Chances (Mystic Nights #1)(20)

It was a remarkable story. It had taken three years to build. With her sons by her side, they had opened the casino just four years earlier. And it was well on its way to becoming the success she knew it would be, and currently it rivaled Foxwood’s and the Mohegan Sun.

“I just moved back to Lantern Hill the year after the casino opened,” Aliya murmured around her salmon. It was delicious. This restaurant was a favorite among the locals. All the fare was fresh year round, purchased from local fishermen and farmers.

“Why didn’t you come and apply to work for the casino sooner?” he asked, genuinely interested and wanting to know what she had been doing with her life in the interim. He wished they could have met earlier although they all worked eighteen hour days those first few years. Running the casino then had been a lot more complicated as they were all learning the ropes as they went. They’d had a team of advisors helping to oversee things.

She let out a soft, slow sigh remembering her homecoming. It had been difficult starting over, but it was something she had to do and she wanted to be home to do it. “I was enrolling in U-Con. I had school, and that was in Hartford, so it was a bit of a drive. I was able to find a teaching job at a studio there. So . . .,” she allowed the rest of her sentence to go unfinished.

He smiled broadly, sitting back in his chair, watching her finish the remains of her food. “Well, I’m glad you’re back now.” And he was. This woman fascinated him.

Aliya set her fork down and glanced across the table at the man before her. Getting to know him had opened her eyes, and made her remember what it was like to date, and to be curious about the person you were with. All the little things that made him them man he was helped her to understand him better. And she liked what she saw. A lot. The smile he was giving her was bright and mischievous. She swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. He was truly remarkable. His eyes pierced her and set her blood to roaring with just a glance. Those dark eyes in that chiseled face set off her desire for him so fluidly.

Clearing her throat to help clear her mind of the wayward thoughts that were beginning to take shape, she spoke, “Tell me about your sisters.” Aliya picked up her fork and scooped up a forkful of the delicate wild rice that had just a hint of jasmine.

“Ah,” he laughed. “The twin terrors. Well, Eve finished her business management degree last year, and she now operates the entertainment venues at the club. And Dawn, she has nearly finished her masters in accounting. And both are quite happy to stay here and continue to work at the casino. My Mom is thrilled about it of course.” He picked up his glass of wine and sipped it watching Aliya over the rim of his glass. Her hair shone under the lights of the chandelier. She was stunning. Her features angled and her eyes, much like his, were almond shaped hinting at her heritage.

“I’m sure she is. My parents only had me, but they brought me to New York when all I wanted to do was dance, and do ballet. But New York was tough for me. For all us. I just missed home, and my friends. And ballet was so hard. So much competition. I think they were relieved when I decided to pursue other kinds of dance, and decided to go more the traditional route of show girl, then opening up a studio.” She purposefully left out the part about her engagement, pregnancy, and how that fiasco turned out at 19. That was too deep for a first date.

“So they returned here, when you went to Vegas.”

She just nodded and once more set her fork down. “So, Dawn. Accounting, huh? The rest of you studied business and law?”

“Yes, she took her love of math and numbers to the extremes. Dawn was sick a lot when she was younger, allergies, and often was indoors. But for years we didn’t know what made her sick. Anyhow, she always used to say numbers were the only things that ever made sense to her. So yeah, accounting.”

“That’s cool. Your Mom allowed her to pursue her own interests.”

“My Mom has never pressured any of us. Well, she wanted us to do well with whatever we attempted, but the choices were always ours. She’s great. She is excited for Dawn to be working in the upstairs offices soon. She doesn’t like her working on the floors.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now, she’s actually a dealer at one of the tables. Good too. She has caught many a card shark, and Mom gets nervous about her working on the floor. Unfortunately, casinos sometimes attract a dangerous element, and because Dawn was so sick when she was younger, she tends to baby her a bit more. We all do at times, I guess. It drives Dawn nuts. But, she will go into the accounting department next year when she finishes up her degree, and then none of us will have to worry about her,” he finished.

“Well, Mystic Nights is definitely a real family affair,” Aliya sighed, melancholy evident in her voice.

“Was it difficult being an only child?” he asked.

“Yes, and no. My parents doted on me, but it would have been nice to have a younger brother or sister. My parents tried after me, but my Mom had some complications during her pregnancy with me and she was never able to carry another child.”

He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Are you close with them?” he asked. He remembered her father. He had been his high school PE teacher. One of the reasons everyone had left the stunning beauty alone in school. The man was a bear, a grizzly, in and out of the gymnasium. That and she always seemed to disappear after the bell rang. Dance classes, he presumed.