He stands there looking at me and I hold the door open for him to enter.
“Be careful. I’ve had the Do Not Disturb sign on. So, no housecleaning.” I move back into the room to get my suitcase.
“What the fuck?” Doug’s voice carries as he looks around at the broken Cristal bottle and dried sticky champagne staining the wall and floor. His brown eyes find mine and he looks at me like I’m an alien.
“Two Days. Two days I leave you. Let you enjoy your time with your husband and you don’t even last twelve hours?”
His words sting, but he’s not wrong. We didn’t make it a full twenty-four hours before Edge took my heart out of my chest, stabbed holes in it, and tried to insert it back.
“I—”
He lifts a finger and takes my suitcase. “Wait for the ride home. I have a few things to say. You need to hear them for your sake.”
My heart skips a beat. Doug is serious. I’ve never seen him more serious. Whatever he’s going to tell me makes my skin itch. I swear I can’t handle anything bad right now.
He checks out for me while I walk outside, fishing in my purse for my sunglasses. It’s hotter today than when we got here two days ago.
Two days seems like a lifetime ago. Doug was on my side happily drinking with me as he made me a princess for my wedding.
“Dolly?” Robert yells from across the street. He smiles and stops, allowing a car to pass before he jogs over to me.
“Hey.” It’s all I can utter since he’s smiling and I’m not.
“Hey, um, you ready?”
I nod.
“Okay, I’ll get the car.” He hesitates like he wants to say something but thinks better of it.
I look out at the crowds of Vegas. Morning and night, it never sleeps. The waterfall springs to life causing the massive crowd of people to go crazy over the dancing water.
I dig into my bag and pull out my red lipstick. Edge’s words float around me.
“And trying to cover it up with red lips and fucking clothes means nothing.” I drop the lipstick and dig around for some pale pink lip gloss instead.
“Okay. That’s done.” Doug smirks as he catches up to me. “If it makes you feel better, Edge is going to be out some cash.” He snickers and I want to hug him for a moment. He’s back on team Dolly. He looks down at me, his eyes taking in my appearance, and I almost cross my arms to protect myself from his judgment.
“Huh, interesting.” His eyes soften as Robert pulls the limo up right next to us.
He steps out and my mouth must drop open. Not because they are both kissing. I’ve seen Doug stick his tongue down numerous throats. It’s the fact that he holds him as if he wants to devour him that makes me stare until my eyes water.
“I’m going to get in.” I clear my voice as I slide in and see Doug’s hands go in between Robert’s legs to rub what is obviously an erection—and it’s eye level with me.
Closing my eyes, I reach for my phone and start to text Charlie and Eve back.
The door shuts and Doug slides in next to me smelling like Robert. Glancing up, I adjust my sunglasses so he can’t see my eyes. Doug knows me too well.
“Hey babe? Before we get on the road, Dolly needs a Starbucks stop.”
I look over at him. He still has that serious look on his face, which I’m beginning to hate. Robert goes through a drive-through and the uncomfortable silence between Doug and me is almost unbearable.
I’m sipping my coffee, biting my bottom lip because I’m going to cry again, and I’m almost too tired to do that.
The breakfast sandwich helped. Coffee helped too, but Doug is waiting for something and I can’t stand it any longer.
Sighing, I say, “I’m assuming you’re disappointed?” I uncross my legs and recross them.
He looks over at me, leans over to Robert, and says, “I need to talk to my girl,” and pushes the button so the partition zooms up.
“Why?” He sits back.
I pull my sunglasses on top of my head. “Why what?” I snip at him. Doug and I have never had one fight in our relationship. Never. We’re always united.
“I have to stop you. You’re fucking crazy, Dolly.” He leans forward and moves his hands up under his chin as if he’s praying.
“What?” I mutter. “You don’t even know what happened.”
“I do. Because I know you.” There’s compassion in his brown eyes and I hate it. Looking away, I watch the landscape whirl by.
“Talk to me then. Tell me how this is happening. Because I’ve got to be honest, Edge is looking way saner than you, and we all know I’m not an Edge fan.”