Cypress starts to observe him, his eyes drifting around the room here and there so that it isn’t obvious, but always returning to the man at the table. Narrowing when the waitress returns with a new whiskey and receives similar treatment. “That one,” he agrees.
“Gentlemen.” Cypress’s voice booms as we approach the table, his expression all inviting smiles. “How are you this evening?”
The gray-haired gentleman looks up, eyes Cypress, then says, “This is a private game.”
“Course, course it is,” Cypress agrees, his words sounding almost slurred although I know he hasn’t had a drop to drink. “But surely there’s room foronemore?”
“Piss off, would you?” the man replies.
“Oh, come now,” Cypress pleads, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “My money is good, I swear it. I can play.”
The man knocks his hand away then stands up to his full height, and with the way Cypress is currently slouching as if cowed, the man at least gets to think he has the advantage in size. “I told you—”
“Sorry,” I say, stepping out from behind Cypress and tugging at his arm with an embarrassed and apologetic grimace. “I’m so sorry. We’ll go.”
I start back toward the doors, dragging Cypress with me, but the man’s arm shoots out to grab mine almost as soon as our backs are turned. I look up at Cypress and see his eyes narrow at the point of contact, temper flashing, but there’s no trace of it left when we face the man again, especially once he offers, “We might have a spot after all. Two, if your girl will sit with us as well.” The other men at the table seem less certain, but he’s already waving over chairs and holding out his hand to shake. “Name’s David. What’s yours?”
David looks at me when he asks, but Cypress is the one to answer. “Cypress. And this lovely flower is my wife Cora.” He gazes down at me with a soft smile. “Gorgeous, isn’t she?”
I blush, not having to act when the affection in his gaze looks so genuine.
“Certainly is,” David agrees, holding out a chair between him and Cypress for me to sit. “Hope you really are a betting man…Cinder, was it?”
Cypress nods cheerfully, not bothering to correct him as he fumbles to pull his pocketbook out of his coat. Every man at the table leans forward when they see the thick stack of money. “How much to deal me in?”
“Oh.” David reaches forward and plucks several of the larger bills out before tossing them in the center. “That’ll do for now.” David’s gaze turns to me, his eyes scanning me up and down, holding at the rouge on my mouth the same way that Cypress and Aiden did, although the feeling it inspires in me is entirely different. “We’ll see where the night leads us,” David says, running his thumb across his tongue before he picks up his cards. “Won’t we?”
Beneath the table, Cypress’s hand finds mine and gives it a quick squeeze. I squeeze back to let him know I’m fine as I smile and bat my eyes at the man on my other side the way Cynthia had mentioned yesterday. Judging by the way David chucklesand shakes his head, he seems to like it.Interesting.
Not long after the dealer brings Cypress in, the first hand gets played to its conclusion. And, as I expected he would, Cypress loses fantastically.
“Must be having an off night,” he says, frowning at me in apology. “One more hand and then we’ll go.”
“What’s the rush?” David asks, pulling in another sizable stack of winnings. “You have some place better to be?”
“Well…” Cypress glances at me. “It’s supposed to be our honeymoon.”
“That right? Well, she’s having fun, aren’t you, darlin’?”
Aren’t you, darlin’?As soon as the words leave his mouth, I could swear they were in Jake’s voice rather than David’s, and I jerk away as the back of David’s finger grazes my bare upper arm where he thinks Cypress can’t see. The way he goes tense next to me tells me he does.
“Are you cold, little bird?” Cypress asks me, covering my reaction and deterring David at the same time by placing his arm around my shoulders as he bends his head close to my ear. “Do you want to go?”
I shake my head subtly, my smile back on my face so we look to everyone else like the two newlyweds we are pretending to be. Stealing a private conversation in a public place. “I’m fine. Besides, if we go now, you won’t get your money back.”
“I don’t give a damn about the money, Cora. I could be losing ten times this sum and the question would be the same. Do you want to go?”
At my other side, David gives a grunt of impatience at us keeping him waiting. “Your turn, Cinder. Unless yourwifeis already bringing you to heel.” He laughs, but given that the others at the table have already lost nearly the amount Cypress just mentioned, he’s the only one.
Beneath the table, I find Cypress’s hand and squeeze it again.Wordlessly letting him know that I’m still all right. That I still want to help, even if he seems to be having second thoughts. I also, now more than ever, want to see David lose.
“What do you do for work?” I ask him, leaning my elbow against the table and giving David what I hope is a sweet smile as Cypress plays his hand and the game resumes.
“Used to be in the oil business,” he replies, chest swelling with pride.
I let my eyes go big as I say, “I can’t think of anything more fitting for a man like you.”
Next to me, Cypress coughs, turning away before coming back to his hand with a barely concealed smile. “How much to call?”