I got to the casino about five minutes early, but that turned out to be fine. Calvin was already there, chatting with the pretty girl working the hostess station. Just seeing him standing there, in jeans and a button-up shirt in a deep bricky red shade, gleaming black hair pulled back into its usual ponytail, made my heart go pitter-pat. The man looked great in his uniform, but he looked even better out of it.
“Hi, Selena,” he said as soon as I walked up to him, and even bent down to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. After that brief caress, he went on, “This is my cousin Janelle. Janelle, this is Selena Marx.”
“Hi, Janelle,” I said, doing my best to sound casual, even though that small public display of affection had been enough to start my heart beating a little faster. Clearly, he ha
