The After Dark Collection: Books 1-3 in The Gift Series Read online

  He smiled, passing me the glass and clinking it against his.

  “To new beginnings,” he toasted, and I repeated it before tipping it back.

  * * *

  On the way over, we traded questions back and forth, chatting about work and the city.

  “Tell me about the life of a Las Vegas limo driver,” I said, finding talking with him surprisingly comfortable. He had a way about him of putting me at ease.

  “This might sound odd, but the city feels like a friend.”

  “How so?”

  “It listens to me,” he said, and when I raised an eyebrow, he laughed.

  “No, really,” he insisted. “Sometimes, if there’s traffic, I’ll ask it if it could just let me through a little faster. And it does.”

  “That can’t be true,” I said, but I was grinning.

  “Maybe I’m just magic,” he said with a roguish wink.

  “Maybe you are. Lucky man.” I took a beat. “So you’re the owner who likes driving. I suppose at the risk of sounding obvious, does it ever get exhausting?”

  He shrugged. “I like the peace. Helping people get to their destinations. And I’m lucky because I have good clients.”

  “Like Trish?” I asked.

  “Trish is great. She’s always got a plan. Or a scheme.”

  I smiled a little shyly. “Like with setting us up?”

  Daniel rubbed his chin, quiet at first. But his eyes sort of twinkled. Something was clearly on his mind.

  “Truth be told, that was only partly Trish’s scheme,” he said, his voice confident, a little lower than before. “The other part was me.”

  At first, I thought he was joking. But when I looked again, he was serious.

  “It was? Your idea?”

  He tapped his chest, owning it. “My idea. What can I say? There was one time when I drove you and Trish, and I couldn’t stop watching you. Usually, I’m able to tune out whatever’s happening behind me. But with you, I had to watch. I was compelled.”

  I blushed at his words. “You’re kidding.”

  He shook his head. “You’re lovely, Christine.”

  And that tingle I felt earlier turned into a full-blown swoon.

  “Thank you. I don’t know what to say, except thank you.”

  “Thank you for saying yes. I was hooked on your laugh the very first time I heard it. You laughed like the world was there for the taking. And the way you could hold your own. You know what you want, and I’ll be honest with you, Christine.”

  “Yes?” I asked, and I felt as if I were on the edge of my seat.

  He stared at me, the scent of champagne lingering between us. It was going to my head in all the good ways.

  He leveled me with a sexy stare. “I wanted you to want me.”

  The limo slowed and then came to a halt, and Daniel smiled as he leaned back again.

  His confidence shocked me.

  Thrilled me, honestly.

  I’d never had a man be so bold on a first date.

  But Daniel said those words as if he were telling me about the weather.

  But I couldn’t let him off that easily. What if this was a line? I was no college girl out for her first date with a real man. I was a grown woman, owner of a successful company. I’d been around the block a few times.

  If he thought it would be that easy, he was wrong.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” I said, a little playful, as the driver opened my door. “But I guess you’ll have to give me a reason to want you, then.”

  And just then, something hit me. Something wonderful. I was getting my groove back. I was flirting. I was having fun.

  Daniel laughed. “I fully intend to.”

  Before I knew it, he’d come around to take my hand as I stepped out onto the sidewalk. I let his hand linger on mine as he walked me to the front doors of the Delano Las Vegas Hotel. The building shimmered and the palm trees around us swayed gently in the breeze.

  But the shiver I felt wasn’t just from the night air.

  It was from Daniel, still holding on to my hand as we walked into the hotel.

  Right away, I could tell that the Delano was all about decadence in a way that only Vegas could do. We took the elevator all the way to the top to Rivea, a restaurant I’d heard about but had never had a special enough occasion to go to.

  Now, I did.

  As soon as we entered, my eyes drank in the beauty. The chandelier in the center looked like water frozen mid-air, though Daniel said it was actually handblown glass.

  “Just wait until we get outside,” he told me, touching my lower back as he guided us inside. “It’s the best view in Vegas.”

  “We’ll see about that,” I teased. “You’re setting some high standards tonight.”

  The devilish grin made another appearance. “And I intend to meet all of them.”

  And a shiver stole up my spine again.

  What was it about this man that undid me so easily?

  I would focus on dinner, I decided. Just because this was my first date back on the scene didn’t mean I needed to be so easily won over.

  * * *

  Lucky for me, dinner was delectable, and I was sure you couldn’t go wrong with burrata with heritage tomatoes, or mouth-watering lobster risotto. As I ate, he watched me like I was a painting he wanted to memorize. I wasn’t used to that, but I found I loved being on display for him. I craned my neck and tossed my hair over my shoulder.

  Hell, I even fluttered my eyelashes at him.

  Maybe I was being silly.

  Mostly, I felt free.

  He made me feel like I should as he tossed questions at me. He wanted to know about Carson, about my business, where and how Trish and I had met.

  He genuinely wanted to know me. “Tell me more about yourself,” I asked him midway through our meal. “I feel like I’ve done all the talking.”

  Mostly, because Daniel had nothing but earnest, kind questions. “I guess I should start with the most important part of my life.”

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and picked out a picture from his camera roll. A candid shot of the happiest looking dog I’d ever seen in my life. It was some kind of mix, maybe part French bulldog and part corgi?

  “That’s Harmony,” Daniel explained. “She’s a rescue. All my dogs have been rescued. It’s sort of my side job. And sometimes, the tougher cases end up staying with me. Like Harmony.”

  He pointed in the picture so that I saw that Harmony only had one eye.

  My heart thumped. “Aww. You gave her a home?”

  “I couldn’t help it when I heard about her,” Daniel explained. “Most of the dogs I rescue, I find homes for. But with Harmony, I saw her in her little cage and I just knew. I had to save her. I had to make sure she’d never feel alone like that again.”

  What can I say? My heart didn’t just thump. It melted.

  Completely.

  Right there and then.

  “She’s adorable,” I admitted.

  He grinned. “She’s my girl. She’s the one Trish told you about, my little motorcycle rider. Found her in a warehouse six years ago, and she’s been by my side ever since.”

  “I’d love to meet her,” I said, and I meant it.

  “I think she’d like you,” Daniel said. “Though it might be hard to get her to share the motorcycle.”

  “Oh?” I arched a brow. “And what if I want a ride alone with you?”

  I hadn’t meant it to sound like that, but Daniel’s eyes immediately darkened and his grin widened.

  “That could always be arranged.”

  I rolled my eyes, trying to deflect from my unexpected flirtiness. “You know what I mean.”

  Before he could respond, the waiter arrived with a dessert menu. I scanned it, my eyes catching on the limoncello baba and chocolate soufflé. I hesitated.

  “Something wrong?” Daniel asked.

  “No,” I said, but then I looked at his eyes and decided I could be honest. “It’s just that
I’ve never thought that these fancy restaurants can ever get dessert quite right.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Maybe it’s just how I was raised. But for me, nothing beats soft serve ice cream. Plain old regular soft serve.”

  Daniel’s brow furrowed like he was deep in thought. “A twist? Vanilla? Chocolate?”

  I laughed. “Thinking of running out and getting some?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’m planning our next date.”

  This man and his confidence were going to be the end of me. We were barely done with our first meal together and he was already planning another one.

  He definitely wasn’t serving up lines.

  I bit my lip, deciding to keep having fun. “How do you know there’s a next date?”

  Daniel made a move as if I’d gravely offended him.

  “I thought you wanted to meet Harmony?”

  Now, it was my turn for faux-outrage. “Using your dog as leverage?”

  He grinned wickedly. “Whatever it takes.”

  Everything just felt so easy around him.

  I couldn’t stop looking at his mouth, at the even row of teeth and those full lips.

  I could just imagine how they’d feel on my mouth.

  My neck.

  Me.

  “Time for the view,” Daniel said, reaching for my hand. “If you’re sure you’re prepared?”

  I nodded, letting him lead me outside. It was dark, but the lights of Vegas never slept. They dotted the horizon, and outside, we could see all of the hotels in the city.

  He was right. It was the best view in Vegas.

  As I looked, Daniel settled in next to me. His arm extended around me, and I gave in and leaned against him and breathed in his scent.

  “It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

  “So are you,” he whispered back, his lips brushing against my ear.

  I turned to look at him. He watched me from those beautiful eyes, glittering in the lights of Vegas.

  “I have another confession,” I said.

  “More dessert preferences?” Daniel asked.

  I shook my head. “I noticed you too. Not exactly like you noticed me. But I did. That’s why I agreed when Trish suggested you.”

  He watched me. “Now that you’re on a date with me, what do you think? Do I live up to your expectations?”

  I caught my breath.

  This is it, I thought.

  The moment I cross from possibility into reality.

  “I think we should’ve done this sooner,” I said. “Much sooner.”

  I lifted my chin, parted my lips and waited.

  But not for long.

  We both knew what was happening next.

  He cupped my cheek, and brushed his lips to mine.

  His were so soft, so sweet that I sighed.

  A soft, little sigh.

  And as the sound ghosted across my lips, I felt myself giving in more.

  To the kiss. To the feel of his mouth exploring mine. To his hand on my face.

  And most of all, to the lovely thrill of a wonderful first date that I was clearly ready for.

  In fact, I was ready for the next one as soon as possible.

  * * *

  Still in a daze by the time I returned home, I slipped quietly in through the front door and into the living room. Jake was asleep on the couch, a book open on his lap and Carson passed out on his shoulder.

  My little brother, babysitter extraordinaire.

  I should wake them up and get Carson into his bed, but I figured that, while they slept, I might as well get into the shower.

  I still needed to stop buzzing after my date, after all.

  I tiptoed to my bedroom and ran the hot water, unzipping my dress as I remembered how Daniel’s hands had felt along the exposed skin.

  How his kiss had felt.

  How my mouth felt deliciously bruised in a way it hadn’t felt in years.

  As I started to pull the dress off my shoulders, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it and laughed.

  Of course it was Trish.

  Trish: Okay, I can’t take it anymore. How was it?

  I thought about Daniel’s hands in the dark, how his palm had grazed my thigh in the limo, daring me not to cry out and alert the driver.

  How, even after that, he’d been the perfect gentleman who walked me to my door.

  How he was somehow wicked and wild, sensitive and caring.

  Everything I could’ve hoped for and more.

  Christine: I can’t lie to you. You were right.

  I could practically hear Trish whooping in the distance, and when she sent back several winking emojis, I knew she’d be asking for more details soon. Before she could, another text popped up.

  One that made my heart stop and start at the same time.

  Daniel: I can’t stop thinking about you.

  I bit my lip and glanced in the mirror. The lace of my bra was visible, peeking out of the piece of the dress I’d started to pull down. My lipstick was smeared slightly from our kisses, and my hair was tangled around my shoulders.

  I could just take off the dress, step into the shower, and wash away the night.

  But Daniel couldn’t stop thinking about me.

  And I didn’t want him to stop.

  I took a picture of myself in the mirror and then fired it off to Daniel before I could second-guess myself.

  Tonight had been everything.

  And I intended to enjoy every last second that I could.

  28

  Kate

  A year later

  “C’mon! Beat that high score!”

  I cheered on my boyfriend and his nephew as they competed in a pinball competition.

  I had a feeling they were going to win. The two of them had been on a tear as pinball teammates in the last year, and I was so damn proud of them both.

  A few seconds later, the pinball machine lit up, and the Hamiltonians, as they called themselves, hit a new high score.

  I screamed my heart out, along with my vocal cords. But that was par for the course around Jake. My vocal cords always seemed to get a workout with my man.

  When the competition ended, I jumped into his arms, giving him a big, wet kiss. When I let go, I high-fived Carson, then I fist-bumped Christine.

  “Our boys rock,” I said.

  “That they do,” she seconded. Then she turned to her boyfriend. In the last year, she’d started dating again, and had found happiness with Daniel.

  Turned out Trish had played a part in that relationship too.

  My boss had quite the cupid in her, I’d learned.

  But that wasn’t surprising.

  Trish was the queen of this city, and she was a dealmaker. There was nothing she loved better than to seal the bargain, whether in business or love.

  * * *

  We said good night to the three of them after the tournament, and Jake and I went to one of our favorite spots—the scene of our first “scene.”

  The Rapture.

  We’d played many parts here in the last year, acted out many scenarios—pilot and flight attendant, boss and assistant, teacher and student.

  And we’d invented scenarios for many others.

  It was the place where we’d fallen into bed and fallen in love. For us, those two things were intertwined.

  As they should be.

  As we wound down the hall of The Extravagant toward the music pulsing from inside the club, Jake squeezed my hand. “What role do you want to play tonight?”

  I tapped my chin, contemplating our options. “How about—”

  I blinked, because Jake had disappeared from my peripheral vision. But he hadn’t actually vanished. At the speed of light, Jake had bent down on one knee, and I found him holding a small velvet box. His gaze locked with mine, his dark-brown eyes so vulnerable.

  “There’s one more important role I’d like to play with you. Kate Williams, you are brilliant and beautiful, captivating and kind, sexy
and sinful, the most wonderful friend, and the most incredible lover. The only other role I want you to play is my wife. Will you marry me?”

  I dropped to my knees too, threw my arms around him, and said yes.

  “I’ll take you up on that offer,” I said. “And I’ll bet we’ll make it last for all time.”

  “I’ll take that wager.” He slid a gorgeous diamond on my finger as tears of happiness streamed down my cheeks, and the future seemed like the surest bet of all.

  * * *

  Later, our friends joined us at the club to celebrate. Adam bought a bottle of champagne and toasted to us, claiming he was responsible for the union.

  I didn’t see a need to correct him.

  Besides, Jake had told me what Adam had said, and he had played a part after all.

  So many people had their own roles in getting us together, and I felt so lucky that they did. And how lucky was it that I’d decided to explore my fantasies that weekend?

  Now we’d have a lifetime of doing just that.

  As I drew Jake in for another kiss, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face on the dance floor.

  It belonged to a man who had played a part during a meaningful time in my life when he’d shared his thoughts on companionship, friendship, and kindness.

  The top escort for one of my biggest clients was dancing with the maid of honor from that fateful girls’ night out.

  And I was dying to know what their story was.

  29

  Antony

  I straightened my tie and adjusted my collar, which was just showing above the neck of the black graduation gown.

  I shifted my weight, the shoes I’d polished last night gleaming in the light. Old-fashioned, maybe, but something I’d never stopped doing for myself. My father had taught me, and he’d learned in the army. A spit shine was a lost art, even if it was hardly rocket science.

  I’d heard some variation of the “it’s not rocket science” joke 457 times since starting school.