Chapter Eleven
Emma
As we drive down the Strip, I really am blinded by the light. It’s a feast for the eyes with its neon signs, colored fountains, and wall-to-wall people. There’s something in the air—exhilaration, extravagance, and a little desperation. My heart pumps with a nervous energy. I practically bounce out of my seat.
“Relax, Cooper. Vegas isn’t going anywhere.”
“I’m just excited. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For this,” I say, gesturing to glitzy glamour that is the Strip.
“I had to come here anyway.”
“You didn’t have to bring me, though. This means a lot to me. I never expected this road trip to make me feel new.”
“New?”
I grow quiet. I didn’t mean it like that. He repeats the question.
“Everyone at home looks at me different. Even Nat and Kenneth.”
“How do they look at you?”
“I’m Emma the pitiful, Emma the sad, Emma the girl who lost everything. I get that it comes from a place of concern. I’m tired of being that girl, though. I just want to be Emma the before—the carefree and spirited. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does. But that’s the only girl I met. I don’t know the other one you speak of.”
I smile as the Vegas air melts the cloak of gloom that has suffocated me for the past year. “How many fights have you had?”
“Just three. I’m not very experienced…in fighting, anyway.”
There is an undercurrent of sexuality to what he says, but I think it has more to do with distracting me from delving deeper. It works. “I play poker, too,” I tell him.
“You do?”
“Yeah, my parents had Friday night poker parties. They taught me. Did you know my mom played?”
“No, I didn’t. What kind of poker?”
“Hold ’em. Is there another kind?” I joke.
“Not in my book.” He tilts his head. “You any good?”
“I’d say so. My dad always said a woman should know how to handle her cards. I think I can.”
“Think?”
“I won a lot, but it’s not the same playing with your parents’ friends as it is on a table with real stakes.”
“Well, we’ll definitely take some time to get a few hands in.”
“Not this trip. I checked. You have to be twenty-one for the casinos.”
“There are ways,” Aiden says.
Before I can ask him what he means, we pull up to the hotel. Things happen quickly after that. I meet Carson. He’s tall like Aiden, but he’s blonde and fair. They have an interesting relationship, referring to each other as bitch and dickhead—terms of endearment men use that women have a hard time decoding.
Aiden hands me my room key, tells me to get settled and meet them for dinner. I shower and change into a black mini skirt and tank top. The outfit isn’t couture, but it’s the best I’ve got.
On the way to meet them, I pause at a store window in the shiny lobby, checking out the red silk dress with spaghetti straps they have on display. The dress is backless with a deep V-neck, and a sash secures the waist. Although it’s high on sexy, it’s also feminine and classy, too. Not something I’d normally consider, but when in Vegas, who wants to be normal? I wander inside for a closer look. After checking out the hefty price tag, I decide to stick to normal. Normal is much cheaper.
…
Aiden
I told Emma this is my third fight. The truth is it’s just the third legal one. Carson made me go legit. He says if I get my rocks off pounding someone in a cage, then I should at least get some real money out of the deal and have medical personnel on hand. He handles it all for me—the bookings, the contracts, the paperwork. All the shit I hate.
Over the years, he’s done a lot for me. I didn’t think I’d pass the Marine physical. Carson and I trained together. His father, who we refer to as the Major, helped, too. The Major didn’t just pull strings…he plucked them. I went into the Marines an empty vessel. I emerged a full-fledged jarhead, transformed from scared puppy to Devil Dog. Oorah!
Carson is everything I’m not. He comes from a good family, has money and a ton of friends. I don’t really get why we’re close, but I’m glad we are.
I’d lay in front of a train for him. But the way he’s staring at Emma, his life might be in danger…from me. I try not to growl at him. Through the windows of the sushi restaurant, we both watch as she holds up a red dress in the upscale store across from the lobby.
I smack him on the back of the head. “Cut it out, bitch.”
“Fuck, what was that for?”
“Stop ogling her.”
“Who is she again?” he asks.
“I told you, dickhead. She’s my ex-stepmother’s daughter.”
“That’s a mouthful.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You don’t look at her like a sister.”
“’Cause she’s not.” I practically snarl my reply.
Carson arches his eyebrow at me. I bet he plucks them. That little gem of a revelation goes straight into my back pocket for a rainy day.
“She’s hot.”
I shrug as if I don’t know this. “She’s okay.” I play it off, aloof and disinterested.
“Cool. You’re not into her. So you don’t mind if I ask her out.”
Okay, aloof just backfired. “She has a boyfriend,” I say quickly. For once, I’m happy about Kenneth’s existence.
“Too bad.”
Yeah, too bad.
“Besides, she may not be my sister, but you are my brother.”
“You saying I’m too good for her?”
“The opposite actually. I know how you think, and there’s no way you’re getting close to her.”
He laughs, tipping back his drink. “Like you’re any better.”
I’m not better. I’m much, much worse.
We stand as Emma approaches.
“Were you waiting long?” she asks, taking the seat I pull out for her.
“Not too long, but I did order our first plate,” I tell her. “I think you’ll find it…adventurous.”
“What are we having?” she asks, placing the cloth napkin on her lap.
I grin as the waitress heads in our direction with said plate. “You’ll find out.”
Emma quirks an eyebrow at me as the waitress sets down her plate. “Is this…?”
“Eel.” I pick one up with my chopsticks and swallow it whole. “Enjoy.”
She laughs, just as I knew she would.