All In (2 page)

Brrring.

Startled, she glanced at the phone. God, was it Tucker? Could Davina have worked that quickly? With a suddenly sweaty palm, she picked up the receiver and looked at the caller ID. It wasn’t a number she recognized.

“Thank you for calling Chocolate Fantasies. This is Mariah. Can I help you?”

“Yes, my name is Rhonda Jones and I’d like to order a wedding cake.
 It’s a bit of a rush job. I need it on Monday.”

“A rush wedding job? Hey, this is Vegas,” Mariah said with a laugh. “How many guests are we feeding?”

“Twenty or so.”

“No problem then.”

As she took down the customer’s information and made an appointment to meet that evening, Mariah relaxed. Her heart had gone into overdrive at the notion of talking to Tucker on the phone. With all this UWF craziness going on, she had imagined him calling her up and saying, “Hey, baby, what are you wearing? I hope it’s nothing, because for the past six years, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”

But it wasn’t him. It was just another order.

As I.C. Tucker approached the sleek black limousine, he nodded at the driver. It was Al, a guy who had driven him many times over the years.

“How was your flight, Mr. Tucker?” Al asked, rounding the rear of the limo and opening the trunk.

“Pretty good,” Tucker replied.

“Win any good pots lately?”

Tucker chuckled as he slung his bag into the trunk. “Enough to be able to walk away from a game in the Bahamas.”

Not just “a game”, though. One of the biggest of the year—the Island Poker Invitational. Jesus, Tucker thought as he got into the car, he must be crazy to walk away from that. The prize pool was going to be upward of two million, but he’d had no choice.

Al got behind the wheel and pulled out into traffic. “I’ve never been to the Bahamas,” he said.

Tucker slouched in the leather seat and stretched his legs out. What a relief after being cramped in the airplane all day. “The Bahamas is one of the most beautiful places in the world, Al. Beaches, babes and booze.”

“Sounds like a paradise. Why are you in Vegas then? Nothing big going on here unless you count the ADA Convention. Fifty thousand dentists. I hate dentists. They’re lousy tippers.”

Tucker laughed. “I got called in to watch my good buddy Tony go down for the count.”

Al eyed him in the rearview mirror. “But there aren’t any boxing matches scheduled either.”

“No, I mean he’s tying the knot. It’s a spur of the moment thing.”

Al laughed. “Well, he came to the right town for that.”

“Yeah. I’m anxious to meet his bride. She’d better be one hell of a woman.”

* * * * *

The first thing Tucker did upon arrival was check in with the man who always took care of his accommodations, meals, tabs and so on while he was at the Venetian. He wanted to make sure Tony and Rhonda had been taken care of. Dustin assured him that the move from the Ace High where they had been staying before had been painless and that the soon-to-be-wedded couple was now comfortably ensconced in the hedonistic Prima Suite.

“Remember,” Tucker said, “I want everything charged to me. And I mean everything. The chapel rental, the reception…if they buy lip balm in the gift shop, I’m picking it up.”

“Of course, sir.” Dustin handed Tucker his room key. “Ms. Mercier is meeting with them right now working out the details of the wedding and reception. I have a note for you here and I took the liberty of obtaining your usual bankroll for you.”

Tucker took everything from him, signed the slip, then peeled off a fifty. “You’re right on top of things as usual. Thanks, Dustin.”

“My pleasure, sir.”

Tucker read Tony’s scrawled note on the elevator ride up.
“Holy fuck. You’re out of your mind! But I’m not complaining. I know you can afford it. Come to our room as soon as you blow into town. Rhonda wants to meet you.”

Tucker wanted to meet her too. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Al she’d better be one hell of a woman. He and Tony were like brothers, inseparable since grade school. It was only four years ago, when Tucker moved to Atlantic City, that they’d lived in different cities. But even with a few thousand miles between them, he and Tony were as close as ever, and Tucker wasn’t about to see his best friend jump into a quickie Vegas marriage with the wrong woman.

A little before eight p.m., he went to Tony’s room. The Prima Suite had a private hallway off the elevator where a vase of fresh flowers and a bowl of Godiva chocolates rested on a refined birch table. But someone else was standing at the door to the suite, ringing the doorbell.

Their gazes met and the woman’s eyes went wide, her cheeks pale. In fact, she stumbled back to lean unsteadily against the wall. That’s when, to Tucker’s astonishment, he realized he knew the woman.
Had
known her. In the Biblical way.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, concerned. “Mariah, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I’m fine. I’m fine,” she stammered, tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear. “I’m just…really surprised to see you.”

“Yeah, me too.” He wasn’t sure if he should shake her hand or what. The last time he’d seen her, they’d been naked.

He’d met her in Palm Springs, a Californian destination of choice for college kids on spring break. They’d both entered an amateur poker tournament, a first for both of them. After the games had concluded, they’d really hit it off, talking for hours in an open-air café on Palm Canyon. Afterward they’d found their way back to Tucker’s room for a long night of hot, sweaty sex—the kind of sex that stood out in his memory like a bonfire on the beach.

The next morning they’d parted ways amicably and, at least on his part, with considerable regret because it had been more than great sex. It had seemed to him like the more they’d talked, the more they’d connected. It was like when night was coming and a couple of lights went on here and there, and then a few more, and a few more, until eventually the entire city was aglow. Mariah was definitely the type of girl he would have followed up with, but with him living in San Jose at the time and she in Vegas, trying to pursue a relationship seemed a lesson in futility.

He looked at her now, six years later, and felt the same connection. It didn’t feel like any time had gone by at all. If they started talking again, he was sure they’d just pick up their conversation like it had been yesterday.

Either that or they’d tear each other’s clothes off.

Wearing a pair of chinos and a pink blouse, she was carrying a file that blocked his view of her breasts. And God help him, he remembered her breasts. They’d been really sensitive. The slightest touch had gotten her hot and bothered, so he’d fondled and sucked on them a lot that night. She even came once when he’d pinched the nipples. Nothing like giving a woman multiple orgasms to boost a man’s pride. Or stiffen his cock, for that matter.

The door to the suite flew open.

“Tuck!” Tony bellowed. He was a hulk, six feet tall with a chest like a barrel. He yanked Tucker into a bear hug that had him gasping for breath.

“God, it’s great to see you! Come on in. Rhonda’s been dying to meet you.” Tony turned to Mariah. “And you must be the cake lady. Come in, come in, both of you.”

Tucker entered the marble foyer, nodding with approval at the sumptuous rooms. He had asked Dustin to spare no expense and the man had done them up right. The décor was the epitome of elegance, like something out of a ritzy magazine. Tucker was no interior designer, but he knew good taste when he saw it. The peach and brown colors made him feel welcome, as did the pretty woman turning to greet him. She had short hair and huge Audrey Hepburn brown eyes. When he stepped down into the sunken living room, she beamed and walked toward him with both hands outstretched.

“Tucker,” she said, kissing his cheek. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. Tony has talked my ear off about you. I can’t believe that not only did you move us here to the most beautiful hotel I’ve ever seen, but you’re offering to pay for our entire wedding. Tony’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

Tucker glanced at Mariah, a little embarrassed. While he was glad to have enough money to spoil his friends with, he didn’t necessarily like his wealth to be advertised.

“It’s not an offer,” he said. “It’s a done deal. And Tony and I are more than friends.”

“Yeah, we’re lovers, honey,” Tony said, throwing his arm around Tucker’s shoulders. “Later, you, me and him, we’re gonna have us a threesome.”

“Oh are we?” Rhonda said.

“Yeah, hot and heavy, two on one. What do you say?” Tony said, an exaggerated leer on his face.

Putting one hand on her hip, Rhonda winked at Tucker then said to Tony, “Need help satisfying me, T-man?”

Tony blinked a couple of times. “Wh-what? Hell no,” Tony sputtered. “That’s not what I meant…”

With a soft chuckle, Rhonda went to him and placed her hands on his broad chest. “I know, silly,” she said warmly.

Then she whispered something in his ear, and that’s when Tucker realized Tony had it bad. The big guy practically melted into a puddle of sentimental goo, and even though it was vaguely sickening, Tucker felt a little jealous. It had been awhile since he’d been involved with a woman in a more than casual way.

“I hate to break up this love fest,” Mariah said with an amused smile on her face, “but I have some sketches I wanted to show you.”

Rhonda’s eyes lit up. “Yes!” She grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled him over to the couch. “I think you’re really going to like this.”

They all sat down around the coffee table where Mariah displayed a colorful rendering of a cake shaped like—

“Our cars!” Tony shouted. He pointed to the Corvette, exclaiming, “That’s where I proposed to her!”

Tony had been restoring a beat-up ’75 Corvette for going on eleven years. Piece by piece he’d fixed it up, painstakingly hunting down the parts he needed, and he still wasn’t done. Tucker wasn’t sure he’d ever be done, but Tony’s joy was in the process. And apparently Rhonda shared a love of classic cars. When Tony had called him to announce the engagement, Tucker had been treated to a good half hour of Rhonda accolades. Number one on the list was that she was a car aficionado too. She came from a family of car buffs.

As the others discussed cake and filling flavors, Tucker examined Mariah’s drawing. It was pretty impressive, depicting the ’Vette and Rhonda’s ’67 VW microbus in minute detail, down to a “Just Married” sign hanging suspended between the vehicles. On the VW, one of the transom-style front windows was open, making it seem as if the car was winking.

Tucker would never have suspected this degree of talent from the girl he’d met so long ago. From what he remembered, she had been at a crossroads, unsure what direction her life was going to take. He was interested to see how she got into the cake business.

“So how did you two meet?” Mariah asked as she tucked the sketches back into the file.

Rhonda smiled. “At my parents’ garage sale. My dad had advertised that he had some spare Corvette parts and Tony came by to check them out. The minute he drove up, I fell in love.” She sighed. “With his car.”

Slapping his thigh, Tony guffawed. “See why I love her, Tuck?”

Mariah laughed too. “That was when?” she asked.

“Only seven weeks ago,” Rhonda said.

“That fast!” Mariah exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “I always thought it would take me a long time to decide if a certain woman was the right one, but it didn’t. I knew within the first hour of talking with her that she was it. It was like getting hit with a ton of bricks.”

Rhonda mock punched her fiancé. “See why I love him, Mariah? It’s not every girl who gets to be compared to masonry.”

They spent a few more minutes discussing the details of delivery, the cost and such before Mariah stood to go. Tucker decided to leave too. It had been a long day and he hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Besides, Rhonda and Tony clearly wanted some privacy. They’d been holding hands and making lovey-dovey eyes at each other for the past fifteen minutes.

Out in the hallway, he and Mariah approached the elevator.

“So I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me,” he said, pressing the button.

“Of course I remember you,” she said, her cheeks turning the color of a Cosmopolitan. A crease appeared in her brow. “It’s not like you blended in with the scores of guys that I’ve slept with.”

Tucker grimaced. This was not the way he’d hoped the conversation would go.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said.

“No, I’m sorry. I know you didn’t.” She sighed as a soft ping announced the arrival of the elevator. “It’s just…I feel really awkward.”

“You shouldn’t,” he said as the doors slid open. “How about we grab a bite downstairs and catch up with each other? What do you say?”

“I think that’d be great.”

They stepped inside and he pressed the lobby button. As she looked up at him, she licked her lips, and even though he knew he shouldn’t, he found himself eyeing her breasts. God, how he wanted to cup them in his hands and hear her moan again, feel the nipples harden again against his palms. Was she really as hot as he remembered or had his brain just wishfully embellished the memories?