the one who can come out to play at night. Tonight is a new beginning for me. An end to the heartache that’s haunted me for the last several months.
A heartache I’m shedding completely.
That’s who the woman in the black corset and violet mask is—the woman who’s moving on.
As we make our way through my suite, I pick up the thread of conversation again. “And for the record, you look like a woman who has all sorts of fabulous secrets.”
“Oh, so you mean I look like exactly who I am? One of the execs of the football team who’s secretly in love with the backup quarterback?”
I grab her hand, smiling softly. “Someday you’ll let me devise a plan for you and Xavier.”
“Until then, let us imagine,” she says with a smile and a laugh.
I share both with her too.
We leave my suite, whisking our way down the plush carpeted hallway, then into the elevator. I press the button for the basement. No need to sweep through the casino dressed like this.
I’m not worried about being seen, per se. Nor am I sneaking off. I’d just rather enter the party already feeling like someone else. And so that’s how I want to begin the night too.
Also, another rule to live by is this: one should always err on the side of caution when one likes playing dress-up.
And this girl has always loved to play pretend.
The elevator lets us off at the lower level, and we wind through hallways till we near the exit. Reaching into my clutch, I grab my phone, dial my driver, and ask him to come around. Seconds later, we head outside to the portico at the back entrance of the hotel.
The valets glance my way, but none of them say, Good evening, Ms. Carmichael.
Neither do the doormen.
We are simply two women in costume. We blend in, because Vegas is a land for slipping into other personas.
The ruse works. No one expects to see buttoned-up Sage like this.
A frisson of excitement winds through me, the buzzy promise of getting away with something. It rushes through my body, the zip of anticipation, the hum of possibilities.
The gleaming black limo arrives within a minute, the driver pulling to the curb and stepping out.
Carlos’s eyes scan quickly, finding us. He opens the door for the back seat while a valet tips his cap. “Have a lovely evening in Las Vegas,” the valet says, as if we’re anyone.
I grin privately, delighted to pull this off.
When we’re in the car, the valet shuts the door behind us as Carlos returns to the wheel.
“Where am I taking you tonight, Ms. Carmichael?” he asks in the mirror.
He’s the only one who’ll know, and a good driver doesn’t let on about his boss’s nighttime escapades.
“Take us to Aria.”
He nods crisply. “As you wish.”
As the car swings away from my home, whooshing past The Invitation, a brand-new gleaming hotel across the street from mine, I shift my gaze to Eliza. Her eyes sparkle with mischief. She’s thinking what I’m thinking. We are Cinderellas off to the ball.
Only, I don’t want to meet a Prince Charming.
I’ve no interest in that.
I’ve been there, ridden off into the sunset with the man I thought was the one.
The man who turned out to be the furthest thing from it, his charm nothing but a lie.
I won’t go there again, won’t risk that type of man.
But I wouldn’t mind meeting a Prince Wicked.
I wouldn’t mind that at all.
2
Cole
Opening a new hotel isn’t for the faint of heart.
Or the weak of stomach.
It takes an iron gut and balls of steel to go all-in on a new casino in Sin City.
As well as billions of dollars.
Fortunately, I possess all of those, as well as a lion’s determination to get what I want. And I want The Exquisite Show, a Cirque du Soleil–style production but even sexier, even racier.
Nearly every hotel on the Strip has been vying for this theatrical production.
I study the photos on my laptop, images of acrobats twisted into impossible shapes, sliding up and down metal scaffolds in an urban dreamscape of sorts. The pictures are from a show in Paris, where I saw it last, when I knew I wanted this kind of show for myself.
If all goes well, I’ll have it here soon at The Invitation.
The deal should be inked tonight, and I intend to make the winning offer, the one that beats every other hotel in this town.
I check my watch. I have one hour before I’m due at