3. Chapter 1

Sitting in the back of the limo with Amber, I"m starting to feel guilty about everyone going their own way. We are supposed to be here in Las Vegas for Hailey on her birthday, not to go gallivanting on our own experiences.

"Do you think Hailey and the others will be alright?" I ask Amber.

"I don"t think we need to be fused at the hip to enjoy this trip. Besides, Hailey and Alice looked plenty happy to go their own way."

"I guess."

"Why"d you want to go see a fortune teller, of all things?"

"I had my future read once, and it was fun, and it turned out to be true that time. I"m hoping to get some inspiration from what she says and live it up here in Vegas."

"We don"t have that long here, Julie."

I look out the window, and the limo stops in front of a small storefront that looks really woo-woo with hanging beads, crystal balls, and fake gemstones all over the window display.

"Oh hey! It looks like we"re here." I turn to her. "You go do your thing, Amber. I"ll see you tomorrow."

Jumping out of the car, I step across the sidewalk and try to peer inside the window. There"s a sign in the window saying to ring the bell, so I do just that. The sound is very new-age, and I see a shadow move forward after a few seconds. I step back and inspect the fortune teller. She looks somehow familiar, but I can"t place her.

"Welcome, welcome. I am Madame Marishka Valentini. You need your future told. I can feel it in the air around you."

She takes my hand and drags me through her shop towards a back room. The shop has a witchy feel, and I wonder if Madame plays with the occult. Finally, we reach our destination—a curtained-off room that smells strongly of patchouli. I don"t mind the scent, but the smoke from the incense stick makes my nose twitch. Madame signals a chair for me to sit on while she putters around the room with no apparent goal.

Once she puts on her thick glasses, I finally realize who she reminds me of. That crazy professor at that wizarding school movie. She was always giving dreadful and dark readings to her students. I hope that is not an omen for what will happen tonight.

Finally, she sits down in front of me, a huge crystal ball between us. I sit back in the chair and relax a little. She"s just going to pretend to look into the crystal ball and spew some stuff about me meeting a tall, dark, and handsome stranger.

I realize the incense has managed to relax me quite a bit, and I wonder if there"s something else burning in here. I look up from the crystal ball and find Madame Marishka with a placid smile on her face.

"I know why you are here." She declares. "He"s looking for you, too."

I sit up at that. Here"s the fun part of talking to a fortune teller. They make up weird stuff that they think you"ll like and get excited about. I"m all in for that. She gets up, moves the incense and crystal ball to the side, and reaches for both my hands. I hesitate. I don"t want to touch her, but I know it"s part of the spiel. So I relent and put my hands in hers.

Her fingers grab me a little too tight for comfort, and she closes her eyes. "You know him, you"ve loved him, but now it"s time to suffer for that love." A chill runs down my spine, and my hands grow clammy.

I try to pull my hands from hers, but this woman looks to be in a trance. "He"ll become your world, and you might not like it, but if you hold on to your true self, you"ll find a love that not many find during their lifetime."

What the heck is wrong with this woman?

"Beware because there will be pain before there is pleasure."

Finally, she releases me, and we both sit back in our respective chairs. Her look changes into one of surprise.

"It"s rare that I get a message so clear. It"s a gift, so I won"t charge you for the reading. Just remember the most important part. Stay true to yourself."

I jump from my chair and go back through the maze tarot card and incense burner stands. Madame whatever is cray-cray, and I need fresh air because I"m suffocating. Once I"m outside, I can breathe more easily, and I look up and down the street. There"s a lot of movement. It"s Las Vegas, after all. I search for a restaurant or bar where I can sit down and just think for a minute.

My mind is spinning with thoughts of the fortune teller"s words. Why did those words shake my core so much? I was there to have fun, not to be told about doom and gloom before a glorious dawn. And why couldn"t she say something about my job or my future in general? Why does my happiness have to depend on some jerk that apparently I know and probably dumped because he was a major hole?

There"s one bar that"s not too crowded – Lucky"s – and I start walking towards it. I look at myself in the window reflection to make sure I look okay before going inside. I straighten up my shirt, pull down my skirt a bit, and feel ready to enter the premises. The place looks nice, a lot classier than I would have thought, and I wonder if I should get a table. But then it"d be too evident that I"m alone.

There"s a well-built man next to an empty seat, and I shiver as he reminds me of the man of my dreams. I sigh and hop onto the bar stool. I won"t check him out. I"m here for a drink and a think. I don"t care how gorgeous he is… I signal the bartender for a glass of wine and wait, looking straight ahead.

I sip my beer and look at my watch. She"s been over there for 30 minutes already. What"s taking so long? I know Julie is fascinated with fortune tellers, so I wasn"t surprised when their limo dropped her off on this street. If anyone asks me, I"m here in Vegas for business. Not because a delicious curvy blond that is completely forbidden to me is here having the time of her life with her best friends.

Mike and I have been friends forever. His sister was a surprise baby well into his parents" marriage, and she brought much happiness to the household. She was always there in the periphery, but we were young boys up to no good. Once I left for college and started my own business, I put her out of my mind. She was just Mike"s little sister.

When she turned 20, I went back home for a visit and was blown away by her beauty. Then, I crossed the line one night, and it changed me forever. My life has literally not been the same since I took her virginity nine years ago, and I am a man obsessed. A sad, sad man because I know she doesn"t belong to me and never will. Mike would never forgive me, and I"d lose my best friend.

I"ve stayed away because of my obsession with Julie, always giving Mike one bogus reason after another of why I can"t move back to New York. But I"ve been keeping tabs on both of them from afar. Julie has worked her way up at the magazine where she works, and now, she"s chosen to write the more in-depth articles the magazine – Your Best Life - has to offer.

The truth is ugly. I"ve been stalking her for years, but it"s gotten worse in the past six months. She"ll be turning thirty soon, and I"m tempted to approach her. It"s a risk, but my life is in shambles without her in it. I hide behind a bad boy facade that everyone, including Mike, believes wholeheartedly. But there"s only one soul for me, and that is Julie Johnson.

I hear the bells of the bar door ring, and the hair on the back of my neck shoots up in warning. I don"t dare look because I know she"s here and she"s coming closer. My head is still down, looking at my drink, when I feel her sit next to me in the bar. She smells of peaches and something else I can"t decipher, and I want to drown in her scent.

Should I make myself known to her? What are the chances I"d be in Las Vegas when she is? One in a million? She has no reason to think it"s anything more than a coincidence, and I"m dying to get a closer look at her—her angelic face and her plush, curvaceous body. I can"t take it any longer, so I glance to my left and see her focusing tightly on the drink the bartender just put in front of her.

"Fancy meeting you here, Jules."

She looks sharply to the side and looks at me with surprise in her eyes.