Dana remembered the way her belly flopped around Alex Markov. Pure chemistry.
Don’t be silly. You were just excited because he caught you off guard and gave you a suite.
“Fireworks, huh?”
“Is it too much to ask?”
“No.” Dana patted Anise’s hand. “It isn’t too much to ask at all.”
“I thought about it long and hard one night. Do you know what I realized? I couldn’t remember the last time Roman and I kissed on the lips.” A soft sound emerged from Anise’s throat, the faintest of sad giggles. “How sad is that?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. What’s done is done. Make sure you treasure what you have with Tommy. Not everyone has that kind of love.”
Oh, yeah. Enduring love. That’s what she had with Tommy.
This was probably the ideal time to spill her own secret, but she couldn’t. If she started talking about Tommy, she’d have to tell them about what Dr. Batra said, and there was no way she was opening that can of worms. Their week of fun would turn into seven long days of misery.
“How is he, by the way?”
“He’s fine.”
“Still trying to move up the wedding date?”
It was hard to answer her sister’s questions without actually lying. “Listen, enough about Tommy and me. This week is foryou.” She appealed to the other women. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah!” Jessica clapped her hands. “When can we go see the male strip tease? I brought lots of coins to weigh down their G-strings.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Bea. “I want to hit the casino. Mama’s got a lot of bills. Maybe I can get Alex Markov to pay them off for me.”
“Maybe he will.” Anise laughed. “Hey, I hear lots of celebrities stay at Vice. What if we run into Idris Elba?”
“No,mija,” said Jessica. “I’m keeping my eyes peeled for Chadwick Boseman.”
“You never know.” Bea smiled “This week is all about letting loose and having new experiences, right?”
“We’re in Vegas, ladies,” said Jessica. “No inhibitions, no regrets.”
Dana stood and raised her glass. “To Vegas and to letting loose. All of us. Even the prude.”
Anise followed her lead. “To Dana. I shouldn’t have called you a prude. You’re just careful and I love that about you. Thank you for arranging this week, and thank you for being such a good sister.” Her eyes misted. “I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you very much, and I’m really sorry I kept the truth from you. You’ve always been my champion and my superstar, and I’m so proud of you. You’re a wonderful woman and you’re going to make a great mom one day.”
“To Dana,” Jessica and Bea echoed.
“Thank you.” Dana swallowed the lump in her throat, clinked glasses, and motioned for them to sit down. “We’re going to have a great week. Lots of fun. No sadness. No judgment. Those are the rules.”
“I like those rules.” Anise sipped her drink. “If it feels good, let’s do it.”
“Let’s do it,” echoed Dana.
As the women finished their cocktails, Dana’s words came back to haunt her. As much as she tried to dislodge the ball of sandpaper in her throat, it continued to itch. She excused herself. “I’m going to get a glass of water. Anyone else want one?”
Jessica rose. “I’ll come with you.”
Dana tried to crack a smile as they walked to the bar. “I would have thought you were tired of water. You’ve been drinking Perrier since we got here. Don’t you want something more exciting?”
Jessica lowered her voice. “I can’t.” She tugged on Dana’s sleeve and pulled her to the far end of the bar. “Oh, Dana. I’m bursting to tell someone but I don’t want to steal Anise’s thunder this week. I can’t have any cocktails. I’m pregnant.”
