one who offers the cheek.’ Be the one who offers the cheek.”
Shannon ran her hands through her brown hair one last time, fluffing it out before she turned around and left the bedroom. She shut the door, too, as if that would somehow remind her of the promise she’d made to keep parts of her life from Brent. Her home was her private zone, full of letters, full of pictures, full of mementos. It was safer for her to meet him elsewhere.
Her phone buzzed on her kitchen counter. She grabbed it from its spot next to her sunflower picture frame. There was a text from her driver saying he was one minute away. Driving and parking in Vegas on the Strip was a bitch on a Saturday night, so she’d opted for Uber. She shut and locked the front door, then nearly smacked into Ally, who lived two flights up. The gorgeous brunette wore workout pants, a sports bra, and a form-fitting tank. She was laughing with her head bent over her phone as she walked up the steps to her condo.
“What’s so funny?”
Ally looked up, the broad smile still on her face. She pushed her big round sunglasses high up on her head. “This video is killing me. You have to see it. I know you’ll never look on your own, Miss Anti-Internet, so let’s start it over for you.” Evidently, Shannon needed to spend more time online hunting out videos. That was where all the action was, but she’d never put much stock in hanging out in the web world.
“Show me,” she said, because Ally had a good sense of humor, and Shannon was curious.
Ally scrolled through her news feed, then tapped a video. “Check it out. Here’s this chick eating outside at this barbecue restaurant, and her boyfriend starts...” Ally paused, lowered her voice, and whispered the rest of it.
Shannon’s jaw dropped, and her eyes widened. “Let me see,” she said eagerly, and then the two of them proceeded to crack up on the steps as they watched the clip of a woman riding her boyfriend’s hand on a picnic table bench, clearly thinking they were being sly, when instead they were so obvious they’d been captured surreptitiously by someone’s cell phone camera. Shannon shook her head in amusement. “Just another reminder that all the world’s a stage and you better behave in public.”
Ally nodded and laughed. “You never know who might be watching you,” she said, then she raised an eyebrow and looked Shannon up and down. “You look gorgeous. Date tonight?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. And thank you. I better get going. My ride is here.”
“Is your date hot? Is he good in bed?”
Shannon mimed zipping her lips, even though in her head she was answering yes.
“Shay!”
Shannon glanced back up the step.
“I have to go out of town in a couple weeks. I keep meaning to ask if you can feed my cat.”
“Of course. Just let me know the days. Nick is so cute. I love that tomcat.”
“He’s a total ladies man,” Ally said with a wink.
When Shannon slid into the air-conditioned white Nissan, she gave the Uber driver the location of the Cromwell near the Bellagio. As they drove, she decided to do a little online hunting herself. Brent had mentioned he’d had a gig in New York earlier that week—maybe a clip had surfaced somewhere. When she found a short snippet from his act at Bob’s Beer Haven and Comedy Club, she laughed, his routine cracking her up as he mocked himself so wonderfully. His clever self-deprecating style at times had always made her laugh. She leaned forward and asked to driver to drop her off at the candy shop near the Bellagio instead.
She had a purchase to make. She’d show Brent how she liked her sweets.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Temptation got the better of him as he walked to the hostess stand at Giada in the Cromwell, a trendy, boutique hotel on the Strip. Shannon was waiting in the entryway, her back to him, looking far too sexy for him to keep his hands to himself.
Because... that ass.
Small, but firm and round.
And absolutely delicious.
He knew precisely how fantastic it felt to grab that flesh while he sank deep into her. He shook his head, like a dog shaking off water, but it didn’t deter the dirty thoughts that invaded his brain. Hell, they launched a full-scale attack, completely taking over his sense of propriety as he strode up to her. No one but him