“I took the liberty of ordering brunch. If you can hang on a little longer without falling away to a shadow, it should be here about another twenty minutes or so.” Bennie gave her a once-over. “I’d recommend you use that time to grab a shower and sort out your hair. You really do look a mess.”
“I do not!”
Sabine merely raised an eyebrow. “Our first appointment is at twelve-fifteen. I’ve booked the works—massage, manicure, pedicure, facial and a detoxifying hydrotherapy bath. What time are you meeting him?”
“Seven.” Her pulse kicked up at the thought.
“What are you wearing?”
Damn, she had no idea what Nick had planned. “Not a clue.”
“Then we’d better get moving. We may have to shop.”
“You are an angel, Bennie.” Evie leaned over and kissed her cheek. “What would I do without you?”
“Based solely on today? Sleep all day, starve and be celibate and inappropriately dressed.” Sabine threw her legs over the side of the bed and started to leave. In the doorway, she paused and turned around. “Hmm, I think I’ll call the spa back and add a wax for you.” She winked.
In the shower, Evie debated whether she should go tonight. Last night had just happened. The stars or whatever aligned to give her one wonderful night, and she should just leave it at that—a perfect memory. What if tonight didn’t turn out, as well…? Who was she kidding? Tonight would be just as good as last night.
Although she would like to have a bed this time. She had a bit of a crick in her neck from last night.
She didn’t even sound like herself. Standing here planning to…This wasn’t like her at all. There was her usual life, and then there was…
Then there was Nick.
Bennie was right. She’d needed this. Needed someone like Nick to shake her up a little. Las Vegas had to be the next best thing to heaven.
Evie turned the tap off. Sabine must’ve been listening for the water to stop, because a second later, her voice drifted through the open door. “Food’s here. And your phone was ringing.”
Evie wrapped her hair in a towel and pulled a robe around her. Sabine was already at the table, munching on a bagel, and Evie’s stomach growled. Grabbing a muffin, she took a hungry bite as she picked up her phone. Three missed calls and three messages: the first one time-stamped at eight this morning.
And every one of them was from her brother.
Damn.
The mystery and memory of Evie—and her unbelievably long legs—had haunted Nick in the four hours of sleep he’d managed to get last night before Kevin and business forced him out of bed.
By the time lunch rolled around, he’d almost convinced himself that Evie hadn’t been real. Or at least not as he remembered. Beautiful women were a dime a dozen in Las Vegas; tourists out for a good time were even more plentiful. Evie was just one in a crowd—maybe he’d built more into it simply because he’d been so immersed in business he had, as Kevin insisted, gotten jaded and forgotten how to have plain ol’ fun.
But that rational knowledge didn’t stop him from spending way too much time deciding on a plan for tonight. He could call in a favor, get seats to the best shows or a table at the most exclusive restaurant, but he didn’t want to try to impress Evie like that. He liked not having a woman know how much his bank account was worth—it tended to skew the genuineness of their reactions. And after last night, he knew that wasn’t really what Evie liked anyway. She had simple tastes and didn’t need ostentatious displays to have a good time.
Since he didn’t want to waste all that time at shows and restaurants anyway…That gave him the perfect idea.
Kevin was in the offices at Blue—the first club Nick had purchased outright and, for sentimental reasons, still the main hub—when Nick called. And while Kevin had a mouthful of things to say about it, Nick knew it would be done.
And when Evie turned out to be less than he remembered? He shrugged. They’d still have a good time, and he’d go easily back to normalcy tomorrow.
At just a minute after seven, Nick was on the Bellagio patio watching the door while everyone else watched the fountains do their thing. When Evie walked in, nervously chewing on her bottom lip, he felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs.
A shimmery green dress hugged those luscious curves he’d memorized last night, the neckline plunged to reveal generous cleavage, and the hem stopped high enough to showcase her long legs. She’d piled her hair up on her head, exposing the line of her neck and emphasizing her bone structure.
If anything, his memory of last night couldn’t compete with the reality.
She scanned the crowd, and when her eyes met his, she smiled shyly—at complete odds with the sensual picture she created. He wanted to meet her halfway, but his feet seemed rooted to the floor.
Then he noticed the attention she was garnering from several other places in the bar—one man was even on his feet and headed in her direction—and that kicked him into motion, a need to claim her taking hold.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he muttered as Evie turned her face up to his.
“I didn’t know if you’d actually come tonight or not.”
“How could you possibly doubt that?” He inhaled deeply and her scent shot through his veins, sending all of his blood south. They were in a hotel, for God’s sake; he could have a room and have her in it in less than five minutes.
And that seemed like far too long to wait.
Evie smoothed a hand along his arm, scorching him with her touch. “You look nice.” Her hand moved to his jaw. “You shaved. I kind of miss the sexy stubble.”
She was killing him.
“Should we get a table?” she asked, looking around.
That brought him back to the conversation. “No. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Evie’s eyes lit up. “A surprise? What kind of surprise?”
“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”
Evie brushed at her dress. “Is what I’m wearing okay for this surprise? I wasn’t sure about the dress code…”
That scrap of fabric barely counted as a complete dress, and he was already imagining peeling it off of her. “Like I said, you look beautiful. Let’s go.”
Evie’s heels clicked against the floor of the lobby, reminding him to slow down. He wasn’t an animal dragging Evie off to mate—regardless of what his instincts were urging him to do. He could at least attempt civilized conversation. “What did you do today?”
“Slept late, hung out with Bennie. You?”
“Got up early, went to work.”
“Ouch. Sorry.”
Even the valet gawked at Evie as he returned with the car, but a frown from Nick put a stop to it. Evie didn’t seem to notice that attention any more than she’d noticed the men in the bar. She was a danger to herself and others if she really didn’t know the effect she had on men. But how could she not? Beautiful women knew they were beautiful, knew what it could do for them.
It only took a few minutes to get to Blue, and Evie looked around eagerly as he pulled into the parking lot. “Blue. Is it a nightclub? Are we going dancing again?”
He flashed back on the memory of Evie moving against him on the dance floor and groaned. That would kill him for sure. “Patience.”
“Sorry. I know it’s rude to