Sucker Bet (Vegas Vampires #4)(40)
Author: Erin McCarthy

"Good." He squeezed her hand harder. "I’m glad to hear it." Which wasn’t exactly profound or poetic, but hell. It was what he felt.

"So are we going to call it a day and meet back up tonight? Or would you like to go with me to pop by my friend Brittany’s house? She and the baby are home from the hospital and I wanted to pay her a visit and see if she needs anything."

Go back to his place alone or hang out with Gwenna? No contest. "Sure. I’d love to go with you. Just tell me where to drive."

Gwenna really needed some kind of pill to cure her of poor decision-making skills. Or maybe it was more that she suffered from appallingly bad luck.

Either way, it was horribly ironic that she would show up at Brittany and Corbin’s to see baby Ava at the same time Roberto was comfortably ensconced in their sitting room and having a chat.

Brittany had warned her at the door, with a whispered "Donatelli’s here," and a curious glance in Nate’s direction.

But when Gwenna had suggested they come back later, Brittany had waved her hand in dismissal of the idea, and Nate had said, "Your ex-husband’s here? I would love to meet him." He stuck his hand out and shook Brittany’s with a firm "I’m Nate Thomas. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Congratulations on your baby. Gwenna says she’s beautiful."

"Oh, thanks so much. I’m Brittany Atelier. Come on in." She smiled at Nate and gestured for them to come in. "Where have you two been? You’re all dressed up."

"A funeral," Nate said quickly.

"Oh, I’m so sorry." Brittany glanced between them. "Well, we’re glad you could stop by. Sorry it’s not the greatest timing. I didn’t know…" She jerked her head toward the interior of the house. "You know how he is. Like a freight train rolling through."

"Trust me, I know," Gwenna said wryly, hoping like hell that Brittany would catch on that Nate was mortal. But given that Brittany was the child of Roberto and a mortal mother, she had particularly good instincts when it came to telling mortals from vamps.

Gwenna just didn’t want her to say anything she shouldn’t in front of Nate. It occurred to her as she anxiously followed Brittany into the house that she really should have called ahead. This was a lousy spontaneous plan. But she had been avoiding letting Nate go home by himself, and the other reasonable option—grabbing a bite to eat—was out of the question given that she wouldn’t eat and he already appeared to suspect her of anorexia.

But now she was walking into God only knew what sort of confrontation.

"Maybe we really should stop by another time."

"We’re already here," Nate said, looking down at her, his eyes flashing. He was ready for a fight with Roberto, she could see it.

In theory, the idea of two men squabbling over her was sexy. In reality, it was a bit embarrassing.

Especially when Roberto wasted no time in being rude. As the round of introductions were made, he casually looked Nate over and said, "So you’re Gwenna’s latest boy toy. What are you… cop, fireman, construction worker? She’s been in a workingman phase recently."

He couldn’t have shocked her more if he’d stood up, dropped his drawers, and did a naked tap dance. "Roberto!" What was almost as amazing as his words was that she could still be surprised by anything he did. If he wanted to embarrass her, or destroy any relationship she might have with Nate, he was determined to do it. And Roberto was an intelligent strategist. Instead of playing the irrational jealous ex-husband—which he was—he had simply painted her a tart. The complete and total bastard.

But Nate didn’t look particularly shocked or disgusted. He wasn’t recoiling from her or demanding she find her own ride back to his house. He just met Roberto’s look dead on and said, "I’m a cop, and yes, I’m her latest boy toy. You must be the ass**le ex-husband she complains about. The one who has nothing better to do than be pathetic and call his ex-wife seventeen times a day."

Yikes. Roberto’s face turned the color of an eggplant. And he had a tick in his left eye that spelled serious trouble. Gwenna reached out for Nate’s arm. They needed to leave.

"Well, now that we’re all clear on who’s who…" Brittany smiled cheerfully at each of them, obviously determined to brazen through the awkwardness. "Who wants to hold the baby?"

Corbin, Brittany’s husband, looked irritated with all of them, and unwilling to part with his daughter. But he didn’t protest when Nate said, "I would love to hold the baby."

Passing Ava over with multiple warnings about her floppy head, soft spot, and umbilical cord stump, Corbin watched Nate suspiciously as he adjusted Ava into a cradle position. But Nate looked like he knew what he was doing, and he was comfortable holding her. He ran his finger over her lip and smiled down at her.

Gwenna was unprepared for the kick in the heart that gave her. Not to mention the unexpected rush of heat in her inner thighs, which was just wrong. She should not be feeling any sort of desire for Nate Thomas with her ex-husband and an innocent baby present. Nate made a funny face at Ava and said, "You’re so pretty, yes you are. You’re just gorgeous," in a singsong voice.

And there it was again. Lust. The man solved murders, cared about women and children, wanted to beat up her ex, and was good in the sack. Damn it, she was in trouble.

Brittany was watching Nate in pleased amusement, Corbin was relaxing, and Roberto looked like he’d swallowed a hard-boiled egg. Nate seemed intentionally oblivious to Roberto, and quite enamored of little Ava. Gwenna found herself quite enamored of Nate, and wishing a meteor would hit Roberto. The latter wasn’t a new feeling. The other thing, about Nate, was so fresh, so unexpected, so outside of her normal dull existence, she wasn’t at all sure how to deal with it.

Because the absolute only thing wrong with Nate, that she could see, was that he was mortal. Which was more than a bit of a problem, it was a catastrophe, and one she needed to remind herself of repeatedly, particularly after sex when she was inclined to think that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to spend a decade or two naked with Nate.

Roberto stood up. "A word in private, Gwenna."

That ought to be a good time. "Sure," Normally, she would put him off, but she didn’t want any confrontations with her ex and Nate, nor did she want Roberto doing something like wiping Nate’s memories out, which he was perfectly capable of doing. And think what a bloody shame it would be if Nate didn’t remember their massage table encounter. Besides, if she tried, she could usually hear Roberto’s thoughts, and at the moment he was actually more hurt than angry that she was with another man. It had nicked his heart, given the morose thoughts he was having, which almost made her feel indulgent toward him.