Penny leans to whisper in my ear. “We don’t need to sit next to each other for a forty-five-minute flight.”
I don’t dignify her with a response. Instead, I tell the gate attendant, “We’re heading to Vegas to get married.”
The attendant looks up at me, shock written all over her face, and then she smiles wide. “Oh wow. Congratulations!”
Penny’s hand squeezes mine, and I almost let out a laugh. I turn to Penny, who is staring at my profile with narrowed eyes, and I lean in to kiss her on the cheek. When I pull back, her lips twitch slightly, but she refuses to smile.
“We have two seats together in the back. Is that okay?”
“Perfect,” I say, and we hand the attendant our tickets so she can change them out.
Once we sit down by the gate, Penny unloads. “Married? Really? Now that poor girl thinks we’re a couple.”
I shrug my shoulders and let out a chuckle. “It was kind of fun though, don’t you think?”
She shakes her head. “No. Where did my silent, brooding Declan go? I like that version of you better. That version keeps his mouth shut.”
“Brat,” I tell her and grab her upper thigh to tickle her. She lets out a small yelp and laughs with me.
~ ~ ~
“Text me when you get done, and I’ll come and find you,” I tell Penny as the taxi drops her off first.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to hang with me if you don’t want to, Declan.”
I hand her her bag. “I’m sure.” I kiss her on the cheek and get back in the taxi so she doesn’t argue with me.
We’re staying in different hotels, but they’re pretty close to each other, and the taxi driver drops me off next.
Penny has something at noon that she has to be at today; otherwise, she’s free until tomorrow. I had planned to walk the strip and enjoy the food and drinks anyway, maybe gamble a little bit too.
When I get checked into the hotel room, I decide to take a nap and then head to Penny’s hotel afterward.
It’s in the mid-seventies, perfect weather for Vegas, and I grab a beer for the walk. The strip is busy with people from all over the world, enjoying all that Las Vegas has to offer, andI take in the sights as I make the walk across the street and two hotels down.
Penny’s staying at the same hotel where the trade show is being held, and there are dozens of people milling about with badges on. I grab a couple of sandwiches and two coffees and wait for Penny to text me.
I don’t have to wait long before she messages me and comes walking out of one of the conference rooms I followed a crowd of people to. “Here. These are for you,” I tell her, handing her a coffee and a turkey and Gouda sandwich.
“Oh my god, I love you so much. I’m starving.” It doesn’t take her longer than half a second to realize what she just said, and her eyes go comically wide. “That’s not what–”
I interrupt her with a smirk on my face. “I know what you meant.” Even though she said it in the most platonic way possible, my heart stopped for a beat because I fucking loved the way those words sounded coming out of her mouth.
“Will you come up to my hotel room with me? I want to eat this and freshen up before we go out.”
I take her sandwich and grab her free hand, intertwining our fingers. “Lead the way.”
“You’re seriously a lifesaver,” she tells me when we get in the elevator. “I haven’t eaten all day and I’m starving. I just watched a guy groan on about the difference between organic and non-organic coffee beans for the last hour.”
“Sounds riveting.”
“Autumn could have done just as good of a job,” she deadpans.
I chuckle. “Okay, so what about tomorrow?”
We exit the elevator on her floor. “Tomorrow I’ll head to the booth section and try to network, see if there isn’t anything worth getting my hands on for the shop, and I’ll hit up one or two more lectures.”
She unlocks her hotel room door, and we head inside. I take a seat at the desk chair, and she plops down on the bed. “So, potentially, you could get out of it early tomorrow, too?” I ask.
