Page 42 of What Happens In Vegas
Chapter 16
Bonni tapped her key card and the door unlocked. As quietly as she had left Quinn’s room, she slipped into the suite, not wanting to wake up any of her friends. Were they even home yet?
The living room was dark, as were the bedrooms. Soft snoring came from behind the half-closed doors. Her friends must be sleeping off another wild night. Bonni pulled off her boots and held them, tiptoeingacross the marble floor. She weaved her way through the furniture in the dark and wished her eyes would adjust more quickly. Tripping over a chair would definitely wake them all up and then cause a whack of interrogation.
‘What are you doing here?’ a voice greeted her in the dark.
Bonni nearly jumped out of her skin, dropping her boots with a clatter on the floor. ‘What the hell, Ava! You nearlygave me a heart attack.’ She had to catch her breath.
‘Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Why aren’t you with Quinn?’ Ava’s voice was quiet in the darkened room.
Bonni slid on to the couch beside her. It was comforting tobe sitting on a couch with her friend again. She wiggled a little, folding her legs beneath her. ‘Why are you up?’
Even in the shadows, Bonni could see the look Ava shot her.‘Bonni, I can tell you have something on your mind. Stop deflecting.’
Bonni slowly shook her head, not in denial but in confusion. ‘You constantly surprise me with your perception.’ She flopped back and shifted to put her feet on the coffee table.
She felt Ava’s hand on her thigh. ‘Come on, Bon, it’s okay. Talk to me.’
Bonni sighed and let herself relax into the plush cushions. ‘Quinn,’ shewhispered.
‘What about him? Did you finally accept that he’s the man of your dreams?’
It was no surprise to Bonni that Ava immediately went to the happily-ever-after place, but it wasn’t so simple.
‘I really like him, but everything is moving so fast it’s scaring me. Plus, I live in Canada, and he has no roots. He basically roams around the globe looking for a good poker game.’
‘That doesn’tmean he can’t put down roots in Canada. Yeah, maybe he’d leave, but he’d always come back to you.’ Ava rubbed Bonni’s leg reassuringly.
‘You think so?’ Bonni wanted to believe her friend so badly. ‘But maybe, over time, it would feel like a trap.’
‘Maybe. Or maybe, over time, it would feel like home. And, remember, you’re not staying in Canada for ever. Only another six months or so, isn’t it?’
Bonni wasn’t sure about what Ava just said. She couldn’t decide if the move to Virginia and being more hands-on with her dad would make things better or worse. She stared at her feet, wiggling her toes and lost in thought.
Ava leaned forward to set the thick crystal tumbler Bonnihadn’t known she was holding on to the coffee table and the ice cubes clinked. She liked Scotch on the rocks. Whyhad Ava been sitting alone in the dark? Before Bonni could ask, Ava spoke, ‘Bonni, I need you to hear something.’
‘What?’ Bonni twisted her torso so that she was facing her friend more fully.
Ava took her hand and squeezed it. Bonni got the impression the physical touch was a connection her friend sorely needed.
‘I’ve never told you this. I haven’t told anybody this. Because it’s way too painfulfor me to dredge back up. Because I know now what a huge mistake I made. A mistake made for selfish reasons, reasons that remain unrealized.’
‘Ava, what are you saying?’
Her friend took another beat before answering, as if gathering her strength. ‘About five years ago, there was a man who was everything I dreamed of. Quinn reminds me of him in certain ways.’ She closed her eyes and drew in adeep breath.
Bonni watched the emotions play across her face and knew Ava was recalling bittersweet and painful memories. Bonni had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what Ava was about to tell her. Ava opened her eyes and Bonni’s heart nearly broke at the despair in them.
‘Ava, what? You’re scaring me.’
‘We met on a business trip. The client was based in Dallas and he was there as a consultantfrom his firm in London. Our connection was instantaneous. Similar to you and Quinn. Anyway, we didn’t fight it and began a passionate, crazy, wonderful fling. We kept it secret, though, as we didn’t want our colleagues gossiping about us. I have to admit, the secrecy added a spice to things. The sex was out of this world. But it was more than that, there was something deeper.’
Bonniknew preciselywhat Ava was referring to. ‘That exactly describes me and Quinn.’
Ave fell back on the couch and her voice trembled. ‘I know, I can see it.’
‘What happened?’ Bonni leaned forward and gave Ava’s hand a squeeze.
