Las Vegas Sidewinders: Brock Read online

  “I want you to read to me.”

  “I’m at a restaurant with friends,” she said gently. “I can’t read to you tonight. I’ll be home to read to you tomorrow night.”

  “Promise?”

  “We talked about this already today,” Ashleigh said, trying to remain patient. “I’ll be home tomorrow night, just like I promised, okay?”

  “Okay.” Bella sounded resigned.

  “Is there something else you wanted to talk about? You weren’t like this last night.”

  Bella hesitated.

  “Bella?”

  “Angel called.”

  “Angel called…the house?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Her birthday is next weekend.”

  “Oh, that’s right. We’ll have to buy her a present.”

  “Yeah… Ashleigh? She wants me to spend her birthday with her.”

  “What do you mean? Spend it with her how?”

  “I think they’re going to make dinner and have cake and presents.”

  Ashleigh pressed her lips together and tried to breathe slowly, unwilling to let Bella sense how much this bothered her. There was no good answer. If she said yes, she would worry the whole time. If she said no, Bella and Angel would both say she was trying to keep them apart. Maybe that was partially true, but she only wanted to protect Bella, and Angel’s boyfriend Tito wasn’t to be trusted.

  “Okay,” she said quietly. “You have to make sure all your school work is done and no whining about bed time all week. Deal?”

  “Deal!” Bella sounded more much upbeat now.

  “I’m going back to my friends now, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Hugs and kisses, sweetie.”

  “Nite, Ashleigh!”

  “Nite.” Ashleigh hung up and sighed, laying the phone on the table and picking up the glass of cognac so she could take a long drink.

  “That doesn’t look good,” Brock said mildly, his eyes on hers.

  “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.” She sighed and explained the situation to him.

  “Ouch.” He paused. “Are you going to let her go?”

  “What choice do I have? Angel keeps telling Bella that I’m trying to keep them apart… I don’t want Bella growing up resenting me for that.”

  “A few hours can’t hurt, right?”

  “I hope not.”

  “It’ll be okay.”

  “I’m sorry—I’m probably not good company anymore.” She looked away.

  “How about I take you back to your hotel and we go for a walk?”

  “On the Strip?”

  He shook his head. “In the hotel. Sometimes the noise and all the bells and whistles from the casinos take my mind off things. It can be cathartic if nothing else works.”

  She frowned and then raised one shoulder just a tiny bit. “Sure. It certainly can’t hurt.”

  5

  Brock was disappointed Bella’s call had ruined their evening. Before that, things had been nice, despite Ashleigh’s attempt to go home early. Knowing he wasn’t getting any tonight, he normally would’ve cut his losses and taken her back to her hotel when she’d asked, but he still hadn’t convinced her to go out with him again. His next idea was the “let’s be friends” approach, but he hadn’t figured out how to bring it up. No matter what he’d told her about his lack of interest in relationships, it would be silly to lie to himself. He wanted to go out with her, get to know her, see if the spark he felt meant more than it usually did with women. He didn’t want to hurt her; he just wanted a little more time to decide how much he liked her. Was that so wrong? How else did people get to know each other?

  She was quiet on the ride back to the hotel and once the valet took his truck, she let him hold her hand but didn’t say much. On a positive note, she wasn’t acting like a woman who wanted to get rid of him, so he used the time to be as supportive as he could without saying much.

  Passing a roulette table, he paused. “How about a spin?”

  She smiled. “If you want. I don’t gamble much.”

  “Just one, for fun.” He pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to a passing waitress, who gave him a chip in return.

  “Number eight,” Ashleigh said softly. “Bella’s eight.”

  Brock waited until the current round was over and put the chip on the red eight. As the deal spun the wheel, Ashleigh moved against Brock’s side, quietly watching.

  “What shall we buy if we win?” he whispered against her ear.

  “It wasn’t my money,” she whispered back.

  “It was our bet,” he laughed.

  The wheel continued to spin and as it slowed down Brock got a funny feeling in his stomach. Were they going to win? Was it possible the wheel would stop on their number? He watched in fascination as it did, indeed, stop on the eight. He let out a whoop and Ashleigh squealed with delight.

  “We won!” she cried, laughing.

  “Bet again or take the money and run?” he asked.

  “Take the money and run!”

  Brock collected $700 and cashed out the chips. “Shopping?” he asked.

  “Like what?” she asked.

  “Let’s buy something for Bella,” he suggested.

  Her face lit up. “Okay! I don’t know what we’ll find for an eight-year-old in a casino, but we can look.”

  “The shops are open—there has to be something. What does she like?”

  “Dolls and anything pink.”

  “You’re both into pink?”

  “I like red, too, but pink is so feminine, and I’m a girl. Sue me.”

  “Oh no…” He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as they walked. “I like feminine girls.”

  She laughed. “I’ll bet you do.”

  They’d almost given up when a flash of sparkling pink caught his eye. “Hey, what’s that?” He walked into the store and stared at what appeared to be a crown of some sort.

  “A tiara?” Ashleigh burst out laughing, reaching for it and placing it on her head, striking a pose.

  “Miss, please don’t touch.” A middle-aged sales woman with a snarky tone and wearing too much makeup eyed them warily.

  Brock opened his mouth, but Ashleigh squeezed his arm before fixing the woman with a warm smile. “I’m looking for something for my daughter. Do you have anything like this for a little girl?”

  The woman paused, eyeing her suspiciously before curtly nodding. “I do have something smaller, with rhinestones, instead of the Swarovski crystals used in that one.”

  Ashleigh put the tiara down again and they followed her to the back where there was a collection of children’s accessories, including a smaller tiara that had glitter and pink rhinestones. She picked it up and obligingly put it on her head, grinning at Brock.

  “What do you think?”

  He shook his head. “If you think it’ll make her happy, I’m all for it.”

  “Bella’s pretty easy to please so anything you buy her will make her happy.”

  “She might also enjoy this,” the woman spoke, handing them a wand that lit up when you waved it around.

  “She’ll definitely love this,” Ashleigh nodded. “We’ll take both of those please.”

  “I’ve got it,” Brock said, pulling out his wallet when Ashleigh reached for her own. “I thought we’d agreed we were using the roulette money?”

  Ashleigh smiled, nodding her head. “Okay, spend away.”

  The woman wrapped up the gifts in tissue paper, putting them in a pretty bag she handed to Ashleigh as Brock paid her.

  “Would you let me give it to her in person?” he asked as they left the store.

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Earlier, you said we shouldn’t see each other again. Does the fact you let me buy this for Bella mean you’ve changed your mind?”

  “I explained why I can’t,” she said softly, stopping to look up at him.
“If I didn’t have Bella, I would, but I can’t. Unless…” She paused.

  “Unless what?”

  “Have you changed your mind about serious relationships?”

  “Geez, baby, it’s the first date.”

  “It wasn’t a marriage proposal, it was a question. But I have my answer, and that’s okay. Really. I’ll have Bella call to thank you on the phone. She’s a little lacking in the manners department.”

  “Yeah, sure.” He nodded but was irritated. Why did he have to make a decision now? It wasn’t fair. They’d just met and he wanted to get to know her, but he wasn’t interested in a ready-made family. Although…it certainly wouldn’t hurt his own situation with contract negotiations.

  He’d had a penchant for trouble since his ex-fiancée had cheated on him seven years ago. His first arrest had been a drunk and disorderly charge, but his ex had dropped the charges. That was followed by a DUI a year later, another drunk and disorderly, indecent exposure, and a third drunk and disorderly last summer, which had been the last straw for Sidewinders management. The only arrest that had resulted in charges had been the DUI and he’d learned a hard lesson with that one, but “bar fight” seemed to be his middle name too much of the time and the Sidewinders had told him if he got into any more trouble, they wouldn’t renew his contract, which expired at the end of the season. The deadline for this season had passed, which meant they were still sore about last summer’s altercation, and now he would be on pins and needles until at least July, waiting for an offer. If they didn’t make him one, his agent was already putting out feelers, but he didn’t want to leave Las Vegas. Having a steady girlfriend—one with a kid—might offer the appearance of a kind of stability he hadn’t shown them before.

  The thought went as quickly as it had come, and he mentally chastised himself for thinking about using Ashleigh and Bella like that. He’d handle his contract; he didn’t need to involve anyone else. Especially not a Hollywood beauty whose violet eyes burned right through him every time he looked at her. No, that was a distraction he didn’t need.

  Brock thought about Ashleigh all week, unable to forget how much fun they’d had together. He wanted to see her again but wasn’t sure he could be what she needed. After mulling it over for a few days, he still didn’t have an answer, so on a quiet afternoon he called his mother. They were close, and though he didn’t frequently talk to her about women, they talked about everything else, and he desperately needed her counsel.

  “Hi, honey.” His mother’s voice soothed him and he sighed with relief.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “How are you?”

  “Confused.”

  She chuckled. “What else is new?”

  “Ha ha.”

  “Is this about a woman?”

  He groaned. “Are you telepathic now?”

  “I’m your mom—it’s in the job description. How do you think I always knew you were into something when you were a kid?”

  He resisted rolling his eyes since she couldn’t see him anyway. Instead, he told her about Ashleigh and their two evenings together.

  “So, what did you do wrong?” she asked when he was done.

  “What makes you think I did anything wrong?” he demanded. “I like her. I was trying to get her to like me back.”

  “Well, you’re rich, successful, and good-looking. The only reason she wouldn’t want to see you again is if you were a jerk to her.”

  “I wasn’t! I just…” He paused. “She’s trying to adopt a little girl and can’t afford to do the casual dating thing.”

  “And you still won’t give anyone a chance.”

  “That’s why I’m confused.”

  “If it was just one date, it shouldn’t be that hard to move on.”

  “It shouldn’t be,” he murmured.

  “Brock Landon Lassiter, are you telling me you really like this girl?”

  He coughed. “She’s different. I didn’t expect an actress from L.A. to be so down-to-earth. There’s something vulnerable about her that tugs at me.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is that she’s trying to adopt this little girl…” He told her the rest of the story, explaining about Bella. “I think part of it is that she’s afraid Bella will get attached to me and I’ll walk away.”

  “That’s a legitimate concern. Bella’s practically a baby—she will get attached to you. Are you prepared to step into that role for life? Just because the relationship ends doesn’t mean you can walk away from the little one.”

  He sighed. “Why does everyone assume I’d do that? I’ve never been a jerk to kids.”

  “You’ve never had a kid. Signing autographs for a hundred kids at a charity event isn’t the same as living with one, taking care of one—loving one.”

  “I know.” He was getting grumpy at the lack of faith people seemed to have in him. “Geez. Give me a little credit.”

  “You’ve done this to yourself with your behavior.”

  “I didn’t call for a lecture, Ma,” he grumbled.

  “Then why did you call? You already know how I feel about things. You hide behind the wall you built after what happened with Caroline, but I know deep down you’re a loving, caring man. These situations you get yourself into—that’s a smoke screen for how much she hurt you. You can lie to yourself, son, but you can’t lie to me.”

  He sighed. “You always make things complicated.”

  She laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one making things complicated. You’ve got a beautiful, exciting woman in your life, and it seems you genuinely like her. Why not give it a chance? Help her with Bella, get your contract renewed, and put a little effort into making it work. What do you have to lose?”

  “Everything?”

  “Not everyone is Caroline.”

  “No, but trusting is going to be hard for me. I honestly don’t know what to do.”

  “Yes, you do. You’re going to give this girl and a relationship a chance. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. She gets her little girl and you get that big contract. In the meantime, you get a second chance. Just because things went sideways with Caroline doesn’t mean they will again.”

  Part of him knew she was right but he would never admit it. Instead, he changed the subject. “How’s Grandma?”

  “Old and cranky.” She laughed. “And don’t think you’re getting off that easily.”

  “Please?”

  She just laughed harder.

  6

  He couldn’t believe his luck when Ashleigh’s name flashed on the screen of his phone. He’d been trying to come up with a plan to see her again and she’d made it easier by calling him first.

  “Hey!” He tried to keep his voice casual.

  “Hi there.”

  It was good to hear her voice.

  “Bella wanted to talk to you.”

  “Oh.” He paused, having forgotten all about that. “Sure.”

  “Hi, Mr. Lassiter.” The child’s voice was soft and sounded shy.

  “Hi, Bella. I’d like it if you called me Brock.”

  “Okay… Brock.”

  “Are you having a good day?” It was obvious Bella was being forced to make the call and though he understood the need to teach her manners, he also remembered his own mother making him do things like this and hating it. Hopefully, he’d be able to make it a little easier on her by guiding the conversation.

  “I am! Ashleigh gave me the tiara you bought me because I finished all my school work a day early. It’s so pretty, Brock… I love it. I’ve never had anything so nice.”

  He could hear Ashleigh whispering in the background, and had to bite back a laugh as Bella automatically said, “Thank you very much.”

  “You’re very welcome. Make sure you send me a picture of you wearing it.”

  “Okay! Do you want to talk to Ashleigh now?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Hi.” Ashleigh was chuckling. “Thanks for being patient
.”

  “No problem.” He paused. “Hey, listen, I’ve been thinking.”

  ”About?”

  “Us going out again.”

  “Brock—”

  “No, listen a minute.” He took a breath. “We had fun and… I think you’re…special.”

  “You do?” She sounded taken aback.

  “I know I’m kind of rough around the edges and probably not as hot as some the guys in you usually date but I’m a nice enough guy, and I’d be good with Bella.”

  “You’re saying you want to date? Like, really date?”

  “Yes?”

  “That had a question mark at the end, and I can’t answer for you.”

  “It makes me a little nervous, but yeah… I want to. It felt like there was…something between us. There’s no way to figure it out unless we’re both willing to take a risk. I’ve been burned and don’t trust easily. You’ve got Bella’s adoption at stake and can’t trust easily, either. Maybe that means we should at least go out once more.”

  “I don’t know…” she said slowly.

  “One more date,” he cajoled. “Come on, you have to admit you like me a little.”

  She laughed. “I do.”

  “And you let me hold your hand.”

  This time she giggled. “I did.”

  “And I bought you the coolest pink tiara.”

  “You bought that for Bella.”

  “I’ll go back and buy you one if it makes you say yes to another date.”

  “I don’t need one—I can borrow Bella’s.”

  “Please?”

  She giggled again. “Nothing like hearing a grown man beg.”

  “Pretty please?”

  “Fine. One more date.”

  “Well, that’s one big hurdle. The next one is when. I’m off tomorrow night, but there’s a game Saturday and we leave on a road trip Monday.”

  “There’s only two weeks left of production on Vampire, and my character is in a coma. As far as I know—”

  “Vampires can be in comas?” he interrupted.

  “Well, vampires aren’t real, and it’s TV,” she laughed. “They can do whatever the writers want them to do.”