Oh, Emma did. This could work. There were so many ways this could work.
"I don't know how private jets work, but could Chase book a private jet?" Sabrina asked.
"I think so?"
"Penthouse room at some fancy hotel costs a lot of money. Get reservations at an expensive restaurant with lobsters and pricey bottles of wine. Oh!" Sabrina's eyes lit up. "Gambling! If you need to get rid of some extra money, just take Chase with you to the casino and lose it at the roulette table or something. Super easy!"
Emma couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face. "This is a good idea. I think we could make this work."
Sabrina rolled her chair over to Emma and grabbed her friend's hands. "Please, for me and every other woman who thinks Chase Warwick is hot, please spend all your money on ways to enjoy Chase Warwick that the rest of us can only fantasize about."
Emma rolled her eyes. "He's just a friend."
"I'm a friend and I would drink the most expensive wine and lose a ridiculous pile of money on roulette with you, and I would enjoy it as your friend." Sabrina leaned closer. "But imagine what kind of enjoyable activities you could have with a big pile of cash and Chase Warwick, who, let's be honest, is much hotter than me."
"That's not true. You're hot."
Sabrina let go of her hands and dramatically rolled back to her desk. "I'm not as hot as Chase Warwick and we both know it. So just promise me you'll have fun with him in Las Vegas."
"Sabrina—"
"Promise me," her friend said with a scathing look.
"I promise?"
"Yes, that's the spirit!" Sabrina turned to her desk and opened up her laptop. "Also, I don't want to do story time today."
Emma turned and smiled as her laptop came to life in front of her. She honestly felt better now that Sabrina knew about Nana's will and the whole situation she found herself in with Chase. And she had to give Sabrina credit — Vegas was a great idea.
So if she had to handle a particularly loud group of toddlers at story time, it wasn't so bad. Emma wasn't hiding the truth from her friend anymore.
She also had a plan that she couldn't wait to get home and tell Chase about it.
Chapter Seventeen
"Chase!"
Emma had almost tackled him with her enthusiasm when he walked in the door after a long day on set earlier this week. But he was still willing to go along with her enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. He liked this change in their relationship.
"Vegas!"
He kissed her neck right under her earlobe, which he had learned was something she liked. "What about Vegas?"
"It's genius!" She pulled away for a brief moment and kissed him. "Vegas, this weekend, spending lots of money. You know you want to."
He did want to spend some cash in Vegas and he wouldn't mind spending some cash with Emma. He also knew she was right and it was genius.
But there was also something bittersweet about it. It would easily get them to the end of this challenge, she could go on her way with her inheritance and forget Chase, and he could get back to his normal Hollywood life.
It was the perfect way to finish this.
Except as he sat in the departure building fortheir private plane at the airport in Burbank, he started to feel a little bit of sadness creeping in. He tried to talk himself out of it because seriously, how could anyone be disappointed by Vegas? But leaving Las Vegas when this was all over probably meant leaving Emma behind.
This weirdness started with a challenge from Nana when she asked him to help her out with her final wishes, but it had become so much more to Chase. There were moments when he thought Emma felt the same way, when there was something in her eyes that made him think that she wasn't looking forward to the end of this, or maybe she wanted some sort of reassurance that the end of the challenge wouldn't be the end of them.
That she truly meant something to him, and Chase truly meant something to her.
But then there would be times when he would catch her looking at real estate listings on her phone. It would be nothing fancy, of course. That wasn't Emma. But it would be a cute place tucked away in Santa Monica or a condo near the beach. Whatever it was, it wasn't his guest house.
