“Elizabeth. You look wonderful as usual. And this is your entourage?”

She smiled and introduced all of them one by one to Sebastian. “And this is our bride-to-be, Jenna.”

“Ah, congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. It’s been fifteen years for me and my lovely wife, Vita.”

“How wonderful for you,” Jenna said.

“Is Vita here tonight?” Liz asked.

Sebastian shook his head. “No, she’s home with the children. She’ll be sorry she missed you. And where is your husband?”

“He’s in Las Vegas attending the bachelor party with Jenna’s fiancé.”

Sebastian laughed. “Gambling, yes?”

“Yes. And drinking.”

“Then I’m glad you chose to come here. I’ll make sure you have a good time tonight. Enjoy.”

After their drinks came, Liz turned to them. “Well, what do you think of the place?”

“I think it’s fantastic,” Tara said. “Such a great choice.”

Jenna took a couple deep swallows of her rum concoction, then grabbed Savannah’s hand. “Come on, ladies. What I think is we should be on the dance floor.”

“Oh, Jenna. Wait. You forgot your veil.”

Jenna paused and narrowed her gaze at Tara. “You did not do this to me.”

“Oh, we definitely did,” Alicia said. “You can’t be a bachelorette without having a little fun, and doing a little work. We have a sash for you, and a veil. And we have a bride-to-be to-do list for you tonight.”

“I’m going to kill you. All of you.”

“Yeah, you can do that later. After you check off every item off the list,” Alicia said, handing the list to Jenna.

Jenna perused the list, then looked up at them. “You all suck.”

“And don’t forget, I’ll be here to take pictures. Lots of pictures.”

Jenna glared at Liz. “You suck the most.”

“That’s what Gavin says.”

“Oh, my God, Liz. Does it ever stop?”

Liz laughed. “No. I do enjoy torturing you.”

This was going to be fun. Cheesy, but oh-so-much fun.

* * *

Two hours later, Jenna had obtained a condom from a stranger, had gotten a guy’s cell phone number, one guy had gleefully given up his boxers to her, one had bought her a drink, one had danced with her, another had let her take a pen and draw a tattoo on his hand, and one had offered up a photo of his girlfriend. A very charming man had even let her call his girlfriend—and the girlfriend had been a really good sport about it once Jenna had explained it was her bachelorette party and she was totally in love with her own fiancé.

Despite being reluctant about the list at first, after a few drinks and the number of shots these guys were buying her, Jenna was totally drunk and fully into completing the tasks.

Which meant Liz was glad she was stone-cold sober and staying glued to Jenna’s side. Savannah and Alicia were off on the dance floor with Tara, who’d also decided to drink on the light side tonight, so at least she had some help, because Alicia and Savannah were feeling no pain. Jenna had warned them about those fruity, fancy rum drinks, but did they listen? No. They were currently swaying on the dance floor, holding on to each other, their once perfect hairstyles now droopy and flat.

They were adorable. Tara was snapping pictures and laughing as she danced around them, and doing a fine job of glaring at any men hoping to take advantage.

Good for her.

Sebastian had also stationed a couple of the bouncers nearby, so Liz knew her group was safe from anyone thinking to take advantage of her loopy friends tonight.

Jenna, meanwhile, blinked, frowned at her list, and bumped into Liz. “Whas thiz one say?”

She loved being sober when her friends were blitzed. “It says you have to kiss a bald man on the head.”

“Oh, I can do that one easy sleazy, man.” Jenna flipped around and lost her balance. Liz grabbed her.

“Okay, go find a bald guy.”

“On my way.” Jenna weaved her way in and out of the crowd, Liz right behind her. Then she turned around and bumped into her.

“Oh, there you are, Liz.”

“Need something?”

“Yeah. What am I doing?”

“Looking for a bald guy so you can kiss his head.”

“Oh, yeah. On it.” This time, she wandered off in the opposite direction.

Shaking her head, Liz pivoted and followed. When Jenna stalled in the middle of the dance floor, Liz grabbed her arm.

“How about I help you out?”

Jenna frowned. “With what?”

She could tell this game was winding down. “Bald guy?”

“Oh, yeah. Nope, I’m totally in control here.” She pushed her way out of the crowd of dancers and made her way to the bar, where there was a gorgeous and very bald dude leaning against it.

Jenna leaned against the bar. “Hey there, hot stuff. Can I kiss your head?”

“Excuse me?” The guy’s girlfriend didn’t seem too keen on the idea, for obvious reasons.

Liz said. “Bachelorette party to-do list. Totally harmless, I promise.”

“Oh,” the woman said with a grin. “I remember when I had to do all that shit. Hideous, but fun at the same time.”

Liz nodded.

“Your friend looks shitfaced,” the girl said.

Liz laughed. “Pretty much. I think we’re going to wrap it up if your guy here gives the okay.”

“Fine with me if my wife says yes.”

The woman leaned forward and looked at Jenna. “Go for it, honey.”

Liz got out her camera as Jenna kissed the top of his head. She got the shot and thanked the couple, then took Jenna by the hand.

“You about ready to call it a night?”

“Hell, no. I’m ready for another drink.”

Liz rolled her eyes. Oh, Lord. This was going to be a long-ass night.

* * *

Gavin got his second card from the dealer.

A six, which gave him twelve.

What the fuck. A twelve? How could he keep getting such shitty hands?

“Dude,” was all Ty said next to him. At least he commiserated.

Gavin flicked his fingers to take a card. He had to hit on the twelve. He had no choice.

He pulled a nine from the dealer and grinned.

Twenty-one.

The dealer ended up with eighteen and Gavin raked in winnings.

“You lucky sonofabitch,” Mick said, setting down his bet for the next hand. “Who the fuck pulls a twenty-one out of a twelve?”

“I just did.”

They played several rounds, and after that one winning hand, Gavin’s luck changed. When the dealer reshuffled the deck, Gavin cashed out, figuring he wouldn’t press his luck. He and Mick moved over to the craps tables. They both did well there, so Ty and Garrett joined them along with Ty’s friends from his hockey team, Eddie Wolkowski and Victor Putinov.

“Too bad Cole can’t be here,” Gavin said. “He loves to gamble.”

“Yeah, well, he has a game tomorrow and I have a bye this week, so he’s shit out of luck,” Mick said with a smile as he tossed the dice across the table.

Everyone surrounding the table cheered as the numbers came up a win.

“But I’m in the luck,” Mick said with a wide grin.

It had been a good day. They’d gone to the shooting range earlier in the day. Nothing like firing off some machine gun rounds in a controlled environment to let off a little aggression. It turned out Victor was the most accurate. Ty had accused him of spending time in the Soviet military. Victor laughed and told them he used to hunt rabbits and that’s why he was such a good shot, though he didn’t need machine guns to take them down.

Then they’d headed over to the raceway and driven some very expensive cars. Gavin had chosen the Ferrari, which had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There was nothing like having all that power in his hands as he’d fired it up and taken it around the curves at the Las Vegas raceway. It had been a thrill not only to drive the car, but to watch the other guys drive the cars they’d chosen. Impressive machines, and a lot of fun.

Spending tonight gambling was more relaxing. It was nice to have an easy night just hanging with the guys and cutting loose. Guys didn’t need glitz and glamour to have a good time. Gavin just wanted to make sure Ty was having fun, and from the pile of chips in front of him and the wide grin on his face, he seemed to be having a blast.

They hit the poker room later in the evening, drank several beers, and played well into the night. Gavin had given Ty a choice of gambling or hitting the clubs.

“I spend a lot of time in Riley’s Club with Jenna,” he said. “Lots of music and dancing and we always have a really good time. If I want to hit a club, I’ll do it with my woman. Let’s gamble.”

It had been a good choice. This was quiet: just the guys, their beers, and their cards. Understated, and fucking perfect.

He sat in the sports book room and took a look at the betting, more or less to take a breather.

Mick joined him. The waitress came over and Mick ordered a soda while Gavin ordered another beer.

“Making bets on some of the games?” Mick asked.

“Nah. Just looking at the lines.”

The waitress brought their drinks.

“How’s Nathan doing?” Gavin asked.

“Good. He’s finishing up finals and coming home next week. I can’t wait to see him.”

“Me, too. He’s changed a lot since you and Tara first got together. He’s a man now.”

Mick laughed. “Yeah. He was just a kid when I first met Tara. A little unsure of himself, but still, he knew what he wanted. And now he’s the damned quarterback at the University of Texas. His freshman year and they took the Big 12 Championship.” Mick took a long swallow of soda with a smile on his face.