Hot Finish (Fast Track #3)(44)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Suzanne and Tammy were right up there with her, and Ty thought he and Elec were lucky men. Suzanne was a hell of a woman, too, and he would say that Ryder was a lucky man, except he wasn’t exactly sure what those two were doing, and he figured this might be his only chance to ask.

“So, uh, how’s your week going?” he asked Ryder, digging out the last bite of meat from the crab leg on his plate. The six of them were at one of the famed Vegas buffets and Ty had the stuffed gut to prove it.

Ryder looked at him from across the table like that was a dumb question. “Good. How about yours?”

“Oh, cut the crap, Jefferson, you know I’m asking you about Suzanne. What the hell are you two doing?”

“Well, that’s subtle,” Elec told Ty.

“What? We’ve known each other a long time. There’s no point in beating around the bush, especially since as soon as Suzanne is done building that sundae over there, she’ll be back at the table and I still won’t know what’s going on.”

“When I figure out what’s going on, I’ll let you know,” Ryder told him.

“But, are you two dating? Are you exclusive with each other, or what?”

“We don’t talk about it.” Ryder tore a hunk of meat off his prime rib and avoided looking at Ty.

“You don’t talk about it.” Now there was a brilliant plan. “You’ve had a very volatile history, you know. If you don’t talk about where this is going, where it will be going is Uglyville.”

Ryder bristled. “You make it sound like we’ve been violent. Volatile. Please. That’s f**ked up. We’ve had words with each other, that’s it. What couple who is divorced hasn’t done that?”

Now he’d pissed his friend off. That wasn’t his intention. He just wanted to make sure that neither he nor Suzanne got hurt all over again.

Before he could figure out what to say, Elec stepped in. “I think the point is, we’re just concerned about you and Suzanne, and maybe it’s time for you all to talk about things. Maybe not talking is what got you here in the first place.”

“Exactly.” Ty sat back in triumph. “Oh, shit, here come the girls.” He made a throat cutting motion with his hand then smiled at his fiancée. “How did you make out at the dessert buffet?”

“I got way more food than I can ever eat, but everything looked so incredible I couldn’t pass it up. You’re morally obligated to finish whatever I can’t.”

Ty swiped a tiny pecan pie cup off of her plate and popped it in his mouth. “No problem.”

Tammy sat down next to Elec and said, “You three looked very serious when we walked up. Is everything okay? They didn’t change the publicity schedule, did they? I have my day all figured out around it.”

“Nah, that didn’t change,” Elec assured her.

“They were probably talking about me and Ryder, questioning him as to what the hell he and I are doing,” Suzanne declared, slapping her plate down on the table and sliding into her chair. “God, I don’t even know why I got half this dessert. I’m feeling a little nauseous, I think I ate too much.”

Trust Suzanne to just say it like it was.

“You’re still on Eastern time, that’s all,” Ryder told her, avoiding her first comment. “It’s like we had dinner last night at midnight and breakfast at noon. Your stomach is rebelling.”

“Why should that matter?” she asked him, reaching out to brush a crumb off the corner of his lip. “It’s not like my stomach has a watch down there.”

As they talked, they cut everyone else out, not intentionally, but they were clearly just enjoying talking to each other, and Ty watched them closely. He’d seen a lot of ugly go down between those two, but damn if they didn’t look happy together at the moment. Maybe things had changed. Maybe they had changed.

What the hell did he know anyways? He’d nearly lost Imogen from his own stupid stubbornness.

Imogen squeezed his knee. When he looked at her, she was popping a chocolate covered grape in her mouth. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “They’ll figure it out.”

That remained to be seen, but Ty sure wished them all the best.

SUZANNE had managed to avoid Nikki for two whole days, but her luck ran out as she was crossing the lobby, trying to find something to occupy her time that didn’t cost money. So far, her options were window-shopping on the Strip or watching TV in her room. Not exactly how she had wanted to spend her time while Ryder was out doing interviews, but then again, she didn’t want to spend it with Nikki either.

Nikki spotted her and waved enthusiastically, running over on her stiletto heels, her black sequin leggings sparkling in the afternoon sunlight coming from the huge windows, her giant fur enveloping her. Sometimes Nikki dressed like a sixteen-year-old cheerleader, other days like a cougar on the prowl, with no apparent rhyme or reason as to why she chose either one. Today was clearly the latter.

“Hey, how is your trip going?” Suzanne asked her, giving in to the inevitable hug and cheek kiss.

“It’s great. It’s awesome, fantastic!” Nikki gripped her hands and giggled. “I have the most exciting news. Jonas and I are eloping tonight!”

The entire lobby of the Wynn spun wildly, and for a split second Suzanne thought she might actually pass out. By sheer willpower, she fought down the bile and righted the room. “What? Why would you do that? I thought you wanted a big wedding!”

A big wedding that Suzanne had spent the last month planning. They had a ballroom. They had a dress. A cake. Tuxes. A freaking white carriage and glass slippers, for God’s sake.

“Oh, I do. But all this is stressing out Jonas. He told me how romantic it would be to get married while we’re here, just go in, be done, then we’re on our honeymoon.”

“But you won’t be able to be Cinderella then.” Suzanne fought the desperation that was creeping into her voice. She needed that second half of the fee. She needed it to pay her bills for the next two or three months, and if Nikki eloped, she wasn’t entitled to that.

Nikki’s face fell a little. “I know. I thought about that. But this way we’re married like immediately, and I haven’t signed the prenup yet.”

Suzanne felt her eyebrow shoot up. Nikki wasn’t as dumb as she looked. Or sounded most of the time.

But neither was Suzanne.

She lowered her voice to one of confidant; a gentle, coaxing tone. “Have you really thought this through? You only have a chance to be a bride once and I think you might look back and regret not having a fairy-tale wedding. Think of the little cakes of you. The glass slipper party favors. The horse-drawn carriage and the diamond tiara. Do you really want to give all that up for some five-minute ceremony with strangers in Vegas?”