Chapter 15

Nadia was the kind of hungover that had no cure. No hair of the dog, no Tylenol, no extra sleep with the covers over her face. From the moment she dragged herself out of bed and forced herself into the shower, she was dizzy and sore.

Had the night before really happened?

Eva had no problems bounding out of bed and finishing up their packing. While Nadia sat under the showerhead for ten extra minutes, her wife gathered their bags atop the bed and called the front desk for some help at checkout. She fielded more phone calls with Kathryn about when everyone was taking a shuttle to Harry Reid. Nadia, however, gradually remembered the details of the night before and was hesitant to face her wife again.

"You want me to order you something for breakfast?" Eva finished zipping up her overnight bag. "I'll get something at the airport. Not that hungry right now."

Nadia picked up the comfortable outfit she had laid out for traveling that day. Leggings and a jersey dress with a sweater. The same leggings she had worn the night before.

"I'm not that hungry either," Nadia said. "I think I'm still in shock from last night."

She half-expected Eva to do or say something about that. Instead, she yawned.

"Everything's okay with us, right?" Nadia asked.

Eva did a double-take while sorting which of her shirts were clean or needed laundering. "Yes? Why wouldn't it be?"

"Lacey…"

"She's not bugging you over text, is she?"

"I haven't heard from her at all." Only Jasmine, who had been left hanging with questions about their departure on the Mathers' private plane. "Should I have?"

"Don't know why. We parted on good terms last night." Eva chuckled. "I think she might finally be over that supposed slight from college."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not used to this. You're acting way too indifferent for waking up the day after your wife was naked and making out with someone else."

Eva closed the lid on her bag. "Do you want me to act super jealous?"'

"Maybe a bit."

"I knew it. You've still got that in you."

Although Eva grinned so widely for Nadia to know she had yet to brush her teeth, it didn't stop her from accepting a kiss that woke up the last bit of her brain still clinging to sleep.

Now that Nadia could move forward from the kind of thing that stayed in Vegas, she finished getting dressed and packing up her things. The "poor kid" in her was worried about leaving by check out at eleven, although years with Eva had taught her that the rules were different at their level. It was nothing for someone with the surname Warren to leave two or four hours later than planned. The staff was also much more understanding – or at least acted like they were. Nadia was always aware of this favorable treatment but still felt strange ambling downstairs at ten after one, where Ethan and Jasmine had probably been waiting since noon.

"I see Kathryn and her husband aren't here." Eva pulled out her phone and checked for a message. Nadia sat with Jasmine on a bench in the lobby. Ethan loomed nearby, back in his jeans and hoodie that made him look more working-class guy in Vegas for the weekend instead of self-made billionaire who had only stepped on a couple of people to get to the veritable top.

"Did you guys have lunch yet?" Nadia asked. "I skipped breakfast, but at this rate, it'll be a while before we're at the airport."

"I had a very unexciting salad at that overpriced café by the front desk. Ethan popped outside for a you-know-what."

Nadia giggled. "A McChicken?"

"Actually, it was the Filet-O-Fish, wasn't it, honey?"

Ethan shrugged. "I'm a growing boy.'

He was such a difference from how he appeared in the office that Nadia also felt more casual around her boss. "It works out because Vegas makes you walk half a mile to get to it."

"Sure does."

Jasmine nudged her friend. "What happened last night? Eva and that other gal were getting heated."

Nadia sighed. "Long story. Not something to get into in the lobby of a Vegas casino."

"Don't tell me there's a body at the bottom of Lake Mead."

"If there is, I hear that thing's going to dry up fast enough for Eva to still get convicted." Nadia shook her head. "Let's say things ended amicably, but that's all I'm sharing right now."

She wasn't sure she'd share the truth anytime soon. Right now, it felt like a fun secret to keep to herself while she recovered from one of the wildest nights of the year. Eva wants to take it further with someone else by the end of the year? Nadia wasn't sure how she felt about that yet. On one hand, she was bolder and more emblazoned than before. On the other hand?

Too much! Too soon!

She watched Eva wander around the lobby, sometimes on the phone with someone, sometimes texting at the speed of light. No matter what she wears, she takes my breath away. Jeans and a white T-shirt toned down the otherworldly beauty that was Eva Warren, but her height, impeccable jawline, and bright blond hair turned heads wherever she went. Today was no exception. Men openly gawked at her. Women longed for her body – both kinds of longed. Nadia both felt like the luckiest woman in the world and like she still lived one realm below the diva finally flagging down her best friend as she popped out of the elevator as if she weren't forty-five minutes late to their rendezvous.

A concierge in a green vest walked up to Nadia and gently caught her attention. When Nadia looked around, she realized that Jasmine had gone to the bathroom, and Eva was deep in conversation with Kathryn and Ian. Ethan was the only one watching the staff member with Nadia, and even then, he was barely interested. His phone was far more engrossing.

"Ms. Gaines?" the man in the vest asked.

"Yes?"

She was handed an unmarked envelope. Inside was the hotel stationery letterhead. "Thank you." Nadia reached into her wallet and pulled out a couple of dollars. She wasn't sure if she was expected to tip in this situation – or how much – but had learned that tipping came with the territory of existing in Vegas.

The man thanked her and walked away. Nadia opened the envelope and discovered what could have only been Lacey's handwriting.

"Nadia,

Thanks for the memorable weekend. Although what happens in Vegas tends to stay in Vegas, I'm sure I'll be thinking about this for a long time. Your wife is a lucky woman, but I think you are lucky as well. It turns out she's quite understanding after all.

Have a safe flight back east. Maybe I'll see you around. I look forward to it.

Lacey

PS: Don't forget everything I taught you about the casino :) Oh, and don't tell Eva I tossed out three of a kind last night. I let her win."

Nadia stuffed the note in the bottom of her purse. So happened that was when Eva wandered over to inform her that their shuttle would be there in a few minutes. That was Nadia's cue to hunt down Jasmine from the bathroom.

"Wait," Nadia said, once everyone was together and preparing to leave.

Eva was the only one who stayed behind. "What is it?"

"I want to try something."

With Eva hovering nearby, Nadia approached the nearest slot machine and withdrew a quarter from her wallet. Eva said nothing, but Nadia knew her wife was curious.

The coin went in. Lights flashed and a friendly voice cued Nadia to crank the lever. She obliged

Ding! Ding! Ding! Nadia didn't know what shocked her more. That three giant carrots appeared, or that the slot machine whooped in a celebration that she had won $50,000.

"What the hell?" Eva asked, slack-jawed.

Employees in vests appeared. A crowd gathered around them. Kathryn doubled back to see the commotion and groaned. Jasmine jumped on her friend and screamed in excitement as if they were college girls who struggled to pay their bills.

"Someone told me that fortune favors the rich," Nadia said to her wife.

"I can only imagine who that was."

"Someone trying to make a point.'

"Did you make her point for her?"

Nadia relented to the fuss being made over her. The same fuss that now delayed their flight home. "You tell me."

Eva didn't have to.