Against The Odds (Anna Dawson #1) Read Online Free Page A

curb.
    “You expecting people?” Ben asked when he noticed the cars.
    “Nope. You?”
    He shrugged. “Hannah, darling, anybody I would want to see, we just left.”
    I laughed. “Me too,” I admitted.   Ben just shook his head and rolled his eyes at me.
    I got the walker from the backseat, helped Ben out of the car—the one allowance to his infirmity that he’d allow; getting out of my low sports car wasn’t easy, even for me.
    I put both Ben’s and my copies of the magazine in my backpack with my betting materials, and walked slowly to the front door, wondering if Lorelei had decided to have an impromptu party.  
    At nine in the morning? Well, there were no clocks in Vegas.
    I opened the door, waited for Ben to wheel his way in, then entered. We followed voices and walked to the living room. Lorelei was standing in the middle of the room, facing us, like she’d been waiting for our arrival.
    Behind her, two men and one woman, none of whom I’d met before, sat on the couch and in chairs. They were all young, incredibly good looking with fantastic bodies.
    Lorelei shook her flaming-red hair, squared her shoulders and delivered her line like only a frustrated actress-slash-model-slash-dancer-slash-waitress could.
    “Anna, this is an intervention.”
    Ben sighed. I put my hands in my jeans pockets, tried to show nonchalance rather than my burgeoning anger as I addressed Lorelei.
    “What? Again?”
     

 
    Chapter Three
     
    I’ m thirty-four years old. That’s a hundred and ninety in gambler years.
    And right now I felt every one of them.
    “Come on Lorelei, I thought we were done with these things. Where’d you find this crew?” I asked, pointing to the threesome in my living room eating my good bagels that I have shipped special for Ben from New York. There were coffee cups, juices. Lorelei had even made her famous egg casserole.  
    Darn, and I’d already had such a big breakfast.
    “That’s Mark, and Kenny and Tabby,” she said pointing to the group. “They’re in love.”
    I looked closely at the threesome as they continued to chow down. “Which ones?” I asked.
    “Which ones what?”
    “Which ones are in love?” Although knowing Lorelei, and Vegas for that matter, I guess it could have been all three. Or four counting Lorelei.
    “All of them,” she confirmed. She watched me as I again studied the dancers, then she burst out laughing. “The show Love, Jo.” Ah, Love, the show at the Mirage. That made more sense. Although…
    “Although…” Lorelei said, this time studying the dancers more closely herself.
    “If you’ll all excuse me,” Ben started to walk down the hallway, but I put my foot down on his walker wheel.
    “Oh no you don’t, old man. If I have to sit through this crap, so do you.”
    He gave a resigned sigh, turned and went into the living room, seating himself next to Tabby. The three dancers looked at him in shock. They probably didn’t see too many old people. They were likely constantly surrounded by young people with incredible bodies like themselves. Kenny, or Mark, eyed Ben’s walker suspiciously, as if whatever ailed Ben might be contagious.
    “We need you here for this Ben. You’re the only person she’ll listen to,” Lorelei said.
    “And she listens to me because I don’t waste her time telling her nonsense,” Ben replied.
    I shot him a smile and he nodded his head toward me.
    Lorelei ignored him, waved me to my seat; the guest of dishonor. She took a seat herself, pulled some papers from the coffee table, gave another hair flip and began to read. “Ten signs you are a compulsive gambler.”
    The three dancers looked up from their breakfasts. Apparently lured by the offer of free food, this was the first time they realized what they were here for. They looked from Ben to me, trying to figure out who was the compulsive gambler.
    Truth was we probably both were.
    Another truth was we both liked it that way.
    “Number one. Is preoccupied with