The plan was simple, as all genius ideas were: exploit her beginner's luck.
Amanda was a gambling virgin, so new she still had her price tags. She'd never set foot in a casino or tried a slot machine. She'd never even played cards with friends.
Seeing as she had no friends.
She shook her head, brushing that thought away.
I do have friends. A whole bunch of them--because four counted as a bunch, right?
She donned her strappy gown and refreshed her makeup. Then she grabbed her Chanel purse with her ID, cash, and the cocktail voucher the concierge had given her and headed to the famed Deauville Casino that adjoined her hotel.
Ten minutes into the game, Amanda began to suspect that her two-hour crash course on the train might have been insufficient. But it didn't matter because her beginner's luck should kick in any moment now.
She surveyed the players at her table to divert her mind from worrying.
What a motley crew!
Across from her sat an elderly Spanish couple. They wore matching T-shirt and smiled simultaneously, flashing their dentures. Next to them, two forty-something British women spoke to each other in an incomprehensible English dialect: A middle-aged Frenchman with greasy hair and darting eyes sat beside them. Amanda's neighbor to the let was a surgically enhanced bimbo of unknown provenance doused with a nauseating perfume and clad in a dress that was three sizes too small.
But the most remarkable person at the table was Amanda's neighbor to the right, whom she'd nicknamed Obsidian Eyes. In his late twenties, tall, swarthy, well built, and well dressed, the man was easy on the eyes. He wore a faux casual linen suit and played with the easy confidence of someone who knew what he was doing.
His complexion and features held a touch of something exotic, faintly alien--something that kept her stealing glances at him whenever he turned his attention to his cards. Was it his wavy, jet-black hair, mesmerizing eyes, or chiseled jawline? Or maybe his exquisite eyebrows that make her think of a raven's wings? Whatever that je ne sais quoi was, it made him look more than ordinary. And hot.
The man was a blazing wildfire on legs.
As if his looks weren't enough, Obsidian Eyes played exceptionally well. Forty minutes into the game, his stacks of colorful chips had doubled while everyone else's--including Amanda's--had melted away.
That thought snapped her back into reality. Panicked, Amanda raised her eyes to the high ceiling of the casino.
Please, I can't lose.
She was gambling with her meager savings--half of it, to be exact. If the Supreme Being above intended to activate her beginner's luck, now was the time.
"Newbie?" Obsidian Eyes asked, his gaze never shifting from the deck in the dealer's hands.
He spoke French like a native. A slight Midi accent, maybe? A bit like Jeanne's, but less pronounced.
Amanda looked around, unsure whom he was talking to.
Obsidian Eyes finally lifted his gaze from the cards and gave her a panty-dropping smile.
She arched an eyebrow. "Does it show?"
"Mhmm," Obsidian Eyes said.
Ooh, that smile again!
The dealer held up a card for her, and she started reaching for it when she noticed Obsidian Eyes give a quick shake of his head. She pulled back.
And won the hand.
"Thank you," she mouthed to her unexpected mentor.
He gave her a small nod.
She followed his discreet instructions for two more hands and won both. The evening was beginning to look up.
The dealer bowed and ceded his place to a good-looking young woman with sleek auburn hair smoothed back into the world's tightest bun.
She greeted the players and began to shuffle the cards.
Obsidian Eyes turned to Amanda. "Why blackjack? Beginners usually prefer the slots or roulette."
"I don't know... Too passive for me, I guess."
He nodded. "I avoid them, too."
"So you know what I mean."
"Yes. But that's not my only reason."
She cocked her head. "No?"
"The slots are twice as costly to players than the table games, and with roulette, too much depends on chance."
Amanda smirked. "Isn't that the case with all the games?"
"Not blackjack, if played right."
"Let me guess--you play it right."
He glanced at the dealer, who was engrossed in shuffling cards. "I know a trick or two."
One of the Brits stage-whispered to the other, "I hope he'll show me some of his tricks tonight." She paused before adding even louder, "In my room."
Both women burst out laughing.
Obsidian Eyes shifted uncomfortably and looked down at his hands, pretending he hadn't heard the saucy remark.
The man with greasy hair whispered something to the plastic bimbo.
She didn't acknowledge him. The woman was too busy multitasking. With her chest heaving, she stared at Obsidian Eyes and stroked her neck. Every five seconds she licked her lips and then pouted.
But the black-eyed hunk was oblivious to her onslaught. He turned to Amanda again. "I'm taking a break to stretch my legs."
"Er . . . OK."
He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I have a bad feeling about this dealer."
"Oh." She pushed her chips closer together like he had done and stood. "I'll do the same, then."
"What brings you to Deauville Casino tonight?" he asked as they strolled between the tables and observed the goings-on.
After a second's hesitation, she said, "I'm writing a book about gamblers."
"Participant observation, huh?"
Her eyebrows rose. "What do you know about participant observation?"
"Yeah, well, I need something to help me sleep when I get to my room at three in the morning." He shrugged. "Reading a few pages of Tristes Tropiques works better than any sleeping pill I've tried."
She giggled. "I'm passionate about cultural anthropology, but I could never finish that book."
"I like psychology books better," he said. "They're fun to read, and the info in them is useful in my trade."
"Oh?"
He nodded. "Especially books like Cialdini's Influence and the ones on how to read body language."
"I see."
"Hey, how about a glass of champagne on the terrace after I've won my target amount?" He gave her an innocent smile. A little too innocent.
"I have a cocktail voucher," she blurted before she could stop herself.
Did I just accept his invitation?
Oh, well. What harm could a drink do?
His face contorted in exaggerated disgust. "Trust me, you don't want their free cocktail unless you're a gustative masochist."
She put her hands on her hips. "I was given a free voucher, and I intend to use it."
"OK, OK. But don't say I didn't warn you."
She tilted her head to the side. "You said 'my target amount' earlier. Are you that good?"
"In all modesty . . . yes. But my target amount is also reasonable. And I have a spending threshold, too. When I reach it before I've won my target amount, I always stop."
"How very rational for a gambler!"
"I'm full of surprises, in case you haven't noticed." He gave her an appreciative look. "And I suspect that so are you, ma belle."
"When did I become your belle?"
"Oh, it's just a placeholder until you tell me your name."
Should I? she wondered.
"So, what's your name, ma belle?"
"Am . . . elie. And yours?"
"Kes."
"What kind of name is Kes?"
"A Gypsy name."
"Like, a real Traveler Gypsy?"
"As authentic as they come."
"Ah." She raised her chin. "That explains it."
"Explains what, Amelie?"
"That you make me think of Tarzan."
"Really?"
"Not that you aren't dashing in your suit," she began, "but you look like someone who was born to ride horses bare-chested."
"Wow. You're the bluntest belle I've ever met."
"And you're the most gorgeous Gypsy I've ever met," she blurted.
Where did that come from? Must be the vodka.
The corners of his mouth twitched. "So refreshingly honest! Why, I'm flattered."
She looked away.
Honest, my foot.
He wasn't just the most handsome Gypsy she'd ever seen--he was the most spectacular man, all ethnicities included.
Now, that was honest.
She turned to him and cleared her throat. "Shall we go back? Target amounts and all."
"Sure."
The sleek-haired dealer was leaving when they returned to their seats. Both giggling Brits and Greasy Hair were gone. The elderly couple and he bimbo still played, but judging by their dismal faces and the measly number of chips in front of them, they weren't doing well.
Kes had been right about the dealer.
"What does your gut tell you about this one?" Amanda eyed the middle-aged man who had taken over for his colleague.
"He's the best."
Her face fell.
Kes grinned. "Not for the house, ma belle, for us. Move closer so I can see your cards without twisting my neck."
She moved as close to him as their chairs allowed.
"Now relax and do exactly as I say."
Amanda glanced at Kes, but he had already turned his full attention to the cards.
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