We sat in a meeting space not too far from the restaurant. There were just the two of us and I felt numb. I’d known Oliver was sick, Kadija had hinted at it. I was well aware Oliver wasn’t in the best of health, but I’d thought Kadija had been exaggerating once I actually had the opportunity to meet him in person. He’d seemed to be in perfect health and I found myself saying so to Jude.

“I’d heard he wasn’t doing great, but I thought it was a gross exaggeration.”

Jude laughed bitterly. “Apparently it wasn’t.”

I didn’t know what to say. I’d never been in this predicament. I’d never had to endure through the knowledge that someone close to me was dying. I looked at Jude, studying him. He was turned half away from me, leaning against a wall, just staring out the window with his arms crossed.

He didn’t seem upset, just contemplative. He hadn’t said much after he dropped the news of his dad’s condition. He’d been about to walk off when I’d reached out and stopped him, asking to speak to him alone. Misha and Emmaline had been very accommodating, telling me they’d wait outside for me.

Jude had led me into the conference room, closing it behind us, not saying much of anything as he stood much like he was now, staring out the window.

I felt I needed to say something. Something reassuring. Something considerate. I really wanted to, but I didn’t know how.

I was still struggling to find the words when Jude turned towards me and said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to stand here feeling sorry for myself or my father.” He laughed bitterly. “I bet that’s why he sent me on this bogus trip yesterday. He told me he needed me to check up on The Xerxes personally. I fell for it, thinking he was finally going to let me help out some.”

I stayed silent and he shook his head as if to clear it before saying, “He probably knew well before yesterday he was dying. He just wasn’t man enough to tell me himself. He left it to his lawyer to tell me. Can you believe that? He sent me out of town on some bogus trip because he couldn’t tell me the truth, couldn’t tell his own son face-to-face. And his lawyer didn’t even call me directly! He called the hotel to reach me and Renee tracked me down. This is ridiculous!” He slammed his fist down on a table and I jumped, startled.

I could hear the pain in his voice and I blinked back tears, not knowing how to react to his anger and underlying sorrow.

Abruptly he said, “I’m sorry. I’m not yelling at you… it’s just everything… everything about this situation has me—never mind. I’ll see you later, Lacey.”

“But—what—we should talk about this,” I called after him. “Where are you going?” I grabbed his elbow stopping him from leaving, searched his face for some sort of emotion, but all I saw was resignation and anger. I definitely didn’t see sadness anymore.

“Where am I going? I’m going to enjoy my time in Vegas. I’m going to get drunk... and I suggest you do the same.”

He left me standing there and sauntered out the door as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

I watched him leave, a little taken aback, and then made my way out the conference room. I was accosted by my friends before I even crossed the threshold.

“What happened?” Misha asked, her eyes filled with concern.

I shrugged. “Not sure.”

“He looks so familiar. Who is he?” Misha said wondering out loud.

Emmaline chirped, “Ice cream guy? That’s him, isn’t it?”

I nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately.”

I filled them in on my second encounter with Jude on his father’s property.

“God, you have the worst luck with first and second impressions, don’t you?” asked Misha.

“Yeah that first lunch between you all must have been a little awkward,” Emmaline added.

“You have no idea.”

“Soooo.... what do you want to do now? I know it must not be the best time to celebrate, but it’s still your birthday.” Misha was right, but it didn’t feel right. I liked Oliver and I was sad that I wouldn’t get to know him better, but at the same time, he was mostly a stranger to me.

“I sort of feel guilty thinking about having fun when my employer is apparently dying.”

“I understand,” Emmaline started. “But from the sound of it, he probably already knew and wanted you to have this as a gift.”

Misha chimed in, “I think Emmaline’s right.”

I knew they were probably right, but I was still a little unsettled. I needed a drink. A stiff one. My employer was dying and I was living it up on his dime for my birthday. It just didn’t seem right, but apparently, it was what he wanted.

We headed to a bar not too far from our hotel. It was a pretty classy joint, and I downed more drinks than I should have. I was feeling a little reckless and indecisive and it was easier to pretend to be having a good time than to focus on the bad news I’d just heard. But as the night drew on, I started enjoying myself. I felt so relaxed, so uninhibited and sexy.

I hadn’t felt sexy in a long time, I thought to myself as I scanned the crowd, looking for an unattached man to possibly make out with. The girls had been right. I had been through a sex drought since Evan dumped me, and now that I was in Vegas, I was ready for it to end.

I saw a group of men come in, apparently celebrating something. They were a little tipsy and were loud and boisterous, but also not too hot. I figured I had a pretty good chance of picking one of them up.

They began to dance even though it wasn’t that type of bar and I found myself laughing at some of their antics.

“You know what, Oliver would want me to live a little. Isn’t this what this weekend is about, celebrating life?”

“Exactly,” said Emmaline as she focused on something or someone at the door, I looked in that direction but didn’t see anyone. I looked at Emmaline curiously and she smiled and shrugged, “I thought I saw someone I recognized.”

Abruptly, she stood up and tugged at her mini-skirt that hugged her ample behind. “I’m going to run to the bathroom, be right back.” She turned around as she walked away from me and said almost as a second thought, “You should take a chance. It’s Vegas after all. And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” She winked at me and sashayed off to the bathroom. She was in a fantastic mood. Almost giddy. And she hadn’t had one drink. Maybe it was something in the water.

I watched as the men danced around singing, making complete fools of themselves and I found myself standing up, emboldened by the many drinks I’d had.

“Emmaline’s right. I need to take a chance, so I’m going to go meet some men.” I declared, dusting off my dress. I knew that I looked like a nun who didn’t get out much, but I was going to change that. I was going to live life to the fullest and take control of my life like all those memes on the internet suggested.

Misha cheered me on, “Yeah! Girl! Go get them.”

I decided to try to be sexy as I approached, spotting one that I felt was just my type. Tall, dorky, wearing a bowling shirt. Oh yeah, he didn’t know it yet, but he was getting lucky tonight!

I did my best to sashay over to him to the beat of the music, but felt ridiculous as I half bopped and dipped, side-stepped to his side. His friends were turned away, but he watched me with amusement in his eyes.

I didn’t care. It was Vegas, right? Who cared what anyone thought? And Evan would be so jealous if he saw me.

“Hey, big boy,” I said, trying to sound sexy, leaning against the bar where the guy was suddenly looking nervous and no longer amused. In my drunken state, I thought his nervousness was a good sign.

I attempted to swing my hair in a flirtatious manner over my shoulders and realized that was a wasted effort since I had just gotten my hair cut into a bob not too long ago. My cheeks burned in embarrassment, but I’d come too far to give up now.

“What’s a sexy beast like you doing in a dive like this?” My muddled tipsy brain forgot that we were in a classy bar.

He raised an eyebrow. “Sexy beast?”

I placed my hand on my hip. “Obviously I’m not talking about anyone else.” I turned until I was facing him and my body was just inches from his. I liked how his glasses were askew and his thin lips formed an unsure, nervous smile. I bet he hadn’t had a woman show interest in him in months... maybe even years! Today was his lucky day. Guys like him were my specialty. I loved the rejects because they never rejected me. Well, Evan did, but I was too tipsy to allow my brain to focus on that.

“Listen, buddy. I know I’m a lot of woman to handle, but I’m willing to let you try.”

I’d heard that line before in a movie and the woman who had delivered it had sounded pretty sexy. Apparently, I didn’t have her same sex appeal. His friends guffawed and I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment. But, hey, I was supposed to live a little, right? Take some action?

And so I did, I took life by the horns. Or rather, I grabbed his face and pulled it towards mine. He resisted, but apparently being drunk made me stronger. He couldn’t get away from me and I kissed him hard and immediately regretted it. He tasted like old beer and even older hamburgers. His eyes were big round saucers as he stared past me, clearly terrified by whatever was behind me.

“What the hell!” yelled someone directly behind me, and I turned only to be greeted by a dark-eyed furious woman who looked more like a teenager than anything else. She had a posse of about five women behind her and they all looked ready to clobber me. I gulped and took a step back.

“I’m sorry—who—?”

I didn’t get another word out as she punched me hard in my shoulder.

“Ouch! Hey! What’s your problem?” I screeched, tearing up a little, more from wounded pride than her blow to my shoulder.

She hit me again and I am embarrassed to admit, I might have whimpered a little bit. I wasn’t the physical type, but apparently, she was as she growled, “You’re my problem, you home-wrecker. That’s my fiancé you had your nasty lips on!”

“Yeah! You whore! Get her, Tanya!” yelled one of her friends. The others echoed their agreement and I quickly put my hands up as if to wave off any future attacks.

I took a few steps back. “Your fiancé?” I heard the guys chuckling in the background and I looked at the fiancé who suddenly seemed unbothered. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying the show. I bet he was just relieved that her anger was directed towards me. I didn’t blame him. It was my fault and Tanya was super scary.

“This is my engagement party, you, you, dirty hobag,” said Tanya with her fist balled up. I wasn’t going to stick around to get punched again and looked around for a quick escape.

“Well then,” I chuckled nervously, stepping away from them. “I had no idea.” I tried to sneak away, looking in vain for my friends to rescue me, but strangely they were nowhere to be found. Just as I turned away to make a run for it, I felt hands grab me by my hair and the next thing I knew the bride-to-be was wrestling me to the ground.

“Where do you think you’re going, you tramp?” she screamed, spittle flying on my face as I tried to knock her off. I pushed at her face with one hand while desperately attempting to roll away. I felt my skirt fly up and the snickering from the guys with the laughs from the women made me want to just give up and let Tanya kill me.

But self-preservation won out and I kicked at her, sending her sprawling backward. My legs felt like Jell-O but I tried to crawl away as fast as possible, panting as I crawled between the legs of one of her friends.

“Hey!” she called out as I practically mowed her over. Just as I thought I was reaching freedom, Tanya caught me by my legs and I went sprawling to my tummy, screaming and trying to grab hold to any legs I could as she dragged me away.

“Help! Somebody! Anybody! Help!” I cried as I managed to flip over and disentangle one foot from her grasp. Valiantly with the other, I kicked at her.

“Tanya! Don’t kill me! Please! Please! Don’t kill me!” I found myself begging. By now, what felt like the whole bar was gathered around like this was some sort of UFC/MMA fight. If Tanya didn’t kill me, embarrassment sure would.

Tanya tossed herself on top of me and sitting on my belly began to slap me. Yelling out, “Whore, tramp,” and a variety of other colorful phrases.

Over my whimpering and crying, I heard someone yelling, “Break it up. Come on, break it up.” And then miraculously the weight of Tanya’s body was no longer on my abdomen and someone was reaching for my hand trying to pull me up.

I grasped hold of the hand and dared to open my eyes. To my surprise, it was Jude. I hugged his neck, “Oh thank God. You saved me. These people are monsters!”

Tanya was being held back by her fiancé as she growled and lunged at me, I screeched and hid behind Jude.

“She’s sorry. We’re sorry. Excuse us.” Jude said pushing me quickly toward the exit. I glanced behind me and saw that Tanya had escaped her fiancé’s grasp and was still coming after me.

“Oh my God. She’s like the Terminator. Run, Jude! Run!”

He seemed to find my words amusing until he looked behind us and saw Tanya’s murderous face. He pushed past me, yelling, “Let’s go! She’s possessed! Come on, Lacey!”

We pushed through the exit and raced down the street, Jude ahead, me limping behind him, until finally we saw another bar and disappeared into it. We collapsed against the side of the bar, trying to catch our breath.

“Now that—” I started.

“Was humiliating,” he finished.

Our eyes met and we started to laugh. My ribs hurt, my face hurt, and I was pretty sure I looked like a wild monster, but I couldn’t help but find the situation so ridiculous that it was actually amusing.

Jude’s laugh was contagious. It was a deep belly laugh, so un-self-conscious and genuine. We must have looked like two crazy people, laughing hysterically.

Our laughter died down and Jude stared at me. I knew I must have looked a mess and I was sure I was covered in dirt and scratches.

And then Jude surprised me by beginning to laugh even harder.

I turned bright red. “I know... I know… I must look...” I stopped talking as I caught a look at myself in the mirror directly across from us. My wrap dress had come undone and you could see everything. And I mean, everything. I gasped as I tried to right my dress, spinning around in a circle trying to find the other part of my dress.

“Oh god oh god,” I said over and over and Jude’s laughter grew louder, drawing even more looks and a few giggles.

I hit him in a fit of despair and desperation. “Stop laughing, you… you… juvenile man-boy and help me!”

He did as he was told with a stupid grin on his face the whole time. He handed me the other half of my dress and I quickly wrapped it back in the front and tied the belt in a knot.

“Thank you,” I muttered, unjustifiably angry with him although this had been the second time he’d saved me that evening. When did I become the damsel in distress type?

“Can I ask you a question?” he said, once I righted myself.

“No.” I was being contrary and stubborn because I was embarrassed.

“Okay, I’m going to pretend you said yes. What the hell happened back there?”

I folded my arms across my chest and spoke with a voice full of indignation, as if I was the one who had been wronged as I answered, “I was accosted by that woman. You saw what happened.”

“Umm yeah, I saw that part. Now that was a sight... but what started the catfight?”

“Catfight? How sexist!”

“Okay then, let me rephrase, what caused her to kick your ass up and down the bar floor? Literally.”

I felt myself blushing. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?” He had a wicked gleam in his eyes and I felt as if he were already mocking me.

“Yes, a misunderstanding. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“So it had nothing to do with anything? She was just a random crazy person who attacked you?”

“Yep,” I lied running a nervous hand through my hair and finding scraps of debris and an entire cashew. I flung it over my shoulder.

“I could have eaten that,” Jude said faking sadness.

“You’re so gross.”

“That might be true, but at least I’m not the one trying to pick up almost married dudes the day before their wedding.”

I wanted the ground to open up right then and there and swallow me.

“Oh gosh, was it that obvious?”

“Umm yeah. It was clearly an engagement party.”

“So you were there the whole time?” I said feeling lower than low. “Then why’d you ask me what happened?”

He shrugged. “I just wanted to see if you’d own up to it. And you didn’t. Figured as much.”

“So you saw me when I—”

“Walked up to the poor guy and glued your mouth to him… yep, that was... interesting. Didn’t figure you for the type.”

“What type?” I said in a dark voice.

He wisely changed the subject. “So why him? Out of all the guys in the bar?”

Without thinking, I said, “It wasn’t my fault. He just, you know looked like the type who would be single.”

“What?” Jude laughed dryly. “That’s just mean. Ouch. So harsh. So perpetually single guys have a certain look?”

I blushed, feeling bad. “No, I just mean, that he wasn’t exactly the most attractive guy in the building—” I shut myself up. I was definitely putting my foot in my mouth.

“So that’s your mode of operation? You pick the most unattractive dude out of the bunch and stick your tongue down his throat. If that’s the case, it’s no wonder you’re still single.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “And what makes you think I’m single?”

“I heard your little conversation at the ice cream shop, remember?”

At that moment, I wanted to clobber my friends like Tanya had clobbered me.

I groaned, “How about we just forget all that and call it a night, shall we? Good night, Jude.”

I walked away from him but didn’t get very far. He caught me by my elbow and turned me around. “You owe me a drink.”

“Excuse me?” I pulled my elbow from his grasp.

“I was happily drinking some really good beer before I had to abandon it to save you.”

“One less beer won’t kill you. Goodnight Jude.”

“Come on, Lace.”

“It’s Lacey,” I hissed. “And I need to get back to my friends.”

“Just text them... tell them you’ll catch up with them later. Please.”

I was ready to walk away, but something about the way he called me Lace instead of Lacey, the familiarity of his words and his tone, which showed a hint of underlying sadness made me hesitate.

I looked into Jude’s eyes then and realized Jude wasn’t drinking for fun. Jude was in pain. He just did a very good job at hiding it. And part of me didn’t want the craziness of this night to end. Despite the girl fight, I was actually having a good night, but clearly Jude wasn’t.

“You’re worried about your father, aren’t you?”

He shrugged, trying to come across as nonchalant, “Aren’t you?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer as he cut into my next words. “Come on, Lacey, have a drink with me. You don’t even have to buy them. I’ll pay.”

“You should, you’re the rich one.”

“So that’s a yes, then?”

I wanted to say no, I truly did. The last thing I needed was to sit around drinking with my employer’s son. But a drink or two wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? Especially a drink with an attractive man. I immediately shoved the thought to the back of my mind and he lent me his phone to text the girls. In my haste to get away from Tanya, I’d left my purse with my cellphone behind.

I quickly texted Misha and Emmaline and handed Jude back his phone. He slid it into his pocket.

“Shall we?”

I let him lead me to the bar and after we ordered our drinks, I gave him a stern glance, “One drink. That’s all.”

“No problem.”

“And no funny business,” I warned, pointing my finger at him as if I were a kindergarten teacher scolding a student.

“Cross my heart. I promise to be on my best behavior, but you’re one to talk... I didn’t single-handedly break up an engagement party by kissing the groom.”

“Soon-to-be groom,” I grumbled.

Jude laughed, “Maybe. If Tanya didn’t turn her rage on him after we left...”

“Ran. We ran.”

Jude looked offended. “I only ran because you ran.”

I giggled. “Your eyes were wide in fear when Tanya was chasing behind us.”

Jude shrugged. “She was one scary bridezilla. But enough about Tanya.” He picked up the drinks the bartender had left for us. He handed one to me and took the other.

“What should we drink to?”

I shrugged. “World peace?”

Jude looked at me in disgust. “We’re in Vegas, Lacey. Come on.”

Annoyed and feeling judged for being a stick-in-the-mud, I said, “Well then you choose, Jude.”

He studied me and his eyes lingered on the top of my breasts which I realized were on display courtesy of Tanya who had damaged my dress beyond function. I clumsily tried to adjust it and cleared my throat, signaling Jude to just make his damn toast.

“To Lacey, a woman who never shies away from a fight.” I smiled until he continued, “And to Lacey’s dress, may it continue to fall apart at the seams, because I definitely like seeing what’s underneath.”

My mouth was wide open as he smiled wickedly at me and clinked his glass against mine.