Jackie Braun - Weekend in Vegas!

Alex’s throat clogged with happy tears. Somehow Wyatt had managed to fly Jayne and Molly out, and he’d located Serena and arranged this meeting.

She couldn’t help wondering why. Wyatt’s explanation had simply been that he knew she missed her friends. That seemed too simple, but she did miss them. And she needed to see them, to get her head on straight.

After Wyatt had kissed her crazy in the conference room the other day, she’d gone to her room, bent over to keep from fainting and prayed she would get a brain, get a clue, and stop longing to be held in Wyatt’s arms. There was zero payoff in getting involved with him. This time, unlike the other times in her life, she’d been warned.

“Alex, you look so far away,” Molly was saying.

Alex shook her head. “Sorry. You know me. It takes a few minutes to come down from the clouds and forget work.”

What was it that was different about Molly? she wondered, looking more closely at her friend. Something wasn’t right there. But when she voiced her concerns to Molly, her friend wrinkled her nose.

“Hey, I’m fine. Serena and Jayne and I are the ones who get to play mother duck to you today. Still, I can’t believe Wyatt flew us all out here to see you! A private luxury jet. Wow!”

“I know, and I’m still trying to figure out the underlying reason for this trip,” Jayne said.

“Wyatt said that you needed people who could help you relax,” Serena said. “Alex, what does that mean? What have you been up to that the emergency friend forces have been called in?”

“Emergency friend forces?”

“You better believe it,” Serena told her. “I’ve got the tattoo. Jayne and Molly, too. We’d show you, but then you’d want one, too, and we know you’re allergic to needles.”

Alex laughed. She relaxed.

“Okay, enough stalling. Spill,” Molly ordered.

“There’s not much to tell,” Alex said, and she related the story of the boy and the ruined papers, the events she had been planning, and eventually the last incident with the angry workmen in the ballroom. No need to mention the latest out-of-control kiss with Wyatt, since she still hadn’t wrapped her own mind around what had happened.

“So…what’s happening between you and Wyatt?” Serena asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Flying your friends in? That’s not one of the usual employee perks.”

Of course nothing had been “the usual” between her and Wyatt from the very start.

“He’s a very different kind of man,” she said carefully.

“Uh-oh,” Molly said, and Serena and Jayne nodded.

“Different as in interesting and exciting?” Serena asked.

“Different as in an employer who goes the extra mile for his employees,” she said, looking at her friends sternly. “Look, you don’t have to worry. I’ll be home soon. I called a real estate agent in San Diego, and she’s looking for a shop for me to rent.”

Because after ending up in Wyatt’s embrace the other day what else could she do? The best way to stay smart was to pretend her time here was almost done, plan ahead, get involved in making her dream of a shop a reality. No more dwelling on Wyatt.

“Alex, that’s so great—but tell us more about Wyatt,” Molly said.

Alex gave her a “stop right there” look. “Nice try, Molly, but I have to tell you I really don’t want to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Answer a lot of questions about Wyatt. I know you’re asking because you care, but I really just need to be with you guys today and have fun. Wyatt told me that I wasn’t even supposed to utter the word McKendrick’s today. I was supposed to be totally lazy and decadent, and that’s what I want to be.”

“Great! Total decadence works for me,” Serena said with a grin.

“Sounds fantastic. So where should we start?” Molly asked.

“Let’s start with chocolate, and then double chocolate—maybe triple chocolate—and go from there,” Alex said.

“Chocolate what?” Jayne asked.

“Does it matter? It’s chocolate , Jayne,” Serena said.

“Excellent point,” Jayne agreed.

So they ate chocolate, and other things a bit higher up the food pyramid. They drank, shopped, and talked nonstop. They tried on clothes they would never wear in public, shoes too high to walk in. And Alex indulged in her secret weakness—wild earrings she bought but could never find a place to wear. They reminisced about incidents in their past and shared private jokes. And if there were moments when the conversation slowed, when Serena looked sad, Molly appeared worried, Jayne seemed heartbroken or Alex drifted away to thoughts of Wyatt, none of them discussed those things. They had this one no-worries-allowed day, and they didn’t intend to waste it.

But eventually the day ended. Teary goodbyes were said. Five minutes after all her friends left, Alex got into the limo and turned toward McKendrick’s.

As if on cue her thoughts turned to Wyatt. She remembered the sound of his voice, how he had tried to protect her from the view of Jenna and the tourists, how he had promised not to let anyone touch her, how she’d felt when he had kissed her.

Her lips began to tingle, and suddenly the limo seemed to be moving too slowly. She wanted to see Wyatt. She couldn’t wait to see Wyatt.

That couldn’t be a good thing, and yet when she caught her first glimpse of him, it felt like a very good thing. That tendency to salivate at the sight of him like some Pavlovian puppy was going to be a problem.

If she let it.

Woof , she thought, as she smiled and reached out to take his hands. “Thank you so much for today, Wyatt. It was exactly what I needed.”

She rose on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, her silly palm tree earrings dangling. Then she realized that they had an audience. Katrina, the restaurateur who obviously coveted Wyatt, was standing nearby.

Wyatt read Alex’s distress. She hadn’t considered the possibility of an audience…although they often had one. That was how she operated: straightforward, nothing held back. She would never consider not offering her thanks or her help if she felt either was needed. It was one of the most appealing things about her, and one that made him insane with worry for her. Someday someone would take advantage of her giving nature. Again. It had better not be him.

“My, aren’t we enthusiastic?” Katrina said, in that sultry, snotty way that had never bothered Wyatt before. Maybe because she usually reserved it for people who deserved it. Alex didn’t.

He shot Katrina a sheathe-your-claws look. She shrugged.

Then Alex did something he hadn’t seen her do before. She straightened her shoulders, emphasizing her full height. She was wearing silly but cute little dangling palm tree earrings that should have looked ridiculous but somehow didn’t. Alex was just an inch or so taller than Katrina, but it was enough to give her an edge.

She pulled her shoulders back. Then she looked down her pretty nose and smiled a truly feline smile. “Enthusiastic? I’m always enthusiastic, Katrina. You should try it. I hear it’s wonderful at preventing age lines.”

Ouch! How would Alex know that Katrina was touchy about nearing her thirtieth birthday? This was going to get ugly. He needed to step in before Katrina did some serious damage.

To his surprise, Katrina laughed. “So, the kitten has claws? Touché, Alex. I totally had that coming, but who knew you’d follow through? Interesting. I do appreciate a woman who doesn’t back down. Not that we’re going to be friends or anything.”

Alex blinked. Then she smiled. “Not that we are.”

“Nice earrings.” It wasn’t a compliment.

“I think so.” She shook her head, sending the little palm trees dancing.