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      This book is dedicated to Matt! Thanks for a fabulous wedding night and all the nights that have come after!

      ACKNOWLEDGMENT

      Special thanks to Chris Green who answered all of my Vegas questions and gave me an insider’s perspective.

      Thanks also to Natashya Wilson and Debbie Matteucci for their editing insight!

      One

      Long legs, expensive silk hose and the kind of hips that he could sink his fingers into. She had it all. She always had. Hayden still couldn’t believe Shelby Anne Paxton was here in his kingdom. He’d never thought to see her again.

      Her calves were well formed, tapering down to trim ankles and a pair of stilettos that sent his libido into overdrive.

      The Chimera Hotel and Casino was his life. The 24/7 world of Vegas had always been his home. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the success of the hotel and casino. He’d sacrificed to make it into one of the premier destinations on the Vegas Strip. And he owed it all to this woman who hadn’t believed in him and to his father.

      Hayden had made the Chimera the number-one casino in Vegas to prove that their lack of faith wasn’t an obstacle in getting what he wanted from life.

      His entire operation was first-class, right down to the hotel’s own shopping wing, which housed only sophisticated retailers. Always expanding and changing, it was about to add Bêcheur d’Or, a high-end lingerie boutique.

      Bêcheur d’Or was on the fast track to the top. It’s owners, Paige Williams and Shelby, had been profiled in Entrepreneur magazine earlier this year. Apparently Shelby had made more of his money than he’d ever expected her to.

      But it had been Paige with whom he’d spoken to cinch the deal, and Paige with whom he’d met to sign the contract. Funny that Shelby had shown up here and now, especially considering he’d never expected her back in Vegas after she’d left him standing at the altar.

      A long, low wolf whistle jolted Hayden back to the present and the hallway outside the newest merchandise location at the Chimera. “Well, well, well. What have we here?”

      Hayden turned to see the tall, lean, dark-haired form of his best friend stroll up. Pain tightened in his gut. He didn’t want even Deacon Prescott to know who this woman was. He’d simply referred to her as the gold digger that one time he’d gotten drunk and talked to Deacon about his marriage.

      Hayden glanced at Deacon and fought the surge of possessiveness swamping him. “You’re a married man.”

      “Definitely. But that doesn’t mean I’m dead. Besides, Kylie knows I’d never stray.”

      Deacon and Kylie had been married for almost two years now and things were going well. They were the exception to Hayden’s golden rule that marriage was a business deal.

      “No, you wouldn’t,” Hayden said more to himself than to Deacon. Deacon had found something that Hayden would never admit he’d once wanted. His friend had found forever love and happiness. As for Hayden…well, he’d learned his lesson long ago.

      Still, Hayden didn’t begrudge his friend. Deacon had come a long way from the man Hayden had first met several years ago. A long way from the mob enforcer who’d wanted to go straight, longing for a better life that he didn’t know how to find. Now Deacon owned the Golden Dream, a very successful resort and casino that was second only to the Chimera in terms of success.

      Deacon had also found love and seemed to buy into the whole illusion of it since his marriage. Hayden knew better then to try it himself.

      He wished the ending for his own story had been as happy, but reality had a way of making sure the scales were kept firmly balanced. And to Hayden’s way of thinking, if you grew up with every luxury money could buy but a father who couldn’t seem to love you, then something had to give. For Hayden it had always been the softer things.

      “Are you going to go inside or just stand in the doorway?” Deacon asked.

      Normally he’d walk on by, but not today. “I’m waiting for the right moment.”

      “And that would be when?” Deacon asked.

      “When you get the hell out of here.”

      “You didn’t leave me alone when I went after Kylie.”

      “Hey, we had a bet. I had to keep tabs on you,” Hayden said. He’d bet Deacon that Kylie wouldn’t marry him. It was one of the few times that Hayden had lost when he’d gambled, but he hadn’t minded the loss.

      “Want to make another wager?” Deacon asked. “Only this time—”

      “I’m not looking for Ms. Right like you were.”

      “Why aren’t you, Mac?” Deacon asked. His friend always called him by that nickname. It was a holdover from when they’d first met and Deacon had needled Hayden about being the “Mac Daddy.” The big guy with lots of cash.

      “You know I already tried marriage and didn’t find it to my liking,” he said, playing off the incident as if it were nothing more than a minor inconvenience, instead of a life-defining moment.

      “But you didn’t make it to the finish line, so to speak,” Deacon said.

      “I got close enough,” Hayden said. No woman was ever again going to get him to stand in front of a church full of his friends and family and wait for her. There were few feelings he could recall as clearly as the humiliation and anger that had simmered in his gut as he’d faced all of his guests and told them that the bride wasn’t coming.

      Was it getting closer to forty that was catching up with him or was it Deacon’s happy union?

      “That doesn’t mean it won’t work with another woman. This one looks fine.”

      “Deacon, stop staring at her ass or I’m going to

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