Brynne shifted, her foot sliding over my ankle, and I stiffened. Her eyes remained closed, so I decided to shut up.
I almost chuckled at how ridiculous I was being. Instead of spilling my life story to someone who wasn’t listening, I should probably go to counseling or something.
For a long time, I’d avoided romantic connections of any kind because it was just easier that way. I didn’t enjoy breaking someone’s heart, and it always came to that when they finally understood I couldn’t give them mine. They couldn’t change me.
But maybe I didn’t need someone to change me. Maybe I just needed someone who made me happy, and someone I wanted to give happiness to in return.
Maybe you just don’t know how to be happy. Scott’s words from this morning echoed in my mind. But he was wrong.
Because I was happy right now.
If Scott got to have this feeling every day, it was no wonder why he wanted to keep it forever. And speak of the devil…
My phone started buzzing on the nightstand. I reached over to grab it, knowing it was him since he was the only one who called me these days.
“Hey, man,” I answered it, keeping my voice low, with an apology on the tip of my tongue.
“I’m sorry,” we both said at the same time, and I chuckled. “What do you have to be sorry for? I’m the dick.”
“For telling you not to come out tonight,” he replied. “I didn’t mean it.”
“I deserved that, okay? I’ve been doing some thinking today and—”
“Yeah, about that,” he cut in. “Where the hell are you? I was worried when I woke up and realized you never came back to the room.”
I gazed down at Brynne sleeping in the crook of my arm, and I toyed with a strand of her hair. “I, uh, met someone this morning.”
“Met someone?” he asked slowly.
“Yeah. At that bar in the lobby. We’re back at her apartment.”
He barked out a laugh so loud it actually woke Brynne. “I leave you for an hour and you find a random hookup. I shouldn’t be surprised.”
I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t like that. But wasn’t it?
As Brynne stretched and rubbed her body against mine, the reality hit me that I would never be here again. With her. In her bed.
That old familiar discontent swept through me again, stealing the peace I’d briefly found. I scrubbed a hand over my face as though I could wipe it away.
It didn’t work.
“So are you in for the concert tonight?” Scott’s voice reminded me that I was still on the phone. “Doug isn’t going to be able to make it. Remember all those oysters he ate last night? Well, he thinks he has food poisoning.”
“Damn, that sucks.”
“Yeah. Joe seems fine. Are you okay?”
“Well, I didn’t eat the oysters, so other than a hangover, I’m good.”
Brynne began kissing down my chest, and I moved the curtain of her hair out of the way so I could watch her lips make contact with my skin.
“Cool. What time will you be back?”
Never, I almost said as Brynne made it to my happy trail. Then I had an idea.
“Hey, what are you doing with the extra ticket?”
“Nothing, I guess,” Scott replied. “I doubt we could get a refund. Maybe we could sell it before the show.”
“Don’t.”
“Huh?”
I moved the phone away from my face and tipped Brynne’s chin up with my finger. “You don’t work tonight, right?”
“No.” She nipped at the skin on my hip. “I’m off until Tuesday.”
“Do you have other plans?” I asked, hoping to God she didn’t say she had a date or something.
Just the thought of her going out with someone else had jealousy ripping through me, and I had the sudden urge to put my fist through a wall. And that shocked the hell out of me because I wasn’t a jealous guy.
“No plans.”
I let out an exhale of relief. “You wanna go to a Celine Dion concert?”
Gasping, she shot up, tits bouncing as her messy hair tumbled over her shoulder. “Yes!”
I smiled and said to Scott, “I’ve got a taker for the ticket.”
As Celine Dion hit the key change on “My Heart Will Go On”, Brynne’s fingers tightened around my forearm. I looked down to see her wiping away a tear with her other hand.
Seriously?
I mean, it was an amazing performance, but I didn’t think it was anything to cry over. Then I remembered the tattoo on her arm. This song meant something to her.
I never thought I’d be glad that someone got food poisoning—that shit sucks—but if Doug hadn’t passed on coming to the concert, Brynne wouldn’t have been here with me.
She dug a couple tissues out of her small purse and handed one to Scott, who was on her other side. The fucker was drying his eyes, too. I shot a glance to Joe on my right and I saw him discreetly wipe his nose. God help me.
I had to admit Brynne was pretty fucking adorable, though. She’d worn a shimmery blue gown, not too unlike the one Celine Dion was wearing. The oceanic background of the stage threw flickers of light over the audience, and I enjoyed the way it made my date’s dress sparkle.
The song came to an end and Brynne gave me a watery smile, and even if they were happy tears or emotional tears or whatever-the-fuck kind of tears, I didn’t like seeing her cry.
Cupping her cheek, I leaned down to kiss her. I’d meant for it to be a quick peck, but she grabbed the back of my neck and shoved her tongue past my lips.
Okay, then. I sure as hell wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to make out with her.
For all I knew, after the concert was over, so were we.
When we parted, I didn’t miss the way Scott raised his eyebrows at me. Behind Brynne’s head, I shot him the middle finger.
Later, after we were back out on the streets of the strip, Brynne sighed wistfully, “I never get tired of Celine’s shows. She’s amazing.”
My brows furrowed. “You’ve seen her before?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. Lots of times. My mom and I go at least once a year.”
Chuckling, I tightened my arm around her shoulders. “I should’ve known. Here I thought I was giving you a new experience.”
“You did.” Brynne stopped and cocked her head to the side. “I’ve never seen it with you before.”
Fuck. How did she manage to say and do things that made my heart thump like it never had before? She made me feel… special. Like my presence enhanced her experience. It was humbling.
I pulled her close and placed a kiss on her nose.
Scott and Joe both cleared their throats at the same time, reminding us we weren’t alone.
“So what do you guys want to do next?” I asked them. “The night’s still young.”
They looked to Brynne, and Scott asked, “What’s the best thing to do here on a Saturday night?”
The guys couldn’t get over the fact that she was a local. When she’d brought me back to the hotel so I could change, everyone was enamored with her right away. Scott didn’t mean anything by it, because he was one hundred percent taken. But Joe was single. A weird possessiveness flared up in me at all the attention they were giving her. I’d actually been getting annoyed by how many questions they’d been asking her all night, but she didn’t seem to mind one bit.
“Have you hit the casinos yet?” Practically hopping in her heels, Brynne had an excited glint in her eyes.
“Scott and I have the worst luck ever when it comes to gambling,” I told her, humor tinging my voice. “He lost about fifty bucks on the slot machines last night and decided to quit before he went bankrupt.”
“It’s not always about luck.” Brynne grinned. “I can show you how it’s done.”
And that’s how we ended up in a casino a couple blocks away, with Brynne sitting at a blackjack table while we watched her kick some serious ass. We hadn’t even been here for fifteen minutes, but I’d seen her wi
n more than lose.
“Hit me,” she said again, coming perilously close to going over the number she needed.
I held my breath.
She wasn’t playing it safe when it came to how much cash she was willing to bet, but it was working in her favor. I’d lost count of the hundreds—yes, hundreds—she’d put down. Although, I estimated she was ahead by quite a bit.
They dealt her a three of spades, putting her at exactly twenty-one.
“Holy shit,” Joe whispered behind his complimentary liquor. “Free drinks and we get to watch a card shark in action.”
“A card shark?” My eyebrows went up as I studied the intense expression on Brynne’s gorgeous face and the way her calculating eyes flitted to the dealer and the other gamblers at the table.
Was she counting cards? Holy fuck, she just became ten times hotter than she already was. Because not only was she beautiful, but she was also a fucking genius. I’d always had a thing for smart girls, and this chick had brains in spades—pun intended.
Just then, a large man in a black suit strode toward us, pressing a hand to his earpiece as his eyes homed in on Brynne.
Oh, shit.
I was about to tell her we needed to get the hell out of here when the big dude greeted her with a jovial tone. “Miss Watson.”
She barely glanced his way. “Oh, hey, Don.”
He crossed his meaty arms over his chest. “You know you’re not allowed in here.”
Sighing, she motioned to our group. “I’m just showing my friends a good time.”
“You’re causing trouble.” His lips twitched and it appeared he was fighting a smile.
“One more hand?” she pleaded, and I had no idea how anyone could refuse those big brown eyes.
My head swiveled back and forth between them, wondering how this was going to end. We’d drawn the attention of other patrons, some looking on with expressions that ranged from intrigued to envious.
“Not if you want to keep your earnings. Cash out, and we’ll just pretend this never happened.” When Brynne hesitated, he added, “Do I need to call your father?”
Her hands shot up in surrender. “Okay, okay. Geez.”
I had to press my lips together to hold in my laugh. Don brought out the big guns.
“I trust you can see yourself out?” he asked. “Or do you need me to escort you from the premises?”
“It’s fine, I’ll go.” Pouting, Brynne sighed deeply and stood.
“You’re lucky your dad cut me such a good deal on my Escalade,” Don told her. There was no anger behind his words, mostly just amusement. I got the feeling this was one time of many that Brynne had been tossed out of the place. “Tell him I said hi.”
“I will.”
Satisfied with her compliance, Don walked away.
As she gathered her chips, I leaned in close and spoke next to her ear, “You’ve been banned here?”
“Not officially.” She smirked, and I wanted to kiss the fuck out of her.
After exchanging her chips, Brynne stuffed the hundreds of extra dollars she’d earned into her purse and turned to us.
We probably looked like lost puppies. We were just following her around, speechless, with our jaws hanging open.
“Better down your drinks before we reach the door,” she told us, sashaying toward the exit and holding her head high as a queen.
Scott and Joe chugged the remainder of their whiskey while I sipped my water. After last night and this morning, alcohol wasn’t sounding so great.
Once we got out onto the street, it was like the silent spell we were under broke.
“You’re something else,” Scott said at exactly the same time Joe exclaimed, “That was crazy! We just got kicked out of a casino. Best night ever!”
Grinning, I looped an arm around Brynne’s shoulders.
“You know how to count cards,” I stated, still in awe. “Where the hell did you come from?”
Hiking a shoulder, like it wasn’t a big deal, she suddenly seemed bashful over how impressed I was.
“I’m from Vegas,” she replied, like that was the obvious answer.
Stopping in the middle of the busy sidewalk, I kissed her again, palming her hip with one hand and cradling her face with the other. I couldn’t keep myself off her. It was like if she was nearby, I had to touch her.
Scott and Joe did that annoying throat clearing thing again, and I would’ve flipped them off if my hands weren’t occupied. Giving Brynne’s bottom lip one last nibble, I reluctantly pulled back.
“Well, I’m actually pretty beat,” Scott said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “And I promised Steph I’d FaceTime with her tonight.”
I nodded. “We’ll need our energy for tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?” Brynne asked.
Shrugging, I linked our fingers. “No plans yet. We were going to use the day to explore.”
Her face brightened. “Want me to show you around? I can take you guys somewhere awesome. My treat.” She held up her purse, indicating the money she’d won.
“That would be awesome,” Scott said before I could answer. “You probably know all the best things to do.”
“I’ll be the greatest tour guide ever.” She nodded enthusiastically, but her happy expression faded as she glanced up at me. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
She wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend more time with her. Truth was, there wasn’t anything I wanted more than to have her for another day. Or a week. Yeah, a week would’ve been good.
“I’d really like that,” I told her honestly.
“Great.” Her smile returned. “I can pick you guys up at The Millennium in the morning.”
“Awesome,” Scott called from the curb. “It was nice meeting you, Brynne.”
I hadn’t even noticed Joe had been hailing a cab until he and Scott were climbing in. Conflicted, my eyes volleyed between the car and Brynne.
I didn’t want to go back to the hotel. I didn’t want to let go of her hand. I wanted to lose myself in the peace only she could give me.
But she saved me from having to say any of those things.
“Stay the night with me?” she requested, her voice hesitant as she gave my arm a tug.
She didn’t have to ask me twice. Eagerly nodding, I sent a goodbye wave to the guys. “See you tomorrow.”
These guys were an anomaly. I’d never known any group of men to come to Vegas and not hit up one strip club. It was an admirable thing, Scott having so much respect for his fiancée that he didn’t even want to look at another woman’s boobs.
But so far, their experience of the city had been pretty toned down.
I didn’t want them to leave feeling like they’d missed out.
Of course the shows were amazing, but there was so much more to do besides that and gambling. Maybe they weren’t risk takers, but I had something to loosen them up.
Well, except for Doug who still wasn’t recovered from the food poisoning. He’d chosen to skip out on today’s activity, and honestly, it was probably a good thing. If he was in danger of shitting his pants, he definitely wouldn’t want to be included in what we were doing this afternoon.
Knowing we were going to be walking a lot and being active, I’d chosen a casual outfit of skinny jeans, a black tank top, and sneakers. And although I refused to tell the guys what my plans were, I’d advised them to do the same.
Unfortunately, as soon as Joe saw the zipline that would take us soaring through the mall, he got pale and excused himself because of his fear of heights.
Eh, it wasn’t for everyone. But there was no way I could let them leave Vegas without offering the Freemont Street Experience. Slotzilla, the twelve-story slot-machine-inspired zipline, was a must.
Without asking if they wanted to do the lower or the upper level, I chose for them. The upper level “Zoomline” was the only way to go, in my opinion.
“You boys gonna chicken out, too?” I asked as we waited in line.
&nbs
p; “Hell no,” Carter said, puffing out his chest.
The action was cocky and adorable, but I was interested to see how he’d handle it once we were in the air.
“I’m so ready.” Scott rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “I can’t believe Joe and Doug are missing out on this. Scared of heights?” He made a dismissive sound. “That’s for wimps.”
For all their bravado in the minutes leading up to getting strapped into their harnesses, they were particularly quiet as we got hooked up.
I giggled under my breath when we were ready for takeoff. Hovering horizontally over the launch platform, my legs up behind me, I glanced at the guys. I was in the middle, with Carter on the zipline to my left and Scott to the right.
Carter looked excited, while Scott had a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Before I could ask him if he was okay, we all propelled forward at the same time.
And suddenly, I was flying.
Laughing with delight, I spread my arms out wide as I sped through the air. The crowds of gawking people below and the lights surrounding me blurred. My ponytail whipped around my head and I fought the urge to close my eyes.
I’d done this at least a dozen times, but it never got old.
A high-pitched shrieking to my right pulled me out of the reverie.
I glanced over at Scott and started laughing for a new reason. Wildly flailing his arms, he was screaming his ass off. Unfortunately for him, this was the point of no return.
Turning my head to the left, I looked to Carter to see if he was freaking out like his brother.
He wasn’t.
But what I saw on his face had my heart beating with a different kind of excitement. The butterflies in my stomach had nothing to do with the ride. His arms were out, too, but his eyes were on me.
Only on me.
Not the lights. Not the people.
Of all the amazing sights he could focus on during this experience, he chose me.
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