Weekend in Vegas!. Jackie Braun

then he realized what this sounded like. A tryst. A man who might be planning on taking advantage of her. “If you’re worried, I can tell you that I’m not intending to jump you.”

      She smiled and shook her head, those little earrings swinging wildly. “I’m not worried. I’m…I’m honored to be your first.”

      Heat sizzled through him, even though he’d known she had meant that in a completely innocent way. She, however, had obviously finally realized how her words had sounded, and she blushed. Actually blushed. It was charming. She was charming. And he burned for her.

      “I mean, that I’m honored to be your first visitor. Is it going to be the next McKendrick’s?”

      He shook his head. “It’s definitely nothing like this place. McKendrick’s was a sure thing, a prime piece of real estate. The Haven is far less stable,” he said, mentioning the property by name for the first time. Trusting Alex.

      She gazed directly up into his eyes. “You’re not sure you can make it a success.”

      “Or that I want to try. Failure isn’t an option, and it needs…something.”

      She stood there for a minute, just studying him, as if conducting a computer scan of his thoughts. He’d never had anyone pay that much attention to him, at least not in that way. Women were attracted to his money, his power, maybe even to his looks. But Alex was different. She aimed straight for the core of what made a person tick. He wasn’t sure his soul could survive that kind of close examination.

      “It’s not a very impressive place. You can back out and I won’t be offended,” he said. But he hoped she would come.

      “Why?” she asked. “Why now? Why me?”

      He didn’t want to examine all the reasons. He didn’t want to dig that deep, look inside himself that closely, but he could tell her one true thing. “Because you see possibilities other people miss.”

      “And if there are no possibilities?”

      “I want you to be brutally honest.”

      She gazed up at him with those soft blue eyes. “I don’t like hurting people.”

      He held her gaze. “You can’t hurt me.” But he knew he lied.