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“I like it.” He took her hand and started walking back toward the lodge. “But if you want to see the sunrise, we should probably get an early dinner and then an early night.”
“Mind reader. We need to get to bed early because I don’t plan on letting you sleep anytime soon.”
~ ~ ~
It was late afternoon by the time they reached Vegas. Xander looked over at Tori, who was still studying the leaflets they’d picked up when they stopped at the visitor center earlier.
“Have you decided where you want to stay?”
She crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. “I have no freaking idea! I think I’m overloaded on tourist info. What about you? Have you been here before? Do you have any ideas?”
He smiled to himself as he turned the old truck onto The Strip. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this. In fact, give me a minute while I decide if I really am going to suggest it.”
He had to laugh when she tugged on his sleeve. “Now you have to tell me! Even if you decide you don’t want to do whatever it is, you have to tell me. I might die of curiosity if you don’t.”
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t even joke about dying on me, you hear me?”
He regretted his tone as soon as he’d said it, but he couldn’t take the words back.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it. I just…”
He squeezed her hand again. “Sorry, sprite. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I guess I don’t have much of a sense of humor about that. You know, with my parents, and with teammates who didn’t make it…” He shrugged. “But anyway, I’ll put you out of your misery – even now, I can’t believe I’m doing this to myself. What I was thinking is that we should stay at The Venetian, and I’ll take you on a gondola ride.”
The way she squealed moved them right past the awkward moment and put the smile back on his face.
“They have gondola rides?”
“I may live to regret telling you about it, but yes, they do. I think you’ll love it.”
“I know I will! This is awesome! Thanks, Xander.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “I need to do more for you. You’ve been so awesome putting up with all my stupid stuff…”
“Hey, it’s not stupid. None of it’s stupid. And you need to remember that it’s all my choice. If I didn’t want to do any of it, I wouldn’t. I do it because I enjoy seeing you happy.”
She scooted closer to him on the bench seat and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Well, thank you, I love it. But I enjoy seeing you happy, too. So, I’m going to think about what I can do more of for you.”
He chuckled. “It’s all good.” He caught hold of her hand and brought it over to cover the front of his pants. “You already do plenty to keep me happy.”
When they arrived at The Venetian, Xander was impressed that the valet who took the keys for the truck didn’t bat an eyelid. He’d had far too many experiences where people looked down their noses at him and his teammates, seeming to think that they couldn’t afford to be in higher end places.
He took Tori’s hand as they made their way to the front desk. She was just as curious and enthusiastic as ever. She looked all around, taking everything in as they walked.
“It’s way nicer than I expected; I’ve never been to Vegas before.”
He was glad that there was no line at the desk. He’d been to Vegas often enough, though he didn’t have many stories he’d want to share with her about his previous visits.
“Do you want me to get it?” she asked, wide-eyed when the girl behind the desk told them the price for a suite for the night.
“That’s okay. I’ve got it,” he told her as he handed over his card. It was a new one on him to be with a woman who he knew could cover any costs they might incur just as easily as he could. He liked it.
When they checked into the suite, he leaned against the wall as he watched her wander around with a big smile on her face.
“This is awesome! I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I guess I only ever thought of Vegas as being big and busy and …” She shook her head. “Nothing like this.”
“I think the thing with Vegas is that it can be whatever you want it to be. You can come on a budget or spend a fortune.”
She came back to him and rested her hands on his hips. “You mean, like you just did?”
He leaned down to kiss her. “It’s not a big deal, is it? We both know how fortunate we are in that respect. I don’t get stupid with it – I wouldn’t normally splurge like this just for the hell of it. But this is different. This is you and me.” He smiled. “If you want to look at it that way, it’s kind of like our honeymoon.”
