Page 33 of Nothing Stays in Vegas

“Actually, I need to talk to you alone. Can we go for a walk?”

Adam snorted. “Sounds like you’re getting your nerve up to ask me to the prom. Guys,” he said, waving them out. “Give us a couple of minutes.”

When the door closed behind him, Cal crossed the room. “Why did you ask me to be your best man? We haven’t talked in years, and honestly we were never that close.”

Adam regarded him seriously. “You were my roommate in college. And this way I didn’t have to choose one of my boys over the others. So we weren’t best friends, you seemed like the best choice. What’s this about?”

“I want to be a good friend to you, so I’m going to tell you something you won’t want to—but you need to hear.” Cal cut to the chase. “I slept with Claudette. Four weeks ago in Vegas. It wasn’t Lara.”

Adam was still, his mouth pressed in a thin line. Slowly, he raised his glass to his lips and downed the contents. “You just figure this out now? Shit, Cal. Even I can tell the difference between them.”

“Yeah, I just figured it out or I would have told you.”

Nodding, Adam’s gaze fixed on the empty glass in his hand. “Well that would explain the somewhat strained introductions. So what happened?”

“Dette says you broke up with her. That’s what Lara thinks happened. It’s why she went down there. It was one night. Not even enough meaning for me to be able to tell the difference between the girls.” That was a lie, but Adam didn’t need to know about how bad it had been with Dette, or how good it was with Lara, how blind Cal was for believing them. “If you broke things off—”

“Me?” Adam let his head fall back, rich laughter breaking free. “Are you kidding? Dette’s not the girl you throw back. I’d never be so stupid as to let an investment like Claudette Sinclair slip through my fingers. She’s the ideal wife. Fully funded, socially adept, immaculate in her appearance. Influential family. She’s the perfect politician’s wife.” The intensity of his tone was ramping fast. “The only thing wrong with my fiancée is she can’t keep her damn legs shut. Fuck!”

Adam eyed him, pouring another drink. “Who else knows?”

“Lara.”

“Fine, she won’t be spreading it around. At least Claudette had the good sense to go out of state this time.”

Cal didn’t know what to say. He’d been expecting to console Adam but, in retrospect, this was the Adam he’d roomed with in college. The man with a plan, not a broken heart. The hurt and betrayal that had ripped at Cal when Paige, someone he hadn’t even loved anymore, cheated on him wasn’t a factor here.

“There’s something else, and I don’t know for sure that it was Dette, but…last night—”

The door burst open and Dette marched into the room, trailing Lara behind in her tight grasp. “So I guess we have a situation here,” she said, refusing to meet Adam’s eye.

Adam toasted her with his glass and took another long sip.

Rolling her eyes, Dette snapped. “Go easy on the booze, would you? Do you want everyone here to know you’re a drunk?”

“I’m not a drunk, I’m getting drunk. And this coming from the queen of class, giving Cal here a free ride.” He ran a hand over his jaw and smoothed down the front of his shirt. “So, Dette, if I didn’t dump you…who did?”

Lara’s head snapped up, the hurt visible on her face. “What? Dette, how could you?”

“Please, Lara, I was completely right about the potential for damage. You saw how close Cal came to announcing that I gave him a go in Vegas when he first saw me here at the house.” She shifted uncomfortably and finally met Adam’s narrow stare. “It was Dale.”

“The one I told you to give up?”

Dette shrugged, noncommittally.

Cal took a step back toward the door. This was the kind of dysfunction he had no interest in witnessing. What kind of life were they planning together? “Lara, let’s give these two some space to figure out what they want to do.”

Dette spun on him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Cal? There’s nothing to work out—if you’re talking about the wedding. The only thing that matters here is keeping this quiet. Can you handle that?”

“Adam, you’re going through with this?” Lara asked, flinching from the look Dette shot at her.

Adam arched his brow, as if surprised by the question. “Of course. Though, Dette, you need to make sure this Dale is really out of the picture.” His eyes were steely hard. “I’m serious.”

Cal couldn’t be a part of any more secrets. “The boathouse, last night. I don’t know if it was them or not. But I think it was.”

Dette glared at him. “Fuck you, Cal. Yes, it was Dale. How many men do you think I’m banging over here?”

A question of honor? It was too much. Cal looked from face to face. He couldn’t understand any one of them. Even Lara with her downcast eyes—he couldn’t understand how she could be dragged into this so blindly. How she could trust her sister when, from his perspective, it looked as though Dette didn’t do a thing but lie and deceive? Adam looked like he might be the perfect match for her after all.

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