Page 50 of One Night in Vegas

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe she was freaked out. Either way, I think you’re jumping to conclusions.”

He was supposed to be making me feel better. Now, I just felt like a bigger asshole. He was making a lot of good points. It was just unfortunate I hadn’t seen any of it until now.

We finished the round of golf and I headed for home with a whole new perspective about the way things had happened.

Looking back, I could see where things might have gotten a little sideways. I was so anxious to find the same kind of love my parents had that I wasn’t really thinking. I met her and I fell in love. Something about her grabbed me. I couldn’t stop the feelings.

Looking back, I couldn’t even pinpoint the one thing that made me fall for her. Was it a look? We had shared so little of ourselves. Passion had turned me blind. All I could think of was getting her naked. I had poured out my heart like a lovesick prepubescent boy ogling the latest pop starlet generated by the Hollywood machine.

But I could understand why she might have had some reservations. I came on pretty strong. I was a few years older than her and had a little more experience under my belt. She was a babe in the woods back then. I just assumed she fell for me because I fell so hard for her. I read signs that weren’t there. If I was a headshrinker, I would say I was projecting.

She didn’t know shit about me. She didn’t even know my birthday or my middle name. I didn’t know anything about her either. My parents knew every little detail about each other. They could practically speak telepathically. That was love.

Peter and Jessica had that same kind of love. That was the kind of thing that didn’t just happen with a look. It took time. As usual, I was trying to take the shortest route possible. It backfired.

The golf trip was supposed to have been the thing to assuage my guilt. It just made it worse. Peter had opened my eyes to her point of view. While I was still a little pissed about the way things had been handled, I did have a better understanding about the way she might have been feeling.

The revenge was done. I had to live with it. But I was not going after her again. It was done and over. I supposed it was the closure I had been looking for. I could chalk up the incident in Vegas as an exciting one-nighter. The best one-nighter I had ever enjoyed.

The night in the hotel was good. I certainly liked it, but it could have been so much better if I had been able to focus on the act and not thinking about what happened after we got off. That was on me.

I poured myself a drink and meandered out to the pool in the backyard. I loved my house. I loved the view. After seeing Macy on the beach, I knew she would love the view as well. I had so much. Too much for one person. I wanted to share what I had. I wanted to share it with someone who would appreciate it the way I did.

It was going to take a long time before I got her out of my mind, but at least I could try. I wasn’t hung up on the need to seek revenge. I no longer felt jilted. She had left that morning because she was probably overwhelmed. If I was in her shoes, I supposed I could see where she was coming from.

21

MACY

“Come on,” Trisha said. “It’s been forever since we just shopped. Neither of us have to work. We can just shop and maybe grab some lunch. Let’s have a girls’ day. You said you wanted to look hot for him. We’ll get our nails done. Just a day of pampering.”

“I think you’re trying to convince me to spend money I shouldn’t be spending,” I said. “He might fire me after a day of work. Then what?”

“He won’t,” she said, shrugging. “Because you are going to show him how good you are at the job. You don’t have to sleep with him. You can just be his assistant. It might actually work out. You guys got the sex out of the way. Now you can just be his assistant.”

“Fine,” I said. “I could use a few more pieces to mix and match with. I want to make sure he looks at me and thinks about sex. He is never touching this again. I want him to see what he can’t have.”

“Good girl,” she said, grinning. “Let’s go.”

“Fine, fine, let me get dressed.”

I quickly changed, and despite the worry about how I would pay for it all, I was looking forward to a girls’ day. We didn’t get them all that often. With her help, I knew I would find the perfect pieces I needed to knock his damn socks off.

“I want a briefcase,” I said. I stopped in front of a business store that advertised quality leather accessories.

“A briefcase?” she asked.

“Yes. I want to walk into that office on Monday morning looking like I own the place,” I said. “He’s not going to be able to treat me like the cheap chick he picked up for a one-night stand. Twice. Two times. I don’t want anyone in the office to know about our history. I am going to be the professional executive assistant the job demands.”

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s do it!”

We browsed the selection, which was far more expensive than I thought it would be. I walked out with a black faux-leather attaché case.

After our busy day, we went out for drinks at a little bar close to our apartment.

“So, are you feeling good about things?” she asked.

“I don’t think good is the right word,” I said, laughing. “I’m still pissed. This is all about showing him I’m not the one. He can be pissed off and have his feelings hurt all he wants but he doesn’t get to treat me like that. I’m not going to let him think he won.”

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