AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A few seconds later, he came around the corner wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses with what looked like strips of carpet hanging from the arms. “They have a gift shop!” he exclaimed. “Do you like my sideburns?”
I stood. “Heidi definitely needs a pair of those.”
We all crowded into the gift shop, and I grabbed a pair of the glasses, then balked at the price. They were extremely proud of their carpet shades, for real. Dad must have seen me hesitate because he smacked me on the arm. “You don’t need to worry about money so much anymore, darlin’,” he said. “Maggie and I are going to move into a suite together at Aspen Skies. We already cleared the whole thing with Rita. Once we split the cost, it’s going to be cheaper for both of us. Buy yourself a pair of Elvis glasses, damn it.”
I laughed even as I teared up again because my dad was literally telling me I could afford to buy a handful of fake sideburn sunglasses because of his new living arrangement. We ended up buying every pair they had.
I didn’t usually go in for a cinematic effect, but I would have loved to have seen a slow-mo shot of the eight of us swaggering out of the chapel, all wearing those stupid sunglasses like the total badasses we were.
Once outside, I turned to Dad. “Where are you staying?”
“Well, I’ve never been to Egypt, so Mags suggested we stay at the Luxor.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Dad, the Luxor hotel is still in Vegas. It doesn’t magically transport you to a different country.”
“It does, too,” he retorted. “There’s a sphinx out front and everything. That’s how you know you’re in Egypt.”
I leaned down. “Dad, how can we afford this? I mean, Apollo paid for me to come here, but—”
“Mags is paying, not me,” he whispered back. “She’s got a nest egg stashed away, so you should really be worried aboutmetrying to offher.” He grinned.
I grabbed Margaret and gave her an extra hug. “Thank you for loving my dad so much.”
“He didn’t give me much choice, sweetheart.”
Mike, ever prepared, pulled a map out of his back pocket. “Looks like your hotel is a few miles down past ours. But the bus is wheelchair accessible. I’m assuming you all would like some time alone?” He waggled his eyebrows at them, and I pretended to barf.
Dad laughed. “Yes, we would! I would like to take my bride back to our room.”
Mike helped get them on the next bus that was coming by, and we all crowded in with them. I leaned against Shane, feeling overwhelmed. Again. He put his arm around my waist tightly, and I took a deep breath. When we got to our stop, we left my dad and Margaret on the bus headed to the Luxor.
“I want to see you both tomorrow!” I told them as we waved goodbye. This trip was turning out to be nothing like I’d expected. And the day wasn’t over. Next stop: the hotel.
Chapter 19
Back at the Mirage, Shane and I walked around the grounds as I filled him in on everything that had happened with Indiana and Ana since I’d seen him last. It was hard to believe the day had started with me staring into the eyes of the demonic horse at the Denver airport. I was pretty drained, and after checking in with Patrick and Heidi over text, I went back to our room and crashed. Heidi came in some time around 2:00 a.m. She woke me out of a dead sleep tripping over things and giggling. I made her drink some water and gave her a couple of Tylenol before tucking her in. She was going to be pretty hungover the next day.
Turns out she wasn’t the only one. When Heidi and I finally got up, showered, and dressed, it was already around 10:00 a.m. I asked her several times to tell me about her night, but she was tight-lipped, saying only that she’d had a great time with Jason. I couldn’t get any more details out of her.
I banged on Patrick’s door. He answered, looking shockingly well rested. “You have no right to look that good this early in the morning,” I muttered.
“It’s after ten but thank you. Shane’s already gone for breakfast. He told me to tell you he’d meet you there.” His eyes slid to Heidi behind me. “She looks like she went through the spin cycle,” he whispered, then raised his voice. “Are you really wearing your slippers to breakfast?”
Heidi looked down as if she were surprised to see them. “Um. Yes. I am,” she said. Her blond hair stuck up off her head, and what was left of her eyeliner was smeared.
“Did you have a good night last night?” I asked Patrick. “What did you do?”
“They had me in tons of meetings yesterday. Afterward I just watched a movie and crashed. Joseph and I come here once a year or so, and turns out it’s not as much fun without him. But it looks like it’s fun for you guys; my besties are falling in love.”
I leaned in to give him a hug, a little embarrassed. “We missed you at the wedding. I got to meet Elvis when he married my dad and Margaret.”
I filled them in on the night before as we got on the elevator. Fortunately, Patrick knew where we were going in this maze of a hotel. When we walked into the conference room Apollo had rented for the brunch, it was clear the crowd looked decidedly worse than it had the night before. Small groups of people were milling about, but most were sitting, their heads in their hands, untouched orange juice and scrambled eggs in front of them.
I quickly spotted my group and headed over. They were sitting at a corner table by themselves, except for a couple of men I hadn’t met who sat slightly outside their circle. I nodded to them, then turned to the guys. “Good morning!”
“Please don’t talk so loudly,” Allen murmured and touched his temple.
Mike was doubled over in his seat. “Everything is still blurry,” he mumbled.
