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Chapter 4

Oh, my.

Nadia was careful not to cover her mouth with her bid card. Because the Lacey standing on the stage was an even more impressive version of the one she met at the high-stakes blackjack table from the night before.

She cuts a serious suit. Nadia recognized the look, but not the brand, from the last time she happened to be in Saks Fifth Avenue. With Eva, of all people. Although the Warrens had their quips about Manhattan's most well-known fashion haunts, Eva always stopped into Saks and purchased at least one, if not three things. Sometimes, they had something that fit Nadia perfectly, and it went into her arsenal of professional workwear. But this hot pink ensemble paired with slicked back, wet hair, and bold makeup evoking a wild and crazy throwback to the 2000s? Nadia barely recognized Lacey from how casual she had been the night before in her blouse and jeans. I also didn't get to see her in such seriously burgundy eyeliner…

Nadia was aware of Eva staring at her.

"What?"

"You can't be serious."

Nadia covered up her bid card. "I might be thinking about it."

Kathryn asked Lacey to say something about herself. Anything Eva had wanted to say was soon drowned out by, "I'm not picky about who I spend my time with." Then, much to Nadia's amusement and Eva's chagrin, "I'll have a good time with a fancy guy… or a lucky lady. Preferences are all in the heart and head, not the body."

Was Nadia making it up, or did Lacey look right at her?

"Although there are exceptions, of course."

Eva smacked her hand against her wife's thigh. "She's doing that on purpose," she hissed.

Nadia hiccupped in excitement. "I know!"

"Okay, but for real, you can't be serious." Kathryn opened the bid at the usual five thousand. "Don't let those cat-like eyes fool you, Nads. She's all talk. All bluster."

"I thought you had never dated her?"

"There's a reason. I can see right through her boredom for everyone around her. You ever wonder why women that seem that good on paper are still single? For fuck's sake, she plays for every team, meaning there's not a single girl or guy out there who will put up with her for five days, let alone five years."

"You don't really know that. Besides…" Nadia was caught up in the lukewarm bidding war happening around her. "It's only for the weekend. It's not like I'm sleeping with her."

"You want to. Admit it."

Nadia was about to call her wife's bluff but decided against it. She's trying to get a rise out of you. Eva was jealous, but not so much that she would put her foot down and try to forbid Nadia from doing something otherwise harmless. Much of their relationship went like this over the years. I express interest in someone, she peacocks, we have hot sex, and start over again a few months later… Sometimes, Eva turned that on its head and implied she'd be down for a threesome if Nadia was that interested. Like back in Hawaii, when her ex-girlfriend inexplicably put the moves on Nadia and they both offered to play.

Except Nadia hadn't been interested back then. Even if she found Eva's ex-girlfriend attractive like that, she was not in the right frame of mind after months of being down on her appearance.

She was feeling better that spring. Maybe Nadia was up for an adventure…

Before Kathryn closed the bids, Nadia raised her bid card. By the end of the run, she had spent almost as much as her wife on someone who had put themselves up for auction…

…But not like that.

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Once the money was secured and the main event was over, the lucky winners were ushered into a separate salon where they would have their first meeting with their dates. For Eva, that meant breaking off from her wife with a warning on her lips.

"Don't fall for her shit, all right? If you want to go ga-ga over a woman who's not me, you can do way better than Lacey."

Honestly, the more Eva said stuff like that, the naughtier Nadia wanted to be. For all Nadia knew, that was part of her wife's game.

The woman in charge of coordinating the mixer was not Kathryn, but someone similar in age and of a completely different style. Whereas Kathryn drank a glass of Champagne while talking to some of the other bidders, the lady with a clipboard and thick glasses led Nadia to a small table on the far side of the room. The moment she arrived, a server carrying a tray of Champagne flutes arrived. Nadia asked for water instead.

"Well, well." Lacey was already there, a diet soda before her. "Look who it is. Nadia, right? I must have made an impression on you in the few minutes we saw each other last night."

For all her bravado leading up to that moment, Nadia almost lost her nerve to talk now. "Maybe I was waiting for a woman to take the stage."

"I was a last-minute addition. A favor to Kathryn, who begged me to participate because she wanted a woman in the mix." Lacey grinned through bold pink lips. "Were you really holding out, or were you waiting for the perfect guy to come along?"

"There's no such thing."

Nadia didn't expect Lacey to have such a delicate laugh. "I believe we didn't formally meet last night. Which I can't blame anyone for, since the smoke was thick enough to almost make me a tobacco addict again." A smooth hand tipped in rose-colored nails reached across the table. "Lacey Cruz. To be honest, I'm glad it was you and not some of the guys I saw in the audience. I can only fake it for so long."

Nadia shook her hand. "Nadia Gaines. Or Gaines-Warren, if you want my public name." Unlike other women she knew, Nadia never legally changed her name upon marriage but went by Warren when the occasion called for it. Which was most formal occasions. It had been part of her prenuptial agreement with the Warren family. Mostly my mother-in-law, who is a stickler for these things. The name "Nadia Warren" didn't flow off her tongue, and she liked the letter G.

"Thanks for reminding me that you're married, let alone into what family. I hope Evangeline hasn't besmirched my good name."

"Not at all."

"Now that's a lie."

Nadia wouldn't deny it. "So, what's the deal? Are you attached to someone as well? Should I be worried about a wife getting jealous over your participation… or a husband?"

Lacey shook her head. "I'm single right now. Only reason Kathryn talked me into it. She knew I'd been through a dry spell during the pandemic and have been struggling to get back into the dating world."

"Oh?"

"I don't want to be a bummer on what's supposed to be a fun weekend, but my last relationship blew up two weeks into lockdown and I got a bit agoraphobic in the aftermath. Which isn't my style. On the bright side, I got into charity work during that time, which is how I met Kathryn in a professional capacity and… well, Bob's your uncle, as they say."

"Is this the first ‘date' you've been on since coming back out into the world?"

"Not technically, but it's the first one with someone who's kept me thinking about her for more than ten minutes."

Nadia hadn't expected to blush, no matter how thick Lacey laid on the charm. "I think I'm going to have a lot more fun this weekend than my wife."

"Dare I ask what that was about?"

"If you have to ask, then it's too long of a story to explain."

"Doing a friend a favor. How kind of her. I'm not sure I would have done the same."

"Really? Ian's not bad at all."

"What I mean is that he's the kind of cute guy I would have ruined a decent friendship over. I'm sure Eva told you all about it."

Nadia was rendered speechless. Even when ice water was brought to her, she didn't know what to do with her mouth.

"She said something about a big fight you guys had in college. Something about a girl two-timing you guys."

"So she told you that much? I'm surprised. I said a lot of unflattering things about her back then. I've always assumed she hates me over it."

"The way she said it implied that you thought you were the girl's one and only."

"Big surprise it was finding out she was sleeping with Eva, too. I found out because I came back to our apartment one day to find them in bed together. It's the first and only time I've seen your wife naked."

"Our apartment?"

"The one I shared with my ex. Eva says it was two-timing, but I lived with the woman she slept with. To this day, I find it hard to believe she didn't know we were dating."

That was food for thought, but Nadia chalked it up to Eva being her usual oblivious self when it came to matters of love and sex. Once she sets her focus on someone, you have to be incredibly blunt about your disinterest. Or that you have someone already. Being blunt had worked for Nadia until it didn't anymore. The day Eva finally took the hint and stopped flirting with her was the day Nadia decided she liked the attention after all.

"Enough about Eva, though." Lacey picked up a card that was fancier than some wedding invitations. On it were the details of the date Kathryn had drawn when Lacey was up on the stage. Nadia had long forgotten what it was. She had only eyes for this woman in pink at the time. And her wet hair. Gosh, she's like a stylishly nostalgic look into my high school years. Including the wet hair! Genius! "Let's see what we're doing tonight, Ms. Gaines."

She accentuated Nadia's maiden name as if to emphasize Eva's distance from them at the moment. "Of course. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's a blast."

Lacey fluttered her long lashes in Nadia's direction before settling her gaze on the cursive words on the card. She read, "A romantic candlelit dinner for two while enjoying one of the most gorgeous views on the Strip. On Sunday, use your date voucher to either enjoy a mystery picnic or your own private tour of the behind-the-scenes thrills of a Vegas casino. Hm." Lacey put down the card. "I already know what happens behind the scenes. I used to work here."

"Really?"

"Sure. Still have some connections. I was doing some consulting work last night on behalf of a client. The owner of this very hotel asked me to report back my experience."

"What kind of experience?"

"For one thing, I know how to count cards. The security staff were told ahead of time to not bust me for it. The point was to see if the dealer noticed. He did not. I lost on purpose last night before leaving after making a stupid bet. The money was from the casino anyway. I was paid ahead of time for my observations."

"Oh, don't get him in trouble, please."

"Don't worry. I wrote my report last night and suggested some tips. I'm not out to get anyone fired unless they're really blowing it. You know… counting cards isn't actually against the rules. It's one of the best ways to win."

"I don't know what that means."

"You keep track of what cards are in play and use it to determine who has the advantage in any given hand. It's more power of observation and memory skills than actual math. The only reason I'm good at it is because I've played a lot of blackjack in my old career."

"Did you work here in Vegas?"

"Only for a short bit. This town grates on you after a short while. Eh, I'm from New England like you. Toward the end, I did most of my work in Atlantic City to be close to home. I also do contract work now. That means going here and there depending on how great the need of the company paying me. I do a lot of work for Caesar's, but I offer discounts to the smaller tribal casinos around the country. I also do some consulting abroad. Monaco, Macau…" Lacey tilted her head as if she didn't know if Nadia was still listening. "I'm sorry if this is boring you."

"I think it's fascinating. How does one go from that to charity work?"

"When you work on behalf of casinos long enough, you get ethically tired. Assuming you have a soul. Watching millions and billions of dollars pass through hands like that… seeing gambling addicts lose their homes and their kids' college funds because the system takes advantage of them… my karma was out of sorts, I guess. My job was to help casinos not lose more money than they have to, which gets old when you see how destitute some of the gamblers are. Anyway…" Lacey's clearing of her throat indicated a desire to change subjects. "You still work for Ethan Cole, I hear?"

"Sure. Why do you ask? Can't believe Eva's wife still works full-time?"

"Heh. No, that's not it. I think it's interesting you work for him."

"Why's that?"

"I used to date him."

Nadia had picked that moment to drink some water and sputtered ice back into her glass.

"For like three weeks. Don't get excited." Lacey gazed off into the distance. "I had longer hair back then. That was a weird time in my life."

Once Nadia had regained her bearings, she said, "He's been with my friend Jasmine for going on ten years. How old were you when you two dated?"

"It was about eleven years ago."

"When he was with Monica?"

"I was under the impression that was an open relationship. One of the reasons I bailed. You can probably guess the other reasons."

Nadia could hardly contain the million questions she wanted to ask the woman in front of her. If nothing else, this weekend will be all the hot gossip I could ever ask for! From Eva to Ethan, this was likely to entertain Nadia's juicier sensibilities for months to come. She might even tell other people!

"So, Ms. Gaines…"

"Please. Call me Nadia."

"Of course. So, Nadia, are you looking forward to seeing me again later tonight? A candlelit dinner in the dark sounds awfully romantic."

The only reason Nadia knew she didn't have Lacey's full attention was because she felt her wife's presence lurking only a few yards behind her. Anything Lacey said to Nadia was actually meant for Eva to suffer over.

So Nadia laughed as loudly as she could muster, a tacit message to her wife that said, "Hope you're having a great time too, honey."

Because she already knew the answer to that.

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"Of all the women." Eva shoved her flute of Champagne into Ian's hands and stole his iced tea. She didn't think twice about tossing his straw at him and helping her lips to the rim of the glass. "I'd almost rather she be with a guy right now."

Ian folded his arms on their table, a yawn escaping him. "I'm not going to pretend I know what's up over there, but jealousy isn't a good look on you."

"Jealous? Jealous?" Eva almost kicked him in the shin for that. "Lacey Cruz is one of the last women on this planet I'd ever be jealous of. She should be jealous of me."

"Oh, boy."

"Like Kathryn wouldn't be over here right now sniffing another girl's hair had someone else ‘won' your hand." Eva slammed the iced tea back onto the table. "The whole reason you're saddled with me is because some witch from her college days almost got her teeth into you."

"You don't have to put it like that."

"I do."

Ian sighed. "All right."

"Look." Eva laid down the law when she jabbed her finger into the middle of their tiny round table. "I don't like this any more than you. So if you want to forget the rest of the weekend, I'm fine with that. We can give the date to some honeymooning couple from Indiana for all I care. You know, in the name of charity."

"I'm pretty sure Kathryn's already called ahead and told the venue our names. Hope you're ready to go backstage and meet some performers in their ‘natural habitat.'"

"I would love that with another woman. Not so much you."

"It is what it is. I'm simply glad those looks you give me don't send me to hell anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, you once had it in your head I wanted to turn you into a eunuch." Eva scoffed. "Only if you hurt Kathryn."

"Now here I am, her first line of defense."

"That used to be my job."

"Yes, then you both got married. To different people."

Eva was taken aback. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Are you implying that I should focus my efforts on protecting my wife?" Eva didn't hide her staring at the back of Nadia's red head. The more she openly flirted with Lacey, who wore such a garish pink pantsuit, the more Eva was convinced that she had woken up on the unlucky side of the bed that morning. "Because Lacey is totally going to try it."

"If you say so."

"Like that woman trying to win you would try it with you. To get back at Kathryn."

"Like I couldn't handle it myself. In the spirit of charity."

Eva wrinkled her nose. "Why is nobody taking this seriously? Lacey Cruz has been pissed off at me for going on ten years, if not more. My wife is hot as hell and thinks the woman's attractive. Ugh. It's so blatant."

"So put a stop to it."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Take a page out of Kathryn's book and wear your wife out in between the dates she's paid for. I have no doubt that was her game plan had I gone to someone else."

"You sound bored by the prospect of sleeping with your own wife."

"More like she'd be in crazy-ass Domme mode, and my body is not ready."

Kathryn caught up to them a minute later, right in the middle of an awkward silence between her two favorite people. It's not like we have much in common. They both loved Kathryn, and they had both been star players on their school's respective soccer teams. That was it. They both had letters from Winchester Academy.

"What's crawled up your ass and suffocated?" Kathryn stole the iced tea that had rotated around the table. By the end of the event, all three of them would have drunk from it. "Ian's not that bad."

Ian drolly said, "She's mad about the woman Nadia's with."

"Lacey? What the hell is wrong with her?" Kathryn looked between both tables the moment Nadia laughed at another one of Lacey's charming jokes. "Besides the fact she's hot?"

"See? Even she knows what's up." Eva said to Ian. "Don't forget she's queer and has the same style as me. That's Kryptonite to Nadia."

"Please. Like she would ever cheat on you."

"I'm not worried about her cheating on me."

Both Ian and Kathryn raised their eyebrows as if they didn't believe that for a second.

"I'm serious," Eva continued. "It's worse than that."

"You don't think Lacey's going to try something, do you?" Kathryn asked.

"No! I mean, I don't think so. She must know I'd completely bust her ass open if she did something as stupid as that."

"So what's the problem?" Ian asked.

Eva gritted her teeth against the mess she was in. "Remember the deal I told you I made with Nadia earlier this year?" she asked Kathryn, who looked as if she couldn't remember what she talked about the day before, let alone four months ago.

"…Yeah?"

"Come on. Don't leave me out of this," Ian said.

Eva knew she couldn't say anything else unless he was in on it. Could be worse. Could be Ethan Cole. At least Ian was a known quantity in Eva's life. "We made a deal that we would have our first threesome by the end of the year. She only had to say when, and with whom."

Ian let out a low whistle. Kathryn immediately glommed on to her friend's meaning… with a laugh.

"You're worried it'll be Lacey?" The laughter did not die down, not even when other people were looking at them. "Oh, no, Eva, whatever will you do? The woman who used to chase tail like it was going out of style?"

"I'll have you know it's been over seven years since I've touched a woman who wasn't Nadia. Let alone anything like that. I want it to be someone good. Someone worthy of, you know, being touched by me or my wife."

Ian stole back his iced tea before the women around him finished it. "You guys are nuts. That woman's hot. If Katie came in hot saying we got to have a threesome with her, I'd have my shirt off in five seconds."

"Don't get your hopes up. Even if I were interested, she wouldn't be my type. I'd want a submissive femme." Kathryn tipped her chin in Eva's direction. "The straighter, the better."

"There she is," Ian said with a wink. "Told you she planned to wear me out tonight if someone else got me before you did."

"Who says that's still not the plan?"

"Trust me," Ian said to his wife, "after Eva's done sucking the soul of my body tonight, I won't have any energy left, my queen."

"You will if I say you do."

"All right." Eva held up both of her hands. "Getting real in your relationship here. I don't need to know who's on the bottom tonight."

"Only tonight?" Kathryn sweetly asked her friend.

"Don't listen to her," Ian said. "There's no reasoning with her when she gets like this."

More laughter carried over from Nadia and Lacey's table. Whatever Lacey said was a real knee-slapper, based on how much physical movement Nadia exerted in the span of a few seconds.

"Let her have some fun. It's been a long three years."

Eva looked up at Kathryn. "Who are you talking about? My wife or Lacey?"

"Either." Kathryn sniffed. "Spirit of charity, Eva."

Right now, Eva felt like the biggest charity case in the room.

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