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Kelly rolls her eyes. “If you’re such an expert, you should apply to be on this show.”
“I should.” I pick up my vodka drink from the table in front of me and take a long swig. “It would be my chance to show the world my skills, and I’d win the grand prize and have enough to open my very own dream bakery on the Strip.”
“The cash prize is only, like, twenty-five thousand. I feel like you’d need way more than that to start a bakery on the Strip. Maybe somewhere off-Strip. Or downtown.”
I set my jaw as I shoot her a glare. “Strip or bust.”
She laughs, the vodka clearly already getting to us a little. “You might have to strip to make enough for that.”
I burst into giggles, and I set my drink down on the table, accidentally bumping into the remote on my way. The channel changes, and suddenly we’re watching the sports segment on CBS.
“Rumors from multiple sources say your Vegas Aces have made a big offseason move, trading a second-round draft pick to the Chargers for Coach Lincoln Nash’s younger brother, Grayson Nash,” the reporter tells us.
Kelly moves to grab the remote, but I snatch it out of the way before she can change the channel back. A video of Grayson in his Chargers uniform is on the screen, and if that isn’t the very thing those engine revving, butterfly dreams are made of, I’m not sure what is. He’s running along with a wide receiver, and then the footage cuts to another game, and dang…he looks good in those tight pants.
Even better than he did a decade ago when I last saw him.
And he’s coming to Vegas?
Game. On.
My boobs are bigger now than they were back then. My braces are gone, and my pearly whites are nice and straight. I took up yoga when I was in college, and I’ve never looked or felt better despite my penchant for sweets. He might not have given me the time of day back then, but I bet he would now.
Except…Colin.
Oh, right.
The guy who just told me his job is more important than his girlfriend.
The guy I’ve given the last five years of my life to.
The guy I thought I was going to marry…the guy I think I’m going to break up with.
The guy I think my heart broke up with as much as a year ago.
I should do it in person…but who knows when that’s going to happen? I should just do it. Get it over with. Rip off the bandage. Be done once and for all since I’ve been done emotionally for months at this point.
“You don’t care about football,” Kelly says, interrupting my thoughts and reaching for the remote.
“Oh, but I do, my friend. I care very much about football when it’s Grayson Nash we’re talking about.”
“Who the hell is Grayson Nash?” she asks. She’s more of a baseball gal herself, and to be honest, I am, too. I gave up trying to understand football years ago, mostly because I always thought of Grayson and how I never stood a chance with him. I buried it in the past with the rest of New York when I moved to Vegas for college.
I’m sure I still don’t stand a chance…but if we’re going to be in the same town, there’s a better chance than there ever has been before.
I nod toward the screen. “Him. The six-foot-four rugged heartthrob on the screen. The football star moving to Las Vegas. And…my oldest brother’s best friend.”
Her jaw drops. “Your brother is best friends with an NFL player? How have you never told me this?”
“Well, they were best friends way back in the day. They went to high school together. I don’t really keep up with Beck’s friendships these days considering I haven’t even seen him since Christmas.” I don’t go back to New York very often these days, and Beck is in Manhattan.
When our dad died when I was eight, Beck stepped into the role of caretaker since our mom checked out emotionally. And even now that my other two brothers and I are grown adults and have moved away, Beck stays in New York to be closer to Mom.
He's a good guy.
When I first moved to Vegas to attend college, I assumed I’d end up back in New York once I graduated. But then I fell in love.
First with Vegas, and then with Colin.
