Read Gambling with Gabriella (Menage MfM Romance Novel) (Playing For Love Book 2) for Free Online Page A

needed to yell at me as well.
    Normally, that kind of parental disapproval would have just made me dig in my heels, but then my mother wisely made me smoke the entire pack at once. I felt so gross by the time I was done that I’ve never smoked again. Until now. “Do you have a light?” I ask Ed, once he hangs up.
    He nods curtly and hands me the lighter. Okay then. Chivalry is evidently dead. “Thanks.” I hand it back once I light up, and I try not to retch. “Rough night?”
    He nods again, then decides it’s okay to speak a sentence or two. “I’m having shitty luck,” he says, puffing away at his own cigarette. “You’re doing well. I haven’t seen you before. Are you new?”
    I’m supposed to seduce the guy, not have a conversation with him. Those were Carter and Dominic’s instructions. I ignore them and trust my own instincts. Ed’s skittish. If a woman makes a pass on him out of the blue, he’s going to bolt, not take advantage. “I play in New York,” I tell him. I’ve decided to be as honest as I can. “But I need money in a hurry.”
    “Don’t we all?” he replies, and it’s the kind of question that doesn’t need answering.
    We smoke in silence for a few minutes. At least, he smokes, and I’m trying to take as few puffs as possible. My mouth feels dry, itchy and gross. I stand there searching my mind for something else to say to Ed, but I’m coming up blank. Dominic and Carter found you sexy, I tell myself, in an effort to bolster my confidence enough to make a move on this obviously disinterested guy.
    “I’m Gabriella,” I say finally, giving him a weak wave. “Hi.”
    “Ed,” he offers, before he takes his final puff and throws the butt to the ground, grinding it under his heel. “I think break time’s up. See you upstairs?”
    “Sure thing.”
    What a fantastic seduction job, Gabby.
    Lady Luck is still beaming at me when we resume playing, and Ed’s run of crappy cards doesn’t come to an end. He’s playing rashly now, his betting erratic, his decision making weak. Finally, after one big loss, he gets up and knocks his chair over. “I’m fucking tired of this,” he yells. “I never have good luck at your tables, Bulldog. Why’s that, do you think?”
    Conversation in the room dies down instantly. The room becomes so quiet that if a pin dropped in that moment, you’d hear it. Heads swivel to watch the confrontation, and more than one person looks openly nervous. Everyone’s wondering the same thing - has Ed Wagner lost his mind? In the shadowy underground, one thinks very carefully before throwing around accusations of cheating. For the first time, I’m really glad Bulldog made everyone check in their bags. I’m not sure if anyone here is packing, but when tempers flare, the last thing one needs to toss into the mix is a loaded gun.
    What happens next sets my spidey senses tingling. Goons do not materialize to toss Ed Wagner out of the room, and Bulldog doesn’t go ape-shit. He just walks up to Ed and talks to him soothingly. There’s a lot of arm-waving from Ed, a lot of ‘calm down’ gestures from Bulldog. I can’t tear my eyes away from the spectacle, and I’m not the only one. This is weird.
    “What the hell?” Wall Street asks our dealer.
    “Ed has more money than sense.” The dealer shakes his head. “He shows up here, loses a lot, makes a scene, then comes back the next day. That’s his pattern. You know what they say. A fool and his money…”
    My brow furrows. Carter and Dominic told me Ed’s a grinder, and I believe them. They’ve also led me to believe that Ed doesn’t have a lot of money. What the dealer’s saying doesn’t quite add up.
    Then I look again at the guy from Wall Street, whose eyes gleam with greed and I realize what’s going on.
    I smother a grin. I don’t have to worry about my failed seduction attempt tonight. Ed’s definitely going to be back tomorrow.
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    “ Y ou don't know where he lives? Damn it, Gabby, what