Page 1 of Vegas Baby!

The neon lights of the Vegas strip glowed outside our window. It was pitch black, making the city look like a glimmering jewel in the night sky. My alpha boyfriend, Andrew, leaned against my back as I stood by the window, his hands wandering until he hit a ticklish spot, causing me to laugh and push away from him.

“No feeling me up where the whole city can see.”

“If I turned off the light, no one would be able to see in here.”

I tapped his nose with my finger. “No.”

He sighed and pulled me close, devouring my mouth and nudging me back until the cool glass pressed against me. “Come on, Ava. Live a little.”

I chuckled and pushed him away again, patting my six-month bump with the other hand. “The last time you told me that, this happened.”

“Can’t get more pregnant than you already are,” he pointed out.

“I’ll think about it after you take me to dinner.”

“Fine. You’re sure you don’t want room service?”

“I’ve never been here before. I want the whole experience. You promised.”

He didn’t look happy about that fact, but he nodded. Most of the time when we met up for his conferences we didn’t even leave the hotel room, or at leastIdidn’t. I wanted this time to be different since we were using it as a babymoon instead of just a regular convention weekend. It wouldn’t be very celebratory if I did nothing but hang out inside. Plus, it was a bit of a belated celebration for Andrew’s forty-fifth since he had been busy on his actual birthday.

I put on the purple dress I’d bought for the occasion. It was snug on my breasts with a sparkly brooch between them, and flowed smoothly over my bump. Andrew tried to distract me multiple times while I got dressed, his hands wandering while he helped me with my garter belt and stockings, and my shoes. I wasn’t going to be dissuaded, though. Andrew didn’t make me many promises so I was determined to hold him to this one.

He walked around like he had a thundercloud hanging over his head. I was going to have to enjoy Vegas enough for both of us.

“Ava, please. I don’t feel like going out,” he said while we waited for the rideshare to pick us up.

“We have a reservation,” I reminded him. “Are you sick?”

“No. I wanted to stay in with you like we always do. It’s tradition.”

I chewed my lip, feeling guilty. “If you desperately don’t want to go, I guess we can pay the cancelation fee.”

He looked instantly relieved.

“But if we’re not going to dinner, I would at least like to walk by the fountains. Is that a fair compromise?”

“I guess,” he grumbled.

“You’re not usually such a grumpy Gus. What’s wrong?”

“You’re not usually such a tourist.”

I couldn’t figure out what he was upset about. We would still be together at a dinner or seeing the sights. It wasn’t like I had offered to go to dinner myself and he’d go back to the room.

“Think of it this way,” I said, trying to lift his mood, “soon I’ll be in New York with you and we can create new traditions. We can have all the quiet dinners at home with the baby that you want.”

“You’re not going to want to be a tourist in New York?”

“Well, eventually. But I can hold tight for a while. I’m not going to go wandering around the city when I’m about to burst, or with a newborn.”

“Okay. Let’s do the fountains. I don’t think they’re anything special, but they only take a few minutes.”

We were staying at a hotel off the Strip because Andrew needed to be close to the Convention Center, which meant we needed to drive. I soaked up the energy of the city as the rideshare carried us through the glitz and dropped us off next to the Bellagio. We were so close to the Paris hotel where our reservations were. I’d thought Andrew might finally get the hint and propose because of my restaurant choice. Maybe that waswhy he didn’t want to go. I didn’t think it would be much of a stretch to get engaged when I was pregnant, but I was less and less sure what was going on in his head since I’d given him the news.

“I’m glad we came early.” The convention didn’t start officially until tomorrow and we’d come the day before so we could have extra time together.

“Me too,” he said quietly.

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