Falling Free: What happens in Vegas... (The Fall Series) (11 page)

“We’re more alike than you
think.”

“What the hell is that supposed
to mean?”

“Look, I’m not going to debate
this with you. I have something very special planned for you tonight. Please,
Lo. What can I do to make you stay?”

“I don’t know. Give me one good
reason why I should?” I was so confused. Part of me thought I should leave, but
after what he did, I took one look at him and deep down I knew I couldn’t.

“Okay. How’s this? If you stay I
promise you’ll have the time of your life tonight, and not only that you’ll be
able to get revenge on me all at the same time.”

I was so overwhelmed by what just
happened. My mind was spinning, and I couldn’t think. Then it all started to
sink in. He dumped his agent and decided not to be the drunken bad boy poster
child for American Rebel Spirits. For me.

“Please stay, Lo. This night is
going to be special. I promise.”

A small smile tugged at my lips. “Revenge,
huh?” Revenge could be fun, although I really wasn’t mad anymore.
How did he
do that?
A few minutes ago I was ready to hop the first plane back to
Michigan, but now? “I’ll think about it.” I wondered why I was making this hard
on him.
Did I REALLY want to go?

Parker let out a deep breath and
leaned over to hold his head in his hands like a man who’d just been cleared of
a crime he didn’t commit. It was sort of comical seeing him like that. I
couldn’t keep the smile off my face, maybe because of what he did, or maybe
just because of how he looked at that very moment. I hadn’t seen Parker come
completely unglued since we were kids, but some things never change. He still
paced and dragged his hands through his hair until it was sticking up
everywhere. He could be so predictable and so very unpredictable at the same
time.

Still eyeing him carefully, I
finally decided he’d suffered enough. “I’ll stay.”

He jumped to his feet, and before
I knew it he lifted me up and spun me around then planted a kiss in the middle
of my forehead. “Thank you!”

Teary eyed again, I suddenly
remembered how this whole thing started. The gift, the song, the feelings that
came crashing over me. The feelings. Every part of me wanted to share all those
shattered pieces of my soul with him…until I saw her. She was the ultimate
reminder of how different our lives had become. Seeing her there with him,
hearing her put into words something that I had imagined he’d done a million
times, made it real. It felt like a slap in the face, a sobering blow that
couldn’t have come at a better time. It was a sign that I had to keep my
feelings in check and remember what I came here to do, save The Grand and go
back home where I belonged.  

He held me there like he thought
I might run the minute he let go. Finally, with one final squeeze he let me
down. “This isn’t how I thought things would turn out today,” he laughed, “far
from it actually. And now I have to leave to get ready for your surprise.”

I looked up at him, disappointed.
“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to, trust me,
but soon enough you’ll know why.” He tilted my chin to look into my eyes. “Tell
me again that you’re not going to leave.”

Giggling, I tried to look away,
but he held my chin in place. “I won’t leave. You want me to pinky swear?” I
asked, and now he was laughing again, too, a deep heartfelt laugh filled with
relief. I held my pinky up to let him know I meant business, and he hooked his
finger comfortably into mine and pulled me into a deep gentle kiss.

“Thank you.” His lips lingered.
“Now I really do have to go before I change my mind and ruin the surprise. Call
Alex. She’ll help you get ready.”

Get ready?
This whole time I’d been so
distracted I never let myself think about what “the surprise” might be. Now I
was curious. “That’s it? You’re not going to tell me anything else?”

“Nope,” he replied smugly,
heading for the door, or where the door used to be. He picked it up and set it
against the wall. “Sorry about this. I’ll get someone up here to fix it for
you.”

A few minutes later he kissed me
goodbye one last time and headed out the door acting more mysterious than ever.
Damn him!
Not knowing what he had planned was killing me.
I really
suck at surprises
I thought to myself as I dug through my purse for Alex’s
number. Maybe she would give me some kind of clue.

I went in search of my phone and
heard it ringing from the bathroom counter where I’d left it after trying to
call Nina. I shook my head. It seemed like my life was a whirlwind since the
moment Parker Blackwell came back into the picture. First I learned that Evelyn
wanted to sell her shares of The Grand, then Jake and I went our separate ways,
then I discovered my family attorney moonlighted as a pimp before finally
accepting an indecent proposal. And to think this all happened within a matter
of days. Now here I was in Las Vegas where I learned that not only did Parker
hire escorts, but his sex life was much more twisted than I could’ve ever
imagined. I felt like I was on a roller coaster blindfolded. The ups and downs
came so quickly I didn’t know what to expect next, and this was a perfect
example. A little while ago I was ready to run away, and now I was getting excited
about some mysterious surprise. It all seemed so crazy.

I looked at the phone thinking it
was Nina. I was wrong. The caller ID flashed
Sarah Blackwell O’Conner
.
What?
Sarah was Parker’s cousin, and the third Musketeer all those summers ago.
She was still one of my dearest friends, but her timing couldn’t be worse. How
could I explain what was going on right now? It’s not like I could tell her the
truth. I could lie, but I really didn’t want to. I hesitated as I suddenly
realized the phone was on its last ring before voicemail. Unsure of what to say
I decided to let it go. The thought of telling Sarah anything right now made me
uneasy. I would call her when I got back home.
Now where did I put Alex’s
number?

I was about to dial Alex when my
phone rang again. Annoyed, I stared at the screen. Sarah again. I quickly sent
it to voicemail just as the sound of the doorbell sent me jumping to my feet
like I’d just been busted.
Shit! Calm down, Lo!
Maybe it was something
to do with the surprise, or maybe Parker ordered room service. My stomach
growled as if to vote for room service as I made my way to the door.
Hindsight…

PLACE YOUR BETS

I unlocked the door, expecting a
clue about my surprise, the possibility of food or maybe both. Little did I
know that neither of those things were on the other side. In fact, if I had
only looked through the peephole first I would have thought to hide my phone before
opening the door to none other than Sarah Blackwell O’Conner. I wanted to hide
at the sight of her standing there smiling at me, probably wondering why the
hell I didn’t answer her last two calls.

“Oh my gosh, Lo! It’s so good to
see you!” she crooned, and I immediately noticed the soft southern drawl she’d
developed after moving to Alabama with Eric was more pronounced. Everything
else was the same, though. Sarah was just like her mother—beautiful, classy and
wearing her old family money with a side of pure southern charm. Back in
college she saved my ass more than once. I was the risk taker, and she was my
voice of reason. I missed her so much since we graduated. I could hardly
believe she was standing right in front of me.

“Sarah?” Recovering slightly from
the shock of seeing her there, I held my arms out, and we hugged like we hadn’t
seen each other in years. Well, it felt like years, anyway. The last time I saw
Sarah was when I stood up in her wedding last June. Sure, we’ve had a few phone
calls since, but it wasn’t the same. I was so happy to see her, but I was equally
confused.
What was she doing here?

When we finally let go I glanced down
at the phone in my hand. Before I could explain Sarah gracefully let me off the
hook.

Rolling her eyes she said, “It’s
okay. Lo. I told Parker to let you know I was coming, but he wanted you to be
surprised.”

“I’m surprised,” I laughed
nervously. “Well, come in. Come in. This is really strange.”

“What’s strange?” Sarah came in
and set her purse on the counter as she took in the details of Parker’s
penthouse suite.

“It’s strange that I’m letting
you into Parker’s house. I mean you two are practically brother and sister, and
I never thought I’d be…”

“Staying with Parker?” She
giggled.

I looked down shyly. “Yeah, I
guess so.”

“It’s okay. He told me why you’re
here.”

“He did?” I tilted my head
waiting for her response.
This should be good.

“Yeah, he said things have been
stressful for you lately, and you needed to get away so he invited you to
Vegas. The timing couldn’t be better either. The annual benefit is tonight and Parker…ah
shoot!”

Wide-eyed and waiting for more
detail, I looked at her expectantly. She was about to reveal something about
the surprise tonight. Although I knew she was a part of it, I still didn’t know
what “it” was.
A benefit?
“What do you mean, “shoot”? You can’t keep a secret
from me. You never could. What kind of benefit? Where?”

“Oh, no. Not this time, Lo. I
promised Parker I wouldn’t ruin the surprise. He’d be so mad at me!”

Disappointed, I quickly relented,
“Great! So, I guess I should call Alex now.”

“Who’s Alex?” Sarah looked confused.

Shit! Think fast, Lo!
“Oh, Alex? Alex is…Alex
is…ah…Parker’s assistant. He told me to call her after he left, and she would
help me get ready.”

“Okay. When the front desk brings
my bag up we can get ready together.”

Alex was all business as usual,
and to my disappointment didn’t give me as much as a clue. She did, however,
tell me that Sarah and I had appointments in the salon downstairs for hair and
make-up at three o’clock and that a limo would arrive to pick us up at five.
She also told me which dress, shoes and jewelry to wear from the wardrobe she
helped me pick when I arrived. By the end of our call I knew we were attending
some type of important formal event. Apparently a benefit according to Sarah’s
slip up earlier.

I filled Sarah in on the plan,
and since we had an hour to spare we decided to order room service and catch up
over lunch. It felt like forever since we’d had a chance to talk in person, and
I suddenly felt grateful to Parker for setting the whole thing up. It’s funny
how he seemed to know just what I needed. Sometimes before I did.

“So where’s Eric?” I finally
asked when I realized the newly wed Mrs. O’Conner was all alone.

“Oh, he’s here,” her eyes dropped
to the floor nervously. “He um, he’s not
here
obviously, but he’s here
in Vegas,” she stammered.

“He’s not coming tonight?” I prodded,
sensing there was something she wasn’t telling me.

“No. He’s having dinner with a
potential client tonight. Something he set up at the last minute I guess.
Before that he wasn’t going to come.”

“I see.” Something wasn’t adding
up. Sarah was head-over-heels for Eric. They did everything together the last I
knew. There had to be a reason they weren’t together. What newlywed stays home
while his wife goes off to Vegas? Better yet, what newlywed goes to Vegas with
his wife and schedules a business meeting? I gently pressed for more
information, “Anything we need to talk about?” 

“No, why?” She giggled nervously.
“Everything’s fine.”

It clearly wasn’t, but I knew she
would tell me when she was ready. Sarah could be very private about things, but
when she was at the end of her rope she always leaned on me. I would have to
leave it alone until she came to me, and I would. For now.
Time to change
the subject, Lo.

“I’m starving. What should we
order? Do you still like Chinese?”

“Of course! It hasn’t been that
long, has it?” She plopped down onto the couch, and the stress seemed to leave
her face the more we talked about something other than Eric.

Note to self: don’t bring up Eric
for the rest of the night.

We decided on orange chicken and
spring rolls, and I made us a drink while we waited for room service to arrive.
Fifteen minutes later we were sitting Indian-style in front of the oversized glass
coffee table enjoying our food and catching up.

“So, how are things with you and
Jake? I was really surprised when Parker told me you were here …alone.”

Suddenly the mouthful of
delicious chicken didn’t taste so good, and I struggled to chew it before
washing it down with a big gulp of my martini.

Sarah noticed. “Ohhhh gosh! I’m
sorry, Lo. I had no idea.” She picked up on my body language the same way I
picked up on hers when Eric’s name came up.

I smiled to reassure her. “No
worries, really. To make a long story short, he wanted me to sell The
Grandview. I said no. He took a job in Tennessee. End of story.” I wiped my
mouth with my napkin. It wasn’t Sarah’s fault, but I lost my appetite at the
thought of Jake and me splitting so abruptly.