Taming Vegas Read Free

a small grin when he sees the
flash of the grandiose diamonds on the ring surrounding a heart shaped ruby. I don’t
know what I’m going to wear this thing with because I never wear red, and I’m
just not fond of rubies. If Oliver is an understanding man I might ask him if we
could exchange the ring, but he seems to think he knows best for everyone. Just
as he’s sliding into his own seat beside me, I feel a strange hitch in my
breath and turn my face towards the window.
    In that split second, I see the moroseness written all over
my face, and my eyes widen in shock. Isn’t a girl supposed to be happy the day
she’s engaged to a soon to be millionaire with parents who are already grazing
the billionaire title? I seriously need to call my mother, my father, or maybe
even my elusive sister. Maybe she felt like her life was finally over when her
husband proposed.
    Before Oliver can see the devastated look, I twist my lips
up into a wry smile and focus on all the cake I’ll get to eat in the next few
months while I’m attempting to find the perfect flavor. It doesn’t help much,
but it soothes me enough to be able to pull off giving Oliver a good night kiss
when he drops me off at my sky rise apartment complex.
    As soon as I’m through the front door and I’ve said good
evening to Turner, the doorman, I pull off my high heels and let my feet sink
into the carpet while I wait for the elevator. I know it’s unconventional, and
maybe a little gross, but I’d rather suffer from some sort of rash than suffer
another couple of minutes in these damn shoes! The little bell dings to let me
know that an elevator has arrived, and I step aside for the young couple with
clubbing clothes.
    Ignoring their glances at the huge rocks on my finger, I
step into the elevator and hit the button for my floor. With my shoes in hand
and my purse tucked under my arm, I lean against the side and hang my head.
Sometimes I just wish my brain would be quiet for a little while, but it never
seems to shut up. Not even when I’m kissing Oliver.
    There’s another reason I shouldn’t marry him. I add
it to my mental list and attempt to throw the cons up against the pros to see
if this is such a brilliant idea. I’m too exhausted to think about it for long,
and yet my mind tries to force me into it. So when I get into my apartment, I
immerse myself in the task of feeding the three felines currently twining
around my legs.
    “Relax, I’m home. I didn’t die, so there’s still someone to
feed you.” I think that’s the only reason my cats show me affection, but hey,
they’ve gotta have someone to feed them.
    Shortbread, a cream colored Siamese, gives me usual
cross-eyed gaze as he screams at me while I open up a can of kitty food. I
think it stinks, but they love it. Just as I’m finished feeding the trio, my
phone rings and my heart plummets. The only person calling me at eleven at
night would be my mother in California because currently it’s eight in the
evening there. That’s about when they finish up in the vineyards these days.
    I swipe the wireless phone from the receiver and plop down
onto one of the white, leather chairs in the living area of my apartment.
Taking a deep breath, I hit the green, blinking button and put the phone to my
ear. I don’t have time to make a squeak as my mother starts in with her usual
‘where were you’ bit.
    “I have been calling you since six this evening, Melanie
Ingles! Where have you been? It’s-” I know she’s checking a little chart they
try to keep by the phone, so they know what time it is in New York. “Three past
eleven at night!” I’m twenty three years old, and my mother still calls me
almost every night to check on me. I might not mind if it weren’t for the
simple fact she interferes with my private life a little too much.
    “I know. I was out with Oliver tonight, Mom. His parents had
a function at a hotel, and I was invited. Don’t worry, I didn’t drink and
drive, and no I