What Happens In Vegas... Doesn't Always Stay There (8 page)

formed in her eyes as she looked down at the two men. If she had been strong maybe this could

have ended differently. But she’d been weak and let her body control her sense of reason.

She needed to get out of there. She needed out of Vegas as soon as possible; the first flight

out. Quickly as she could without making too much noise she got dressed and wrote a note

saying a quick goodbye. On impulse she gave them both a kiss on the cheek before she exited the

suite.

They’d had their fun time in Vegas, tag teaming some chick they picked up in a casino so

neither of them would come after her. She wanted to feel good about never seeing them again,

because never seeing them again would mean she’d never have to think about what kind of

whore she could allow herself to be… Then why did the thought of never seeing them again

make her feel so fucking bad?

Chapter 7

The Present – Graham

Graham knew there was a big chance he wouldn’t be welcome at her boutique. If she’d been

cold with his brother then he didn’t even want to imagine how cold she’d be to him – but he

needed to see her. He needed to explain and seek her forgiveness at the very least, and have

dinner with her if the best-case scenario were to come about. His brother, Dane, had been able to dismiss what had happened in Vegas as just another “thing” that happened, but Graham was

unable and unwilling to do that.

He needed to know that she was all right. The way she fled Vegas without a word to either of

them, leaving just a brief, impersonal note, made him think she wasn’t close to being okay with

what happened. A part of him wasn’t sure he was either. But the past was the past and he hoped

they could move on from it.

Despite the sign on the door stating the shop was closed, he tried the door and was rewarded

with the knob turning and the door swinging open. A soft chime sounded as he stepped past the

threshold, announcing his arrival.

He spotted her immediately as she made her way from the back of the store and his cock

jerked alive. Visions of her sandwiched between him and his brother came to mind, followed by

thoughts of her on her knees taking him into her mouth. And the sounds of her screams as she

came…

Sweet Jesus I have to stop thinking about it
. He shook his head of the images; getting rock hard with no way to relieve the pressure, aside from his own hand, wouldn’t do him a bit of

good.

Squaring her shoulders she glared at him, her green eyes flaring up with anger. “What are

you doing here, Graham? Your brother was already here to take my statement.”

How did she know?
As soon as the thought came to mind the two-inch scar along the left side of his jaw reminded him of the difference between him and his brother. It was a part of him now

so he usually forgot it was there, unless someone brought it up.

“I’m not here for the break-in. I’m sorry to hear about that by the way.” His eyes scanned the

store, without proceeding further into it. He immediately noticed the smashed-in showcase and

then the broken cabinets at the back of the store – the showcases all empty.

“Yeah. Well. It happens, I guess.”

“Are you okay? Are you insured?”

“Yeah. It happened sometime overnight, I wasn’t here. And yeah, I’m insured, not that it’s

going to do me any good in trying to get new stock.” She moved closer to him until he was only

a few feet away. He could faintly detect the scent of roses – so sweet. It fit her. The scent

reminded of him having her bundled into his arms…

“If there’s anything –”

“You could tell me what you’re doing here to start with,” she interrupted.

“I was in the neighbourhood and thought you might be hungry.”

She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Bullshit. Why are you here?”

“All right. I wanted to feed you. Apologize. Maybe start over.” He hesitated but stepped up to

her, placing his hands on her upper arms. “I just want to get to know you, Genevieve. No strings

attached, no expectations. Just trying to make up for whatever made you feel bad. Is that so

horrible?”

~*~*~*~*~

~ Genevieve ~

“Will you tell me why you took off after what happened? You just left, no word at all. You

just left a vague note. We were worried,” Graham inquired before taking a hearty swig from his

glass of beer. “If you don’t want to tell me that’s fine, but I’d like to understand.”

Two sides of her were battling. She wanted to start over and forget what happened in Vegas,

but on the other hand she was embarrassed. What kind of girl fucks two guys at once, guys she

barely knows, twin brothers at that!

“I just… it was too much.”

“I don’t understand.” The concern in his eyes was so genuine it was hard to hold onto her

resolve.

She sighed. “Did Dane tell you why I was in Vegas?”

He shook his head. “We never really spoke about you after you took off.” Seeing her face

fall, he reached across the table and took her hand in his, relieved she didn’t pull her hands away.

“We’d never done anything like that before, Ginny. It was something that happened. Neither one

of us wanted to discuss it after the fact. Especially after you rejected us both.”

Guilt began to fill her. “I didn’t reject you two. I was confused.” Maybe she’d overreacted. It

was such a volatile time for her. “I wasn’t thinking straight. It felt so good being with you…” A light appeared in his eyes, the corners of his lips beginning to form into a smile. “… and Dane.”

The light in his eyes died as did the partial smile.

“I see…”

She groaned, lowering her head onto her hand. “You see. It’s too complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“And that doesn’t get us past the fact you allowed me to think you were Dane.”

He chuckled, giving his head a shake. “That wasn’t entirely my fault.”

“You don’t think you could have given me a little heads up?”

It was Graham’s turn to sigh. “I know I should have, but… shit. I was struggling to get over

my wife and…”

“Wife!” Genevieve withdrew her hand from his, sat back in her chair and eyed him with

suspicion. “You’re married?”

“It’s not like that. I was married. Yes.” He thrust a hand through his hair in frustration. “We

got married, I caught her cheating and ended it. We’d only been married a few months. It was a

blow, it was part of the reason Dane and I were in Vegas, he was trying to pull me from my

mood.” He shrugged. “That and we came into a small inheritance.”

“That’s horrible!”

Graham shrugged. “It is what it is. I’m just trying to move forward and leave her in the past.”

“I was in a similar situation.”

“Running away from a cheating husband?” He cocked a brow up at her, a smile forming on

his lips.

“Fiancé. He left me at the altar, broke up with me a half-hour before the ceremony while I

was in my wedding dress. He was hooking up with a co-worker.”

He grimaced. “Ouch.” His smile quickly returned. “However, I think I’d prefer to be left at

the altar than walk in on my wife doing the FedEx guy on my new kitchen table.”

“Oh my! You’re kidding, right?” She couldn’t have helped the grin forming on her lips if

she’d tried. It was such a cliché. Just as much a cliché as her ex-fiancé with a co-worker.

“Afraid not. He was even wearing the shorts with the mid-calf black socks.” He cringed.

“Just humping away.”

She cringed, attempting to force the image from her mind.

~*~*~*~*~

~ Graham ~

While he was making a joke out of his discovery of his wife and the delivery guy, it still

stung his ego; he just didn’t want Ginny to know that. He supposed with time he’d be able to

genuinely joke about the scenario, he just wasn’t there quite yet.

“So what happened then?” She leaned forward in her chair, her green eyes wide, eager to

hear the remainder of the story.

“They heard me walk into the dining room. So he pulls out and turns to look at me. I was in

full uniform so his eyes didn’t take long to discover my pistol attached to my hip.”

“Oh my God, did you pull your gun on him!” Placing both elbows on the table, she leaned in

even closer, her eyes going wide.

Graham laughed. “God no! I wanted to, though.” Surprisingly, talking about what happened

with her didn’t seem to hurt quite as much, although the look of childlike wonder in her eyes as

she waited for the rest of his story made him want to tell it. “But I think an angry husband with a pistol and a badge would intimidate most men.”

“Not to mention you’re big.”

“Huh?”

Her face flushed and she lowered her eyes. “I mean. Not like that…”

“You’re not making this better.” He knew what she meant, but seeing her squirm was

amusing him. It felt good to laugh again.

“You know what I mean…” She batted at his hand, but continued to refuse to meet his gaze.

“No, I don’t think I do.”

“Where in the hell is our food anyhow?” She looked behind her in the direction of the

kitchen. “Awful slow.”

He grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze and regaining her attention. “Don’t change the

subject. Explain yourself.”

The pink hue in her cheeks deepened, but she lifted her gaze to meet his, a smile touching her

lips. “Stop. You know what I mean.”

He cocked his head to the side, waiting for her to continue, having too much fun at her

expense to allow her off the hook.

“You’re of formidable stature in all ways. Is that good enough for you?”

Graham leaned back in his chair, but kept her hand in his. “That’ll do. And I’m pleased you

think so.”

She growled, her eyes narrowing at him. “You’re so...”

“Handsome, witty, charming.”

“I was thinking incorrigible.”

“So you were the chicken parm,” the petite waitress assigned to their table said as she placed

her plate in front of Genevieve. The aroma drifted to him; it looked and smelled incredible.

Graham’s stomach grumbled as his eyes took in the sight of his chicken and ribs.

The waitress turned to face him, her smile widening and her eyes drinking in the sight of him;

her flirting while taking their order hadn’t been missed. If he’d been alone he’d have been

flattered, but with Ginny sitting across from him it only made him uneasy. He feared he was

walking the line with her right now and desperately wanted to get in her good graces and perhaps

see her again. He didn’t want anything to jeopardize that.

~*~*~*~*~

~ Genevieve ~

“I think the waitress liked you.” Genevieve’s grin was wide as she looked up at Graham,

while they walked down the sidewalk back to her boutique and their vehicles.

“What?” Graham let out a dismissive huff. “If she did, I didn’t notice.”

“Bullshit! How could you not?” She leaned into him, pressing her breasts against his arm as

she reached across him. “Here’s your ribs, Sir. I really hope you enjoy them, Sir.” She attempted to mimic the voice of the waitress, but failed miserably.

Graham slipped a hand around her waist and kept her tight to his side as they continued to

walk. “I never noticed. My attention was
completely
focused on you.”

“Oh, now I
know
you’re a bullshitter.” Mischief danced within her eyes when her gaze lifted to meet his. Instead of pulling away, she kept herself close to him. Over the course of the dinner, she’d begun to realize there could be much more between them than that one-night stand.

Staying away seemed an exercise in futility.

“All right. Maybe I noticed.”

Her eyes narrowed at him, but her smile didn’t fade.

“But her boobs were right in my face.” He placed the palm of his hand a foot from his face.

“Right there. How could anyone with a dick not notice that? At least give me kudos for admitting

it.”

“So are you and your brother always like this? Joking and whatnot.”

She thought she noticed his smile fall, but she blinked and the grin was back. “Not really. If

you’re into funny guys then I’m much funnier than my brother.”

“I’m not into funny guys.”

“Oh, in that case, I’m not funny at all. Barely crack a smile normally, this whole date was a

façade.”

They reached her car and stopped walking. She was having a good time with him and sad to

see it had come to an end so soon. “So this was a date?” She attempted to keep her expression

blank, but it was hard; it seemed she’d been wearing a goofy smile on her face from the moment

they’d sat down at the restaurant.

Graham paused, his eyes searching hers seeking the correct answer. “Well, if it was a date

then it should be ending with a kiss.”

The humor within her faded as their eyes locked. They’d spent the past couple of hours

joking and laughing, keeping the atmosphere light and fun. Would they have the chemistry they

had in Vegas? There was only one way to find out.

“I think this could be considered a date.” She stepped into him, closing the distance, but

keeping far enough away that he’d have to make the final move.

His blue eyes grew dark as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him.

“I’m glad you decided to let me feed you.”

Genevieve’s hands slid up his chest and fingers locked around the back of his neck. “Thank

you for coming to see me. I know that may not have been easy. Especially after how we left