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Some loud cheers drew her gaze to the craps table, and Jamal smiled as he steered her toward the green velvet table where play was in full swing. “Want to try your luck at rolling the dice?” he asked.
“I’m not much of a gambler.”
“That makes two of us,” he conceded. “Hamid has always been the king when it comes to winning bets. But I still don’t mind a flutter now and then, especially when any losses goes into my pocket eventually anyway.”
She’d met Hamid and Jamal’s other sheikh friends at their wedding. But though she’d noticed the other men’s good looks and charisma she’d been too wrapped up in the man she was marrying. Nerves and adrenaline had prevented her from even thinking about anyone else.
She glanced at him. “Don’t tell me you own this casino?”
He laughed. “Would it bother you if I did?”
She shook her head. “Not at all. I guess I’m more surprised at how many enterprises you have.”
“I used to run myself ragged trying to oversee them all. Not anymore, though. I delegate the majority of my work to staff I trust. I’m as selective now with my time when it comes to business as I am to those I employ. What is the point of so much wealth if there isn’t any time to relax and enjoy the fruits of my success?”
She swallowed as self-doubts roared into life. Was she one of the fruits of his success? An asset that he’d acquired?
He smiled down at her. “And now that I have a beautiful wife to keep me busy and on my toes I’ll be delegating even more responsibility.”
All her doubts dissolved at him wanting to spend more time with her, and she fairly beamed from the inside out as she smiled right back at him. “It’s good to know I’ll always have my husband’s attention.”
“You’ll always be my priority, along with our future children.”
Some of her joy dissipated. He was nothing short of obsessed with having children. There was only one way to divert his preoccupation of becoming a father. “If you do ever lose interest in me, I can think of a few possibilities in getting it back,” she said huskily.
His delighted laugh seemed to fill the room, drawing the eyes of countless strangers. But if Jamal noticed he didn’t let on, he simple put his arm around her waist and turned his attention to the craps table.
It was uncanny how fast the players made room for them, their demeanor far more respectful and subdued. But Yasmine didn’t notice for long, she was too busy soaking in Jamal’s brief rundown of rules while the man running the craps table—the stickman—turned over the off counter and passed her a bowl with five dice, asking her to select two of them.
“This is the come out roll,” Jamal instructed, “and you’re the new shooter.” He gave her some big bills and she put them on the table, exchanging money for chips from the boxman. Jamal did the same, then placed a stack of chips on the pass line bet area on the table.
She threw the dice. After rolling seven from her two dice everyone cheered, with at least five people betting on her for the win.
Jamal pulled her close and kissed her. “Well done, angel. You really are my lucky charm.”
She played at the craps table for another twenty minutes or so, winning more than losing her rounds, when one of their bodyguards approached and murmured something into Jamal’s ear.
Jamal frowned and looked at Yasmine. “Your father is on the phone for you.”
“He is?”
The bodyguard held up a cellphone, but it was far too noisy inside the casino. “I’ll take this outside.” When Jamal nodded and went to follow her she said, “No, please, stay here, enjoy your game. I’ll be back soon enough. Your bodyguard won’t let anything happen to me.”
Jamal glanced at the man with the jagged white scar that dissected his beard on one side, and though a shiver of foreboding went down Yasmine’s spine, she was intrigued too, and wondered if the bodyguard had been defending someone when he’d gotten the scar. Had it been a knife? A jagged piece of glass?
Jamal rubbed his jaw, then commanded, “Yusef, I need to know she’ll be safe outside.”
Yusef remained stoic and calm, even as he nodded and said, “I’ll see to it she returns unharmed.”
Jamal stepped back to the gaming table with obvious reluctance. “Make certain you do.”
Chapter Twelve
It was almost a relief to step outside into the peace and quiet, where the whistles and bells of slot machines, and the shouts and disappointed groans of gamblers didn’t intrude, and where fresh air replaced perfumes and aftershaves.
Not even the luxury cars that parking attendants whisked away or brought back could detract her from filling her lungs with calming breaths before she pressed the cell phone to her ear.
“Hi, Dad.”
