Chapter 20

Skylar

When I woke up in my hotel room, I rolled over, stared at the empty side of the king-sized bed, and sighed. I wished Greyson was there. Spending the last two days with him and sharing his bed had been the highlight of my vacation, or, rather, the highlight of my year. I was so caught up in him that I wanted to stay in Vegas, a thought I never suspected would cross my mind.

I got out of bed and showered. After tying my hair in a ponytail and slapping on some lip gloss, I dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a band T-shirt. I slid on a pair of flip flops and called Renee’s room. I needed company in order to keep my mind off of Greyson.

She answered on the third ring with a yawn. “Yes?”

“Renee, it’s me. Sorry to wake you. Want to go grab breakfast and maybe hit the pool after?”

There was a brief pause on the other end. “Sure. Give me fifteen minutes, okay? I need to freshen up. Nikki will probably stay behind. She was out until four in the morning last night and still reeks of booze.”

“Okay, that’s fine,” I said. What I really meant was: That’s excellent because she wasn’t invited in the first place. Let her sleep off her hangover.

I waited for Renee as patiently as I could, which wasn’t patiently at all. I sat near the window of my room peering down at the strip and watching the sidewalks swimming with tourists. I found myself wondering what Greyson was doing. Maybe he was back at his house preparing one of those omelets he was so good at making. Or maybe he was swimming laps in his pool. I could see the way the water would glisten on his tanned skin, rippling over his lean muscles.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I was losing it. He was going to drive me insane.

Renee knocked on my door. I sprang to my feet and rushed to answer it, thankful that I now had a distraction from Greyson.

She was wearing a loose, white tank top and pink shorts. Her hair was brushed back from her face and she had a pair of sunglasses nestled in her hair. “Ready?” she asked.

I nodded and grabbed my purse. Then the two of us made our way down the hallway and into the elevator. We rode it down and walked through the casino, which wasn’t as busy as usual. The early morning crowd was milling about, mostly playing the slot machines, and new guests were checking in at the lobby while others checked out. We weaved around suitcases and families until we made it out into the sunshine through the front doors.

“There’s a little place just around the corner,” I said. “They apparently have the best eggs benedict on the strip. You in?”

Renee nodded as she pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes. “Lead the way.”

The sidewalk was busy despite the early hour of the morning. Not that it was too early. It was only eight. Renee was yawning as she walked along beside me. I knew she wasn’t as much of a morning person as I was. She never had been. If given the chance, she would sleep until noon each and every day so she could stay up late. Once a night owl, always a night owl.

The restaurant was a small cafe in a little building one block off the Strip. It had a small patio out front wrapped in a wrought-iron fence that had been spray-painted white. The paint was peeling and chipping, giving it a rustic appeal, and all the tables were mismatched pigments of pale blue, yellow, and purple.

We found a seat in the corner of the patio and opened the umbrella to cast shade over ourselves. The waitress brought us glasses of ice water and two cups of piping-hot, rich-smelling coffee. I inhaled a deep breath of it as Renee added milk and sugar to hers. I sipped mine and swallowed gratefully. There was no better thing than a fresh cup of coffee in the morning.

“So,” I said, eager to get the conversation going and sensing that Renee was still not awake enough to initiate it herself. “Where did Nikki go off to last night?”

Renee shrugged one shoulder as she stirred her coffee. She rested the spoon on her napkin and took her first mouthful. Then she put the coffee down and wrapped her hands around the mug. “Some club in one of the fancy hotels. She didn’t tell me which one. I was asleep when she came back to the room. I thought I was being robbed she was so loud.”

“Oh no,” I said, trying not to laugh. I could see Nikki now, stumbling in and knocking things over as she tried to walk on six-inch heels in a drunken stupor.

“Yeah,” Renee said. “I had to get up and make sure she drank some water and took some aspirin. It wasn’t pretty. There was a lot of throwing up before she managed to get into bed. I think I only slept for four hours.”

“I’m sorry. You should have told me we could do lunch instead. Then you could have slept a bit longer.”

“No, it’s okay. This gives us more time. Seeing as how I’ve barely spent any time with you since we got here.” Renee sipped her coffee again. I didn’t miss the annoyance in her tone. She shifted topics as I opened my mouth to address the fact that I had been AWOL over the last two days. “How’s your man friend?”

“Greyson? He’s good. He’s really good, actually.”

“Yeah? What did you guys do?” Renee watched me over the rim of her mug as she sipped her coffee again.

As I started answering, I was cut off by the waitress. We ordered our breakfasts, and then I launched into the story of all the time I had spent with Greyson. I told her about the motorcycle ride and the picnic he prepared. I told her about his lavish home and the view it had. Then, when I got to the part about the hot tub and how we spent our evenings, Renee leaned in close and waggled an eyebrow at me.

“So,” she said. “You aren’t Skylar the virgin anymore?”

I blushed fiercely and shook my head without looking at her.

Renee grinned and leaned back in her chair. “I hope he showed you a good time. It would be a shame to wait so long and lose your V-card to a man who didn’t know what he was doing with a woman’s body.”

“Oh,” I said. “He definitely knew what he was doing.”

Renee laughed as I blushed a brighter shade of red and covered my face. “Don’t be embarrassed,” Renee said.

“I can’t help it. I can’t believe it happened in the first place. There’s something about him, Renee. He’s different. He’s so kind and generous, but also oddly fierce and powerful. I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Well, I’m glad he was worth it,” she said as our plates of food arrived.

“Worth it?” I asked, raising my fork to my mouth.

She nodded as she cut into her eggs benedict. Yolk spilled over the plate, and she stabbed the egg, ham, and English muffin with her fork. “Yeah. I hope he was worth sacrificing the time you could have spent with me.”

I swallowed my bite and blinked at her. “I don’t really know how to respond to that.”

Renee sighed and put her fork down. “Sky, I brought you all the way here to spend time with you, and this guy comes in out of nowhere and sweeps you off your feet. This isn’t like you. I thought this trip would go differently, that’s all. But I’ve spent almost all my time with Nikki and none with you. I’m just disappointed, I guess.”

I bit my lip and considered her words. At first, I saw the sense in it. Then after thinking on it, I began to feel somewhat angry. “You’re the one who’s always telling me I need to go out and do stuff. Meet people. Stop spending all my time at the hospital or alone in my apartment.”

“Yeah,” Renee said. “But when someone pays for your whole vacation, it’s really shitty to thank them by going and fucking some rich dude you barely know.”

“That’s not what it’s like with him, Renee. He’s not just some—”

“Honestly, Sky, I don’t care.” Renee held up her hands and shook her head at me. “You can justify it any way you want. I’m happy you found someone to finally have sex with, okay? I’m happy that he makes you feel good. But you prioritized him over me, and it really sucks, you know?”

There wasn’t a single thing I could think to say to her that might make her feel better. Try as I might, I couldn’t convince myself that she was wrong. Everything she was saying made perfect sense. I had chosen Greyson over her. I also knew that if the opportunity presented itself, I would probably do it again. I cared too much for him for only knowing him for a week.

“I’m sorry, Renee,” I said.

She plucked her napkin from her lap and tossed it across her plate, which was still full of food. “You know, I think I’m just going to head back to the room and take a nap. I’m not in the mood for this.” She tossed two twenty-dollar bills on the table as she stood. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Renee, don’t go. Please? We can talk this out. You’re right. I’ve been a shitty sister.”

“We can talk about it later,” she said, stepping over the peeling wrought-iron fence. Without another word, she walked away down the sidewalk and disappeared around the corner to make her way back to The Citrine.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed a piece of egg around on my plate. I deserved this. I had taken advantage of Renee’s generosity. I hadn’t even thought to ask her how she felt about me spending so much time with Greyson on her dime.

Someone sat down across from me. Expecting and hoping it was Renee, I looked up with a smile that I hoped looked genuine and apologetic.

Instead of Renee, I saw a man dressed in a form-fitting black suit regarding me with pale eyes. He was handsome in a devilish sort of way. His blonde hair was slicked back and grazed the collar of his shirt. Gold cufflinks winked at the ends of his jacket sleeves, and they matched the gold tooth in his smile.

“Good morning, miss,” he said. “I couldn’t help but notice that your companion left you all alone to finish your breakfast. A beautiful girl like you doesn’t need to sit by herself. Let me keep you company a while.” He flashed me his gold tooth in a smile that made my stomach flutter with unease.

“I’m sorry, but I think I’d rather be alone right now. That was my sister, and I need to be alone with my thoughts.”

“Sister?” he asked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “The two of you look nothing alike. You’re a bombshell. She’s all right, I suppose, but a man would be a fool to overlook you.” His eyes wandered up and down the length of me.

I instantly wished I was wearing a loose sweater and sweatpants.

“You can go now,” I said as firmly as I could manage.

He arched an eyebrow at me. “I was just trying to be polite.”

“No, you weren’t,” I said. “You were trying to make me uncomfortable.”

His gold tooth appeared again as he smiled. Something inside me squirmed. “Very well, then. You have yourself a good day. I’ll be seeing you again soon, I suspect.”

He stood. He was astonishingly tall. He dipped his head to me before stepping over the fence, much like how Renee had. Then he put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly away, looking back over his shoulder at me more than once and flashing me that smile that made me want to scratch my eyeballs out of my head.

When he was gone, I stared down at my plate. My appetite was gone. Guilt was swirling around in my belly as I thought about the way I had made Renee feel. That had never been my intention.

Even though I wanted to make it up to her, the only thing I wanted was to see Greyson. I could spend time with Renee when we were back in Houston. She was overreacting. I only had so much time in Las Vegas before I would have to leave, and I would be leaving behind the first man who had ever made me feel something.