruptly, I faced her.
"So, is getting hit on the only time you're instructed to step in? Or do you have a list of situations?" She hesitated a moment, then sighed.
I could only imagine what she must think of me, the pretty blond piece of ass who couldn't be trusted to be out mingling in public.
"There's a list."
"Of course there is."
Gideon wouldn't leave anything to chance.
I wondered when he'd worked on the list, if he'd compiled it just since I mentioned Vegas or if he'd had it on hand.
Maybe it was a list he had formed while he was with other women.
Maybe he'd written it for Corinne.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
"Un-fucking-believable," I complained to Cary when she'd stepped a discreet distance away, as if that action alone would be enough to make me forget she was hovering.
"I've got a babysitter."
"What?" I told him what happened and watched his jaw tighten.
"That's crazy, Eva," he snapped.
"No shit.
And I'm not putting up with it.
He's got to learn that relationships don't work that way.
And after all the crap he gave me about trust."
I collapsed on my lounger.
"How much does he trust me, if he's got to have someone shadowing me to chase strangers away?" "I'm not down with this, Eva."
He sat up and swung his legs over the side of his chair.
"This isn't okay."
"You think I don't know that? And what's with her being a woman? Nothing against my gender and tough jobs.
I'm just wondering if he expects her to follow me into ladies' rooms or just doesn't trust a guy to watch me."
"Are you serious? Why the hell are you sunbathing instead of chewing him a new one?" The idea I'd been toying with fully formed in my mind.
"I'm plotting."
"Oh?" His mouth curved in a wicked grin.
"Do tell."
I picked my smartphone up from the little mosaic-topped table between us and scrolled through my contacts until I found Benjamin Clancy - my stepfather's personal bodyguard.
"Hey, Clancy.
It's Eva," I greeted him when he answered after the first ring.Cary's eyes widened behind his shades.
"Ooh ."Pushing to my feet, I mouthed, I'm going upstairs.
He nodded.
"Everything's fine," I said, in answer to Clancy's query.
I waited until I'd ducked indoors and knew Sheila was several paces behind me and still outside.
"Listen, I have a favor to ask you."
* * *
I'd just ended my call with Clancy when another call came in.
I grinned when I saw the Caller ID and answered with an exuberant, "Hi, Daddy!" He laughed.
"How's my girl?" "Causing trouble and enjoying it."
I spread my sarong out on a dining room chair and took a seat.
"How are you?" "Stopping trouble from happening and occasionally enjoying it."
Victor Reyes was an Oceanside, California street cop, which was why I'd chosen to attend SDSU.
My mom had been going through a rough patch with husband number three and I'd been in a rebellious phase, making my own life hell as I tried to forget what Nathan had done to me for so long.
Moving out of my mom's suffocating orbit had been one of the best decisions I'd ever made.
My dad's quietly unshakeable love for me, his only child, had changed my life.
He gave me much-needed freedom - within clearly defined limits - and arranged for me to see Dr.
Travis, which led to the start of my long journey of recovery and my friendship with Cary.
"I miss you," I told him.
I loved my mom dearly and know she loved me back, but my relationship with her was a rocky one and it was just so easy with my dad.
"You might be happy about my news, then.
I can come out and see you in about two weeks - the week after this upcoming one - if that works for you.
I don't want to put you out."
"Oh my God, Dad.
You could never put me out.
I'd love to see you!" "It'll be a short trip.
I'd come in on the red-eye Thursday night and fly out again Sunday evening."
"I'm stoked! Yay! I'll make plans.
We'll have a blast."
My dad's soft chuckle sent warmth flowing through me.
"I'm coming to see you, not New York.
Don't go crazy with any sightseeing or anything."
"Don't worry.
I'll make sure we have lots of downtime.
And you'll get to meet Gideon."
Just the thought of the two of them together made my tummy flutter.
"Gideon Cross? You said nothing was going on there."
"Yeah."
I wrinkled my nose.
"We'd hit a rough spot at the time.
I thought we were over."
There was a pause.
"Is it serious?" I paused, too, shifting restlessly.
My dad was a trained observer; he'd see right away that Gideon and I had tension between us - sexual and otherwise.
"Yes.
It's not always easy.
It's a lot of work - I'm a lot of work - but we're both making the effort."
"Does he appreciate you, Eva?" My dad's voice was gruff and far too serious.
"I don't care how much money he has; you don't have anything to prove to him."
"It's not like that!" I stared at my wriggling pedicured toes and realized the meeting would be more complicated than just a protective father being introduced to his daughter's new boyfriend.
My dad had issues with rich men, thanks to my mom.
"You'll see how it is when you meet him."
"All right."
Skepticism colored his voice.
"Really, Dad."
I couldn't begrudge him his concern, since it'd been my self-destructive run with not-so-good- for-me guys that had led him to finding Dr.
Travis.
He'd especially had trouble with a lead singer for whom I'd been little more than a groupie and a tattoo artist whom my dad had pulled over to find him getting a blowjob while driving - and not from me.
"Gideon's good for me.
He gets me."
"I'll keep an open mind, okay? And I'll e-mail you a copy of my itinerary when I book the flight.
How's everything else going?" "We just started working on a campaign for blueberry-flavored coffee."
Another pause.
"You're kidding."
I laughed.
"If only.
Wish us luck trying to sell that! I'll be sure to stock some up for you to try."
"I thought you loved me."
"With all my heart.
How's your love life going? Did your date go well?" "Yeah .
it wasn't bad."
Snorting, I asked, "Are you going to see her again?" "That's the plan so far."
"You're a font of information, Dad."
He chuckled again and I heard his favorite chair creak as he shifted.
"You don't really want to know about your old man's love life."
"True."
Although I did sometimes wonder what his relationship had been like with my mom.