Vixen in Vegas (Sinful Novellas) (11 page)

Setting the basket down, Ben opened the top and pulled out an ivory linen tablecloth. My eyebrows shot up. Who uses something like that for a picnic? It would be ruined, completely unusable ever again. He pulled out a couple of goblets, a bottle of wine, and a corkscrew. Then it was the pre-made platters. There was a deli one with meats and cheeses, a fruit one, a veggie one, and pastry box with a cupcake selection inside.

Completely awed and amazed, I didn’t know what to say at first. I was sure that my mouth was hanging open slightly and for some reason there were tears in my eyes. It must have been the sun. I should have brought a hat in addition to the sunglasses. So, I found myself wiping at my eyes.

Smirking, Ben said, “So, dust in your eyes?”

Shaking my head, I explained. “The sun. It’s great for taking pictures, but lousy on the eyes.

“Sure it is,” he laughed. “Now come eat.” He was already sitting and had gestured to the array of food on the tablecloth. “I know it’s not much, but I’ll make up for it with dinner tonight.” He winked at me.

“This…is amazing.” I sighed happily. “How do you do it?” I asked. “How do you always know the perfect thing to do, to say?” I shook my head. “I never do. Jolie was always the one who was good with words. For me, it was pictures…worth a thousand words, right?” I looked at him meekly.

Reaching out, he cupped my face, lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “You do a fine job expressing yourself,” he assured me. “If there’s anything I have learned about you, it’s that everything you do, everything you say comes straight from the heart.”

He must have known that this moment had turned suddenly uncomfortably intense because he masterfully changed the subject. “What did you get Jolie?” He asked as he uncorked the wine. He sniffed the cork, and then he began to pour while I contemplated his question.

“What?” I was utterly confused. My mind was whirling from all that he said. My heart was so full; I thought it would burst.

“For graduation. She bought you a camera. Road trip. You know.” He was busy working on removing the lids from the platters.

“Oh, that,” I said. “Huh. I bought her a computer. It was a laptop, refurbished, nothing fancy.” I shook my head in wonder as I reached for a grape and popped it in my mouth. “It’s funny. Jolie always loved computers. She loved creating websites. It was her thing. And I loved taking pictures, of course, recording these little snippets of life for posterity.”

Using just my fingers, I reached a cheese cube. “We started a blog, thought that we would simply record our adventures for family and friends, two eighteen year olds traveling the continental US in a VW bus.”

He chuckled. “I never saw that coming. You are so…refined.”

“Well, it was Jolie’s idea. She pictured us as these gypsies, thought that the vehicle completed the illusion. We camped out in it. We traveled on the cheap. It was an incredibly fun and exciting time. Only…the blog grew beyond our imagination. We had tons of followers. We created a blog book that sold well. We had many people contacting us and asking for the rights to our pictures. We had a magazine reach out and ask us to write a series of articles. Suddenly, what was supposed to be a summer trip became a career.” Taking a long sip of wine, I studied his reaction.

“It looks like your gifts have served you well,” he acknowledged. “What happened next?”

“So, we decided not to come home. Our bank accounts were growing. We hadn’t expected to be earning any money. We had saved for this trip for years. Now we both had lovely little nest eggs. After a while, when the weather turned cold, we headed south and it was Galveston for the winter. Then, we bought houses and stayed.” I shrugged.

“Wait.” He looked dumbfounded. “You bought houses in Galveston?”

I nodded.

“So, you had a house in Texas. How old were you?” Now I could see that he was impressed.

It was nice. I liked that he was impressed, but I didn’t feel the need to impress anyone. I was just living my life, doing my thing, finding my happy. Still, I did want to correct his assumption. “I still own it,” I said offhandedly. “I rent it out. It’s managed by a property company, just like the other four houses I own.”

I wasn’t paying attention to him at the moment. My focus was instead on the food. I was starving. History showed that as soon as that need was fulfilled, I would be ready to start taking pictures. As I glanced about, I basked in the cloudless blue sky, the gentle breeze, and the gorgeous nature made stone formations that I was preparing to capture. The lighting was perfect.

Looking at Ben, I offered him a sweet smile. “Thank you for this,” I said. “This is absolutely perfect.” I leaned in and he met me halfway for a kiss.

“You are absolutely perfect,” he said as we pulled apart.

Stunned, I just sat there. “I’m not perfect, Ben. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Please don’t set me up for failure. I don’t want to disappoint you.” I frowned. Then, before he could say another word, I started to stand, but he caught my hand first.

“Wait. Before you run off. Stay for just a moment and let me tell you what I see. You ready?” He asked earnestly.

I nodded shyly. These conversations were so uncomfortable to me, since I lacked both experience and confidence in this department. I was a chick of action.

“Sin, you are fearless…just about,” he said with a shy smirk. The man knows me. I couldn’t help but giggle in return. “You are just such a surprise, so capable, highly intelligent, incredibly creative, with an amazing sense of adventure. Being around you is absolutely intoxicating. You are just what I needed.” With that, he lay down, an arm folded under his head, closed his eyes and prepared to rest.

Tilting my head to the side, I studied him, certain of his sincerity. It was really invigorating. I felt all squirmy inside. I had to do something, had to move before I made a complete fool of myself for this man.

“Baby, go do your thing. I know you are aching to take pictures. I just want to lay back here and watch you work,” he said.

Leaning over, I gave him a quick peck on the lips, then I grabbed my camera and headed toward the plateau I had scoped out earlier.

We left late afternoon and as we flew back to the terminal, I leaned back in Ben’s arms. “What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon,” I commented. “Thank you for that.”

“Oh, Sin, our day isn’t over yet. I have plenty more surprises in store for you,” he said with a smile. “Did I tell you how much I enjoyed seeing you work?”

“You didn’t pay attention to me,” I laughed, “you slept!” Then I gave him a playful punch in the shoulder.

“Hey, I didn’t sleep the entire time,” he argued.

I shook my head, since there was no reason to push the matter. It didn’t hurt my feelings. While I’m taking pictures, I’m so in my element that I wouldn’t know whether he had been there or not. Changing the subject, I asked, “So what else do you have planned for me?”

“Come on. You know better than to ask,” he teased behind his sunglasses.

“Well, it was worth a try. One day you may just succumb to my charms. And I’ll never know if I don’t ask.” I shrugged.

“Silly, Sin,” he whispered into my ear. “I’ve already succumbed to your charms. Isn’t that obvious?” He gave me an extra tight squeeze before planting a few kisses on my neck.

This man had me under his spell for sure.

We returned to The Venetian in the same Mercedes that brought us here. And because I was unsure of what to expect, I found myself looking about suspiciously, constantly watching, waiting to see what was going to happen next. It really took the fun out of the moment. Luckily, Ben was very aware.

“This is really killing you, isn’t it?” He asked seriously, voice laden with concern.

Sadly, I nodded as we walked to the elevators. “I don’t do well with surprises. I’m a planner. Everything feels really up in the air. I’ve packed up my house and my life. Now, I was doing that anyway, but the time frame was on steroids by our reunion. No regrets. Only…I feel like I’ve lost all control.” I let out a long anxious sigh. “I don’t know what I’m doing from one minute to the next. I don’t know whether to look for an apartment or a house. I know I just arrived, but these things take time and the hotel costs money.” I threw my hands up in the air, my frustration showing.

When I met his gaze once more, his eyes were wide with surprise. “I guess I never thought of that. First, I’m paying for the hotel. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Wait. I am just as good with others’ money as I am with my own. I know it is hard to come by,” I interrupted.

Nodding, he said, “Well, I appreciate that. Just so you know, I picked up on that during the cruise. I remember when I was buying you all those clothes. By the end, you were visibly flinching every time I added something to the pile.” He chuckled. “You really do like being self-sufficient, don’t you?”

“Absolutely!” I exclaimed. “I wasn’t built to be dependent on anyone.” I frowned. The way he looked at me then, I knew I’d have to explain that comment later. I was fine with that. I’m not ashamed of my past.

“How about this?” He glanced at his watch. “What if we talk and then I have you go get ready because we are driving to dinner in an hour.”

Hopeful, I asked, “Do I get to know where we’re going?”

With a warm smile, he hauled me close, “Absolutely. I thought I might tell you where you are going tomorrow, too.” He winked at me as the elevator doors closed around us.

That’s all it took. Suddenly, I was giddy. “Where are we going for dinner?”

“Lake Mead. It’s a dinner cruise.” He beamed at me. “I just love you on a boat. What can I say?”

My face hurt from how hard I was smiling. Oh, and my eyes…they were doing this bizarre thing. Everything was getting all hazy. I looked up at him. “I can’t wait,” I murmured, afraid of how my voice would sound. Just then the elevator doors opened and we exited, headed toward our suite.

“Baby, are you crying again?” He asked as he ran a thumb around my lashes.

Shaking my head, I swore, “I don’t cry. I think I must have stepped near an air conditioning vent.”

“Of course,” he said in a way that suggested he was placating me.

“Now, tell me about tomorrow,” I demanded playfully. We were in front of the door now and I opened the door much more easily this time than I did yesterday. It helped that he wasn’t pressing against me or nibbling on my ear.

When we walked through the entry, Jolie was just walking out of her room. “Hey, I thought I’d grab a bite to eat, hit a show. Are you two interested?”

I looked up at him with a pleading look. He nodded down at me. “Jolie, we have plans to eat dinner tonight on a dinner cruise, Lake Mead. I’d love for you to join us. It’s a boat full of people. It’s not like you’d be intruding.”

She looked to me for confirmation. I had my hands clasped in front of my chest, but I walked toward her suddenly and hugged her. “Please,” I begged.

Looking from one to the other of us, she finally broke out into a huge smile. “Fine. Twist my arm. I guess I’ll go change.” Then she turned and headed back into her room, but there was definitely a spring in her step. It made me happy. I hated feeling like I was excluding her, even if she did know we were coming to meet Ben.

“Thank you for that,” I said as I buried my head in his chest. It felt so good to be close to him, to have him wrap his arms around me, and to have him accept my best friend, too. Maybe I
could
have it all and not lose me.

“Before you get carried away thanking me, let’s talk about tomorrow.” He took me by the hand and waked me down to the sectional in the sunken living room. We sat and he said, “How do you feel about going to my place for a few days?”

My knee jerk reaction…had me jumping up and down in excitement. Then, I realized what it meant. “And we’d leave Jolie here?” I asked.

“Well, that was my original plan. I want to show you the estate, the vineyard, the winery. I have some business to take care of.” He searched my face for a reaction. “Say something.”