The Hero + Vegas = No Regrets

I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed not doing anything in particular. I thrive on having a sense of purpose, but spending time with Sophia is… a revelation. I normally enjoy being productive. Helping. Hanging out with Sophia is different. I feel a sense of lightness that I’m not used to. She’s going through some stuff, but being with her doesn’t feel heavy. Or maybe she’s not heavy when she’s with me.

I button up my black shirt and tuck it into my slacks. After lunch I came back to my room to make a few calls before dinner, but I feel like I lost my right arm not having her by my side this afternoon. She would have looked good draped on my bed or on my knee while I talked some business associates off the cliff.

I press the button for the elevator, and as the doors open, before I can see who’s in the elevator car, I know it’s going to be her again. It’s a weird feeling, but there’s a surety that comes over me I haven’t known before.

“Hey,” I say as the doors open.

She half frowns, half smiles. Utterly breathtaking. “How do you always seem to know when I’m in the elevator?”

“It’s just my good luck. You look beautiful.” My eyes slide down her body as I step into the car. She’s wearing a tight-fitting black dress with a deep V in the front that gives a glimpse of cleavage. Her hair is in a loose braid over one shoulder and she’s wearing black boots with a high heel. It’s a sexier look than last night, and I’m here for it.

“Can we have our time-outs tonight?” she asks. “At the bar, just the two of us?”

If I had my way, I’d spend the entire evening in time-out with this woman. I growl in appreciation of what she says and slip my hand to the small of her back. The elevator doors open and I guide her out.

“Oh, and I got something for the competition,” I say. I hope she doesn’t think it’s showy, but I don’t want Jules to be disappointed with our offering.

“You mean, something that might beat the water from the fountains at the Bellagio?”

“It depends how you look at it. I’ve brought the water, in case you want to go with that. We were a team. It should be a team decision.” I pat the pocket of my slacks.

“Oh, so you’re not just pleased to see me, then?” she asks on a grin.

“Never doubt that, Sophia. I’m always pleased to see you.”

I reach into my other pocket and pull out the jewelry case. There’s a sense of déjà vu from last night.

“We had a limit of one hundred dollars. Whatever’s in there is bound to have cost more than that,” she says, though it doesn’t stop her from gently taking the box from my hands. She opens the lid and gasps at the solitaire diamond earrings within, each five carats. I think she likes them. “Jesus Christ. How much did they cost?”

“Nothing,” I reply truthfully. “I called in a favor. They’re on loan.”

“How did you ever think that water from the Bellagio was going to beat these?”

“Well, the earrings are prettier, for sure,” I say. “But there’s no sentiment there.”

“There’s hardly sentiment in recycled water from a tourist attraction.”

I chuckle. “Maybe not for you, but I’ll remember this afternoon for a long while.”

Her cheeks pink at my admission. We’re in this no-man’s-land where we both know we find each other attractive, but there’s been no crossing of any lines. Yet. There’s been no kiss, no hands on bare flesh, no bite. No whimper.

And given her… vulnerability at the moment, I’m not sure it will happen. Not this weekend anyway.

But there’s an ache inside me that grows every time I see her. Every time I’m near her. It’s like I’ve found someone I’ve been unknowingly searching for, and now I have to be patient a little longer. She needs to feel it too.

And I have to square things away with Fisher. I know he’s not interested in Sophia, but I still have to make sure it’s okay.

“We should give Jules both and she can decide,” Sophia says.

“Are you ready to be beaten in this quest thing of Efa’s?” Jack asks as we meet him at the entrance to The Angel Rooms. We’re having dinner in the hotel again, though we’re in a different restaurant tonight.

“Absolutely,” Sophia says as I nod. We share a knowing look. We didn’t find anything amazingly creative, but I did have one of my favorite days of my life. So I definitely won. Just not as far as Jack’s concerned.

Jules squeals as we enter the room. Sophia and I part and go to opposite ends of the table, though I’m willing her to stay close tonight instead of keeping away. I’ve given in to my feelings. There’s no denying them.

Once we’re seated and have placed our orders, Efa announces we’re each to reveal our offerings. I don’t like to lose and I’m relieved we have something better than Bellagio water to set out in front of us at the table.

I’m sitting next to Fisher. I need to tell him tonight, even if things don’t go any further with Sophia.

“Sophia and Jack, why don’t you swap seats so you’re each next to your partners,” Efa says.

My chest lifts at Sophia being referred to as my partner. She feels like that on so many levels. But why? How? It’s not like we’ve been dating… at all. But the moment I laid eyes on her, something inside me slotted into place. I feel a sense of peace I can’t remember ever having before. None of it logical. None of it makes sense. And yet it completely does whenever she’s near.

“Hey,” she says as she sits next to me, giving me a sideways glance.

“Hey,” I reply.

I glance across at Fisher. I need to speak to him.

“Okay, let’s do ‘old’ first since it’s Bennett and me and we were a complete disaster.”

The vibration of Sophia’s giggle reverberates against my thigh. “They ain’t seen nothing yet,” she whispers.

“Turns out a hundred dollars doesn’t get you a lot in Vegas,” Efa goes on.

Around the table there’s a mumble of agreement.

“So, Leo and Jules, here is your something old.” Efa produces a smooth, shiny rock. “I wrote your names and the date of your wedding on the back. Then Bennett varnished it.”

“I never had you down as a crafter,” Fisher says, chuckling.

The image of Bennett hunched over a table, varnishing a rock, is going to last a long time.

“Fuck you,” Bennett says. “At least we put in some effort.”

Jules is flapping at her face. “You guys are going to make me cry. Thank you so much.” She gets up and hugs Efa and a reluctant Bennett. Then she takes the stone and hugs it to her chest.

“That was a good idea,” Sophia says to me. “We should have thought of that.”

I roll my eyes. “How would we feel right now if we were going to give them another stone?”

Sophia laughs. “Like losers.”

“Okay, so what did Worth and Sophia get?” Efa asks.

Sophia and I glance at each other conspiratorially. “We have two options,” I say.

I pull out the antique hip flask filled with water from the Bellagio. After lunch, I got the driver to take me to an antique shop and I picked up the silver flask for ninety dollars. I may well have paid ten times that amount for the pen I grabbed at the same time. I wanted to make sure I was following the rules. I hope Sophia’s not too pissed at me. I just couldn’t slide a Fiji water bottle onto the table. “This contains water borrowed from the fountains at the Bellagio. Alternatively”—I produce the earrings from my pocket—“we have earrings on loan from Bulgari.”

Jules glances at Leo, and Sophia reaches for the earrings.

“They’re really pretty,” Sophia says as she opens the case and sets them down on the table.

“Wow,” Jules says. “They’re beautiful. I’m not sure I’d want to give them back.”

“I’m sure I could arrange for you to keep them,” Leo says.

Sophia pats me on the leg, excited, and I feel a sense of satisfaction for playing a part in her happiness.

Fisher and Jack’s blue is a blue ribbon fashioned into a bow that could be affixed to the inside of Jules’ dress. Leo and Jules broke the budget rules and splurged on a tennis bracelet.

Bennett and Efa win, and I can’t bring myself to be mad about it. Spending the day with Sophia, just the two of us, more than made up for losing the game.

After the appetizers arrive, Sophia disappears from the table, and after a couple of minutes, I make my excuses and try to find her.

She’s at the bar. Today, she’s waiting, grinning at me, practically jumping up and down.

“She loved both,” she says.

I nod, wondering whether or not it’s possible to feel so much for someone you’d never laid eyes on three weeks ago. “Yeah, it turned out okay.”

“I don’t even care that we didn’t win.” She sighs. “I had such a good time today.”

I slide my hand through my hair to try to stop myself from grinning like an idiot. “Me too.”

“It feels good to be away,” she says. “Like the version of me here can forget about things going on in Cincinnati. This me can be a little wild. A little crazy.”

Our eyes lock. I want to kiss her so badly it actually hurts, but I don’t want to overstep. She’s going through a lot. “I want to kiss you,” I admit.

Her hand slides over my chest. “I want that too. Very much.”

I cup her face and press my lips against hers. The buzz I feel whenever I’m around her intensifies. She feels warm under my hand, soft and perfect. I take her bottom lip between my teeth and she gasps, pressing her body against mine.

I’m totally fucking one hundred percent in for this woman.

My tongue slides into her mouth and I feel myself falling deeper and deeper, like each touch binds us together, tighter and tighter.

Her hands slide up my sides and I shudder. Fuck, I want her. I want to feel her soft skin, all over every dip and curve. I want to run my tongue against every inch of her flesh and I want to fuck her in the fountains at the Bellagio.

But I know that at the end of it, I won’t possess her—she’ll possess me.

She pulls back slightly and our kiss breaks off, but she doesn’t step back. Instead, she wraps her arms around me and puts her face to my chest. “Did everyone see?” she asks.

“We’re in the middle of a bar, so anyone who saw me definitely thought I was the luckiest guy in Vegas.”

I feel her smile against my shirt.

“We should get back to the table.”

I sigh. She’s right, but I don’t want to move.

Fuck, I haven’t spoken to Fisher yet. That has to be the next thing I do. “Yeah, we do,” I say.

“I have to go to the restroom first.” She drops her hands and steps back.

“See you back at the table.”

I get back to the private room and catch Fisher’s eye. I lift my chin and indicate with a sideways nod of my head that I want to speak to him.

“You okay?” he asks as we slip out to the restaurant lobby.

“Yeah. Just want to talk to you about something. You’re not interested in Sophia, are you?”

He frowns. “No, I told you, getting involved with her would be messy.”

I push my hand through my hair. “Right. So, I’m very interested in Sophia. Is that a problem?”

His eyes widen and a smile explodes on his face. “Worth! Dude, I’m happy for you. Is she into you?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course she is. I mean, look at you, rich, handsome as fuck and there’s no one more caring. Have some fun.” He shrugs. “Or marry her. Good luck to you.”

The words marry her ring in my ears.

We are in the wedding capital of America.

He slaps me on the back, and I feel like I’ve ticked that off my list. The only other possible wrinkle in our group is Jules. As Sophia’s best friend, she’s bound to be protective, but she wants her friend to be happy. I can’t believe she would be anything but supportive.

“Just one more thing,” I say, “don’t mention it to anyone. Not even Jack. This is Leo and Jules’ weekend. I don’t want to take the spotlight off them in any way.”

He taps his nose. “Sure thing.”

We slip back into the dining room and the rest of dinner passes without incident. Sophia and I hold hands secretly under the table, but neither of us goes to the bar. Maybe we were both waiting for the kiss, and now that it’s happened, we know that when dinner is over, it will happen again. There’s no need to rush.

“So what’s next?” Leo asks.

“Strip club?” Fisher asks. “It is the night before your wedding.”

Leo, Bennett, and I groan.

Jules whispers something into Leo’s ear.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Leo says to her. He turns back to the table. “Jules and I are going to the Bellagio to watch the fountains. You guys can go to the strip club, play poker, whatever.”

My blood starts to hum in my veins. That means I get to spend the rest of the night with Sophia.

“I’m definitely up for poker,” Fisher says. “Anyone else?”noveldrama

“Happy to witness you lose a lot of money,” Jack says. “I’m definitely down for poker.”

“Byron says he might make an appearance at the tables,” Fisher says, scrolling on his phone.

“Bennett and I are going to make good use of the shower,” Efa says with remarkably casual candor. “Unless you want to play poker?” she asks him.

“Rather than fuck my fiancée? I don’t think so,” he replies.

“What about you, Sophia?” Jules asks. “You want to come to the Bellagio with Leo and me?”

Sophia shakes her head. “I think I’ll have an early night. Or maybe I’ll watch the boys play poker or—something. Don’t worry about me.”

Everyone gets up and we file out of the dining room. When we reach the lobby, everyone disperses in different directions, leaving Sophia and me standing by ourselves.

Just how I wanted it.