“Jenny Burke from theCurtain, Ms. Radstone. Congratulations on your marriage to Mr. March. Looks like you’re both having a lovely time this evening. How long will you be staying here at the Amber Palace?”
Alice rezzed up what she hoped was a bright smile. “We haven’t decided, have we, Owen?”
“Nope,” he said. He winked. “Why would we want to leave? Everything we need is right here under one roof.”
“The Amber Palace is an expensive place to live,” the reporter pointed out.
“Fortunately, money is not a problem,” Owen said.
Jenny Burke’s eyes sparked with curiosity. “Would you care to elaborate on that point?”
“No,” Owen said.
Alice summoned another smile. “You must excuse us. We’re heading for the Amber Lounge for a nightcap.”
“Can I get one last shot of the dust bunny?” the reporter begged. “My editor will love it.”
“Sure,” Alice said, relieved at the distraction. “He loves to be photographed.”
She turned back to Owen. Sebastian was no longer riding on his shoulder.
“Uh-oh.” She glanced around uneasily. “Where is he?”
“Sebastian?” Owen nodded in the direction of the slot machines. “Something caught his eye. Last I saw, he was headed in that direction. Ready to go get that nightcap?”
He whisked her away from the reporter before she could respond, drawing her through the crowd toward the Amber Lounge at the far end of the gaming floor.
“We need to find Sebastian,” she said.
“He’s a dust bunny. He won’t get lost. He’ll find us when he’s finished exploring.”
“You don’t understand. This is a dust bunny amusement park—lots of bright lights, bells, and energy. He could get into all sorts of trouble.”
“Such as?”
“I don’t even want to contemplate the possibilities.”
“Relax, people think he’s adorable.”
“He is adorable. That’s not the point.”
They were passing the seemingly endless ranks of noisy slots when a siren wailed, bells clanged, and the colorful lights around the giant silver-and-amberLost Alien Treasureslot erupted in artificial fireworks.
Alice got an uneasy ping of intuition. She stopped, forcing Owen to halt. They both turned to look at the machine. Everyone else in the vicinity paused, too. A crowd formed in the blink of an eye. If there had been an excitement meter nearby, it would have jumped several degrees.
“Someone just hit the big jackpot on theLost Alien Treasureslot,” a man said in reverent tones.
“Talk about lucky,” a woman muttered. “I played that slot earlier this evening and got nothing.”
The lights and sirens around the machine were fading, but a man’s voice rose above the throng.
“Stand back, everyone, and let my lucky dust bunny pull the handle again.”
“How much do you want for the dust bunny?” a woman yelled.
“I’ll rent him from you,” a man called out. “Name your hourly rate.”
“No.”Alice yanked up her skirts and prepared to forge a path through the crowd to the big slot. “Sebastian, come here. Please, this is serious.” She tried to slip between two people at the edge of the crowd. “Excuse me. I need to get to the dust bunny.”
