Nine Lives - Danielle Steel Page 0,41

would win, or they wouldn’t take the risk.

“If that were true, my father and brother would still be alive,” she said soberly. “I wish Brad had had just two lives.”

“Fate plays a part in it too,” he said gently. “I’m a good driver. I won’t get killed.”

“I hope not, for you.”

“There’s no one it will matter to, if I do. I’ve kept it that way, so I can do what I want.”

“It would matter to me, now that we’ve found each other again. Even as a friend, I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” he said with certainty. He didn’t want to lose her again.

They talked until ten o’clock, and then he drove her back to her hotel. On the way, he stopped at the casino and asked her if she wanted to go in. She looked shocked.

“Like this?” She was wearing white jeans and a white sweater and sneakers. “Will they let us in?”

“They’d let me in naked with a rose in my teeth. I spend a lot of time here,” and a lot of money. He loved to play blackjack and it evened out for him. He won and he lost, in large amounts, as she had seen the night before.

She followed him into the casino, and much to her amazement, no one complained about the way they were dressed, although she knew there was a dress code. He took a seat at the blackjack table and pointed to the seat next to him. She slid onto it and watched him play. He appeared casual and relaxed, and bought a stack of expensive chips. He lost them quickly and then made a big win. He bet all of it, doubled it, and then lost it all, and stood up with a smile. He looked at Maggie. “The table’s cold. Time to go home.” She had a feeling that he had just lost and won thousands of dollars, and broke even in the end.

He walked her into her hotel. “I had a great day,” he said happily.

“Me too,” she said, smiling at him.

“I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks for letting me hitch a ride,” she said, and he left a minute later. It was nice being with him, and odd too. It was a flashback in time, with the benefit of everything she’d learned since. She wasn’t sure how much Paul had learned. He was still risking everything, at the blackjack table, on the racetrack, and in life. She wasn’t willing to do that. Her mother’s words had stuck with her, no matter how appealing he was. But it would be fun seeing him in London. Now she had a friend to have dinner with.

She packed her bags, and got ready for the trip, and then lay in bed thinking about the day on Paul’s boat. It had been fabulous. She wanted to call Helen, but didn’t feel comfortable telling her, she might make too much of it. Aden didn’t need to know either, that she had run into her first love. So for now Paul was her secret, just as he had been before, when her mother forbade her to go out with him, and she had anyway. She reminded herself as she fell asleep that men like him were a dangerous secret to have. Maybe even as friends. But she knew she was smart enough not to fall in love with him again. He was a wild one, just as her mother had said. But there was no reason why they couldn’t be friends. And there was no one to stop them. They were grown-ups this time. Or at least Maggie was. Paul was never going to grow up, but he made her feel like a kid again. Seeing him was like a trip back in time to a very sweet place she had almost forgotten, and remembered now, like a warm summer breeze from the past.

Chapter 7

Paul picked Maggie up right on time the next morning. She had checked out by then, and her bags were waiting in the lobby when he arrived at eight a.m. and put her suitcases in the Lamborghini.

“I was worried you might have more luggage.” He grinned at her and she laughed. The trunk was very small, and her suitcases just fit in it.

“I’m traveling light this trip. I didn’t think I’d be doing anything fancy.” She had decided to buy a dress in London for dinner with him that night. He had already seen the only proper