The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1)(99)

“Wow,” Mindy breathed and I looked at her then she smiled bright. “Neens, babe, you’re a totally fun date.”

I grinned shakily at Mindy, something caught the corner of my eye, I lunged to the side, grabbed our scuttling waitress by the wrist and asked, “I know you’ve got clean up but when you get a chance can I have an Amaretto on the rocks? A big one.”

“Sure,” she muttered distractedly.

“And you have one too,” I told her. “Put it on our bill.”

Her eyes focused on me and she said, “Hey, thanks.”

I waved my hand, got off me knees and sat on my behind. “No problems,” I muttered, took a deep breath and looked at Mindy. “You think we’ll ever go out without the night ending in men fighting?”

“This one was more fun than the last,” Mindy commented.

“Yes, this is true,” I agreed.

“Still, it might get old,” Mindy said on a smile.

“This is true too.”

“I’ve never had Amaretto. That isn’t a big seller at The Dog. Should I try one?”

“You have to taste Amaretto before you die,” I informed her, my words dramatic but they were also true.

“Then that’s a yes.”

I smiled at her. She smiled back.

* * * * *

“My favorite part…” we were all standing beside the Cherokee, me swaying slightly and Brody was reminiscing about our night, “was when Nina told Shauna she was in your bed and your hand was down her jeans. That was f**kin’ awesome.”

“Say goodnight, Brody,” Max ordered.

Brody grinned. “Just sayin’.”

“I liked it when Nina came up with all those words for crazy,” Mindy added, also feeling like waxing poetic about our fun filled evening. “I didn’t even know there were that many words.”

“I forgot barking,” I informed Mindy.

“I so have to live in England. You all talk killer,” Mindy exclaimed.

“And barmy,” I went on.

“Cool!” Mindy cried.

“And loopy, batty and crackers,” I carried on.

Max opened the passenger side door and his hands went to my hips. “Say goodnight, Nina.”

“’Night!” I called when Max’s hands turned my body toward the door and then lifted me up so I had no choice but to crawl in.

“’Night, Neens!” Mindy called back.

“Yeah, Neens, later. Max, bro, be safe,” Brody said.

“Always,” Max muttered and slammed my door.

Max disappeared from the window but suddenly Mindy was there. I smiled at her through the window then saw her flatten her hand on it. I lifted my hand and flattened it against hers. She gave me a funny, little smile that I didn’t quite understand before her hand disappeared and she walked away.

I hummed while I fastened my seatbelt and Max got in beside me. My mind was on Mindy being so very sweet as well as the baked, marble cheesecake I most recently consumed, washing it down with Amaretto.

“In a good mood?” Max asked, starting the truck.

“I love Mindy,” I announced.

“Figure she loves you too, Duchess, you’re a match made in hell.”

I didn’t really listen to his words, I just kept talking. “That cheesecake was yummy.”

“You blitzed?” Max asked, his hand on the back of my seat, his torso twisted to look out the rear window to pull out.

“I’m tipsy, not blitzed.”

Max twisted back and pulled into the road. “What chance I got you won’t pass out on the way home?”

I waved my hand in front of me and declared, “Oh, I’ll be fine.”

“Right,” Max muttered.

“Can we listen to music?” I requested and Max turned on the music.

Five minutes later I was dead to the world.

Chapter Eight

Concoctions

“Oh… my… God! I love your house!” I heard my mother cry.

I blinked away my weird dream into the morning sunlight shining into Max’s loft and I saw his empty pillow. Why I was dreaming about my mother, I didn’t –

“And you’re gorgeous!” she exclaimed.

My heart stuttered and my eyes went wide.

“No,” I whispered, threw the covers back and stopped dead when I saw my body. I was na**d except for a pair of white, lace panties.

My mind flew back to last night, waking up in Max’s arms as he carried me from the car to the house. Me telling him I’d be okay to walk. Him putting me on my feet at the foot of the spiral staircase. Me stumbling up, taking off all my clothes but my underwear and my shoes and falling face down in bed.

And that was it.

Oh.

My.

God.

“I love it here!” my mother shrieked, the sound jerking my mind from my dismaying thoughts and my body into motion. “Steve, I want to move here.”

I heard male mumblings but I’d located Max’s shirt from last night on the floor and snatched it up. I shrugged it on, buttoning it at the same time I was running across the room and down the stairs.

I hit the bottom and saw Mom standing, looking out the window, her arms up and straight out at her sides as if she was calling to the Mountain Sun God to shine his blessing on her. Max was standing a few feet away from her smiling, wearing nothing but his pajama bottoms. Steve was standing as close to her side as he could get with her arms spread wide, also smiling. Steve’s smile was indulgent to Max’s entertained.