Liv turned on her heel, grabbed her tablet, and headed in the direction of the house.
“I’ve come with a bribe.”
“What’s that, Paige?”
“CB Rice is playing at the House of Blues next Wednesday.”
“Yes, I know.”
“And you don’t want to go?”
“That’s why I don’t want to go. I’m almost forty, too old for this stalker-groupie life I’ve been living the last few months.”
It was bad enough that the universe threw the two of them together every time she turned around—but to put herself in his line of fire on purpose? He would start to think their random encounters weren’t serendipitous at all, but rather her stalking him.
Six days later, Liv boarded an early morning flight, headed for a few days in Las Vegas, and another not-so-chance meeting with CB Rice.
They weren’t in Las Vegas often, but when they were, Liv and Paige stayed at the Delaney, part of the Mandalay Bay complex. Situated near the end of the Strip, it catered to a different clientele than the other resorts. The lights weren’t as bright, the casino not as loud, the crowd more subdued. That suited Liv and Paige fine. They didn’t gamble. Paige had meetings scheduled, but otherwise they’d be camped out by one of the eleven-acre resort’s pools.
“Maybe we’ll bump into him in the elevator. Or he’ll be at the bar tonight.”
“Would you stop it? You’re making me nervous. Didn’t you say we’re here to relax? Are you going to let me?”
“I see your eyes scanning the crowds.”
“He’s not here yet.”
“How do you know?”
“Social media. He has a show tonight—at home.”
Liv looked away. “Yep, I’m a stalker,” she mumbled.
“We’ll get the tickets on our way to the pool,” Paige suggested. She put on sunglasses and grabbed her bag.
“No, let’s wait.”
“Why? It’ll be one less thing to worry about.”
“I haven’t decided whether I want to go or not.”
“Isn’t that why we’re here?”
“No. It’s not. You’re here for business meetings, and I tagged along because I would’ve been bored at home, and I wanted to relax and sit in the sun.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious, Paige. I don’t know whether I want to go tomorrow night.”
“You listen to his music almost non-stop, and he’s playing a show while we’re here. You’re not making sense.”
“I’m not kidding when I say he’ll think I’m stalking him. I’ve ‘run’ into him twice in less than a year. This will be the third.”
“But you’re in Las Vegas, staying at the same complex as the House of Blues. Why wouldn’t you get tickets? It makes more sense that you would go.”
“I don’t know. If I decide I want to, we can still get tickets tomorrow.”
“Do you want a Bloody Mary?” Paige tapped Liv’s shoulder an hour later.