Page 4 of The Hero + Vegas = No Regrets

Her breath catches and she bites down on her lip. I can’t take my eyes from her, even though I know I should look away.

She’s meant for Fisher, not me.

I shouldn’t be so transparent in my attraction to her. This is not who I am. I’m calm and considered and thoughtful. But something about her sweeps all of what I’msupposedto be from the table and leaves… I’m not sure what.

“Do you enjoy it?” she asks.

“I do,” I say. I don’t want to bore her with my business dealings. She works in finance and clearly isn’t enthusiastic about it.

“Tell me why. Is it your calling? Do you do it to fill the time, or because you’re good at it?”

I pause, wondering if she’s just being polite or whether she really wants to know. Her eyes widen and she nods, answering my unasked question.

“For lots of reasons. I like meeting different people. I like sizing them up and trying to figure out whether they’ve got what it takes to succeed. I enjoying hearing about really innovative ideas and solutions for problems I never even knew existed. I like spotting issues in the businesses people are trying to build and helping them solve those issues. I like… helping people.”

We stare at each other wordlessly for a beat, then two.

“I’ve never heard anyone talk about their work like that,” Sophia says eventually.

“Like what?”

“Like you love it. Like it’s your life’s passion. Like it’s part of who you are.”

“Really?”

She nods. Her long lashes brush her cheeks when she blinks. “It’s… I like it.”

Something heats inside me. I can’t get enough of this girl. I’m vaguely aware that this conversation, just between the two of us, is probably not what Jules had in mind today. But I’m acutely aware that I can’t bring myself to do what I normally would: put Jules’ feelings ahead of my own and join the discussion with the wider group. I’m greedy for Sophia. I want her all to myself.

“I’m glad,” I say. “It’s true.”

Jules raises her voice slightly—something about a rooftop—and it catches Sophia’s attention.

The spell between us is broken. We both refocus on the group.

For the first time ever, I resent the presence of my friends. But how can I? Without them I wouldn’t have even met Sophia.

“I don’t want it to be… like a business function,” Jules says. “I think if we have a big wedding, you’re going to feel obligated to invite people for business reasons.”

“You need to have a destination wedding,” I say, like I haven’t been completely distracted by the woman next to me for most of this brunch. “That solves the problem.”

“Not really,” Sophia replies. “Destination weddings still have big invite lists—you just kind of hope not everyone comes.” She’s right. Of course she’s right.

“An impromptu destination wedding,” Fisher says. I try not to show my irritation at the fact that Fisher has solved Sophia’s wrinkle in my suggestion. Maybe theyarethe perfect fit for each other and this feeling in my gut for Sophia is food poisoning or something.

“Vegas,” everyone around the table choruses.

Fisher’s suggestion is a winner. Good for him.

There are huge discussions about whether we can fly to Vegas today or next weekend. After calendar-checking and Bennett managing to get ahold of Byron, it’s agreed that the following weekend we should have brunch again, whichmight-slash-willturn into an impromptu wedding.

“Oh god, no,” Sophia says. I turn and sweep my eyes down her body, wondering what the crisis is. “I’m in Cincinnati next weekend.”

“You are?” Jules says. “But it’s Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks. You don’t normally go home that often.”

I don’t think I’ve ever been to Cincinnati. Maybe I should visit.

That’s where she grew up. Got braces. Had her first kiss. I grin to myself. I’d love to see a picture of her when she was younger.

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