Page 19 of Vegas Baby

“I’m in Nevada, a couple hours out of Vegas, at a resort for Veer’s wedding. He invited me and—” He paused, unsure how to relay the news. Sam never talked about his breakup with Raina. He’d been closed mouth, never one to brag about his sexual exploits. According to her, they’d never had sex. The fact shouldn’t have mattered since he had no emotional ties to her, but when she’d told him, he’d been relieved. Crazy but true. “Do you remember Raina?”

Stupid question.

“Of course, I remember Raina,” Sam said, exasperated. “You didn’t pick a fight with her again, did you? I know you’re upset over the way she treated me but that’s my fight not yours.”

“I never picked a fight with her. We have strong disagreements, nothing new.” Man, was Sam about to give him shit. “We were trying to win a bet and well, we ended up married.”

Dead silence greeted his confession.

Howler said nothing but moved past the second, smaller pool to the more isolated one by the hot tub cabanas. Raina had gone to the Mehndi ceremony and he hadn’t seen her since. A part of him was happy to have some time away from her, even if it meant attending a party he didn’t want to be a part of. What had been intense before, felt a bit overwhelming under the pressure of keeping up a pretense.

“You got married. To Raina Ashton?” Disbelief shot over the airwaves.

“Do you know any other Raina?” Howler asked, running his hand behind his neck. She was definitely an original and not simply because of her name. Whether because of their close proximity, or a growing friendship between them, she’d definitely gotten under his skin.

“I didn’t know you had feelings for her,” Sam said, his tone more subdued now.

“I don’t have feelings for her.” Liar, you have feelings for her. Not romantic but lustful. Beautiful in her own way and sexy, she was everything he didn’t want her to be. “No, we’re not in love. Long story short. She and I were here to sign Veer. We got really drunk and got married.”

Another long pause from Sam and Howler pulled the phone from his ear, checking to see if the line dropped.

“Wow. I mean, I never…I, you said you’d never get married… Wow. I can’t believe you got married. To Raina. Congratulations?”

Sam wasn’t the only one questioning the sanity of the entire situation. “No, no congratulations. More like condolences. We’re getting divorced as soon as Raina gets back to Seattle. I’m heading to Palm Springs.” Once he left Nevada behind, he’d get back on the road. Alone, without a wife to drive him insane with her cross-examinations. Not that he hadn’t asked for it—getting to know someone was hard work and time consuming. He prayed their time together would pay off and Patel would fall into line.

A young boy darted across the grass, kicking a soccer ball. Damn, the kid had great footwork, and he was fast. His agent radar went off at a professional player in the making.

“If you’re getting a divorce, why are you with her at a resort?”

Watching the kid handle the ball, he debated how much to share. Talking about the night he’d spent with Raina seemed like a betrayal to her. Some things were better left unsaid. “Patel doesn’t want Veer to sign with me because he doesn’t like my lifestyle. Can you believe it?”’

“You haven’t exactly been discreet.”

He gripped the phone tighter, tired of defending himself on this. “Why should I be? It’s a mutual consent, no fuss, no muss.”

“You know, Raina isn’t a bad person.” Sam cleared his throat. “She and I weren’t right for each other but that doesn’t mean she’s not right for you.”

Howler couldn’t even begin to imagine being married to Raina for the rest of his life. She wasn’t his type and didn’t fit into his lifestyle, no matter how good of a person she was. He had plans and a wife didn’t fit into them.

“We’re here to sign a client. Period. And if it means playing married for three days, then it’s what we’ve committed to doing. Of course, I could simply walk away.”

“Probably not a good idea. The optics won’t look good.”

While innocuous enough, his words set Howler’s teeth on edge. Sam might be his friend but sometimes he annoyed the crap out of him. Howler had lost clients before but never because of himself personally. Nor did he intend to lose this client. “I’ll get him on my side. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried. You always come out on top.”

“Glad you’re confident but there is one more wrench I didn’t foresee. Veer invited Anderson to the wedding and Raina doesn’t know.”

“That’ll go over like a turd in a punchbowl,” Sam said.

“You’re telling me.” Veer had thrown this little gem at him that afternoon. The man was full of unwanted surprises. “Once this wedding is over, there will be time to talk to Patel and Veer, one on one and see how it plays out.”

The kid overshot the kick and the ball rolled onto the path. Howler stopped it with his foot. Two more days with Raina as his wife, in his bed. His pulse picked up, followed by a surge of panic. She’d taken up residence in his thoughts and he wanted to evict her. Only he couldn’t.

“Let me know how it goes. Oh, and say hello to the missus for me.”

“Fuck off,” he said, shaking his head and hanging up, cutting off his friend’s laughter. He rolled the ball from beneath his heel and popped it into the air with the tip of his shoe, catching it with the front of his foot.

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