Tall, Dark and Tempting (Tall, Dark and Sexy 3)

“Not at all,” he said, and she knew him well enough to know that he was being honest. “I think it’ll be fun. Just four friends hanging out, gambling, and maybe even being a little wild and crazy in a place where nobody knows us.”

It had been a long time since Serena had let her hair down, so to speak. In fact, she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d just let loose, without analyzing the consequences. She’d always been the quintessential good girl compared to her sister, always responsible and focused, and never coloring outside the lines because she’d had her life laid out in front of her in a particular order. Graduate from high school. Move out on her own while attending college and getting her teaching degree. Establish her career . . . and get married so she could have babies and a family of her own.

Yeah, that last part wasn’t falling into place like she’d imagined, she thought with that too familiar frustration and disappointment. But for one weekend, before she continued her quest for Mr. Right, she just wanted to be a little carefree, spontaneous, and uninhibited and not be so straight-laced, and what better place to do that than Vegas?

“Okay, we’ll go,” she said, excited at all the possibilities that awaited her. And if she was lucky, Vegas was going to be the place she got her groove back.

Retail therapy had never been Serena’s thing, mostly because she couldn’t bring herself to spend money impulsively. She was too sensible and practical, and there were always those painful memories that lingered from childhood, of her mother buying things she couldn’t afford, but always worrying about paying for rent, the utilities, and food. There had been times when the latter had been sparse, and Serena had been fortunate that Dylan’s mom would insist on her eating dinner with the family, but it taught her to be smart with her finances, and that meant purchasing things at a discount, or when they were on sale. She rarely paid full price for anything.

Chelsea, however, didn’t have that same separation anxiety with money as she did, and every time her friend whipped out her credit card for a purchase in one of the upscale designer boutiques located in the forum shops in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Serena cringed and went into sticker shock at the total amount displayed on the register.

They’d only been in Vegas for a few hours, but as soon as their plane had touched down, Chelsea had dragged her off to shop for a few hours, while Dylan and Eric had gone to the Sapphire Casino and Hotel to check in, and for Dylan’s meeting with the marketing manager. They’d promised to all meet up at five for dinner, then on to the nightclub for an evening of cocktails and dancing. Which left Serena and Chelsea a good six hours to fill.

“Aren’t you going to try on anything at all?” Chelsea asked, her hands already ladened with shopping bags.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Serena asked, raising a brow at her friend as they strolled past Tiffany’s, then the storefront for Dior. “Do you not know me at all?”

“Yes, I know your spending habits, or lack thereof,” she teased, bumping her shoulder against Serena’s. “But here’s a concept for you. Live a little, and for the weekend, stop taking everything so seriously. Just because you try on an outfit doesn’t mean you have to buy it. But we’re in Vegas, and when will you ever get the chance to wear a hot, slinky, one-of-a-kind gorgeous dress like that? Just for fun?”

Serena followed the direction of Chelsea’s pointing finger to a mannequin in a window display that was wearing a stunning body-hugging dress that was definitely nightclub appropriate. “It’s gorgeous,” she murmured.

Chelsea grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the store before Serena could protest. “Come on, you’re trying it on. Just for fun, and because Vegas is all about having fun and being daring, right?”

“Right,” a young, modelesque saleswoman replied with a grin before Serena could utter a word. “You only live once, so embrace the spontaneity.”

Serena refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing that the girl was angling for a sale and doing her best to convince her and Chelsea to indulge. Which wasn’t going to happen.

“Exactly!” Chelsea said, as if she and the other woman shared a brain and thought the same way. “My friend would like to try on that sparkly beige dress in the window.”

Serena shook her head. “I really shouldn't.”

“Oh, you definitely should,” the saleslady refuted as she walked over to a rack holding various sizes of the same outfit. “Because that dress was made for a body like yours.”

Before Serena could put up an argument, she was being ushered into a large changing room, along with the dress and a matching pair of designer shoes because Chelsea wanted to see how everything looked together—for fun, she insisted once again.

Serena sort of felt bad that she was taking up the saleswoman’s time when it wasn’t going to result in a sale. But as she put on the luxurious but overpriced dress, which slid over her body like it had been made specifically for her curves, and secured her feet into the surprisingly comfortable black strappy heels, then looked at her reflection in the mirror, she had to admit that she was stunned by how hot and sexy she looked.

From breasts to thighs, the material molded to her body in a way no other dress in her closet ever had. The bodice was cut into a deep vee in front that showed off her cleavage, and the top was held up by spaghetti straps that crisscrossed along her bare back so that she couldn’t wear a bra. With every move she made, the tiny champagne-colored sequins shimmered seductively, and the heels accentuated her long, toned legs. She felt like a million bucks, which was probably the equivalent of the shoes and dress put together.

“Hurry up, already,” Chelsea called out impatiently from the waiting room. “I want to see!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Serena walked out of the changing room into the sitting area, and Chelsea gasped when she saw her.

“Wow.” Her friend’s eyes widened with shock. “You look . . . just . . . wow.”

A laughed escaped Serena. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so speechless before.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in something so provocative before,” Chelsea bantered back as her gaze took in the entire outfit. “Now that is a Vegas dress, as well as an I’m-looking-to-get-laid dress.”

“Oh, definitely,” the saleslady agreed with an eager-to-make-a-sale nod. “You look so hot.”

The last thing Serena was searching for on this trip was to have a one-night stand with a stranger, which wasn’t her style, anyway. And it didn’t matter what the dress and shoes conveyed, because she’d only tried them on for fun. But as she looked at herself one more time in the full-length mirror in the waiting area, she couldn’t help but wish she could wear the outfit tonight, because she was curious if it would illicit any kind of reaction from Dylan.

Probably not, she thought with a disappointed sigh, because when Dylan looked at her, he only saw one thing. His best friend. And not the woman who was hopelessly, stupidly in love with him.

She returned to the changing room and removed the dress and shoes, and when the saleslady knocked on her door and requested the items, Serena slipped them through the crack in door, figuring the other woman wanted to get them back out on display. She finished putting on her plain, practical T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of sandals and met Chelsea out front.