by Kat Mizera
“Have I ever met your mother?” I asked her, thinking back to the many summer visits to Las Vegas.
“Maybe once or twice, but probably when we were young, like ten or eleven. Once I became a teenager and could fly on my own, she didn’t usually come with me.”
“So if I met her, she wouldn’t necessarily recognize me with my bald head and beard?”
“Probably not. We wouldn’t want to risk it, but if you kept your sunglasses on and worked really hard to lose the British accent, we’d probably be okay.”
“Yeah, losing the accent…” I shook my head. “That’s going to be fun.”
“We can practice.”
“All right.”
“Why don’t you sleep on everything? There’s no rush. Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing, finish your training and we’ll go from there.”
“Seems like a logical course of action.”
“Erik.” She reached across the table for my arm.
I turned to look at her.
“I’m not looking for love. Companionship and friendship, for sure, but love isn’t on my radar either.”
“I understand.” I squeezed her hand and went back to my dinner. Fucking hell. I was going to marry one of Casey’s friends and pretend like it was business as usual. How the fuck had this become my life?
14
Casey
I’d loved Erik with all of my heart, but the love I felt for my son was incredible. It wasn’t the same, of course, but my baby made me happier than I thought I would ever be again. His heartfelt belly laughs, the way he said “Mmm-mamama” by drawing out the sound of the first “M,” and the way he loved to cuddle, all filled me with a kind of joy I hadn’t been expecting. Pregnancy hadn’t been on my radar when it had happened, and I’d mostly only been happy because it was Erik’s baby. Everything else about it had been daunting, especially after he left. Now I couldn’t imagine a life without Luke.
My feelings for Sasha were growing exponentially as well. She was such a loving little girl who missed her mother desperately. I didn’t know if I could fill those shoes but I had to try, both for her and for myself. She was resilient, though, a lot more than I was, and it made me happy to see her starting to adjust to everything. Her new school, her new family, even her new brother. I’d worried that she might be jealous of Luke, but she showed no signs of that at all. In fact, she’d immediately wanted to learn how to change his diapers and feed him. She was a huge help to me when I needed a little time to study or take a quick shower, and though we’d hired a full-time nanny, it was nice to have Sasha taking an interest in not just Luke, but our family unit in general.
She’d never had a father, so she was a little enamored with Nick, which was sweet to watch. He went out of his way to spend time with her, taking her on his rounds through the hotel before she went to bed and doing homework with her while he did his own. They had their own little routine and it was almost as much fun to watch as my father being a grandfather to both a baby boy and a precocious little girl. They were thick as thieves, the three of them, and my mother and I often laughed ourselves silly watching him with the kids.
Going to school and taking care of the kids kept me busy, but when my mother-in-law asked me to help her plan this year’s charity ball, I couldn’t think of a way to say no. She’d recently asked Skye to be this year’s belle of the ball, and though I wasn’t much of an event planner, helping Tricia with plans was a lot more fun than I’d expected.
“This is stunning,” Tricia announced when she saw a sketch of the dress Skye would wear. “You’re going to look gorgeous.”
“Perhaps I’ll meet a nice guy,” Skye sighed. “God knows, the ones coming out of the woodwork of late have been…scary.”
“Scary?” I looked up curiously. “Scary how?”
“Well, one was a wealthy sheik from the Middle East and after a pleasant dinner together, he asked me to be his third wife.”
“His third?” I grimaced. “Yikes.”
“Another was a prince from a country I shall not name, and he admitted he’s gay and looking for a trophy wife so he can carry on with his male lover. Since I’m divorced and no longer a virgin, he figured I wouldn’t care what he did, and I could do whatever I wanted as well.”
Tricia covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
I bit my lip.
Then all three of us burst out laughing. It had been months since I’d laughed, and while the ever-present ache in my heart was still there, for a brief moment I forgot about it.
“I’m sorry.” Tricia cleared her throat. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“There was another, a very nice young man.” Skye giggled, something I’d never heard her do before. “He was cute, very proper, a year younger than I am. He’s looking for someone to teach him about sex because he used to be part of the Amish community, but while doing his year away from his people—I think he called it Rumspringa—he won the lottery. Now that he’s wealthy, he doesn’t want to go back but he’s a virgin and doesn’t want to embarrass himself. So he figured an older, divorced woman like me could show him the way in the bedroom.”
No one spoke for a minute. I took a long drink of my iced green tea and cut a sideways glance at Tricia, who was busy with the salad in front of her.
“It’s okay,” Skye whispered, biting her lip. “You can laugh.”
I snickered. “Where do you find these guys?” I finally demanded. “I mean, really?”
“Well, I’m certainly not going out with anyone from Limaj.” She shuddered. “And it’s not like I can just go to a bar and pick up guys…so I’m stuck with friends of friends, or the adult children of my parents’ friends. It’s slim pickings, you know?”
I felt a twinge of guilt because Nick had asked her to be his date for the wedding. It had been under the guise of “just friends,” but I knew better because Nick didn’t do just friends with women. I’d been the exception to that rule but that was because we’d grown up together and eventually morphed into a friends-with-benefits thing on tour. He didn’t have female friends because most were interested in his money and the rest were interested in a ring, which he hadn’t been ready for. So if he’d asked Skye out, that meant he’d been interested, and I’d screwed that up for both of them.
Someday, when I wasn’t feeling as vulnerable as I did at the moment, I’d think about that some more, but definitely not today. Today it was easier to giggle about her disastrous dates and talk about the beautiful dress she was having designed.
“Who’s your designer?” Tricia asked her.
“She’s a design student still in college in Manhattan,” Skye said slowly. “I decided I’ve been pampered and spoiled my whole life, and maybe it’s time for me to give back a little, even if it’s something small. After Erik passed…” She met my gaze guiltily. “I just, well, I feel the need to do more than just be rich. Mother and I flew to New York City for a girls’ trip and we’d sent a request to the school, anonymously, asking for some of their students to submit designs fit for a princess. They didn’t know who it was for—we had a publicist handle it for us—and we went through dozens of designs. I was about to lose hope, because they were pretty standard, and then I saw this one. It’s not just a beautiful dress, but the drawing itself is stunning, and her attention to detail really caught my eye. When we got to New York, we met with her and I hired her to do the dress. It has to be done by mid-September so that if it doesn’t work out, I still have time to find another.”
“What’s her name?” I asked curiously.
“Alexa Humboldt.”
“Well, I can’t wait to see it,” I told her. “Maybe by then I’ll be ready to think about one for me and she can design a new dress for me to wear to the ball too.”
“I’ll ask her,” Skye said, nodding.
“I’m interested as well,” Tricia added. “If she does a good job, we could keep her in business just within our family and inner circle of friends. The three of us
, plus your mom and Teal, is five. And I definitely need a custom-made gown at least once a year.”
“As do I,” Skye said thoughtfully. “This is exciting. Let’s see what happens. I got a great vibe from her, so who knows?”
“If the dresses work out, we’ll fly her out for the ball,” I mused aloud. “Think of the publicity for her.”
Skye smiled. “That’s what I was thinking too.”
We chatted for the rest of the afternoon until Tricia begged off and Skye headed home, leaving me alone with my thoughts. And that was never a good place for me.
Skye’s designer, Alexa, arrived on a Wednesday in late September with a passel of dresses for us to try on. Personally, I didn’t care much about what I was going to wear to the charity ball, but I had to look good as the wife of a Kingsley and wasn’t going to turn down a chance to wear something no one else had. Skye swore the dresses were fabulous and she’d seen designs for me, Aunt Kari, Tricia and my mother. She hadn’t seen her own, though, so Alexa was going to reveal it today in front of all of us. They were making a huge deal out of this and I wasn’t all that interested, but I obligingly headed up to Tricia’s suite for the little dress reveal party she’d planned for us.
My cell phone rang in the elevator and I reached for it reluctantly. “Yes?”
“Casey? It’s Jayson.”
“Hey, your voice is a breath of fresh air in my crazy life. What’s going on?” We’d exchanged a few texts and emails since I’d last seen him and he was working with a new band.
“Haven’t heard from you in a while, so I thought I’d check in.”
“Well, I’m overwhelmed getting ready for this damn ball. I’m on my way right now to try on some dresses that were designed especially for us.”
“Sounds like fun.”
I snickered. “Don’t make fun—or I’ll fly you out here to help.”
He laughed. “I think I’ll pass.” He paused. “Unless you could really use the help, which I’d be glad to offer.”
“Oh, please—you’ve got to have better things to do than come to Vegas for a crazy party. If it wasn’t for charity, I wouldn’t be doing it either.”
“Well, I’m a charitable kind of guy.”
“Do you want to come?” I asked slowly. “I mean, we have seats saved for last-minute VIPs—I could squeeze you in if you’re into it.”
“Only if you could use a supporting hand. Otherwise, it’s probably not my thing.”
“Well, let me see how things shake out, okay? I might take you up on it.” I paused to step out of the elevator. “So, what’s going on with the band? Have you found a guitarist yet?”
“Kind of,” he hedged. “We’ve got a new guy, but I’m kind of gun-shy after Remi. I wish you could listen to us play, tell me what you think.”
“It takes time,” I said quietly. “But it’ll happen.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“Well, listen, I’ve got to run. We’ll talk again soon, okay?”
“Sure. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.” I hung up regretfully. I liked talking to Jayson. He was intelligent, funny and, most importantly, loved music the way I did. Of course, I hadn’t had much time to think about that lately, but I was considering getting out to New York to check out his new guitar player. It would be a nice break for me, and I could see Jade, too.
“Casey!” Skye greeted me warmly as I walked in. “Wait until you see your dress.”
“I’m sure it’s perfect.” I sank into a chair, feigning interest. I was in a funk, no matter how hard I tried to hide it.
“Where’s your shadow?” Aunt Kari asked, referring to Sandor.
“He’s in the hallway. Said he wants nothing to do with watching us play dress-up.”
Aunt Kari rolled her eyes. “He needs to get laid.”
I snorted with laughter.
“Mom, you’re first!” Skye called out, and Aunt Kari disappeared into the guest room.
She came out five minutes later in a fabulous creation of mauve taffeta and lace. The dress was a combination of old and new, a cross between the ball gowns of Victorian England and something far more recent. The neckline was modest, but fell off her shoulders seductively. The skirt was full and frilly, but was almost completely open in the front, forming an upside-down “V.”
I had to smile as she modeled it for us.
“You look great, Aunt Kari,” I called out. “That’s a winner.”
“I believe I agree,” she laughed.
Tricia’s dress was blood red—a nod to her typical dramatic flourish—and another combination of old and new that was truly breathtaking. Even if she hadn’t been a former supermodel, Tricia was a beautiful woman and the dress accented everything that was gorgeous about her. My mother’s dress was a stunning aquamarine, slightly more modern than the others, fitting her like a glove, except for the train that trailed about two feet behind her. It had been a long time since I’d seen Mom look so beautiful and carefree and I couldn’t help but hug her tightly.
“You look so pretty,” I whispered.
“Thank you.” She squeezed my arms. “Now it’s your turn.”
I went into the guest room and Alexa pulled out something black and held it up. My mouth fell open because it was an elegant plethora of everything I loved. It was streamlined and sleeveless, with a low neckline that focused on my cleavage without showing too much. The back was a concoction of leather straps that criss-crossed all the way down to the small of my back, and the skirt was full enough to accommodate my height, without looking like a Cinderella-style gown that Alexa had somehow known I would hate.
Everyone whistled as I came out of the room, and then we paraded around comparing dresses as we waited for Skye to appear. No one had any idea what the final version of her dress looked like or how she would look in it, but now that we’d seen Alexa’s eye for personal style, we’d gotten excited.
“This is so much fun!” Tricia laughed. “I can’t imagine what she’s going to do for Skye—she is the belle of the ball, after all.”
Tricia broke open a bottle of champagne as we waited and we all had a glass, talking animatedly and munching on hors d’oeuvres that had been brought out. Tricia had her camera ready and was determined to catch us in candid shots “preparing” for the ball. It had been called the event of the year in Las Vegas, and while I’d never considered myself truly part of it, I had no choice this year as the wife of Nick Kingsley.
“Come on, Alexa,” Aunt Kari called out. “Let’s see her, already!”
“Keep your pants on, Your Highness,” Alexa shot back from the bedroom. “You want her to look perfect, don’t you?”
“It’s a fitting, not a dress rehearsal,” Tricia called back. “Forget the hair—let’s just see her.”
There was scrambling in the other room, and then the doorknob turned slowly. Alexa stepped out smiling, her blue-tipped dark hair flying every which way, a tangle of multicolored scarves around her neck. She smiled at us, her eyes bright as she motioned with one arm.
“May I present, Her Royal Highness, Princess Skye.” She turned, dropping into a tiny mock curtsey.
Skye stepped into the room and we all sucked in breaths almost simultaneously. She was a vision of gold, from her hair to her feet. Though her hair had been pulled up in a rough tumble of curls around her head, there was gold baby’s breath weaved between the strands and some sort of contraption meant to look like a tiara of gold and diamonds. Her dress was sheer perfection. It was pure Cinderella, but with the sex appeal of the millennium. It was strapless, the bustier pushing her breasts up invitingly. The waist was cinched tight and the skirt was full and flowing. The whole dress was made of gold taffeta and lace, interspersed with gems that looked like diamonds and topaz. Ben had said he would offer some family jewels for the gown, but no one had expected anything like this.
At her throat was a gold net choker also covered in diamonds and topaz. Sheer golden gloves covered her arms up past her elbows, the
top edges laced in diamonds as well. Everything about her was luxurious and beautiful, and for a moment I felt a pang of envy. I’d never been interested in clothes like this, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime gown and I wondered if I would look as striking in it.
Before any of them could speak, there was a brief knock at the door and then the knob turned as it opened. Nick stepped inside with a smile. “Ladies, I apologize for intruding, but—” His voice trailed off as he spied Skye. For a moment his eyes widened and he stared, looking her up and down slowly. Skye met his gaze and for a second it was like they were the only two people in the room—and I could only watch them, watching each other, fascinated by the tangible electricity between them.
“Your Highness.” He seemed truly at a loss for words as he stared at her, finally clearing his throat. “You look absolutely stunning. I’ll be honored to dance with you at the ball. The designer did a fantastic job.” He still hadn’t taken his eyes off of her.
Skye’s cheeks turned pink as she nodded. “Thank you, Nick. You’re very gracious.”
I turned to Nick, fighting off a momentary bout of jealousy. “What are you doing here? Is the baby okay?”
Nick’s boyish charm was gone and he looked contrite. “The baby’s fine, but the studio called our suite because you didn’t answer your cell phone. There’s a problem.”
“Oh, hell.” I dug my phone out of my purse and noticed all the missed calls.
“Alexa, can you help me out of the dress?”
“Of course.” Alexa quickly helped me change and I made my excuses.
I cast a look at Skye. “You look gorgeous—you’re going to steal the show, just as you’re supposed to. Alexa, my dress fits perfectly. Thank you. Please let me know what I owe you. Thanks again, and I’ll see everyone soon.” I turned and hurried after Nick, who was on his way to the elevator.
I called the studio and listened as one of the runners told me what was going on. Broken equipment, an unruly lead singer and a few other issues seemed to be causing chaos and he felt unprepared to handle it.
