Page 4 of What Happens In Vegas
Chapter 2
Bonni found a perfect spot in the bar. She was early, of course, to scope things out and get the lay of the land. Situated in the center of the casino, it was up three steps and gave a good vantage point. She settled in the chair with her back to the decorative wall behind her. A lawman never put his back to the door. It had been ingrained into her; first by her dad when she was a kidand then by her training officer in the police academy.Always be aware of your surroundings, have a backup plan, and know your escape route.
Bonni crossed her jean-clad legs and bobbed her booted toe, carefully scanning the crowd on the casino floor. She drew in a deep sigh and closed her eyes as the stress tightening her muscles began to seep out of her. It was a good plan to come to Vegaswith her girls. She needed the break after the last few months. Being in Frauds for so long, Bonni would have thought she’d seen it all, and yet . . . How people think they can get away with shit never failed to surprise Bonni. It had taken months to build the case, get enough intel in order to filecharges. But enough of work. She was done for the next few days and excited to begin the shenanigans.Bonni leaned back and draped her arms along the cushioned backs of the chairs next to her. Now all she needed was a drink.
The bar wasn’t crowded yet, but then it was what . . . she looked at her Apple watch, just about noon here and 3 p.m. at home. A very hunky waiter, decked out in gladiator garb, complete with a gold warrior skirt slung low on his hips, approached her.My, my, my, so therewere gladiators here, after all.
‘Can I get you anything?’ he asked. His voice was low, syrupy with a slight accent, and Bonni suspected he put it on for more tips, or similar ‘aren’t I dreamy?’ scenarios. No, knock it off. She was determined to do her best not to look beyond the surface of things while she was on vacation. She needed to rein in her tendency to be suspicious.
She returned hissmile. ‘An Old-fashioned would be great, thank you very much.’
The view of his leaving was just as nice as the view of his arrival. Bonni let her gaze linger on his powerful back. It had been far too long since she’d run her fingers over a man’s muscles.
Maybe she could talk the girls into getting tickets for theThunder Down Undershow, and made a mental note to suggest it. Sometimes a feastfor the eyes could be almost as satisfying as . . . nope, who was she kidding? Physical and visual were a chasm apart.
Female voices and happy squeals rose above the sounds of the casino. Bonni bolted to her feet, knowing it had to be her crew. Her three friends exploded up the steps into the circular Coliseum bar, and Bonni’s face split with a wide smile.
‘God! I can’t believe we’re all finallytogether again!’ Fredi tossed her handbag on to a chair.
Celia opened her arms and Bonni fell into her hug.
‘Comeon, girls, I need hugs. Hugs, hugs, hugs – it’s been way too long.’
Bonni heard the emotion in Celia’s voice and it struck a chord deep inside her. She had to fight back the gush of sentimentality that came rushing.
‘Oh, it has been soooo long!’ Ava cried. She and Fredi smooshedinto the group hug.
Bonni felt like she’d come home. Home to her girls. Home to the safety of her soul sisters. The group had been inseparable through college and then they had been separated by life, but they had kept in touch religiously through the years. This was the first time they’d all been together since Celia’s wedding, together once again in a big, sloppy, emotional reunion smack dabin the middle of the bar. Ava had tears in her eyes, and Bonni smoothed her hand over Ava’s silky, dark hair. ‘Honey, it’s all good. We’re here together.’
‘I know,’ Ava sniffed – she was the romantic and the most sentimental of the bunch. ‘I’m just so happy. You know me and happy tears.’
Fredi was the first to disengage. She was like that, not normally a big fan of public displays of affection,although every now and then you might get a bit of a squishy hug out of her. ‘Okay, girls, have you checked out the dudes in this place? There is some seriously hot eye candy around here. We are going to have some fun.’ She ran from one sentence to another in a rush. Sometimes it was hard keeping her on track. Her eyes were full of enthusiasm and her dramatic eye make-up made the crystal blueof her irises seem almost translucent.
Celia waggled her finger at her. ‘Come on now. This is a girls’ weekend. It’s not for boys. Well, you guys might want to have a quick fling or a one-night stand or something, but not me.’ She threw her hands in the air. ‘I’m done with that.’
Avarubbed Celia’s back as they followed Bonni to the group of chairs she’d claimed. ‘Now listen to me,’ she said,‘there is hope for you yet. Don’t be a man-hater. Just because you met a dick who put two babies in your belly before walking away, it doesn’t mean all men are assholes.’
Celia flopped down on one of the low chairs and crossed her long, elegant legs. You wouldn’t know she had two kids and was a stay-at-home mom, who struggled to keep things afloat by writing greeting cards and magazine articles.She was classy, cool and looked like she had it all together. Bonni always wondered how Celia managed to stay sane.
‘Well,’ Celia said, and lifted a delicate shoulder. ‘I’m just here for the drinks and you girls. I’m sworn off men for life, and I don’t care what any of you say.’
Bonni snorted, and the rest of the girls burst out laughing. ‘Likely! We know you have needs, like the rest of us.You just like to hide it and pretend it’s a secret.’
Celia raised her nose in the air and tried not to laugh. She leaned forward and crooked her finger. The women leaned in. ‘A wise old bird once told me all a girl needs are fresh batteries and good lube,’ she whispered, like it was a leaked government secret on WikiLeaks.
They burst into gales of laughter, which attracted glances from the otherbar patrons.
‘Well, true,’ Bonni said. ‘But you know we’re right.’
‘No comment, Ms Cop. I’m not here to be interrogated by you. I know what I know.’ Celia flicked a long California-blonde strand of hair over her shoulder and turned her sea-green eyes on Bonni.
Fredi stood and walked to the faux stone half-wall that ringed the bar. She was the stunning one. She was a Carrie Bradshaw lookalike:petite, beautiful, with classic features,killer legs and body, and long, flowing, curly locks she could do whatever she liked with. Only she was way more gorgeous than Carrie Bradshaw. She was a fashionista too, and not afraid to experiment with her clothes. Bonni envied that. She glanced down at her ordinary jeans, her leather ankle boots, and rubbed her palms on her thighs. She was not thekind of person to sacrifice comfort for fashion, especially after traveling for more than half a day!
Fredi spun around, her hair bouncing in a chaos of curls and her green eyes sparkling, then loped back to the seats and flopped down, announcing, ‘We are going to have some fun! This place is rocking. How amazingly cool we’re here during its opening. There’ll be all kinds of specials.’
She andBonni were the thrifty ones.
Celia scooted forward on her seat as if she had some great secret to tell. ‘So, how wild do we want to get this weekend?’
