“No!” Her eyes widened. “That would kill Benedict!”
“You sound as if you like the guy.”
“Of course I do. I always have. He was nice to me, didn’t treat me like a little tagalong. Mr. Thatcher likes him, too.”
Remembering that moment at the table when he’d looked into Benedict’s tortured gaze, Luke sighed. “I kind of like him, too. But don’t you think the Cartwrights deserved to go down?”
“I was angry with Harrison, but he’s already dead. I’m sorry, but I never thought Vaughn and Benedict were our enemies. I was sad when the feud started. I liked the Cartwright family. And Benedict loved that bar. I’ll bet losing it was the worst thing that’s ever happened to him.”
“Then he shouldn’t have put it on the line.”
“I bet I know why he did.” Cynthia stretched out her long legs and propped her bare feet on the coffee table. “He probably was sick of staring at the Silver Crescent, and he had even more reason to hate looking at it, because the Cartwrights used to own it.”
“I guess that could be true.”
“I also bet he wanted to prove himself to Vaughn, just like I’ve always wanted to prove myself to you.” She glanced over at him. “I know how that feels.”
“You don’t have to prove yourself to me.” Emotion tightened his throat. “I’ll love you no matter what.”
She swallowed. “Backatcha, big brother.” She held his gaze for several seconds, and then she smiled. “Wow, we’re getting mushy, huh?”
“Guess so.” He cleared his throat. “You really think I should sell it to Benedict?”
“I do.”
“I don’t know if he has the money to buy it.”
“Vaughn would float him a loan. I’d lay odds on that. And you won’t have the humiliation of the bar losing business under your ownership, which I think it might.”
“It might.” He hadn’t wanted to admit his fear of that happening, but he knew Benedict had been popular with the customers. Building customer loyalty to the new regime would take time he didn’t have.
“Have I convinced you?”
He blew out a breath. “Yeah, you have. Don’t take this wrong, but you would have made one hell of a lawyer.”
“I know.” She looked smug. “But I’ll make an even better dancer. Ready to go down to the Moon?”
“Might as well. It won’t be ours much longer. Once I sell it back to Benedict, we’ll have to pay for our drinks, and chances are he’ll charge us double.”
“You, maybe.” Cynthia winked at him. “Me, he likes.”
Giselle had a million questions for her brother and a few for Mr. Thatcher, too, but she waited until they’d left the Silver Crescent through the back door. “Let’s stop a minute,” she said. “We can’t go into the playground right now. It’s too risky.”
“Precisely,” Mr. Thatcher said. “I simply wanted a chance to talk with both of you alone and let you know that Benedict and I are scheduled to make our first inspection after closing time tonight. We’ve arranged to meet at two in the morning. I wanted to offer you a chance to accompany us.”
“I’m up for it,” Bryce said.
“I probably can’t.” Giselle expected to spend her last night in Vegas with Luke. She glanced at Bryce. “So you know about how the blocked-off entrance works now?”
“Mr. Thatcher and I had a very brief moment alone when Cynthia was in the bathroom. He had just enough time to tell me about it.”
The butler glanced back at the Silver Crescent. “I suggest we move on and actually have that drink at the Moon, in case Luke and Cynthia come looking for us.”
“Good idea,” Giselle said. “By the way, brother of mine, were you the one who planted the idea of Luke selling back to Benedict?”
He smiled. “I might have been.”
She gave him a hug. “Well done. Now let’s go have a drink and hope that Cynthia talks Luke into it.”
“I sincerely hope so.” Mr. Thatcher fell into step on one side of her.
Bryce took the other side. “And if she fails, Sis, I figure you can take a shot at convincing him. You seem to have the inside track.”
She had a feeling she was busted, but she didn’t know for sure. “Don’t start with me, Bryce Landry. Not after you gave me a heart attack when I thought you might be getting cozy with a human.”
“The difference is, I didn’t actually get cozy with a human, while you definitely did.”
“You have no proof of that.”
Ahead of them, Mr. Thatcher cleared his throat. “I’m afraid he does.”
“Oh.”
Bryce leaned closer. “Was it good? The chocolate, I mean.”
She elbowed him in the ribs.
He grunted. “Easy, Sis. I have to be well enough to travel, you know.”
“Are you traveling with me tomorrow?”
“I am, and by the way, my camera phone is loaded with pictures of chocolate.”
“Bryce, if you tell anyone about this—and I mean anyone—I have an entire list of your previous crimes that will go public immediately.”
“I won’t tell, at least not right away. I value the blackmail potential, so I’m saving it for something really big.”
“You’d better be kidding.”
He chuckled. “You’ll have to find that out, won’t you? Incidentally, there’s one surefire way to neutralize the threat.”
“I’m sure it involves paying you large sums of money.”
“I wasn’t thinking about that, but I’ll file it away for future consideration. If you want to end my blackmail prospects forever, though, you could mate with the dude.”
“What?” She came to a halt on the sidewalk outside the Moon.
“All the best families are doing it. Even I can see he’s crazy about you and would treat you right. He didn’t endear himself to me at first, but the guy’s grown on me. I think you’d be happy together.”
“You’re talking crazy.”
“I’m perfectly sincere. I’ve come to admire the guy. He took my jokes in stride. And I’m not an easy sell when it comes to my little sister’s future mate. Yes, he does have a tiny flaw, but—”
“It’s not tiny!”
“That’s your opinion. Others would differ. Looks to me as if the only obstacle is your prejudice against the concept.”
“That is not the only obstacle. I’m thinking of him! It would drastically change his life. He’d have to sell his company and uproot himself from a city he loves. Worse than that, he’d have to keep the secret from his sister, and despite what we’ve been through with those two, they’re devoted to each other.”
Mr. Thatcher turned around and joined them. “I hope you don’t mind if I put an oar in.”
“Go right ahead.” Giselle looked at her brother. “This fine Were, Mr. Thatcher, has been a second father to Luke and Cynthia. I doubt he’ll be enthusiastic about your wild plan to upend their lives.”
“On the contrary. I snatched this time for the three of us partly so that I could invite you both to the playground, but also because I was hoping we could discuss this very topic. I’ve never seen Luke so besotted with anyone as he is with you. I always urge caution in these matters, but . . . I believe he would be happier with you, despite the obvious difficulties, than without you.”
Giselle stared at him. “With all due respect, no, he would not. He loves Vegas and he loves his sister. He could never tell her the truth about his life, and that would be cruel to both of them. I wouldn’t dream of saddling him with that burden.”
“Too bad you won’t give him a chance to weigh in on the subject,” Bryce said.
Mr. Thatcher’s attention was distracted by something directly behind them. “Our conversation is at an end,” he said in a low voice. Then he stepped back and waved. “It appears you’ve finished your discussion!”