Bet On Me: Hotel D, #3

By Nika Stone

Pulling off a fake wedding in Vegas? Easy. Catching real feelings for your fake fiancé? That's complicated...

 

My friends know I'll do anything to help them out of a jam. As a busy camerawoman/producer, I've pulled stunts you wouldn't believe. Faking a marriage, though, might be the biggest stunt of all. Especially since my pretend fiancé is my very real lifelong crush, Doctor Nik Shah.

What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay there. So why am I suddenly facing down a crew of nosy aunts, concerned parents and a pair of TV reporters who won't stop talking about our 'wedding?' And why does it suddenly seem like my sexy faux beau wants to put a ring on it for real?

It feels crazy to take a chance on a handsome doc who's never stuck around long enough to get serious before. I don't know if I'm ready to risk this heartbreak. Can we beat the odds and turn our ruse into something real? Or is the deck too stacked against us for this to last?

 

Bet on Me is the third book in the Hotel D series. These short, steamy stories feature mature couples who know what they want, in the bedroom and out! Each book in the series can be read as a standalone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nika Stone
• Release date: Aug 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223727453

Book preview

Cara

G et in, loser. We’re going to Vegas.

I groan at my best friend’s cheesy line. Mala wiggles her eyebrows at me in an exaggerated way as I scoot past her into the leather seated interior of the private plane.

How long have you been planning that? I ask her.

She gives me a sneaky grin. Pretty much since I called you.

I roll my eyes. Speaking of: please never do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack! Who calls people anymore?

Come on, it was urgent. Would you have believed me if I texted?

She’s got a point. It’s a little shocking to think that two hours ago, I was at Mala and Sean’s housewarming. Now I’m strapping into a seat on Sean’s private plane for a flight to Las Vegas and an impromptu wedding.

Mala’s sworn me to secrecy for several reasons. First and foremost: her sister is marrying Sean’s best friend. Those two are going very traditional, doing the whole long engagement and wedding thing, with all the parties and planning and big fuss. The last thing Mala and Sean want is to overshadow those events. They’re determined to let Aesha and Theo enjoy the spotlight.

For another thing: Sean’s status as a tech billionaire, and Mala’s job as a travel show host/influencer, means they’re just famous enough to be interesting. When they went public with their relationship, we were all pretty surprised at how many reporters started to track their every move. The two of them hopping on a plane to Vegas would create a crazy amount of speculation.

What the reporters don’t know is that Sean has literally proposed to her every day for the last two months. Or that every day, she’s told him ‘not yet.’ I don’t know what he did to make her say yes this time, but as she laughingly shared on the phone, he’s determined to get them hitched before she comes to her senses.

Although, I think, watching the two of them together, I’m pretty sure neither Sean nor Mala are in their right minds. Anyone who sees them can tell how crazy they are for one another.

I’m happy for them. Even if that happiness is tinged with a little bit of envy. I want that so much. That head over heels, reckless obsession with someone? It’s so delicious.

Not that I’ve experienced it in a relationship. The last guy I dated was… convenient. We got along fine, but who wants fine? I need more.

My personal pity party is interrupted by the opening of the plane door — and the entrance of one Dr. Nikhil Shah.

AKA Mala’s cousin. AKA the only man who’s ever made me feel that kind of reckless desire. AKA the hottest man I’ve ever met in my life.

Talk about delicious. Nik looks like a movie star. Dark, curly hair, body like a basketball player, beautiful bronze skin, eyes that glow like obsidian… How could I not lust after him? It would be impossible.

From the second I met him at the tender age of eight, I’ve been crazy about him. Too bad for me that it’s all been one-sided. He’s never shown any sign that he thinks of me as anything more than Mala’s friend.

Although there was that one time…, my brain insists.

We were at Hotel D for Aesha and Theo’s engagement party. Sean and Mala hosted the event, which was a fancy dress masked ball. I wished I had my video camera. There were so many moments I wanted to capture, but my friends insisted that I needed to be a guest instead of working.

I’d just come off the dance floor when I felt… something. I don’t know what it was. When I turned around, Nik and I made eye contact across the room. I swear, it was just like a movie. Everyone else in the room faded away as we made our way toward each other.

Cara. His voice was warm. Promising. He held out a hand.

Nik. You’re back. I put my hand in his, and he took me out onto the floor.

On the surface, everything was normal. We made small talk about my work with Mala on FortyFab, his last assignment in Bangladesh, and his retirement from Doctors Who Care.

But inside, every princess fantasy I ever had roared to life in my brain. Considering the way he was looking at me, I fully expected him to sweep me out of the ballroom and off to a dark corner, where he’d have his wicked way with me. I’d already scoped out half a dozen potential locations.

Instead, when the music ended, Nik gave me a polite smile and patted me on the shoulder.

Thanks for the dance, he’d said. And by the way, that’s a great dress.

In the two months since then, he might have said ten words to me — and half of those would probably be ‘goodbye.’ If you looked up taciturn in the dictionary, his picture would be next to it.

Never mind what I thought I saw in his eyes that night. I can take a hint. He’s not interested in me as a woman. I’m just the annoying girl next door, all grown up.

Or worse. He doesn’t find me annoying. He’s simply indifferent to my existence.

If only I could make myself feel the same. But even though it’s been thirty years, I’ve never been able to fully shake this crush. Aside from the movie star looks and being a genius doctor who spends his time caring for people in desperate circumstances, there’s a genuine, warm person behind the gruffness. In those rare times when Nik does open up, I see glimpses of