Page 33 of What Happens In Vegas
‘You didn’t have to. Every time you talkabout him your voice gets a little lower and I can hear the breathless.’
‘Oh, come on, I do not get like that!’ Bonni put her elbow on the bar.
‘Uhm, yes, you do. Fredi’s going to be designing your wedding dress any day now.’
Fredi rolled her eyes. ‘Ava, you are the only one who constantly emails me about what you want your dress to look like.’
‘I don’tconstantlyemail you.’ Ava pouted.
Fredi mouthedconstantlyto Bonni and Celia.
‘Well, I’m never getting married again. One dickhead was enough for a lifetime,’ Celia declared.
Ava touched her arm. ‘He was a necessary evil so you could get your babies. One day your knight in shining armor will come along.’
‘I don’t need a knight in shining armor. I can take care of my kids and myself and my mother, and I don’t need a man in mylife who thinks he knows what’s best!’ Celia’s voice was passionate and frustrated, and tears sprang to her eyes.
‘Oh, honey . . .’ Bonni wrapped an arm around her friend’sshoulders and Celia dropped her head on Bonni’s shoulder while Ava held her hand.
‘Don’t be nice to me right now. I’ll really lose it if you’re nice to me. And we’ve had such a lovely night.’ Bonni’s heart broke for her friend.She had no idea Celia had bottled up her feelings to this extent, and she resolved to be more present in her friend’s life after the weekend was over.
‘Okay. I didn’t think we were going to get all maudlin.’ Fredi picked up her beer and took a swig from the bottle. She put it back down and declared, ‘When Bonni goes off with her Mr Right Now, Ava and I are going to try to get some action on theWhere Will Celia Puke? pool.’
They all broke out into laughter. Trust Fredi to lighten the mood and get them back into party mode. She and Celia started bickering good-naturedly while Bonni took a long sip of her drink through the straw. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck prickled, and she twirled around on her barstool to see Quinn coming. Her heart did a little flip-flop and her body temprose. He was with Landon. She quickly finished her drink and put the glass down.
‘I guess somebody is here,’ Fredi said, with a teasing tone in her voice.
Bonni nodded. ‘And he brought somebody with him.’
Fredi turned to look. ‘Holy shit! Who the hell is that?’
‘That’s his brother.’
Bonni watched Fredi check out Landon, a little surprised at her reaction to seeing Quinn’s brother.
Ava andCelia turned around when Bonni stood up.
‘He’s with someone.’ Ava looked at Bonni. ‘Is that the brother?’
Bonni had filled them in over dinner on her bizarre coffee date with Landon and Quinn.
‘Yup.’
‘Ishe single?’ Celia asked.
‘I didn’t ask him his marital status when he was grilling me, sorry.’
‘Well, you should have,’ Celia whispered, and Bonni blinked, seeing the sudden shift in Celia’sdemeanor.
Very interesting. Maybe, just maybe . . . hmm. Bonni wasn’t a matchmaker, as a rule, but perhaps she could make an exception. She’d keep an eye on her persons of interest and see if there was any evidence to support the potential seed of a relationship.
The closer the men got, the more nervous Bonni grew. Fredi sidled up to her. ‘Calm down. I can feel the stress coming off you in waves.’
‘You can?’ Bonni did her best to regain her composure. Stepping forward, she didn’t even hesitate when Quinn opened his arms for a hug.
‘Hey, beautiful.’ He kept his arm around her when he turned to the women. ‘Nice to see you ladies again. This is –’ he hooked a thumb at the man next to him – ‘my brother, Landon.’
‘Ladies.’ Landon stepped forward and gave them all kisses on the cheek, which,Bonni could see, went over quite well. There certainly was a drop-dead-gorgeous gene in the Bryant family. The girls were eyeing him like he was a Viking god.
