Stroke of Luck - Opal Carew Page 0,27
stiffened, slowing down a little.
“Something wrong?” Austin asked as he slowed to a stop.
She knew how gamblers were. The fact he’d had luck at that table would be important to him. She couldn’t ask him not to go there.
“No, nothing.” She tried to urge him to keep moving, but he stared at her face, reading her anxiety.
He frowned then glanced at the table. “You know, it’s probably a good idea to try a different table. Stale luck and all,” he said.
“But—”
He interrupted her protest by turning her forty-five degrees. He glanced around, and all the other craps tables she could see were full except one.
He led her to that table. As they approached, someone threw the dice, and then there was a groan and the chips were cleared away. Austin guided her to the table’s edge and slid his arm around her waist, tucking her close to his side.
“New shooter,” the uniformed man hovering around the table called.
The man slid the dice to an attractive brunette in a green dress. She picked them up and tossed them across the table. They bounced jauntily on the table, then rolled to a halt. Twelve. More groans, and the chips were swept away.
“Do you know how to play craps?” Austin asked as he laid a large stack of bills on the table and a casino staffer slid a large stack of chips toward him.
“Not really,” she said, glancing at the complicated pattern of numbers, grids, and words on the red felt of the table. It didn’t help that she was pressed to his hard, masculine body, sending a warm flush through her.
“It can sound a bit complicated, but—”
“It’s okay. Why don’t I watch for a bit to see if I get the hang of it?”
He smiled. “Sure. But feel free to ask questions.”
She nodded. He set three red chips on a strip labeled Pass Line. Several of the other players did the same, including the woman with the dice. She tossed them across the table again, and they bounced to a stop with a three and a six. A staff member slid a white disc labeled On to the nine in a strip of numbers at the top of the table.
Austin placed blue chips on five and six on that same strip.
The woman rolled a few times. On the second roll, a five came up and Austin won. The chips on the other numbers weren’t cleared away, though. April was confused by the goings-on, with people adding chips, winning chips, then suddenly, all the chips were cleared away, and the man who’d been calling out the rolled numbers in a humorous banter called, “New shooter!” again.
April lost track of what was going on as the dice rounded the table.
She glanced around as someone stepped up beside her. It was Quinn.
“What’s going on? I expected to find you at your favorite table,” he said to Austin.
“I decided to go for a change,” Austin said, placing another bet.
“But this table … you haven’t had great luck here.”
“No one has, but I believe that’s about to change.”
“Are you up?”
Austin shook his head. “No, down about a third. But I’ve got a feeling.”
“It’s your money,” Quinn said with a good-natured smile as he settled in beside April.
After a few more rolls, Quinn started betting, too. Finally, the dice wound up in front of Austin. Austin’s stack of chips had gone down a little more. He picked up the dice, then turned to April.
“I want you to roll. You’re going to bring me luck.” He smiled encouragingly as he placed the white dice in her hand.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she protested.
Austin placed six red chips on the pass line. Quinn also set several chips down, as did other players.
“You don’t have to. Just throw the dice so they bounce off the other side of the table. That’s it.”
She bit her lip, aware of everyone watching her. She tossed the dice and watched them hit the side, then bounce back across the table. They rolled to a stop. Six and five.
Murmurs of approval rippled around the table, and everyone who had chips on the pass line received more chips. Austin got his original five reds plus five more reds.
He tightened his arm around her and smiled. “You’re doing great.”
He pushed all ten reds back in place. Quinn also kept all his chips, including winnings, on the table.
“Roll again,” Quinn said.
She picked up the dice and tossed them again. They bounced to a stop with a three and