Page 87 of Keep Vegas

“Are Chelle and Julia back?”

“No. They’re taking another week in Puerto Rico before Lana’s attorney puts the house on the market.”

“Do their families know where they are?”

“Yeah, but Julia’s kids are freaking out because she skipped an eye appointment. They’re kind of obsessed with her medical appointments.”

“Is she ok?”

“Yes. I think they’re freaked out that she’s eighty-six and there isn’t a single thing wrong with her aside from brittle nails.”

I laugh. “I miss you,” I say softly as I finger the outside of my phone.

“I lo—”

I hang up on her because my father walks into the office without knocking.

“Son, that’s an awful big smile you’ve got there. Staying clean?”

Like relationships are my drug of choice.

“The Cookery’s new slate launches in six hours. I’m freaking giddy.”

“I saw your Tweets this morning. And someone showed me the little video you did. How is anyone going to get the gist of it all in fifteen-second clips?”

“Trust me. We already have 600k views on that in the last half hour. I can pull all the metadata if you want, old man, or you can trust me.”

He sits down across from me. “I do. At least with this. I was talking to Hammer Andrews on the course about a week ago, always liked that man. He raised a good son. His daughters are a little high maintenance, but Colt’s a solid man.”

“He is.” I do not know where my father is going with all of this, but I don’t like it.

“Apparently, you all had a sort of impromptu Paris reunion last summer.”

I know exactly where he’s going with this. Even though they met Mak briefly, I’d kept her away from them. But years later, I told him that she was the only person I could ever see myself with.

“Your mother is concerned you never told us that you ran into Makenzie. Dax told me to ask you.”

“Shocked he didn’t spill his guts for you. Yes. We saw Makenzie and her friend Maggie. A good time was had by all, and then Mak and I parted company in the morning.” We did. We really did. And then I texted her, waited several months, phone-dated her, got divorced, fucked her, fell back in love with her, told her, got left by her again, chased her, wooed her, and now I’m in a secret but kind of serious relationship with her.

But that night, we did part company.

“Dad, that was like ten months ago. I’m fine.”

“She meant a lot. Your mother and I have made mistakes, I’m not too proud to own some of them, I just hope this wasn’t one.” It was, but I appreciate his kind of apology.

“Pop, we’re all good.”

“And you’re single?” In the sense that I don’t currently have an engagement or marriage going on, yes.

“As I’ll ever be.” Truth, I’m marrying Mak as soon as I can.

“Let’s talk next month about what the situation would look like to spin off Ladd Media. It’s dicey right now but let’s begin talks.”

I’m confused, but before I can inquire, he’s gone.

mak

I’ve never been anywhere that looks like this, and I’ve lived near Vegas for a long time. I’ve partied in almost every hotel on the Strip since I had a fake ID at sixteen and would sneak over here for a weekend. Suite hopping was basically my occupation from age eighteen to twenty-two, when everyone I knew was in college. I thought I’d seen the opulence, money, and dirty, gritty parts. I’ve toked, drank, and smoked in the best and worst places in Nevada, but this shit is unreal.