Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“Ugly? You and Lance? I don’t believe it.”
“Why not? You have brothers, you know how hard it is to live with someone for the first time? It’s a lot and it takes a lot of patience and a lot of self-reflection to accept that you’re okay spending the rest of your life picking up wet towels off the bathroom floor.”
“That’s what maids are for,” she said with a cheeky smile as our first course, ceviche, arrived. We were on the third course, after the using the tiny fork for the oysters, sinking into lobster ravioli.
Then she gave me a serious look. “So, I have a favor to ask. You can totally say no and I won’t hold it against you, but just hear me out.”
I nodded and motioned for her to continue before I agreed to anything. I just hoped it wasn’t something crazy, something that might alter our budding friendship. “I’m listening.”
“We need a new card girl at our specialty games, which is what we call our off the books high roller games. The stakes are high, extremely high. Like obscene amounts of money high. And the security is high too, so safety isn’t a concern. Ever. We’ve got the best security team in the world.” Her blue gaze flashed with worry for a moment, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
“What would I have to do?” Normally Kat ran off at the mouth at every opportunity, and the fact that I had to pull details from her put me on edge.
“Just put on something breathtaking each night, exchange cash for chips and cash the players out at the end of the night. You greet them at the door and smile pretty, keeping things fun and interesting between hands. But not too interesting,” she added with a grin.
Hmm. She’d said the job involved wearing something breathtaking. Was that what all the new clothes were about I wondered as my foot kicked the shopping bags under the table?
“The tips are huge, I’m talking thousands. And it’s only Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I can run you through some training early next week if you’re interested.”
“Wow.” I sat back as the beautiful server delivered a monkfish and salmon terrine to our table. I picked at the food and thought about what she said.
“I have been trying to figure out what I might do to fill my empty days. And nights. But honestly, Kat, I don’t need the money. Lance left me a shit ton, and after all the bills your family paid off, I’m pretty well set.”
“Come on, Vanessa, everyone needs the money,” she laughed. “But if that’s not enough of an enticement, just think about getting out of the house a few days each week and meeting a bunch of new and incredibly interesting people. And they’re beaucoup rich.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” I told her honestly and dug into the terrine, which had a strange texture but excellent taste. “I’m actually relieved that’s the favor. I thought this was going to be another conversation where I had to say, ‘thanks but no thanks’ to a threesome.”
Kat blinked and set her fork down before she let out a big, booming laugh that caused her to wince in pain. “Seriously? I mean I’m not surprised it’s happened to you, but I am curious. Just how many threesomes have you been invited to participate in?”
I laughed at her curious stare and shrugged. “Too many. A few Navy wives thought it would be a good way to spice up their marriages, a few couples at random bars. The usual.”
“Usual? Not for me,” she insisted with eyes as wide as saucers.
“Consider yourself lucky, it’s not an easy conversation to have. Or an easy offer to reject.” I had never been so uncomfortable in my life and I was thankful that Kat wasn’t asking that, no matter how attractive a couple she and Terry made.
“Girl, I don’t feel lucky at all. I feel like I’ve missed out on something, some kind of rite of passage.” Kat sat back trying to work up a slight pout around her pretty mouth.
I laughed. “You mean like crushing on your brother’s best friend?”
Kat laughed, and we enjoyed the rest of our lunch. I listened as she told stories about the things she’d done to get Terry’s attention over the years, and I shared stories of my time with Lance. Before we knew it, lunch was over and we made our way to Wicked Wedding, a perfect name for a place that had gorgeous dresses for every type of bride imaginable.
We ended a perfect day with rounds of champagne helping Maisie and her bridal consultant pick out her perfect wedding gown.
After Maisie picked her dream dress that made her look like a fucking princess, she turned to me and said, “So, Nessa, since we’re friends and you’re helping me plan my wedding, I have another favor to ask.”