Vegas Baby

“…alright. But only for the baby.”

“For the baby,” he repeated softly, putting an address into the GPS and pulling away.

“So, are you always this persistent?” I asked, unsure if I wanted to be irritated or thankful. I decided for both. After all, I was technically two people now, so I could have two people’s worth of emotions, right?

But he cracked a smile anyways. I found that I liked that expression on him. It emphasized his strong jaw and gave him a look of mischief that softened his often-harsh expression. I wondered if my little one would have his smile, or mine, or maybe a mix of both of ours.

“Usually. I find that it helps in my line of work.”

“Which is some sort of head hunting business thing.”

“Something like that.”

I shook my head, looking out the window at all of the city lights. While it was certainly no Vegas, the city of St. Louis still had a lot of charm to it. Especially when passing the arch.

One day I wanted to go up into that big metal structure. It seemed so odd to me, and yet so elegant, just an upside-down U of metal stuck in the ground, but people came from far and wide to look at it.

The gateway to the west, they said. Who knew, maybe it would be my gateway to my new life. I was going to be a mom soon, and come hell or high water, I was going to do my damndest to be the best mom I could be.

“What are you thinking about over there?” James asked, sparing his eyes from the road for a second to glance at me.

“Huh?” I responded. Not very eloquent, but I didn’t know if he wanted an honest answer, or more of a generic one.

“You just have a very serious look on your face. I don’t think I’ve seen it on you before.”

“Oh,” I murmured, trying to figure out how I wanted to phrase my thoughts. “Just thinking about the future. And hope.”

“Hope?” He questioned cautiously.

“Yeah. It’s a dangerous thing, you know. But they say that even an ounce of it can get you through anything.”

“Well, I guess we’re both going to need a whole lot of hope to get us through the path we landed on.”

“Yeah,” I said, looking back out the window. “I think you’re right.”

Chapter Twelve

~James~

We arrived at the hotel and instead of using their valet service, I drove to the top of their parking garage. I knew from staying there once before for a conference that there was an elevator strictly for the penthouses that required a keycard. Unfortunately, this hotel didn’t have the punch codes that I enjoyed so much in Vegas, but you win some you lose some, I supposed.

Also, unlike Vegas, Nicole looked more worried then enamored. Then again, while the elevator was polished to a high shine and ridiculously clear, it wasn’t anything compared to what was inside.

We didn’t say anything as we rode up, nor as the doors opened behind us. It wasn’t until we stepped into the cobalt-blue carpeted hall, crystal candelabras lining the length of the corridor.

There were only two doors in the entire length. One, immediately on the right, the other all the way down the hall and on the left, was my door.

“Wow…” Nicole breathed, looking around.

“A bit more subdued than Vegas, huh?” I asked.

She nodded slowly, her almond, enchanting eyes flitting this way and that. “It’s nice though. Less in your face, still just as pretty.”

“Yeah, I prefer the décor of this place. But I do have to admit that their presidential suite has nothing on the one I had before. But this costs a quarter as much, so such is the way.”

She smirked at that, and I felt the tiniest sliver of our rapport return to us. “Oh, I’m surprised you didn’t just buy the most expensive hotel there was to have.”

“I did,” I shot back, sending her a smooth look. “But even the best presidential suite here can’t quite match up with the land of opulence, but I’ll survive.”

“I hope so. That’d be a terrible way to die.”

I laughed. “Imagine that epitaph. Here lies James, struck down by a five-star hotel with only four-star accommodations.”

“Truly a modern tragedy.”

By the time we had reached the door, we were both all smiles, much of the awkwardness that had built back up between us slipping away again. I slid my keycard and pushed open the door, standing to the side so that Nicole could walk past me.

Even tired eyed and exhausted, she was still a sight to behold. While I had certainly met more glamourous models, or refined movie stars in my time, there was a natural sort of presence to this woman that I couldn’t escape. Like she was some sort of mythical elf or dryad transported to our world and I was just lucky enough for my path to intersect with hers.