“Can we talk?” he asked.
“We are talking.”
“Somewhere quieter.”
I thought about it.Michael Ashford was my brother’s best friend and off-limits.
But I was wearing red lipstick in Vegas at three in the morning, and I was tired of being careful.
“Okay,” I said.
He held out his hand.
I looked at it. Thought about all the times I’d watched him keep distance. All the family dinners where he’d barely looked at me.
I took his hand.
His fingers closed around mine, and I felt it everywhere. In my chest, my stomach, places that had no business reacting to someone holding my hand.
He led me through the casino, and I barely saw any of it. Just focused on his hand around mine, his back in front of me, the fact that we were touching and he wasn’t letting go.
The bar was tucked away from the main casino floor—dark wood, leather booths, lighting so dim you could barely see the person across from you.
Michael ordered whiskey, neat. I ordered a fruit wine because I definitely wanted to remember every second of this.
We slid into a booth in the back corner, and the space immediately felt too small. Too intimate. Like we’d crossed some invisible line just by sitting down together.
“So,” Michael said, watching me over his glass. “Bucket list.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Pauline mentioned it before she disappeared.”
“She didn’t disappear.”
“She absolutely did.” He smiled—slow and heart-stopping. “Can’t say I blame her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ve been trying to get you alone for two years, and she just handed you to me in under five minutes.” He took a sip of his whiskey. “I like her.”
My heart forgot how to beat. “You’ve been trying to get me alone?”
“Is that really what you’re surprised about?” He leaned back, one arm draped over the booth. Completely relaxed. Completely in control. “Tell me about this bucket list.”
“It’s nothing. Just stupid stuff Pauline and I wrote when we were sixteen.”
“What kind of stupid stuff?”
“Like wearing red lipstick and going somewhere I’d never normally go.” I gestured around us. “Hence, Vegas at three in the morning.”
“What else?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Curious.” His eyes hadn’t left my face. “What other boxes are you trying to tick?”
My drink arrived. I took a long sip while I decided how honest to be.
