Amy Ruttan - It Happened In Vegas

You’d think that accepting a trauma surgeon fellowship on the east coast would be something most parents would be proud of, and maybe her father would be, but her perfect sister, Pamela, had managed to become engaged to a high-society socialite from Manhattan and all Jennifer had managed to do was become a surgeon in a hospital.

It was like she had rabies or something.

No matter what she did, she couldn’t shake off her past. She couldn’t shake off the stigma of being the black sheep in the family.

The one who didn’t want to rise from the humble beginnings of her life and mingle with the social elite. She wanted to help the poor and less fortunate.

She fumbled in her purse for the illicit pack of cigarettes, something which she’d been trying desperately to give up since her days as a hellion teen. She’d been off them for a while, but being around her family made her do crazy things.

“Why do you always do things to make me look bad?”

A shudder traveled down her spine as her father’s voice whispered in her ear.

Jennifer pushed open the French doors and stepped out into the cool night air. The patio was mostly empty. Everyone was inside, enjoying the party.

There was one sad-looking cigarette in the package. Old and almost crumpled. She pulled it out and turned to toss it away, remembering why she’d quit when she’d started medical school.

It was being around her perfect family that made her go bonkers.

She didn’t like the act. Couldn’t they be real?

“That’s not healthy for you, you know that?”

Jennifer spun around and saw that she wasn’t alone on the patio. A soldier was half-hidden in the shadows, only three feet from her, sitting on a bench.

He leaned forward and she could see the hazel of his eyes reflected in the moonlight. His face was slim, long, but there was something enticing about it. When he smiled, it was a half-smile that ended in a deep dimple in his left cheek.

“I wasn’t going to smoke it. I was going to get rid of it. I quit a long time ago,” she said.

The soldier stood slowly and stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, lanky and devilishly appealing in his dress uniform. He whipped off the dress hat and held it under his arm, revealing a buzz cut.

“With all due respect, miss, it appeared that you were ready to devour that cancer stick.”

Jennifer chuckled and glanced at the cigarette in her fingers. “Okay, I thought about it, but only for a moment.”

He stepped closer and took the cigarette from her hand, snapped it in half and tossed it over the side of the patio into the bushes. “There, the temptation is gone.”

“Hey, that’s littering. You do realize that, don’t you?”

He placed his hat back on his head and raised an ebony eyebrow. “Are you the litter police?”

“No, but you’re a soldier. You should know better, hooah and all that.”

This time he grinned and his white teeth gleamed in the darkness. “Hooah and all that?”

Jennifer laughed. “Sorry, I don’t know. I’m on edge.”

“And I just threw away your only means of escape?”

A blush tinged her cheeks. “Something like that.”

“Well, my apologies, but I would hate to have you ruin your years of abstinence by lighting up tonight.”

“I thank you for your concern, soldier. I do.” She snapped her clutch closed. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to the party?”

He shrugged. “It’s not my thing, too many people. What about you?”

“What about me?” she asked.

He leaned in and a tingle zinged down her spine. “What’re you escaping from?”

Don’t let him get to you.

She was a sucker for men in uniform, men out of uniform and bad boys in general. All the types of men her parents didn’t approve of.

Of course, the only men her parents approved of were from money, high society or a WASP. Also known as her sister’s fiancé.

Jennifer cleared her throat and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear.

“Oh, I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“How do you know?”

“You’re fidgeting. Admit it, you’re nervous around me.”

“A bit, but you’re right. I’m escaping. I’m not really into shindigs like this.”

“Want to get out of here?”

“Uh, you’re a complete stranger.”

“I’m a soldier, though. Doesn’t that make me honorable or something?”

“Not really.” She grinned. “I’m Jennifer.” And she stuck out her hand.

He took her hand in his and the touch of his skin sent a jolt of heat through her blood.

“I’m Nick. I guess we’re not strangers any longer?”

“Nope. We’re not. What was that you were saying about getting out of here?”

He held out his arm. “I hope you don’t mind riding a motorcycle.”

“I don’t mind in the least.”

Nick turned to lead her back in through the party and she pulled him back. “What’s wrong? Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, I just don’t want to go back in there.” She didn’t want some tabloid to snap a picture of her on the arm of a soldier. Not because it was bad, but because it was an invasion of her privacy, something she held dear because it was the only thing she could control.

He looked around. “Well, can you think of a better way out of here?”

“Hold this.” She jammed her clutch into his hands and kicked off her heels.

“What’re you doing?”

She smiled. “What, you’ve never jumped a fence, soldier?”

Jennifer picked up her shoes and tossed them out onto the dark lawn and then climbed the patio fence, dropping down three feet onto the grass below. “Are you coming?”

His answer was to drop her purse at her feet. She scrambled out of the way, retrieving her shoes as he dropped down beside her.

“How did you know to do that?” he asked.

Jennifer panicked. She didn’t want him to know who she really was. If he knew she was a senator’s daughter, he might not want to “escape” with her.

“It was obvious,” she said, brushing it off like it was nothing. “Now, you have to provide the adventure.”

He smiled again, that half-smile that brought out that delectable dimple. “Oh, I can provide the adventure. Like I said, my bike is parked down the street.”

“Lead the way, soldier.”

He took her hand and they ran across the lawn and out onto the street where his motorcycle was sitting. He opened up his pannier and tossed her a helmet as he put his hat safely away and then grabbed his own helmet.

“You carry two helmets? How fortuitous.” She crammed it down over her head.

Nick took her purse from her hand and put it in the pannier next to his hat. “Well, I like to come prepared for adventure.”

He shut the pannier and climbed on. She sat behind him, gripping him about the waist.

“You’re being reckless. You’re such an embarrassment.”

The words had stung. Like a slap to her face. Her father had never spoken to her like that before, when he’d been a rancher.

Jennifer shook her father’s words from her head as Nick started the engine, kicked the stand and took off, heading west out of Carson City.

She didn’t know where they were going and she didn’t care.

She knew that any rational female wouldn’t go off with a man she’d just met, but something deep down inside her trusted him, probably when she shouldn’t.

Jennifer didn’t even freak when they left Carson City far behind them and headed into the state park.

After almost thirty minutes of driving, he pulled over at the Sand Harbor Overlook in Lake Tahoe State Park.

She let go of her hold on him and got off. Her legs felt a bit shaky, not used to riding on a motorcycle.