“Yes.”
“Are you ready to do that?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“First I’m s’posed to tell you something.” She took a deep breath and blew it out again. Then she looked up and began to recite. “Dancing is good for people. People . . .” Her smooth little forehead wrinkled. “People are . . . very happy when they dance! There. That’s it. You can have the envelope now.” She shoved it toward him.
“Thank you, Ella.” Luke took it as if accepting a Nobel Prize. “And thank you for delivering the message.” He stood.
“It’s true!” Released from her responsibilities, Ella grew more animated. “Dancing is great!” She began hopping from one foot to the other. “My dance teacher, Miss Pam, she entered us in this dance contest, and we’re all here in Las Vegas, and this is what I wore, except I had to take off my ballet shoes so they wouldn’t get all dirty, and we’re having so much fun!” She jumped up and down and would have lost her tiara if she hadn’t clapped her hand to her head at the last minute.
“Time to go, Ella.” Her mother came over. “You delivered your message, so let’s leave this man and his friend in peace.”
“Okay.” Ella glanced up at Giselle as if noticing her for the first time. “Are you a dancer, too?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“That’s too bad. If you were a dancer, you could be in this contest. There’s a whole bunch of us. Even mommies are in this contest.” She swung her arms wide. “Wanna see me do something?” She placed one sneakered foot against her calf, balanced on her other foot, and put her hands together over her head. She wobbled only a little bit.
Giselle clapped enthusiastically. “Bravo!”
“That’s lovely, Ella,” her mother said. “Now we need to go. Everyone’s ready to leave.” She smiled at Luke and Giselle. “The woman who gave us the envelope showed us the picture. She said it was important that you get it back and that you’d understand what it was all about.”
“I do,” Luke said. “Your daughter is something else.”
The woman laughed. “Oh, yes. She is definitely a dancer! I swear she was dancing before she was born. I could feel her twirling around in there. Well, have a nice night.” Holding Ella’s hand, she walked away.
Luke stared after them. “My mother used to say that about Cynthia. That she could feel her dancing before she was born.”
Giselle chose to keep quiet. If that adorable little girl hadn’t turned the tables for Cynthia, nothing would. Anything Giselle said now might dilute the Ella effect.
After watching mother and daughter join a group of other parents herding a large group of girls in black leotards, Luke turned to Giselle. His expression was unreadable. “That must have been the grand finale of that stunt.”
“Guess so. Listen, I should find a cab and get back to Illusions.”
“My driver’s on his way. Let me drop you there.”
Refusing seemed unnecessarily abrupt. “All right.”
He hesitated. “If this is out of line, just say so, but when we’re together I feel like we’re a team. When you head off to your hotel, it’s as if the team’s broken up.”
“But Illusions is where I’m staying.”
“I understand that, but . . .” He glanced away in frustration, but when he looked into her eyes again, his gaze was completely open. “I’m going to level with you. I’ve had completely inappropriate thoughts about us, but that’s over.”
“I’m glad.” And she was, wasn’t she? If her heart started racing because he’d admitted he wanted her, she’d get over that inconvenient reaction. “This isn’t the time or place.”
“I realize that, so you have nothing to worry about from me. But the thing is, I’m more confident that Cynthia’s deal will come to a reasonable conclusion—”
“I don’t know what you mean by a reasonable conclusion.”
“Hell, neither do I. And that’s the point I’m trying to make. Talking it out with you, face-to-face, helps me sort out my thoughts. I didn’t realize how much I depended on your insights until you went back to Illusions. Like I said, it was as if the team had broken up.”
She took a calming breath. “What are you suggesting?”
“Check out of Illusions and stay in the penthouse.”
“No.” Her senses went on red alert. “That’s not a good idea.”
“The place is huge, even bigger than it looks. You’ll have your own room. But the main thing is, when there’s a new development, you’ll be right there. We can discuss it together.” His phone pinged and he glanced at it. “That’s Jim with the car. He’s pulling up now.”
But Giselle was no longer paying attention. She’d caught the unmistakable scent of her brother, and he was close, very close. “Luke, wait here.” Instinct kept her from mentioning that she thought her brother was mere feet away. She wouldn’t be able to explain how she knew, and maybe Bryce only wanted to connect with her, not Luke. “I’ll be right back.”
His blue gaze sharpened. “What is it?”
“A feeling. Stay here, okay?”
“But—”
“Please.”
“All right.” His jaw flexed. “I’ll text Jim and have him wait at the curb. He won’t be able to stay there long.”
“I won’t be long.” Turning, she searched the crowd going in and out of the Venetian. Then, following her nose, she headed toward a tall blond guy. Except he wasn’t a guy. He was Bryce.
He walked away, and she followed. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that Luke was nowhere in sight. She’d asked for his cooperation and he’d given it. She appreciated the effort that must have taken for a guy who liked to be in charge.
Bryce drew her deeper into the crowd, but at last he turned around and stopped. The blond wig was a good one. He looked sort of like Brad Pitt when the actor was younger.
Although he seemed to be alone, Giselle glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cynthia.
“She’s not here.”
She looked into her brother’s eyes, their green a shade lighter than hers. “Where is she?”
“Somewhere else. Listen, I don’t know how long before Dalton comes looking for you, so I’ll make this quick. He’s right. You’re a good influence on him. Cynthia loves the guy and wants him to be on board with her choices. The more time you spend with him, the better.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking. He’s . . . interested in me.”
Bryce laughed. “Of course he is. You’re a knockout. But he’s barking up the wrong tree, poor guy. I’m not worried about you. You can handle him. Cynthia reminds me of you, which is why I want to help her. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. I’d better go.” He turned.
“Wait.” She caught his arm. “Are you involved with her?”
He shook his head. “I wish I felt that way about her, because she’s cool, but I don’t. We’ve talked about it. No chemistry for either of us.” He shot her a quick grin. “Feel better?”
“Yes. Infinitely.”
“Then I’m off. Don’t follow me.” He slipped into the crowd. His scent lingered for a few seconds and then was swept away as several women wearing strong perfume walked past.
As Giselle made her way back to Luke, her thoughts were jumbled. She’d been face-to-face with her brother and had been so distracted by the issues with Luke and Cynthia that she hadn’t asked him the question that had brought her here. She still didn’t know if he wanted to be the Landry pack alpha or not.
But she was reassured that he hadn’t fallen in love with Cynthia. That was something to hold on to. Now she had to decide what to do about Luke.
Luke paced while he waited, although pacing wasn’t easy in an area of high pedestrian traffic. He felt certain she’d caught a glimpse of her brother and thought she had a better chance of talking to him if she went after him alone. She could be right, but he wished she’d trusted him enough to say that.