Page 5 of All Bets Are Off

I just need to find them.

4

Adelaide

I don’t exactly enjoy being the center of attention, which is the polar opposite of how I used to be when I was younger. Confidence oozed from me and, if the spotlight wasn’t on me, I’d find a way to shift it to me. The drama department in high school was my safe haven, and I played the lead in several plays over the years; yet fast forward to the grand old age of twenty-six, and suddenly my cheeks are flaring red at all of the attention I’m receiving walking through the casino floor of our hotel. These days, I’m more like a stagehand than a star.

For our first night in Las Vegas, we have gone with the very obvious bachelorette party dress code—the bride in white, the rest of the party in black. I’m wearing a long white satin dress that’s classy and elegant and definitely not too sultry, paired with some cute kitten heels and a small purse. Just before I left the hotel room, Hailey plucked some surprises out of her luggage, so I’m now also wearing a veil that’s, admittedly, rather pretty, with a bow at the back, and a sash around my torso that reads “Drunk in Love.” Hailey, Melissa and Evie are also wearing sashes, except theirs read “Just Drunk,” which did make me laugh.

So, of course we are attracting attention. Other women hype us up and tell us we look great. Men are keen to make conversation, asking where we’re headed and what our plans for the evening are. Everyone is so encouraging, but I can’t help but think how nice it would be to simply blend in. Still, all of the congratulatory comments and best wishes for my wedding give me some reassurance, making me momentarily forget any niggling doubts.

In the center of the Cosmopolitan’s casino floor, spanning three levels, is our first stop of the weekend according to Hailey’s itinerary—the Chandelier. It’s an extravagant bar that is quite literally, as the name suggests, inside a chandelier. Drapes of shimmering purple crystals circle all three levels, and it’s glitzy and feminine and absolutely the perfect spot to kick off our evening.

We head up to the second level, which feels more intimate than being on the open casino floor, and get seated on comfortable couches in the trendy, glamorous lounge. A cocktail waitress takes our order and very soon we are sipping on handcrafted drinks that are strong as hell and have me questioning if I can actually survive an entire weekend in Vegas. I’m not sure I’ll even make it to midnight.

“Am I allowed to know the rest of the schedule for tonight?” I ask sweetly, batting my lash extensions at Hailey.

“Well . . .” Hailey dips into her purse and pulls out her itinerary, which by now has already turned into a crumpled piece of paper. I don’t think it’ll survive the night, either. “I thought we’d take advantage of the hotel for our first night, and also save our feet from walking too far in heels. We have dinner booked at STK, and then maybe we can try our luck in the casino, and then finally we have a table booked at Marquee. That’s the nightclub, by the way. So, girls, pace yourselves. We’ve got a long night ahead of us!”

“Where will Liam and his entourage fit into this?” Melissa enquires, looking to me for answers that I don’t even know myself. “Are they going to be here in Vegas but doing their own thing, or are they piggybacking onto our plans?”

“Not sure,” I respond with a shrug, then swiftly move on. “Hailey, that all sounds great! Thanks so much for planning everything.”

I glance sideways at Evie when there’s a lack of excitement from her at the confirmation of lots of alcohol, lots of food, and lots of dancing in clubs. She’s been rather quiet since we checked in to our rooms, and even now, she’s mindlessly circling her straw around her cocktail and staring at the floor.

I nudge my knee against hers. “You okay?”

“Uh-huh,” she says, glancing up with a bright smile. “Sorry. Was thinking of my gambling strategy.”

Dinner isn’t for another hour, so we sit back and work our way through a few more tantalizing cocktails, some better than others. I grow increasingly buzzed off the alcohol and I’m laughing with the girls and we’re enjoying the music and I’m thinking, hey, this weekend might be as fun and freeing as I hoped it would be . . . Until I hear my name being called out, and the sound of his voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

“Addy!”

Conversation abruptly cuts off as the four of us girls swivel our heads. Approaching us across the lounge is Liam, flanked by four other men, one of them being my brother, Theo. They must have only just arrived, because they still have their luggage in tow, duffel bags and backpacks slung over their shoulders.

I mentally brace myself. Rearrange my features into delight. Slip into the façade I have mastered over the years. I’ll never be anything less than the happy Adelaide everyone believes I am; the perfect Adelaide that Liam expects me to be.

Setting down my drink and getting to my feet, I cheerfully extend my arms out to my fiancé as he closes the distance between us and embraces me with a tight hug.

“Hey, babe! You made it. How was the flight?” I ask, and as his lips brush my cheek with a kiss, I ignore the cold shock of frozen ice splintering through my veins.

I can’t remember the young Adelaide who blushed every time Liam Hartman texted her back. The Adelaide who screamed into her pillow with joy the night of their first kiss. The Adelaide who felt a heavy weight in her chest whenever they were apart.

That Adelaide is a stranger to me, but so is the Liam she knew back then.

“Beers and altitude . . . What can I say?” he says with a chuckle as his hand naturally finds its resting place on my hip over the satin material of my dress. “You look incredible. I like the veil.” He turns toward Evie, Hailey and Melissa and gives them a nod of acknowledgment. “Hello, ladies. I hope you don’t mind us guys joining the party?”

And I can see the fake smiles broaden on all three of their faces at once. I’m convinced Melissa is even fighting a twitch in her eye. They are not cool at all with our weekend being gatecrashed, but they’re trying their best to be polite.

“Of course not,” Hailey lies.

“Yeah, I’m so excited to get drunk with my brother,” Evie remarks sarcastically with a pointed glower at Theo.

“Hang on. I don’t think we all know each other,” Liam says, clearing his throat as he points his way around the group, starting with us girls first. “You guys all know Addy, obviously. There’s Evie, the baby sister. Melissa, the college best friend. Hailey, the childhood best friend.” He points back to himself with a grin. “You girls already know me and Theo. But these are my buddies, John, Tyler, and my best man, Connor.”

Wait. Connor?

I abruptly step forward to see around Liam, and I stare straight past my brother, straight past John and Tyler, and straight into the dark eyes of Connor Lexington. He hovers at the back of the group, one hand gripping the strap of his duffel bag on his shoulder, the other tucked into the front pocket of his jeans. He’s more muscular, more solid than I remember, with a scattering of tattoos over his exposed skin that are all new.