Worse, she had a pristine dream list with nothing checked off.
Her eighteen-year-old self would be horrified.
Her twenty-eight-year-old self wasn’t that impressed, either.
But she was changing that. All she had to do was check off one thing. She could do that in Vegas, where no one would judge her or rein her in.
Christine sat down next to the slot machine as she considered her list. What about number nineteen? Climb Mount Rainier. Yeah, that’s in Washington state and she was in Nevada. Perhaps number eight? Get a tattoo. No. Christine immediately discarded that idea. It was too permanent. She needed to take a baby step.
Christine reached into her backpack for another dollar. She saw a movement from the corner of her eye and looked up to see a man stride down the aisle of slot machines.
Wow. Christine’s eyes widened. The man was tall and lean. She was mesmerized by the confident and smooth way he moved. Her gaze went from his scuffed boots and his powerful legs encased in low-riding, faded jeans. She noticed how his dark jacket hung from his broad shoulders and the way his white-collared shirt stretched against his muscular chest.
Christine glanced up and found herself staring. The man did little to control his dark wavy hair and her hands itched to sink into the softness. And then she would trail her fingers along his high cheekbones and angular jaw. She wanted to trace the grooves that bracketed his firm mouth and the lines that fanned from his sparkling brown eyes.
The man flashed a lopsided smile and Christine’s breath hitched in her throat. Excitement bubbled inside her, heating her body and pressing against her skin, ready to burst.
Christine slowly looked over her shoulder, wondering if he was smiling at a pretty waitress or an exotic dancer. No one was behind her.
She frowned and turned around. The handsome stranger stood in front of her. His smile was brighter, a slash of white against his golden-brown skin. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes.
“You have so many games to choose from and you try the slot machines?” The man’s husky voice sent a thrill down her spine. “Where’s the challenge in that?”
Why did that sound like a metaphor of her life? Christine cautiously returned his smile. “It doesn’t require any skill.”
“It’s also the simplest way to lose money.” He leaned against the machine. “The odds aren’t in your favor.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” She nervously shifted in her seat and felt the short hem inch up. “I don’t think the casino will offer a sure thing.”
“Depends on what you’re looking for.”
Christine saw the gleam of interest in his eyes. She dragged air into her lungs as her skin felt tight and flushed.
No, no, no. She shouldn’t entertain this idea. He was just chatting with her. He wasn’t flirting. He wasn’t suggesting he was a sure thing. That was just wishful thinking on her part.
Anyway, hot sex was not on her list. There was no mention of a fling or a one-night stand.
But that didn’t stop her from allowing her gaze to drift down his body. There should be something about sex on her dream list, she thought as she bit down on her bottom lip. Something impossibly wild. A fantasy that would rock her world.
In fact, there was no reason why she couldn’t add this sexy stranger to the list.
“I’m Christine.” She held out her hand and belatedly realized her formal manner.
He wrapped his large, calloused hand around hers. He was big. Strong and masculine. She hoped he didn’t feel the fluttering pulse at her wrist.
“Travis.”
Hello, Travis. Otherwise known as number one hundred and one: have a weekend fling.
She froze as the words tumbled in her mind. One hundred and one. This was a mistake. How could she add him to the list when she hadn’t crossed anything off? Was she trying to sabotage her goals the moment her vacation started?
Christine reluctantly withdrew her hand from his grasp. She immediately missed the warm, masculine touch, but she tightly folded her hands on her lap.
She wasn’t going to get distracted from her dream list. Especially not with a man. She couldn’t let that happen again.
TRAVIS WAS SURPRISED at Christine’s withdrawal. One moment he saw the glow in her eyes and the next moment she’d banked it. It was as if she took one look at him and decided pursuing him wasn’t a good idea. That he wasn’t a good idea.
It wasn’t the first time for him. Good girls and proper ladies kept their distance...unless they were looking for a good time. He was a momentary lapse of judgment or a vacation from real life.
He felt a twinge of disappointment that Christine wasn’t going to act on the instant attraction. He liked the way she’d looked at him. It was a mix of excitement and trepidation. Anticipation and doubt. He knew that feeling—it was what he experienced every time he was about to embark on a great adventure.
He liked the idea of being someone’s great adventure, and he wanted to see that wicked glow in her eyes again. Hold on to the promise of something special. It had nothing to do with his goal to blend in and everything to do with exploring the wild streak he saw inside her.
Travis knew he would have to be careful in his pursuit. He realized now that Christine wasn’t as bold as she appeared. Despite the sexy dress that hugged her curves and the thirst for adventure in her serious brown eyes, this woman was quiet and reserved.
He should have picked up on that in the way she checked out the casino when she first stepped inside, but he wasn’t used to hesitant women. This one observed before she moved forward. She didn’t run headfirst into a situation, nor did she see an opportunity and grab it.
This was a woman who considered the pros and cons. She saw potential problems before she saw possibilities. He remembered how his grandmother used to do that and he always pushed himself to do the opposite. His mind-set worked because most people he met on his travels were impulsive, ready to forget common sense in their quest to go crazy before they had to return to their real life.
“What brings you to Vegas?” Travis asked. She was playing the slot machines with a decided lack of interest but was perched on the gold seat as if she were waiting for something wonderful to happen.
Christine was an intriguing puzzle. He felt the buzz of interest in his veins. Normally he felt like this right before he stepped into uncharted territory. But those times he knew the payoff would be big. Christine wasn’t a sure thing but she was the challenge he was looking for in Vegas.
She tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look. “What makes you think I’m not from around here?”
Where should he start? Her attire was wrong for a casino and a Las Vegas native would know that. She was dressed more for a nightclub. He could also tell that the desert sun never touched her pale skin. Travis curled his fingers as he imagined she would be smooth and silky to the touch.
There was also the fact that she was dragging around a bag that had an airline sticker on it. He gave a casual shrug. “Just a wild guess.”
“Do you live here?” she asked as she gave him a longer, more thorough look. “Is that how you can tell?”
“No, I don’t have a home base.” After feeling trapped in his childhood home, he chose not to have a permanent address these days. In the past few months he had lived everywhere from a hut in Belize to a pickup truck along Route 66. He made good money along the way. Once he picked up a skill, he turned around and taught them to tourists. He could do anything from teaching people how to surf to guiding them through the jungle. “I don’t really see the