Scratch that — she was naked.
I held it up with wide eyes, and Emery laughed from the seat beside me as I freaked out and flicked the card away from me, letting it float down to the floor board. Narrowing my eyes at him, I punched his arm playfully, and the smile fell from his face just as the light turned green. Now that I was looking at him, I couldn’t stop — not with the lights shining over him, casting him in a different colored glow every second that we drove, his hair blowing back behind him with the top down.
He was coming back.
Or, so I thought.
We checked into the Cosmopolitan, which was right in the center of the strip, and I nearly ran into Emery six times as I looked around at the casino, the high-hanging chandeliers, the shops, the glamour. Kalo seemed lost with me, the two of us stumbling around like we were hypnotized as Emery led us in confidence. It was absolutely unreal, and though Emery fit right in with his fashionable sweater and designer jeans, I was still in yoga pants and an oversized long-sleeve shirt, and I felt completely out of place.
Emery ripped his bag open as soon as we were in the room, and I got Kalo set up with her bed, food, and water, turning to Emery just as he reached back for the neck of his sweater, pulling it up and over his head. Heat tinged my cheeks, and I pulled my hair over my shoulder, twirling it in my fingers as I looked around the room — at literally anything but his bare, toned back.
It was stunning and modern, with a glass shower right between our room and the bathroom, a long chaise with a view of the large windows overlooking the strip, and a wide balcony. I ran my fingers along the plush purple runners at the edge of the bed before opening the sliding glass door and stepping out into the night, the breeze sweeping up from the strip and taking my hair with it.
Kalo came out to enjoy the view with me, and I tucked my arms tight around my middle, teeth chattering just a bit. It had been warm driving in the desert, but now that the sun had set, it was in the fifties, a dry kind of cold.
“I’m going out,” Emery said, and when I turned to find him standing in the doorway, I froze.
His hair that was so messy from the wind in the car was tamed, combed over in a stylish wave, the sandy blond strands framing his golden eyes. His jaw was set, hands resting comfortably in the front pockets of his beige dress pants, a wintergreen button up hugging the muscles of his arms and drawing my attention to where the top few buttons were left undone. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the whole outfit made him look casual yet completely put together. He was a walking GQ model.
And I had a ketchup stain on my shirt.
“You wanna come?”
The way he asked, I wasn’t sure if he actually wanted me to join him or not, but the thought of spending the night alone in Vegas was enough to make my stomach do a somersault.
“I do, but…” I pulled at my clothes, eyes on the stretched-out fabric. “I don’t have anything… like… that,” I said, gesturing to him.
Emery watched me, waiting, and I stared at him, waiting, too.
But no answer came from his lips, and no reassurance, either. He didn’t have to say anything for me to realize that it was my problem, not his.
“I’ll check out some of the shops downstairs and I can just text you when I’m ready, and meet up with you then?”
He nodded, and the words had barely even left my lips before he turned and jetted out the door.
Kalo tilted her head at me, as if to ask me what the hell I was going to wear to go out on the town in Las Vegas. Her ears flopped over, tongue following suit, the wind blowing at the shaggy strands of her fur.
“I don’t know, Kalo pup,” I said, bending to press my forehead to hers. With a sigh, I ruffled her fur and stood again, eyes on the fountain springing to life below. “It might be time to dip into the savings.”
After perusing the elegant shops in the Cosmopolitan and finding out very quickly that they were entirely out of my price range, I was ready to give up and stay in my pajamas for the night. I figured renting a few movies and cuddling with Kalo wouldn’t be so bad.
But then I remembered I was in Vegas, and I mentally slapped myself.
Thankfully, a sweet middle-aged woman heard me asking the cashier at one of the boutiques if there were any other shops nearby, and she pointed me across the strip to the Miracle Mile Shops.
It was a different kind of wonder, being on the Las Vegas strip. It wasn’t the Rocky Mountains or the Grand Canyon, a natural, earthy beauty that stole my breath away. The lights were the stars here, the hotels were the mountains, the sidewalks the valleys, and the people who flowed through them were the wildlife. Sin City seemed to whisper to me as the wind swept my hair back and I watched those who passed me, their eyes set on winning money or dancing the night away. Their electricity buzzed through me, and I bounced a little as I walked through the doors to the Planet Hollywood entrance to the mall.
Las Vegas was welcoming — warm and bright and loud — and I had my heart set on making just as many memories on the strip as I did hiking Seven Falls.
I scanned a few of the stores before finally seeing one that seemed a little my style, and as soon as I pulled one long dress off the rack, a charming, impeccably dressed man rushed to my side.
“Can I start you a fitting room?” He was all smiles, his voice light and airy, dark hair styled to perfection.
“Yes, thank you,” I said, handing him the one long dress I’d found. The other ones I’d spotted were all short, so I followed him back, but he paused.
“You’re not done shopping, are you?”
I shrugged. “I was looking for a long dress, and this seems to be the only one you have.”
The man waved a hand at me, and I caught the name on the tag fastened to the front of his vest. Antonio.
“With your figure? Short is the way to go. Or a tight pair of jeans to show off that tiny frame. Here, why don’t you try this on and I’ll grab you a few other options. Is it to go out, for dinner, casual?”
I shifted, realizing I hadn’t even asked Emery where he was going. “Um… I’m not sure. I’m meeting a friend out tonight, but he didn’t tell me where. I think it’ll probably be a bar of some sort.”
“Oh, honey,” he said on a laugh. “There are very few bars on the strip. It’s all clubs, and that means we need to get you all glammed up.” He hung my dress on a hook in the back dressing room, holding back the fabric curtain for me to step inside. “I’ll be right back. Trust me, you won’t leave here until you’re looking fabulous, doll.”
He clapped his hands together with an excited giggle before leaving me alone in the room, and I just chuckled, tucking the curtain closed.
It turned out Antonio was my lucky penny, because the only dress I’d managed to pick out myself swallowed me like a burlap sack. But he had plenty of outfit choices for me to try on, and a few of the other female associates joined in, bringing me shoes and accessories, all of them joining in a mixture of oooh’s and aaah’s every time I emerged in something new.
Still, nothing seemed to be sticking. Not until I pulled on a short, black dress, one I’d been saving until last. I’d tried on the jeans, and the pant suits, and even the leather leggings — but wearing this meant one thing I wasn’t sure I could handle.