a vacation from real life.
He felt a twinge of disappointment that Christine wasn’t going to act on the instant attraction. He liked the way she’d looked at him. It was a mix of excitement and trepidation. Anticipation and doubt. He knew that feeling—it was what he experienced every time he was about to embark on a great adventure.
He liked the idea of being someone’s great adventure, and he wanted to see that wicked glow in her eyes again. Hold on to the promise of something special. It had nothing to do with his goal to blend in and everything to do with exploring the wild streak he saw inside her.
Travis knew he would have to be careful in his pursuit. He realized now that Christine wasn’t as bold as she appeared. Despite the sexy dress that hugged her curves and the thirst for adventure in her serious brown eyes, this woman was quiet and reserved.
He should have picked up on that in the way she checked out the casino when she first stepped inside, but he wasn’t used to hesitant women. This one observed before she moved forward. She didn’t run headfirst into a situation, nor did she see an opportunity and grab it.
This was a woman who considered the pros and cons. She saw potential problems before she saw possibilities. He remembered how his grandmother used to do that and he always pushed himself to do the opposite. His mind-set worked because most people he met on his travels were impulsive, ready to forget common sense in their quest to go crazy before they had to return to their real life.
“What brings you to Vegas?” Travis asked. She was playing the slot machines with a decided lack of interest but was perched on the gold seat as if she were waiting for something wonderful to happen.
Christine was an intriguing puzzle. He felt the buzz of interest in his veins. Normally he felt like this right before he stepped into uncharted territory. But those times he knew the payoff would be big. Christine wasn’t a sure thing but she was the challenge he was looking for in Vegas.
She tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look. “What makes you think I’m not from around here?”
Where should he start? Her attire was wrong for a casino and a Las Vegas native would know that. She was dressed more for a nightclub. He could also tell that the desert sun never touched her pale skin. Travis curled his fingers as he imagined she would be smooth and silky to the touch.
There was also the fact that she was dragging around a bag that had an airline sticker on it. He gave a casual shrug. “Just a wild guess.”
“Do you live here?” she asked as she gave him a longer, more thorough look. “Is that how you can tell?”
“No, I don’t have a home base.” After feeling trapped in his childhood home, he chose not to have a permanent address these days. In the past few months he had lived everywhere from a hut in Belize to a pickup truck along Route 66. He made good money along the way. Once he picked up a skill, he turned around and taught them to tourists. He could do anything from teaching people how to surf to guiding them through the jungle. “I don’t really see the need for one.”
“I don’t think I follow,” Christine said as her eyes widened. “You just pick up and leave whenever you feel like it?”
He nodded as he watched Christine’s eyes cloud over. She obviously couldn’t comprehend that kind of freedom, but he couldn’t tell if she was envious or horrified. “I don’t mind roughing it,” he added. “Comfort and excitement don’t go hand in hand.”
She dipped her head and her long hair fell over her face like a veil. “You’re right, they don’t.”
Christine’s voice had been so quiet he almost didn’t hear her above the ringing bells and shouts of laughter in the casino. Yet he caught the regret in her tone.
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Once you have a comfort zone, it doesn’t grow wider,” Christine said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “It gets smaller and smaller until you realize you’ve put yourself in a cage.”
“Exactly,” Travis slowly agreed. It was why he didn’t stay in one place for more than a month. There were moments when he longed to call a place his own, but he’d grit his teeth and keep moving until the feeling passed. “Sometimes you need to shake things up. The way you’re doing now.”
“You can tell that just by looking at me?” She glanced at her dress and automatically pulled at the short hem that revealed her long, slender legs. “What else can you tell?”
Travis paused. He was usually good at figuring out people; the skill helped him survive whenever he found himself in sticky situations. But he got the feeling that Christine was trying to be someone different during her Vegas trip. He saw that a lot in the more touristy areas he’d visited. It was like role-playing, trying on a more exciting or an entirely different persona.
“This is your first time in Vegas,” he guessed.
Christine jerked her head back in surprise. “That’s true,” she reluctantly admitted. She glanced around the casino as if she wondered how he’d come to that conclusion.
“First trip anywhere?” he asked.
“Not at all,” she scoffed. She rubbed her fingers over her bare collarbone. Her hand stilled as if she realized something was missing. “I travel around the world all the time.”
Travis silently nodded his head. It may not be the first time she’d been out of her hometown, but it was definitely the farthest she’d been away from home. Only she didn’t want him to know that. Christine wanted to look more sophisticated and experienced than she really was. How far was she willing to go to live out this role? Travis was willing to play along.
“I’m taking advantage of a long weekend,” she said with a defiant thrust of her chin, “and I decided to try something closer to home.”
He didn’t buy that excuse. Christine was definitely the kind of person who would make incremental goals. Once she found success, she would build up to a bigger goal. He couldn’t imagine living like that.
“What do you do?” he asked. It was probably a desk job that dealt with numbers. She would want something that was climate-controlled and dealt with absolutes. But what would her alter ego say? Would she pick something creative or something dangerous? What she decided would give him a little more insight into her dream life.
Christine pursed her lips. “What do you think I do?”
Travis arched an eyebrow. It was time to rattle her cage. He reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Are you going to tell me my fortune?” Christine asked with a nervous laugh.
“No, but I can tell a lot about a person by their hands.” Hers were soft and delicate. The nails were short and unvarnished. There was no wedding ring and no indication that there had been one.
“I can’t tell what you do for a living,” he said as he trailed a fingertip down her palm before resting it against her wrist. Her pulse skipped under his touch. “You are searching for a challenge. You’ve done it all. Seen it all.”
Her hand jerked but she didn’t pull away. “Go on.”
“You’re looking for a jump start.”
She snatched her
