Page 49 of Ruthless Redemption

I instantly sobered. Nina reminded me a little bit of Patty and I was surprised how much I missed the other woman. I thought I hated that she’d been forced on me as a mentor/secret therapist. “Please tell me you’re not a therapist of some sort. I can’t take another sneak attack right now.”

Nina’s brows pulled together and I read clear confusion on her face. “No, definitely not a therapist. Before coming to Vegas my biggest accomplishment came in the form of owning a lakeside cafe. I’m pretty sure that’s as far away from therapy as you can get. Unless you count that I did like talking to people.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to jump to conclusions. I had to be sure.”

She leaned forward. “Of course now you have to tell me why. You can’t go down such a strange path and then leave me hanging.”

A laugh bubbled out again and I covered my mouth in surprise. “Well, at least if I sound a little crazy, you can’t be too surprised when I grill you about therapy.” I squeezed my knees with my hands and took a deep breath before continuing, “The last place I landed was a tad hostile. And well, so was I. So the leader there took it upon himself to provide me with a counselor under the guise of something else.”

“Wow. That’s sneaky and underhanded.”

“Fortunately, their intentions were in the right place and I needed what I got more than I knew. It helped. I’d been through some pretty bad things and I needed to get my head on straight.”

“And do you need to get your head on straight now?” she asked.

“It probably wouldn’t hurt.”

“I could recommend someone. She’s really good at what she does and discreet. I know I’m likely overstepping here, but I believe in being direct.”

It was a little uncomfortable, but it was kind of refreshing at the same time. “It’s okay. I think I could use someone direct in my life right about now. I’m tired of the guessing games and the not knowing. It’s time to try something different.”

Nina rose. “Perfect. Then I’ll text you her contact information and in the meantime I’ll show you around the suite.”

I stood as well, feeling a little bit lighter than when I’d first arrived. It made me happy and brave. “Since we’re being direct. I could use some help with something else.”

“Name it. As part of the hotel team it’s what I’m here for.”

“Well, I kind of left my old life in an awkward way and I wasn’t able to bring anything with me.”

Her eyes widened. “Nothing?”

I shook my head. “I need to go shopping for literally everything.”

Nina rubbed her hands together. “Well alrighty then. You’ve come to the right city for shopping. Vegas has anything and everything you could possibly want and some things you probably didn’t know you wanted. How about we get started right away?”

I held out my hand and Nina bypassed it and moved closer. “You mind if I give you a hug instead?” Not that she waited for an answer before she wrapped her arms around me. “Like I said before, I feel some sort of kindred connection with you. I hope you get to stay awhile because we’re gonna be good friends.”

When she pulled away, I couldn’t say anything right away. My emotions were too close to the surface. Between Nina’s kindness and the empty ache of missing Houston, I was a mess again.

“Maybe one of these days you can share your story with me,” I said. “I have a feeling it’s going to be fascinating.”

Nina laughed, a hearty sound that filled some of the emptiness in my mind. I had no idea how this had worked out like it did, but I was grateful for it.

“I guess that’s one word for it. Insane might be better. I’ll say this though. I think the man I grew up believing was my father could give your father a run for his money.”

My mouth dropped open as Nina disappeared around the corner. She couldn’t just drop a bomb like that and not give me more. I hurried after her.

“I find that hard to believe, but I’d like to hear more.”

“Then we’ll plan on it. But trust me, a story like that needs lots of time and even more alcohol to get through it. You like margaritas?”

“I do.”

“Perfect. Now let’s get through this and then we can figure out how to get some shopping done. I think the boutiques right here in The Sinclair can get you started.”

I listened to my new friend ramble on as we went from room to room of the house-sized suite. While my father had cut me completely out of his will, the money that he’d supposedly given to me as a wedding present had not been questioned by anyone. Thus my US bank accounts were healthy with some of it while the remainder of the ginormous fortune stayed safely offshore.

This fact that I was now one of the wealthiest “soon to be single” women in the world meant that my attorney had insisted that I stay in the kind of place that could offer top of the line security someone like myself would need.

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