We find a store that she says will do for me, and I follow her around as she plucks garments from racks and shelves and piles them into my outstretched arms. “You do know this is just for one night out, right?”
“Yes,” she says, sounding for all the world like Paige. “But you need some options. That’s the fun of shopping.”
I try on skinny jeans and grey trousers and blazers that make me sweat even in the air-conditioned store. Every time I come out to show her something, Karen watches me with a studied gaze, walking around me, straightening the shoulders, until I feel like some kind of doll on display.
When I emerge in a pair of black slacks and a black button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up, she loses the studied look. Her mouth drops open a little, and I wonder how stupid I look, before I see her eyes flick down over my chest. Something warm seems to come to life in my chest. Am I imagining the blush on her cheeks?
“That looks great,” she murmurs, her voice not entirely steady. “Really great.”
I meet her eyes and feel my heart skip. I’ve seen her look at me that way once before.
“You should definitely wear that,” she says, not breaking eye contact.
I nod, soaking in the desire in her eyes, knowing I’m reflecting it right back at her. “Okay.”
She finally looks away, taking a step back. “It’s getting late,” she murmurs, eyes on the floor. “We should probably get going if we want to do the zip line. That line looked pretty long.”
The entire time I’m changing back into my clothes and paying for the new outfit, I run her behavior over and over in my mind. I know she’s attracted to me. You just don’t fake a reaction like that. But what does it mean? If she still has feelings for Dan, I don’t think attraction matters very much.
We’re pretty quiet while we make our way down to the stairs for the zip line. Every time I look over at Karen, her face is set with nerves and some underlying spark of determination. I’m feeling nervous, too—every few minutes, people go flying down the zip line far over our heads in a prone position, like Superman. I’ve never been particularly afraid of heights, but this looks pretty extreme.
I steal another glance at her, and this time, she’s watching me too. She turns her head quickly, and from the way her chest is rising and falling so rapidly, I know that her breathing has become as labored as mine.
There’s a tension running between the two of us that has nothing to do with the zip line but is every bit as scary. And as exciting. Like the pulse of an electrical current passing back and forth. I’m hyper aware of her, of the way her arms swing at her sides, occasionally brushing against mine. Of the long curtain of her hair flirting with her lower back. The way her eyes keep darting in my direction.
I want to kiss her.
It’s not the first time I’ve felt that way since that night in the mountains. We’ve had a few moments since then—drinking together on the patio the night of Reed’s party. The day Paige caught us in the office. The night in New York. But none of those moments felt quite like this.
Unfortunately, we’re about to be strapped into harnesses and sent hurtling through the air a hundred feet above the ground.
“You okay?” I call out when we’re next in line. She’s finally stopped sneaking glances at me, her entire attention now focused on the staff in front of us as they strap the next zip liners into their harnesses.
“I think so,” she shouts back over the din of staff-member instructions and excited chatter from the line.
I have a strange urge to wrap her up in my arms, to take the fear out of her face. But then the doors are lowering in front of us and the people in the harnesses take off, screaming.
“Shit,” I mutter, a wave of nerves hitting me. Karen looks up at me and laughs.
“I’m glad I’m not the only one about to freak out.”
“You guys are up,” a smiling man tells us, pointing to the harness stations in front of us.
“Here goes nothing,” I say, trying to give her a brave smile. She looks like she might throw up as she approaches the station. I go to my own and follow the guide’s instructions to lie on the padded table on my stomach. He works on my harness, and I listen to his instructions the best I can over the rushing in my ears. As he adjusts the straps, I look over at Karen. She has her eyes squeezed shut, and she appears to be chanting something.
“Hey, Simpson,” I call out, and she opens her eyes to look at me. “Don’t worry. It’s a piece of cake.”
She nods but still looks terrified. “I probably should have mentioned that I’m afraid of heights.”
I laugh, suddenly not feeling quite so afraid myself. “You’re going to be fine.”
The staff gives us some last-minute instructions, tightening our straps one more time. And then the door in front of us is lowering, the mall visible far below. I feel another rush of nerves and look over at Karen.
She’s still staring at me, her eyes never wavering, not even when the tables disappear beneath us, leaving us dangling horizontally in our harnesses. “Nice pose, Superman,” I call.
“You always struck me as the superhero type,” she says. I shake my head, wondering how she doesn’t get that she’s the one that saved me. Not just on the tour, but all those months ago on that mountain. She walked into my lodge and pulled me out of the funk I’d been in for more than a year, illuminating my life for what it was. Showing me exactly what I was missing, and what I needed to get back.
Suddenly, the instructors are pushing us off, and we shoot through the opening and out onto the zip line. Karen lets out a loud whoop, and I can’t help yelling myself, even though I’m pretty sure I sound like a teenage girl. The entire mall opens up before us, the people tiny below, the lights on the screens above us flashing and swirling. I look over at Karen, and she’s laughing her head off, looking every which way. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so joyful. Like all of her walls are down, all the little reminders of the hurts of her life finally forgotten.
She catches my gaze on her and grins. “This is awesome!”
We hold eye contact for only a few seconds before she’s twisting her head around again, eager to see everything.
Even the flashing lights and music and noises of the crowd aren’t enough to distract me. I watch Karen the entire time, memorizing the look on her face as she flies.
Chapter Nineteen
Karen
I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to go out in my life. As we get ready in her room, Paige chatters on about the plans she’s made for the night, about the places we’ll see and the fun we’ll have. I barely hear her. We could be spending the evening back at the dive bar at Levi’s lodge and I wouldn’t care. The only thing that matters to me tonight is that I’m wearing a pretty dress, my hair and makeup are done, and I’m spending the evening with Levi.
I feel giddy every time I think about him. The sheer force of the emotion should freak me out. After all, I haven’t felt this way about anyone since Dan, and that had ended in disaster. But my excitement is strong enough to drown out the warning bells in my head trying to make me cautious. I can’t be cautious tonight. I spent the afternoon flying a hundred feet in the air. What’s there to be cautious about after that?
We all gather in the foyer downstairs. Of course, Paige is the last to finish getting ready, so everyone else is waiting for us as we make our way down the stairs. Any annoyance I feel at her for delaying me disappears when I see Levi’s face as I descend. He looks the way he did on the zip line—excited and scared and exhilarated, all at the same time.
I’ve never been happier for the ruse about our relationship. Because everyone else is here, it gives me the perfect excuse to walk straight to him, for him to put his arm around me, for me to lean in a little closer.
“You look amazing,” he whispers in my ear, and my skin erupts into goosebumps at the feel of his breath on my neck.
“You too.”
He grins down at me. “Well, I have you to thank
for that, picking out my clothes and everything.”
“Ooh, the limo is here,” Paige squeals, jumping a little in her heels. I’m glad she has Reed to lean on, since six-inch stilettos are no match for her enthusiasm.
We pile into the limo, and I don’t bother to suppress the little thrill when Levi slides close to me on the bench seat, my bare leg brushing against his slacks. He really does look great in the outfit we chose. I remember my reaction in the store and feel a little flush—I was sure I had been painfully obvious about my attraction to him, but there was nothing I could do about it. The man looked great in black.
“Did you guys have fun today?” Daisy asks.
“It was awesome,” Levi says. “We went zip-lining downtown.”
“Oh my gosh.” Daisy holds her hands up to her cheeks. “I don’t think I could ever do that. I’m so scared of heights.”
“Karen was crazy brave.” Levi squeezes my hand, looking over at me, and I’m overwhelmed by the strangest sense of pride at his words.
“That sounds awesome,” Lennon says wistfully. “The rest of us, on the other hand, went to the Neon Museum.” He shoots Paige a little glare, and I laugh.
“The Neon Museum was fun!” she cries.
“Yeah, but Paige,” Daltrey argues. “We’re in Vegas. There are a million more exciting things to do here that don’t involve walking around a museum dedicated to neon.”
She crosses her arms, clearly mad the others didn’t find the Neon Museum as scintillating as she did. “Well, tonight we’re going to experience as much Vegas as you can stand.”
“Where to first?” Cash asks, pouring champagne and passing it around. I notice that he didn’t bother teasing Paige about their afternoon activities. In fact, he doesn’t look as excited as he normally would about a night on the town. I wonder if he’s down because he misses Sam or because he’s missing the opportunity to go out and use his rock-star cred to score with random girls. When he hands me my champagne, he gives me a smile that looks more sad than happy, and I feel bad for thinking so little of him.
“We’re having drinks at the Bellagio,” Paige says. “I thought after that, we could take a walk through the botanical gardens. And then we can see one of the fountain shows. And after, that we have reservations at Eiffel Tower restaurant, which is supposed to have amazing views and…”
I tune her out. I’m feeling way too giddy to focus on her plans. I want nothing more than to hold Levi’s hand and let him guide me through the evening. And that’s basically what I do. Through the drinks at the Bellagio to our stroll through the gardens, all the way through dinner. I barely talk to anyone but Levi. When the others get recognized by fans at the fountain, Levi and I slip away to watch the water show minus all the screaming about Daltrey’s body.
“Are we being jerks?” I ask him as we lean against the stone balustrade. He peeks over my head at the crowd surrounding the others. “Nah. This is why we got extra security tonight. They’re fine.”
From what I can see, Benny, Frank, and the guards I don’t know are doing a fine job of keeping the guys insulated. But I doubt their view of the fountains is as good as ours.
“Time to get off the street,” Reed says when we rejoin them once the dancing fountains have gone quiet again.
“Paige, I really hope the next place we’re going has some privacy,” Daltrey says, sounding aggravated. He’s usually the focus of attention when the guys get recognized in public, and from the way he’s gripping Daisy’s waist, I can tell he’s uncomfortable with her out here.
“Don’t worry,” Paige says as Frank leads us back to the limos. “We’re straight-up VIP from here out.”
Our next stop is Love, the Cirque de Soleil show based on the Beatles music. “I had to book this,” Paige tells Lennon very seriously. “Because of your name.”
He laughs and slings an arm around her. “Thanks, Paige.”
Chosen because of Lennon’s name or not, the show is amazing. Paige hit this one out of the park. All of the guys are into the music, and the acrobatics are scary good. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. “How in the hell are they doing that?” I hear Cash mutter more than once as the performers pull off feat after feat.
I enjoy the show quite a bit, but I’m finding it harder and harder to ignore the delicious tension radiating off of Levi. Hours of sitting so close to him is starting to get to me. My body feels attuned to his every move, like I have a radar beam fixed on him, alerting me to his breathing, to the movement of his chest, to the way his eyes flicker toward me constantly throughout the night.
I feel like we’re on the edge of something, like the tension is going to have to break soon, and I’m both terrified and eager for what might happen next. Because when he looks at me, his eyes get darker. And the last time I saw his eyes like that…
Our last stop is a nightclub in one of the casinos on the Strip. It’s about as swanky a place as I’ve ever been, even more so than the club in New York. I wonder if Levi and I will leave early again. The thought sends a shiver down my spine.
We’re led to the VIP room right away, which is situated up a flight of stairs and hangs out over the main room like a balcony. We can see the entire club from here, every strobing, flashing light and gorgeous young body dancing. There’s a separate dance floor up here which is filled with people from the other VIP sections. As soon as we get to our table, Levi leans over to whisper in my ear.
“Dance with me.”
I feel a shiver of anticipation as he leads me out onto the dance floor. The song is slow and sensual, something I’ve heard before—Beyoncé maybe?—but all I can focus on is the way that Levi is pulling me into his arms, pulling my body close to his, his fingers brushing up and down my arms and then across my neck, up to my hair line. I shudder violently, and I can feel him smile when his lips press against my ear.
“Have I ever told you how much I like your hair when it’s up?”
I shake my head, way too far gone for words.
“I love your neck. It’s so long, and your skin is so soft. So unbelievably sexy.”
Holy crap. My knees actually feel weak, and I have to clutch his shoulders to stay upright in my heels. There’s been some flirting over these past few weeks, and today has been full of the best kind of vibes, but this is the first time he’s said something so overt.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” I manage, and Levi chuckles, his chest vibrating below my cheek.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
I look up into his brown eyes, now crinkled with amusement. “What?”
“What was going on this morning? Back at the house. You were acting kind of weird. And you said something about Paige?”
Heat comes to my chest, and I silently curse Paige for her meddling. “Paige was trying to encourage me to flirt a little more. Apparently, flirting is very important to any relationship.” I roll my eyes. “Something about keeping the spark going.”
Levi laughs. “Seriously? That was you flirting?”
“Shut up!” I smack his chest lightly, and he grabs my hand, covering it and holding it there against his heart.
“No, I mean, it was cute and everything. I just thought a girl with your reputation would have a little more game than that.”
“My reputation.” There’s a warning note in my voice audible even to me, but Levi just continues to smile down at me.
“You know. The whole Karen Simpson can-have-any-guy-she-wants thing.”
“That’s my reputation?”
“Yeah. You’re all tough and confident. You don’t worry about any man.”
“You’re teasing me.”
He lowers his head a little so his forehead is very close to mine. “Of course I am. It’s very fun.”
I laugh, though the nearness of his face, and his lips, are making it very hard to breathe.
“I like having fun with you,” I say, feeling bold. “I’ve never really had this with a guy before, you know. Someone that makes me lau
gh and makes me crazy at the same time.”
His eyebrows practically disappear into his hairline. “I make you crazy? Crazy how?”
I should probably diffuse the situation. Laugh it off or indicate that he drives me crazy in an annoying sort of way. That would be the smarter thing to do, the safer thing. But I don’t. Instead I hold his gaze. “Crazy like I’m crazy about you.”
It’s worth the rush of fear to see his reaction. His mouth drops open a little, his eyes wide. I think he maybe stops breathing. “Really?”
I laugh. “You’re always so good at reading me. I thought it would be obvious.”
I hold my breath, hoping he’ll kiss me, wondering if I should kiss him. But then he does something even better. He grins—an ear splitting, joyous grin—and pulls me into a tight hug. “I think that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
I squeeze him back, letting myself feel the strength of his arms, the steadiness of him. Levi. Reliable, steady, kind Levi. He pulls back, looking down at me, and I stop thinking about how kind he is. That fire is back in his eyes, the dark desire that sends my stomach plummeting down to my ankles. He’s so gorgeous.
“I really want to take you back to my room,” he says, the deepness of his voice sending a chill down my neck.
“I really want you to.”
He swallows hard, closing his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them, they’re full of regret. “I really want to, but I can’t. Not yet.”
A wave of disappointment washes over me. Did I imagine the look in his eyes? Am I alone in the crazy department after all?
“I think I need to stay here and hang out with Lennon for a while,” he says, and a wave of relief passes through me. “I’ve been gone all day, and I can’t get a read on how he’s feeling. Would you mind if we stay a little longer?”
“Of course not,” I tell him. “We should stay. I haven’t spent much time with Paige lately, anyhow.”
He looks relieved. “Good.” Slowly, he brings a hand up to my neck, once again tracing the edge of my hairline, making me shiver. “We have all night.”
Relent Page 22
