All In by Kate Willoughby Read Free Book Online Page A

wrapped with white floral paper and a lace and ribbon bow, Mariah tried to think of something witty to say that would show these girls that Tucker wasn’t available right now, but before she could open her mouth Lindsay said in a more subdued voice, “If you’re not doing anything tonight, I’m having a little party. It would be just you, me and my best friend Jenn.” She slipped her arm around Jenn’s waist and gave her a kiss that was more than friendly.
    Mariah couldn’t believe their nerve. She’d never wanted to physically assault anyone her entire life until this moment, but as the two girls sidled up to Tucker, the urge to shove them away from him was so strong she had to grip the edge of the counter and grit her teeth.
    The sleazy bitches were lucky they were in a glass shop.
    Tucker managed to extricate himself from their tentacles, shaking his head. “Gee, it’s nice of you to invite me, but I’ve got plans,” he said, picking up the wedding present. “You ready, Mariah?”
    “More than ready,” she replied, trying not to growl.
    Lindsay finally noticed Mariah’s presence and her black-rimmed, predatory eyes narrowed, but then with a shrug, she said, “Well, just remember, sometimes three’s not a crowd. Room 1546 if you change your mind.”
    Seething, Mariah tried to walk out of the store at a normal pace. The very thought of Tucker jumping into bed with skanky bimbos like Jenn and Lindsay made her want to scream.
    And that made her wonder if she was a skanky bimbo herself. Was she? She frowned as she and Tucker made their way back to the bank of elevators. She didn’t think so. She’d never thrown herself at him like those two had. She and Tucker had a mutual attraction.
    “Sorry about that,” Tucker said over the beeps and bells of the slot machines.
    “I don’t think they even knew your name,” Mariah said, still indignant.
    “They probably didn’t.”
    “Does that happen to you a lot?” she asked, feeling idiotic but needing to know anyway.
    “Oh, every once in a while a woman comes on a little strong with me during a tournament. Especially if I’m winning. It’s pretty embarrassing. For them and for me.”
    Upstairs in his suite, Tucker put the present on the counter of the wet bar. Beyond him, Mariah could see into the bedroom, and the sight of the unmade bed gave her an irrational, infuriating urge to stake her claim by having sex with him again, as if she needed to prove something.
    She wondered if this was the influence of the wish.
    But wish or no, she resisted. She may have these irrational feelings of jealousy and possession, but she didn’t have to act on them. When she and Tucker parted ways, she didn’t want him to think of her with a bad taste in his mouth. She wanted to be a memory he could look back on with fondness when he was old and crotchety. Just like she was going to, damn it.

Chapter Seven
     
    As planned, Tucker went with Mariah to help her with the cake, but she brought him, not to a home kitchen like he’d expected, but to an honest-to-goodness store. Chocolate Fantasies was in a corner mall about fifteen minutes from the Strip. The shop front boasted a classy pink and brown striped awning and there was a logo with swirly letters painted on the window. In contrast, to the right he saw a collectible cards and comics store, to the left, a place that sold cigarettes at a discount. Judging from the outside, he thought she needed a more upscale location, but then, what did he know about business?
    “Here it is. My home away from home,” she said, proudly leading the way inside.
    Tucker grinned as the smell of chocolate enveloped him the moment he crossed the threshold. It reminded him of Mariah. In fact, the whole store reminded him of her—sassy, sexy and luscious.
    She introduced him to her shop assistant, Heidi, then spent a few minutes talking business, so Tucker wandered around the store. Her pastry case held the traditional cheesecakes, pies and