The Gamble

The Beginning of the End

Beckett - Middle of July

Texas was a cruel, cruel mistress. The mild spring had given way to temperatures blooming toward the hundreds. The humidity was epic. The barometer was climbing.

But as hot as Texas was deep in the summer time, there was one thing hotter.

Texas women.

Specifically the one I was benevolently stalking. Alex hadn't seen me yet. That was definitely not a bad thing, considering she'd been doing her best to avoid me since our last meeting when I walked out of her house after telling her I wasn't going to give up on her no matter how much she hated me. If there was even a hint I'd be around, Alex was conveniently busy or at a doctor's appointment.

Unless Alex was terminally ill, no one on Earth ever went to the doctor's office that much. So I'd gotten a little bit sneaky about things. Alex was planning my sister's wedding, against her better judgment, I'm sure, but it did give me the opportunity to pry information from Miriam. My sister wasn't exactly keen on getting involved with this, whatever this was, but she had a soft spot for me so occasionally, if she was feeling extra weak, she'd throw a bone my way and let me know Alex's plans.

It was the only way I was able to see her, and each time I did, I hoped I wore her down a little bit more. I'd been trying to take her out on a date for months now. Each time she'd politely shoot me down, remind me I promised to stay away from her, and then I'd skulk away with my tail between my legs.

That was getting old. I liked Alex. I more than liked Alex, and I knew Alex liked me. Maybe liked was a strong word. Alex was attracted to me. Definitely that. But she was stubborn as a mule and refused to get involved with me over an incident that had occurred in high school.

A terrible, awful, horrible incident, yes, but it was a blip on an otherwise spotless record of how I treated women. I'd been incredibly mean, insensitive, horrible ... pretty much any awful word you could use, I was back then. And even though Alex said she'd forgiven me, I knew she hadn't forgotten it. Every time she looked at me, I saw a hint of fear and disappointment. I didn't want her to look at me like that. I wanted her to look at me with ... well I wasn't sure how yet, but not with fear.

I sat back on my sunlounger, soaking in the rays of the sun and Alex's beauty. She had lost weight. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but she still looked gorgeous. Even more so wearing that tiny red bikini. I was not the only man staring at her. I clenched my jaw, unused to the hot spike of jealousy flooding my body. Alex wasn't mine. Hell, we hadn't even gone out on a single date yet, but it still didn't calm me any.

If I had to get down on my hands and knees and beg her, I would get at least one date out of Alexandria Jewitt.

Alex

Beckett Dean was stalking me. I wasn't sure whether to be pissed or flattered.

I did know that I planned to kill his sister, Miriam. That would really screw up her wedding, but I knew it was her feeding Beck info about where I would be. He was hard to miss. Long, blond and lean, leaning back on his sunlounger like he owned the beach. I couldn't make out his facial expressions. He was too far away for that, but I suspected Beck didn't realize I was onto him.

I'd gone to the beach with several friends after a long week at work. It was hot as hell and one of the only good things to do around here to cool off was to either go to a waterpark or head into Galveston. Since we weren't teens anymore, we piled into the car and headed the forty minutes down to the beach. Once the salty air hit my lungs outside, I breathed a sigh of relief.