The Bold and the Bullheaded by Willow Aster
Epilogue
Emma
A couple of weeks later…
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Mya says. “I’ve never been to Vegas and now we’re going with the G.D. Taylors?” She giggles. “What is this life?”
We decided on a whim to take a last-minute trip to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate our engagement and a last hurrah before they start the hotel project. I suspect both the engagement and the renovation will be all-consuming, so I’m looking forward to some time with my man and bestie in the sun. Shopping and fruity beverages by the pool sound like just what I need right now.
It’s been hectic at work with losing one of our senior partners. I haven’t heard a single person complain though. No one misses Arwin … Swim-ming around the office.
Spence sits beside me, handing me a bag from the airport gift shop when we get on the plane. I open the bag to find a pile of candy.
“What is all this?” I frown into the bag.
“This is how I vacation,” he says, grinning. He takes a Snickers bar and a KitKat and opens both of them.
I stare at him. “This is the one and only time you’ve ever reminded me of Gus. You and Caden I see the similarity occasionally … you and Jesse, yes. You and Gus…” I shake my head. “I will never be able to unsee this.”
He kisses me with his chocolate breath and I melt. “That’s blasphemous,” he says, when he pulls back. “I’ll forgive you for it this one time since you’re my fiancée.” He grins every time he says that word. Not halfway, but a full-on cheese. It’s so good that I wish I’d asked him to marry me a long time ago.
I doze on the flight and wake up wrapped around Spence like a koala.
“Hey, Queenie. We’re here,” he says, and I stretch my arms before pushing to my feet.
“I’m so ready for a vacation.”
“You sure you don’t want a quickie wedding while we’re here?” he teases, and I lean into his chest as he grabs our bags from the overhead storage.
“That sure would be easier, right? But our families would kill us.”
He chuckles. “They sure would. Come on. Let’s get this party started.”
We all pile our bags into the car that’s waiting outside for us, and we are at the hotel before we know it.
“Go along with our little game, okay?” I whisper to Spence, and he doesn’t even question me.
“Always.”
We unload our luggage in our rooms and agree to meet downstairs in the hotel lobby a few minutes later. We’re all starving and ready for a cocktail.
“Have you guys ever played the Vegas drink game?” Mya asks, and everyone looks at her like she has three heads.
We’re settled around a table in the lounge area, and we’ve ordered a couple appetizers and a few fruity drinks.
“I’ve played a lot of games, so I’ll be surprised if I don’t know how to play this one,” Gus says proudly.
Caden rolls his eyes. “You’ve been here once.”
“Hey. I’m all about Vegas. I was born for this town.”
Mya walks away to the bar and orders something with the server.
When she returns, she slides into the seat beside me. “Okay, boys against the girls. You all close your eyes and we are going to put something in your mouth with these plastic spoons.” She holds up a handful of spoons that she pulls from a baggy in her purse. Mya and I do not take our pranks lightly. I squeeze her leg beneath the table because the excitement is killing me. “And you have to guess the name of the drink. I’ve ordered a few different kinds to sample.”
The server sets a few drinks down on the table and she’s placed a napkin over them.
“What happens if you guess them right?” Jesse asks.
“You get a point. And whoever gets to ten points first gets a big surprise.”
“I’ve so got this. No one has a nose like me.” Gus smirks at both of us like the joke is on us.
Not today, Gus Taylor.
“Okay. Close your eyes,” I say. I turn to Spence first and drop a little bit of the strawberry daiquiri in his mouth, before going around the table and dropping a different drink in each mouth. I have to hand it to the Taylor boys. They all nailed it.
“Tie score,” Mya says. “Let’s go again. This time will be a little more difficult.”
“This game is lame. It’s too easy. Come on, girls, you’re better than this,” Gus rants, before chugging half his beer and squeezing his eyes closed again.
I look over at Mya. Time to speed things up. He’s far too big for his own britches. I take the little bowl full of olives beneath the napkin and Mya and I each place one on a spoon before popping them in Gus’s mouth. We tap Caden, Spence and Jesse and hold a finger up to our mouths to tell them to keep quiet.
He starts to chew, and his entire face squeezes together before he shoots both olives, half chewed, across the table at us.
We scream, and everyone laughs, and Gus is on his feet, coughing like he’s just been poisoned.
“Ohhhhh, game on, girls. That was low. You know I have an intolerance for olives since Mya’s mother tried to poison me.”
“With her kindness?” Mya asks over her laughter.
We both use a napkin to clean ourselves up, and we pass around the specialty cocktails.
Caden is staring off like he sees someone, and I follow his gaze over to the bar. A gorgeous woman is sitting there in a stunning satin pale pink dress. She’s absolutely stunning.
“Who is that?” I whisper.
“I think it’s Cosette. My designer,” he says, sliding out of the booth. “Our-our designer.”
“She’s in Vegas?” Spence asks.
“I don’t know, but it sure looks like her,” Caden says before he walks over to the woman and she turns to see him.
“I guess it’s her.” Jesse chuckles, because she gives him a longer than normal hug.
They are both talking and flailing their arms like two long-lost lovers who haven’t seen one another in years. They walk over to the table, and I take in the gorgeous woman beside Caden. Her skin is porcelain, and her white-blonde hair is swept into a low chignon at the base of her neck. Her eyes are a shocking violet and she moves with the grace of a dancer. She’s grinning from ear to ear as Caden leads her toward us.
“Look who’s here,” he says, beaming down at her. She’s petite and her fitted dress shows off her perfect figure. “Have you guys met Cosette yet?”
We all say our names and greet her, and her cheeks pink a little; we can be an overwhelming group.
“Cosette.” A sharp voice comes from behind her and we all turn to see a tall man with dark hair stalking our way. “We’re going to be late.”
“Jeremy, this is Caden, the man I told you I’ve been working with on the hotel project. And these are his brothers, Spence, Jesse, and Gus … and of course, their lovely better halves.” She laughs shyly, and I can see that she is uncomfortable having all the attention on her. “Emma and Mya.”
“Hey. Good to meet you. All right. We’ve got to go.”
She looks up at him, and all the light leaves her gaze as she nods. “Well, it was so nice meeting all of you. Maybe we’ll run into one another again this weekend.”
Her boyfriend takes her hand and nods before leading her away.
“What a capital D dickskank. That’s her boyfriend?” Gus asks.
Caden shrugs and tries to act unaffected, but I’ve been around him long enough to know he’s bothered by it.
“I think they’ve been together for a while.”
“You like her?” Mya asks.
“I do not. She’s got a boyfriend. We work together. We’re friends, sort of, I guess.”
“Well, get ready to be spending a lot of time with your new bestie, because come Monday, it is game on at the hotel,” Spence says, wrapping an arm around me.
“Cheers to that,” Jesse says, and we all lift our glasses.
“Cheers to new jobs, shacking up, and engagements,” Mya says, holding her glass to ours again.
“Cheers to Juniper fucking Holloway and the torture that will be finding you in the future, ladies.” Gus holds his glass up again.
“I’ll drink to that,” I say, taking a sip of my fruity cocktail before biting off the cherry.
“I’ll drink to you, Queenie. To our future,” Spence whispers in my ear.
I tip my head back and let him kiss me.
I’ve never been one for PDA or overly mushy talk. But Spence Taylor makes me feel all the things.
All the things that have been missing from my life.
“To our future,” I whisper back.
No matter what our future holds, these stilettos are staying firmly planted by Old Solemn’s side.
My running days are over.