Connected

When the man refuses to look up, River drops my hand and leans forward, placing both elbows on the counter, his forearms down, as he clasps his hands into a V to inch a little closer. “Hey man, I have a situation that needs to be taken care of immediately, and I was hoping you could help me out,” he says in his smooth easy voice. The front desk assistant, obviously impervious to River’s charming ways, doesn’t even look up as he says, “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to wait in line like everybody else.”

River’s jaw tightens as he grips the counter closest to us, and in a flat, but stern voice he says, “I’m not sure you heard me, but we have a situation that. . .”

The now, narrow-eyed man looks up at River and interrupting him, seethes, “I heard you, and once again I’m going to . . .”

This time River doesn’t let him finish, and he leans in as close as possible and very politely says, “I think it’s time you call for Mr. Hughes.” Then, looking at his nametag and smirking, he adds, “Joe.”

Who’s Mr. Hughes?

The now completely flustered man stutters before regaining his composure. He stands up very straight and manages to nicely say, “Why don’t we see if I can fix your situation before I call Mr. Hughes. You were saying?” Swallowing back my laughter at the suddenly very funny situation, River cocks his head and winks at me. Then he takes my hand, squeezes it, and sets it on the counter in his so our elbows are almost connected.

Before I know it, the red-clad uniformed man is calling housekeeping himself, asking about items that may have been found in the safe in my room. By some grace of God he tells us the necklace had been found and was put in the main hotel safe.

River drops my hand to very politely shake hands with the clerk. Then before thanking him, he removes his wallet from his back pocket and hands the now jubilant Joe a hundred-dollar bill. Nodding his head he says discreetly, “Joe please see to it that the necklace gets delivered to us in the bar.”

Joe, very happily accepting his more than generous tip, responds, “Yes sir, not a problem.”

We head to the same bar where River waited for me last night. It seems like way more time has passed than just one day. I feel so connected to this man, like I’ve known him for a very long time. As we’re seated, River pulls my chair out for me and I nod my head and grin, but before I sit, I stand on my tippy toes and kiss him on his cheek. “Thank you.”

“Dahlia, don’t thank me. It’s my fault you lost your necklace to begin with,” he says, caressing my cheek before motioning me to sit down. Sitting next to me, he grabs my hand and strokes it with his thumb before leaning over and kissing me.

Our waitress arrives, and we order two beers and one glass of ice, of course River snickers. When he asks me what I want to eat, I motion to the casino and say, “Anything, right now I could eat the craps table over there,” and we both laugh, because really, couldn’t I have just said the blackjack table.

He orders a burger and fries and I order a grilled cheese sandwich, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. I ask the waitress to bring my shake with my food.

River looks at me a little puzzled.

“What? I like to dip my sandwich in the shake.”

He shakes his head. “That sounds disgusting.”

“Try it. I guarantee you’ll love it.”

“Hmm . . .”

Once our drinks arrive, I gulp my beer down before deciding to say what I should have said in the car. Looking into River’s eyes filled with so much kindness, I say, “I’m sorry I sort of freaked, but the necklace isn’t replaceable.” Pausing, I swallow the lump in my throat before continuing.

Tilting his head, he continues to look at me and simply says, “I guessed that by your reaction.”

Nodding in agreement, I clear my throat and tuck my hair behind my ear. “Here’s the thing, the necklace isn’t just a necklace,” I pause again, willing the stinging in my eyes to go away.

River, obviously having noticed my uneasiness leans forward in his chair, bending slightly into me, and grabs for my hand with both of his. “Go on. What?”

Before I can finish, Joe saunters in, smiling like he just hit the jackpot on the casino floor and hands River an envelope that says ‘From Room 716’ on it. River nods and says thank you again and Joe walks away to go back to his desk duties I assume.

Handing me the envelope, I let go of his hand and open it. I hesitate before pulling the ring out. As I do, I clasp it in my hand and looking him sincerely in the eyes I say, “This is my engagement ring—from Ben.”

He quickly leans back in his chair and takes a large gulp of beer, obviously not expecting that. Crossing his leg over his knee he asks, “Can I see it?” His eyes now filled with something. It’s not kindness though; I think it’s more like sadness.

Biting my lip, I hand it to him with shaky fingers. My heart begins beating faster than the levers being pulling on the slot machines. He stares at it for a few seconds before gently placing it back in my hand and squeezing it shut, as if not seeing it makes it go away. “It’s beautiful, just like the woman who wore it,” he says, looking intently in my eyes. I notice the use of the word—wore.

“Can I ask you something?” he says.

My hands are still shaky as I hold the ring and answer, “Of course.”

Pointing to my wrist, he asks, “Is that bracelet from him?”

Swallowing my emotion, I lift my arm and answer, “Yes, Ben gave it to me the day he died, and every time I look at it, it reminds me to live life to the fullest, to have no regrets.”

“Well, that too, is beautiful and a great way to live life, Dahlia.”

Then he surprises me. “Do you want to talk about it, about him?”

After tucking the ring safely inside my purse, I answer very softly. “Honestly, no. No I don’t. I’m having an amazing time with you. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time, and I don’t want to drag our weekend down with sad conversations.” I say the last part while reaching my hand across the table and caressing his cheek.

He just shakes his head but doesn’t speak as he takes my hand and kisses it.

I smile a faint smile and say, “I hope you’re okay with that?”

River returns the slight smile and says, “Dahlia, for now I’m fine with it, but I’d like to talk about it sometime. I want to know you, all of you.”

Just then, our food arrives. I pull my hand away and silently nod to him. Then his phone chimes from his pocket as he continues to ignore it, and I remember I left mine at the hotel, but I really don’t need it anyway.

We talk and laugh throughout lunch, and before leaving, we decide what to do with the rest of our day; we will hit the casino, and then have a casual dinner before heading out for a night of fun at a famous Las Vegas club.

Chapter Fourteen

ALIVE

I feel alive when we’re together

I feel it deep within my soul

You’re the best reason I’ve had in a long time

To celebrate this thing we call life

I feel alive when we’re together.

I remember Grace telling me on the one-year anniversary of Ben’s death when she brought me home from the cemetery, “Dahlia honey, there is something beautiful about each and every scar we bear no matter where it comes from.” Pausing, she wiped the tears streaming down her face before finishing what to this day, has to be the single most important piece of advice ever given to me. “When my son’s death, our Ben’s death, has healed in your heart, you will know it. A scar will appear and that means the extreme hurt and unbearable pain is over, your wound will be healed, but don’t ever let your heart close. Leave it open, let someone else in.” She couldn’t speak anymore, but I knew she wasn’t finished. She put a note on the counter when she left that night that read, “Let your heart heal and someday you will love again. Let someone else love you. You deserve it. Remember, I will always be here for you.”

So tonight, as I embark on a first date with this very sexy, charming, and charismatic man, Grace’s words come back to me. I know what I’m feeling now. Healed.

Walking into Aqua, I know I’m in trouble. It’s dark, and the music is blaring in an almost seductive beat. I’m already intoxicated by River’s pure charm and breathtaking attractiveness, and this nightclub isn’t going to help sober me up at all. Also, adding to my almost inebriated state of mind are the two drinks I had with dinner and the few I had before that.

Earlier in the day, we had taken his car back to the hotel and hit the casino floor. He taught me how to play craps, and we also played blackjack and poker. I played the slot machines as he watched. Rolling his eyes at me he told me, “Only sixty year old women waste their time on a game of pure chance.” And in what I’ve come to know as true River fashion, he added, “Now, skilled games, those are something to spend your time on.” Of course, he whispered that in my ear while running his finger down the side of my body. We were having so much fun that we never even made it back to our room. After we left the casino, we walked through the sky tube and then ate a light dinner before coming up to the club.

The nightclub is located on the fifty-fifth floor of the Trees Place Casino. All of its exterior walls are glass, and there is a huge bar toward the back and an even bigger dance floor in the middle. There also looks to be outdoor bars to both the right and left, just outside the glass walls. Each is a mirror image supported by a brick wall on the backside of each bar, creating a terrace-like appeal with trees and benches everywhere. The bar to the right is serving drinks; its mirror twin appears to be closed.

With Rihanna’s song S&M playing loudly as we enter the large double doors of the VIP entrance, we hand our jackets to the coat check, and River turns to me and says, “Stay close, it’s a wreck in here tonight.”

Does he think I want to be anywhere but close to him? Because I don’t. In fact, with all the sexual energy radiating between us, I’m more than willing to forego the clubbing and head straight back to our hotel room. But, since that doesn’t seem to be an option right now, I just nod my head and bite my lip. He looks so delicious and I’m hoping I get a taste of him real soon.

Clutching his hand with both of mine, I follow close behind and bump into him as often as I can, rubbing my front to his back. Making our way to the bar, he orders two lemon drop shots. I just smirk and shake my head.

Cocking his head, he hands me the shot. While grinning widely, he declares, “I know up until now you’ve only done shots to celebrate disasters, but here’s to changing that.”

As he clinks his glass to mine, I recall my earlier thoughts about my feelings for him and know for sure I have most definitely already fallen. He remembers everything I tell him, even the most inconsequential things. As I tip my head back to drink the sweet alcohol that smells of lemons, I think of Ben. I think of how many times I had to tell him something before he remembered it. I had chalked it up to typical male behavior, and maybe it was. Is River is the exception to the rule?

We order another drink, and he leads me to a high-top table in the reserved section just on the edge of the dance floor. We continue to talk about everything, but nothing at all. It is liberating and invigorating to be here with him laughing, drinking, and just having fun.

With the humidity reaching record highs, the ceiling above us opens just as the Enrique Iglesias song, Dirty Dancer, starts thumping out a seductive beat. We both look up in awe of the spectacular sight. As our heads return to eye level, our gazes meet. Bopping my neck and shaking my hips, I full out laugh when I hear something about a girl doing it one way and then another throughout the now open area.

River smiles his full mega-watt dimple smile before running his eyes up and down my body, giving me instant goosebumps. Glancing down at his feet and then at mine, he grins mischievously as he points to the dance floor and breathes in my ear, “You sure you want to do this? I’m pretty good.”