It was a statement and a question, and she had no idea what he was talking about.
“Kane, come on,” she started to object. “You know that’s not a good idea. And you’re way too tired. Heck, so am I.”
He shook his head. “I’m not talking about sex, kitty.” He stepped closer to her, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her body against his. “I just miss you, here, against me. I miss holding you, waking up and seeing you there next to me. Sleep with me tonight…please?”
Nora searched his face, and found nothing but simple honesty. And if she, too, was being honest, she wanted the exact same thing. “Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he replied. The elevator doors swung open, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her down the hall.
When they reached his room, they crawled into bed fully clothed. She lay on her back and he lay on his stomach, one arm draped over her waist and his head on her chest. The covers pulled over them, Nora gently caressed his freshly buzzed head, smoothing her fingers over his scalp; he fell asleep within seconds. It was strangely sweet and endearing, and her heart felt full and shattered all at once. She was so happy to be here for him, to hold him, to care for him, but she was painfully aware of how fleeting this moment would be.
And how deep her feelings for him were.
Chapter 20
“I refuse to let lobster skin ruin my first Vegas party.”
Nora watched Casey carefully surveying her legs then her arms in the full-length mirror in their hotel room the following afternoon. Nora had snuck back into their room before Casey had woken up that morning, and no one was the wiser.
Their morning had been short and completely innocent; they didn’t kiss and they didn’t even have much of a conversation. He’d had to get ready quickly to start another jam-packed day, but he’d still taken the time to thank her for being there for him. She hadn’t needed thanks, because it had meant the world to her that he’d let her see him in such a vulnerable state, that he’d let her take care of him. The weariness on his face from the night before had dissipated somewhat, but traces of it lingered beneath the surface.
Just like traces of him lingered beneath her surface, and their night together had only made it harder to walk away. Again.
Casey leaned forward and peered at the reflection of her face, catching Nora’s attention. Then she turned and presented her back to the mirror, studying herself over her shoulder. The girls had spent the day drinking margaritas and tanning by the pool, and now Nora could see that Casey, the fair-skinned redhead, had not used enough sunscreen. Her body looked as if it was allergic to itself and was fighting back with a vengeance.
“Is it that bad?” She lifted her arm slowly to look at her side, but shrieked and froze mid-movement. “Holy shit—that hurt!”
“Case, you’ve got to stay in tonight.” Nora gently led her back to the bed without touching her skin directly so as to avoid causing her more pain. “I know you want to go to the bachelorette party, but you’re barely alive.”
“If I was barely alive, I wouldn’t be in so much pain. If anything, I’m too alive. I need to dull down all this aliveness.” Casey tried to smile but grimaced instead. “I think I need a minibar moment.”
Nora laughed and went to fetch her a glass of ice and several small bottles of alcohol. Then she grabbed a bottle of aloe and a cool, wet washcloth. “Can I put more of this on you?”
“Please,” Casey begged, slowly pulling her top off and lying on her stomach. Nora applied the cool cloth and more aloe to her friend’s back, then handed her a drink. Casey sipped it slowly, the smile finally returning to her face. “Jeez, even having aloe put on me hurts like hell.”
Nora’s phone buzzed, and she glanced down to read a text from Clare. “Clare says they’re waiting for us.”
“Go…just go,” Casey sighed. “I’ll be here crying into my pillow.”
“Casey,” Nora sighed, hating seeing her friend in pain. “I’m not going to leave you if you’re in so much pain. Why don’t we watch a movie together?”
“No, you should definitely go. To be honest, I’m going to be asleep in, like, thirty seconds. Tenth-degree burns are exhausting.”
Nora laughed again, happy to see the sun hadn’t killed Casey’s sense of humor. “All right, well, you have my number. Text me if you need me, and I’ll come right back up.”
“If by some miracle Calvin and Taylor get back together, and you meet her tonight, I swear to God, I’m never going outside again.”
“I’ll tell her to come up and rub aloe on you,” Nora teased.
Casey gave her a thumbs-down. “Not even for T-Swift. No one is ever touching me again.”
Nora’s phone buzzed again, another message from Clare. As Nora read it, her mouth fell open and she looked at Casey. “Dude, you actually invited the chauffeur out with us tonight?”
Casey grimaced. “Ooh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys about Diego…”
“You invited him to a bachelorette party? When did you even have time to do that?”
“Kinda…” Casey shrugged. “We exchanged numbers on the drive to the hotel. You guys weren’t paying attention.”
“What are we supposed to tell him now that you’re not coming?” Nora could read Clare’s irritation as her friend sent another text; she had no idea what to tell the man who’d just crashed the female-only party.
“Um…I find that ditching them usually works. Make a pretend trip to the bathroom then never come back?”
Nora shook her head. “We’re not doing that to the poor guy. I’ll figure it out. Do you need anything before I go?”
Casey’s eyes were already drooping closed as she downed the rest of her drink and stretched out gingerly across the bed. “Just take lots of pictures for me to see tomorrow!”
“Deal,” Nora promised as she pushed her room key, a credit card, and her lipstick into the side of her bra, where they would be undetectable in the tiny gold cocktail dress she was wearing. Double-checking her makeup in the mirror and slipping on way-too-high black heels, she left the hotel room and walked down to the elevators. The double doors had mirrored panels, and she examined her reflection as she waited for the elevator car to arrive.
She had always wished she was taller, but she really liked her height now that she had seen what it was like to be wrapped in a much taller man’s arms. She found herself wondering what Kane would think of her styled, curly hair and carefully applied makeup, when he’d only ever seen her in casual or business wear…or nothing. She frowned as the realization hit her that they’d never even been on a real date. They had seen each other for several weeks but had never actually gone out for dinner together, chatting nervously while wondering if they would kiss at the end of the night.
They’d jumped right into a bed full of emotions, and everything had gotten so tangled. After last night, that felt more true than ever.
The elevator arrived, and Nora made her way down to the club, where Clare and Fiona were waiting. The floor was thick with guests, and after wandering around for a few minutes, Nora finally called Clare on her phone, screaming into it over the noise of the crowd to find out where they were. A few minutes later, the women were reunited, and Nora was pleased to find that Kiera was there as well.
“Kiera! I didn’t know you’d be here.” Nora leaned in and gave her a quick hug, then drew back and whistled at the sapphire-blue cocktail dress hugging the strawberry blonde in all the right places. “Wow, Kiera! That dress!”
“Thanks! Yeah, I’m taking the night off babysitting, and Dee is watching Shea,” Kiera told her, blushing hard as her fingers smoothed over the fabric of her dress.
Fiona handed Nora a cocktail. “When I found out today is her twenty-first birthday, I told her she had to celebrate with us!”
“Her twenty-first in Vegas!” Clare shouted over the crowd, all smiles. “Can you believe it?”
“Happy birthday, Kiera.” Nora clinked glasses with the blushing
young woman before noticing what her friends were wearing. Both Fiona and Clare were clad in faux wedding veils, large fake diamond rings, and huge sashes across their chests that said Not Married Yet! “Holy shit, girls, you both look amazing, too!”
“Right?” Clare bobbed her shoulders up and down, jiggling the sash. “I’m so excited for tonight. Let’s get to drinking!”
“Is Casey coming?” Fiona asked, trying to be heard over the crowd. “Her ‘date’ is here.”
That last part held a lot more than a hint of irritation as she pointed to Diego, who was already hitting on another woman at the bar.
Nora shook her head. “She’s passed out. Her entire body is bright red—it’s really awful.”
The women frowned and voiced their concerns. “Oh no! We’ll miss her!”
“I promised her we’d take lots of pictures to show her tomorrow,” Nora told them, pulling out her phone and opening the camera app.
“Selfie!” Clare shouted, pulling them all together and smiling as Nora held the camera at a high angle and took a photo of the four of them together, with the giant crowd in the background.
“Is it still called a ‘selfie’ if it’s a group of people?” Kiera asked as they examined the photo to see if they should retake it. The other women shrugged, and they took six more before they were all satisfied with the result.
“Toast!” Fiona cried, lifting her glass.
Nora lifted her glass and looked at the smiling faces of the beautiful women around her, and she just felt lucky. She was so blessed to have them in her life, true friendship among strong women who loved one another and built one another up. “To Fiona, my sister and best friend for a lifetime—I’m so happy you found a man who loves you the way you deserve to be loved. To Clare, one of my newest friends but already like a sister—you and Rory are just so perfect for each other that I can’t imagine a time when you weren’t joined at the hip. And, of course, to Kiera, twenty-one today and finally able to drink! Happy birthday, girl!”
“Cheers to that!” Clare giggled as Fiona mouthed I love you to Nora. Their argument and Nora’s lies from a few months before were easily forgotten and forgiven, and the best friends were now closer than ever.
“And cheers to the Kavanagh men!” Kiera added, blushing again. “There is obviously something in that gene pool!”
“There’re still a few single Kavanaghs to go around…hint, hint!” Clare wiggled her eyebrows and pointed to both Nora and Kiera. Instant heat swamped Nora’s face, and Kiera’s face had taken on a bright cherry hue. It was no secret that she already had eyes for one of the handsome Irish brothers.
“Happy birthday, Kiera! Twenty-one is going to kick your ass and pick it up all at the same time!” Fiona threw an arm over her young friend’s shoulder as the rest echoed their happy birthdays.
The girls all laughed and downed their drinks, quickly ordering another round from a passing cocktail waitress. They merged onto the dance floor and listened to the mixed beats from the famous DJ, then began moving in time to the music in a circle of just the four of them.
It was hands-down one of the most fun nights Nora had ever had. The women danced for what felt like hours, enjoyed one or more or too many drinks, and even saw a television star from one of their favorite reality-TV shows. Kiera convinced him to take a picture with them when the rest of the women were starstruck.
Fiona and Clare were having the time of their lives at their co-bachelorette party, and everyone was beginning to get a little tired and a lot sweaty. Nora was so happy for her two friends, but she had to admit that a small part of her was sad that she didn’t have that same kind of love.
The way the women talked about their fiancés—so in love and so incredibly excited about their futures—made Nora begin to see how much she really did want that. She was glad to focus on school and happy that things in her academic and professional life were finally turning around for the better. But every night that she’d spent studying, she’d missed having a warm body next to her. She was beginning to wonder why she’d been so insistent on being unable to juggle a relationship and school, when really, things had started to turn around for the better only once she and Kane had gotten involved.
“Ladies, welcome to Las Vegas!” Diego greeted them in the worst way as he appeared out of nowhere and swung one arm over Nora’s shoulder and the other over Kiera’s. “Anybody want to dance with me?”
“We’re dancing together,” Clare told him, putting her hand up as if to block him from getting any closer.
“Oh, come on, I came all the way out here to dance with the beautiful Casey, but they say she is sick.” Diego slid his sleazy gaze toward Nora.
Her stomach protested at the smell of his strong aftershave, and for a second she would have given good odds that everything she’d eaten and drunk that evening was about to resurface.
“You heard them, buddy.” Anger dripped from Kane’s voice behind her. “Leave the women alone.”
Diego took a step back and raised both hands; the women whirled around. The blood drained from Nora’s face, leaving her light-headed, when she realized their party crashers were all five of the Kavanagh brothers. Kane stepped toward Diego, hunching his shoulders in an intimidating manner.
The weaselly chauffeur took his cue and quickly left the group.
“What are you doing here?” Nora asked, surprised. “It’s ladies only tonight.”
“So then why did that guy have his hands all over you?” Kane let his eyes drag slowly over her body before averting them and looking around at the mass of scantily clad women in the club. “I don’t like this crowd.”
“Guys, seriously?” Clare was talking now. “This is a bachelorette party. No men allowed.”
Rory already had his arms wrapped around her, kissing her neck and whispering something in her ear that made her change her mind.
“Okay, maybe one dance, but then you’re all leaving!” Clare declared as Fiona and Kieran paired off and the music turned to a slow song.
Quinn and Kiera did an awkward shuffle as they sort of danced together, both looking elated and terrified at the same time. Jimmy was already dancing with a busty blonde and looking very happy about it. Apparently, he’d shed his inhibitions along with his uniform.
“What do you say?” Kane looked at Nora hopefully. “For old time’s sake?”
Blinking quickly, she looked down at his extended hand. “You want to dance with me?”
He nodded slowly, seriously…too seriously. It made her stomach flip-flop, like first-date nervousness. “There’s no one else I’d rather dance with, Nora.”
That definitely didn’t ease her fears, but she decided to indulge anyway. Placing her hand in his, she let him pull her to his chest and press their bodies together as they began to sway to the music. It was slow and rhythmic, a song about love and joy, and everything they’d given up on. Kane rested his chin on the top of her head as wrapped his arms more tightly around her.
He held her so tightly, it felt like the way they’d hugged last night. As if he’d needed the closeness, and had needed it from her. So she hugged him back. A big, tight squeeze around his abdomen as she pressed her cheek into his chest. They stayed like that, silent, for several minutes, until the music switched to a faster song.
A curvy young woman sauntered across the floor, headed in their direction. “Kane.” With a toss of her head, she sent a jumble of purple hair out of her face. “Good to see you again. How about a dance?” Her hands landed on his shoulders, and she pulled at his arm just enough to separate him from Nora.
Nora’s nostrils flared as she stared daggers at the woman who’d just interrupted their moment. For a moment, homicide was looking like a good option, but thankfully, Kane extracted himself from the interloper’s grip and backed up a step, shaking his head. “Sorry, Roxie. I’m with someone.”
The woman pushed out her chest and stared at Nora, clearly sizing her up and deciding she was nothing. “Her? Oh honey, come on.
”
“Roxie.” Kane’s voice turned serious, and Nora felt a chill run down her spine at his authoritative tone. “I said no.”
Clicking her tongue, Roxie shrugged. “Your loss.”
The tension in her body eased as Roxie flounced away into the crowd, but Nora had no plans on letting him off the hook. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. “Roxie? Really? You’ve been in Vegas a couple days, and you already have a girl here?”
Kane rolled his eyes. “She works for the league, Nora. I don’t know her at all.”
Nora’s jaw tightened, and she looked away.
“Nora, really?” He slid his hand in hers, kissing the back of it gently. “Can we move on? You know me better than that.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “You’re the only woman who’s been in my bed for a long time, kitty.”
Nora glanced at him, feeling herself melt at the sweetness in his pleading blue eyes as he kissed her hand down to her wrist. And he was right. Despite his good looks and rumored past, she really didn’t worry about him with other women. After all, she’d seen his bed last night, and she’d been the only woman in it. “You’re right, I trust you.”
“Good.” Kane smiled. “Let’s get a drink.”
With her hand in his, he led her back to the bar, and they both ordered water. She’d noticed he wasn’t drinking tonight and attributed it to the upcoming fight.
“Are you excited for Sunday?” she asked, taking a sip.
“Sure.” His face didn’t match his answer, and Nora frowned.
“Just ‘sure’?”
“It’s a little hectic right now, you know? All the press, the events every day, the publicity…I don’t have to deal with that much back in the Bronx. Here, it’s a whole other deal.”
“The journalists at the press conference seemed to love you, from what I could see.”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad thing. Mostly everyone is really supportive. I just…never mind.”
Becoming a Legend Page 18
