Betting on Beaumont: A Brooklyn Novel #3 (The Brooklyn Series) Page 5

  Walking past her, I head into the attached kitchen where the guys have an assortment of alcohol.

  Looking around at the wine fridge and then the assorted liquor filling the kitchen island, I yell toward the foyer to Savannah, “What’s your poison, Savannah? Wine or Jack Daniels?”

  There’s a slight pause and I begin to wonder if she’s decided to be a pain in the ass and ignore me, but then I hear her respond, “Wine sounds good.”

  Bending down, I pull out a bottle of white wine and set it on the counter top. After rummaging through a few drawers I find the corkscrew and pop open the bottle.

  I grab two wine glasses from the cupboard and fill each class to the top. A night like this calls for a ‘drink-the-entire-bottle’ kind of night.

  Scooping up the glasses and dangling them between my index finger and middle finger, I walk back into the foyer. Savannah’s sitting in the chair still and staring down at her left hand…at her engagement ring. She’s lost in thought as she twists the ring on her finger that she doesn’t hear me entering the room until I’m almost to her.

  My feet were aching in those goddamn heels, so I kicked them off right alongside Savannah the second we entered the suite. I have a love-hate relationship with my heels. I love the way they look on me, but I hate the way they kill my fucking feet whenever I wear them. It’s a struggle trying to look this good.

  Stopping in front of her, I offer Savannah her wine glass. The second she stares up at me, I feel sadness stab me sharply in the heart. It kills me when she’s hurting like this. She’s my best friend in the entire world.

  When she hurts—I hurt and vice versa.

  I smile at her sympathetically, “Drink up, bestie.”

  “Thanks, girly, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Savannah says, smiling weakly at me as she takes the wine glass from my hand.

  Walking over to the chair beside hers, I fall back into it, taking extra caution not to spill my wine. I take a sip and savor the crisp flavor as it explodes against my taste buds. I close my eyes momentarily savoring the peace and quiet.

  Resting my class on my thigh, I lean into Savannah bumping my shoulder into hers as a light, airy giggle escapes my lips. “Without me, you’d probably not be in this mess. You know me, wherever I go, trouble follows.” Letting out a sigh, I lean back in my chair and allow my muscles to finally relax as I take another slow sip of my wine. “But I don’t think you have anything to be worried about, Savannah. Kayden loves you, and your past will not change that. Hell, I bet he’s fucked half of Texas, and you love him no less.”

  Choking on her wine, Savannah coughs, “Thanks for the reminder of how big of a man-whore my fiancé used to be, Brooklyn!” The sarcasm is evident in her voice but also a hint of humor. Which is all that matters to me. At least, I made her smile.

  “Hey! Sorry. I just thought it would make you feel a little better knowing that Kayden can’t be too judgmental about your past bed buddies if he wants you to be ok about his.” Which is the truth. Everyone has a past. If you love someone enough, you have to accept that their past is their past and leave it there if you want to be their future.

  “Ughhh. What the hell do I do now?”

  Resting my head on her shoulder, I struggle with how to answer that. I think truthfully that Kayden needs some space to cool off and come tomorrow everything will be okay. I think us sitting here stressing over it all won’t help anything.

  We are in Vegas. So we might as well do what everyone does when they come here.

  “Hmmm…I don’t know. We could go gamble…try to distract you until Kayden cools off?”

  “What the hell; let’s go. I’m up for some Craps. Just let me freshen up first.”

  Unfolding herself from the chair, Savannah pads across the marble floor with her wine glass in hand. She drains the contents remaining in it and then sets it down on the countertop so she can pour another glass.

  Following suit, I head into the kitchen right behind her and do the same before following her down the long hallway toward our rooms.

  “Everything’s going to be okay, S. I just know it,” I tell her, leaning against the door jamb leading into my room.

  She gives me a soft smile as she hugs her wine glass to her chest. “I hope so…he’s it for me, Brooklyn. I could never love anyone the way I love him.”

  “I know, sweetie. The same can be said for him. Everyone with eyes can see how much you two love each other. Just think—all this crazy drama will be the funny shit you laugh about when you’re seventy-five and chilling on your front porch sipping sweet tea.”

  “Ha! Here’s to hoping so,” she says, holding her glass in the air before taking a long sip from it.

  Smiling, I hold my glass up and do the same before disappearing into my room to touch up my makeup.

  Chapter 4

  -Brooklyn

  We’ve been gambling for almost a half hour—which has not gone in my favor, but it has in Savannah’s. Just when we thought the universe was against her with all the shit going on lately, it turns around and says, ‘here, have some good luck! You deserve it!’

  I sent Dixon a text on our way down to the casino to see if he had seen Kayden. I wanted to make sure him and Braxton knew what had transpired after we left their table.

  He texted right back as soon as my text finished sending. I guess they found Kayden and Shayne fighting right after we left the club. They helped break it up and took Kayden to his office in the back of Vertigo to clean up. Now they’re blowing off steam partying I guess.

  So for now Savannah and I are having our own fun.

  “Woohoo! Snake eyes!” I exclaim excitedly as I bounce beside Savannah clapping. “See! I told you gambling was a perfect idea!”

  You can feel the electric energy that fills every inch of this place as it pours out of everyone around us. We’ve gotten a small crowd of people standing around our table watching Savannah. They are like me waiting to see how long her streak is going to last.

  Beaming with a big bright smile, Savannah scoops up the dice off of the table to go for it again. She’s definitely had an improvement in her mood thanks to winning a few grand so far tonight.

  Cupping her hands around the dice, she brings them up in the air to shake the dice before tossing them, but freezes mid shake. Her eyes focus on someone behind me as she brings her hands back down to rest on the side of the table.

  “Well, well, well what do we have here? Ya ladies havin’ a streak of good luck, aye?” I hear Jax’s voice come up behind me and feel his hand come to rest on the small of my back.

  Between the alcohol floating through my blood stream and the adrenaline that is pumping through my body thanks to the gambling high I’m riding alongside my bestie, I’m feeling pretty damn good.

  I spin around bursting with excitement, wrapping my arms around his waist as I tilt my head back to peer up at him. “Yeah, Savannah is killing it! I on the other hand, lost a few grand in less than twenty minutes. So I’m living vicariously through Savannah.”

  Laughing, Savannah says, “Yeah well, I doubt this will ever happen again so I’m definitely enjoying my luck while it lasts!” Giving them an impish grin I shake the dice and blow on them for luck. “Let’s go baby!” She shouts as she tosses the dice onto the table.

  Giving us a puzzled look, Jax is asking us without having to speak, what are we doing in Vegas?

  “We came to surprise Kayden. Don’t even ask how that went, because I’d rather not relive that nightmare.” Savannah huffs out with a dramatic sigh before cheering again for yet another win.

  I notice a guy standing a few feet away with his phone out snapping pictures of us standing here talking. Savannah notices him too, before I have a chance to react she’s turning her attention back to Jax and me. With one quick movement she’s away from the front of the table and planting a quick kiss to my lips.

  I laugh against her mouth as she presses her soft, plump lips to mine. She has lost her goddamn mind and I am
loving every minute of it.

  She takes a step back with an impish grin on her face and glares over her shoulder at the asshole snapping our picture.

  I narrow my eyes at him also silently telling the asshole to go fuck off. I can’t wait to see that picture going viral. It’ll be far more entertaining than the crap they’ve been publishing lately.

  A loud, adorable giggle leaves Savannah’s mouth as she takes in Jax’s face. Seriously! It is priceless. His eyes are big, his cheeks flushed and his mouth is hanging wide open. Jax’s eyes slide from Savannah to me and back again as he tries to process what happens.

  Feeling extra frisky, Savannah turns back to the guy who’s still taking pictures and blows him a kiss and gives him a playful wink.

  “Mmm…Berry lip-gloss.” She says turning back to Jax and I.

  It’s taking everything in me to not topple over from laughter as I slip away from Jax and walk over to stand beside Savannah. I drape my arm across her shoulders and flash her an impish grin, “You sure gave him something to talk about.” I can’t help but roll my eyes at the audacity of this dude. He’s relentless! It’s like he can’t take a fucking hint that we would like to be left alone finally. He got his picture now move the fuck along. Instead he stands behind us annoyingly taking pictures continuously. The guy needs a hobby or at least a freaking girlfriend so he can find something else to do besides stalk people. “It’s been way too long girly since you graced my lips with yours!”

  Clearing his throat, Jax drags his eyes from us to the Craps table. “I believe it’s your turn again.” he says, almost in a whisper.

  Cupping the dice, Savannah takes in a deep breath and tosses the dice.

  “Oh shit!” I say under my breath as I watch her lose four-hundred dollars.

  “Crap!” Savannah curses, and leans forward resting her hands against the edge of the table. She hangs her head momentarily as she lets the loss sink in. Lifting her head back up, she gives everyone a big smile and raises her hand up giving everyone who’s stood by watching and cheering her on a big wave. “Looks like I lost my lucky streak,” she says letting out a laugh as she scoops up all of her chips. “I had fun, but now I’ll let one of y’all make a go of it. Good luck!”

  “Well, you win some you lose some, but damn Bitch, you freakin’ cleaned the place out!” My eyes take in the massive pile of chips she’s cradling. She did pretty damn good tonight. And she forgot all about the crazy drama…at least for a little bit.

  “Here let me take those for ya, Savannah. I’ll go get these babies cashed in.” Scooping her chips into his arms, Jax gives Savannah a sympathetic smile.

  I wonder what that is all about—and where the heck he’s been all night? Why wasn’t he with Kayden and the guys earlier tonight?

  “Thanks Jax.”

  “You okay?” I ask, stepping beside her as we make our way across the casino and head to the exit.

  Running her fingers through her curls, she twists a ringlet around her finger, and drops her eyes to the floor. “Yah, I just figured it’s better to walk away while I still have my winnings.” She tries to fake a smile and pretend she’s okay, but I can see straight through her. I hate seeing her like this.

  “I’ve known you almost my entire life; you should know by now that you can’t get anything past me. What happened? You went from finally relaxing and enjoying yourself, to distracted and sad within a split second.”

  “I swear, sometimes you knowing me so well can be really annoying.” She says before glancing nervously around the room. I can tell with how tense she is right now that she’s watching for Kayden. They have this weird ESP thing it’s totally crazy. But I swear it’s like she can always tell when he’s nearby. She says she can feel it in her heart this sense of him being close by. Ninety-nine percent of the time she’s right. I guess I somewhat believe it because I get that feeling sometimes with Dixon. I feel his presence before I actually see him.

  Love it so damn weird.

  “That’s why you love me, because we both can read each other better than we can read ourselves.”

  “I just wish I could rewind time and be back in Hawaii where everything was perfect. Now, it’s like my life is spinning out of control and no matter how hard I try, I can’t get things back to how they were.”

  Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I walk with her as we maneuver through a crowd of people hovering around a Black Jack table. They’re all hooting and hollering growing louder with every step we take.

  Looks like Savannah’s lucky streak has moved onto the next person. I think to myself as I watch the guy at the Blackjack table throwing his hands up in the air cheering as he wins yet again.

  I glance at Savannah before moving in front of her as we try to squeeze through the crowded area of the casino as we get closer to the exit. I’m gripping onto Savannah’s arm so that I don’t lose her in the craziness we’re walking through at the moment.

  Finally, we break through the pack of people and as soon as I spot an empty poker table, I lead Savannah over to it. Leaning against the metal railings dividing the two casino areas beside the poker table, I lean in close before speaking to make sure she can hear me over all the loud chatter.

  “Listen Savannah. Today has been a shitty day, but the nights not over. You can still find Kayden and smooth things over. He’s had plenty of time to cool off, so why don’t you stop being stubborn and just text him! You’re miserable and that won’t change until you two clear all this crap up.”

  Leaning against the railing beside me, Savannah crosses her arms over her chest. Her entire body is tense as her frustration with the entire evening reaches its breaking point. “Yah, but I know Kayden well enough to know he’s got one hell of a temper. Two hours is not enough time for him to calm his ass down and be rational. If I text him, how do I know he’ll even want to see me right now after what happened earlier with Shayne?”

  I find myself sighing with frustrating and rolling my eyes for the umpteenth time tonight. I swear to God she is going to drive me to the damn nut house before this Vegas trip is over.

  “You drive me insane, I swear to God! You two are so freakin’ stubborn, and I can’t take it anymore.” I’m done with the damn games these two are playing. Kayden’s had his time to cool off. Now it’s time for these two to talk their shit out.

  I shove my hand between the two of us with my palm up and tell her, “Give me your phone. If you won’t text Kayden, I will.”

  “Here ya go. Have at it. But I’m telling you right now he’s probably still fuming, he was just in a frickin’ fist fight with Shayne for Christ sake!”

  I shoot my eye brows up toward the ceiling and tell her firmly, “Kayden loves you. For the last two hours, I bet he’s been contemplating whether or not to text you. But you’re both so thick headed that neither of you will take the first step to clear this shit up. Don’t even get me started on Shayne; he’s lucky I didn’t kick his fucking ass for the stunt he pulled earlier.”

  Letting out a low frustrated grown, she tosses her hands dramatically into the air, “Uhhh! I swear I could kick Shayne’s ass right now! What the fuck is wrong with him anyways? Blurting my personal business out like that for the entire club to hear. I was two seconds away from cold cocking him upside the head.” She begins nervously pacing back and forth in front of me as I type the text to Kayden.

  “There! I sent a text to the jackass and told him to pull his head out of his ass and fix things with you. Now we just have to wait for him to text you back. Your relationship is more dramatic than my characters on As the Days Go By. Believe me, that’s hard to beat!”

  She stops pacing and takes the phone back from me. She glances at the screen reading my text before stuffing it back inside of her clutch. “I’d gladly take a boring life right about now over this freakin’ roller coaster of a life I’ve been living the last few months. It’s physically and emotionally wearing me out.”

  “Here ya go.” Jax says coming up to us with Savann
ah’s winnings in his hand.

  Taking the money, she pops open her clutch and squeezes it in beside her phone which has yet to off with any kind of response from Kayden.

  “Thanks, Jax. I appreciate it.” She glances from Jax over to me and lets out a small yawn, “I’m beat you guys. I think I’m goin’ to head back up to the suite and try to get some rest until I hear back from Kayden. You coming up too?” She asks directing her question at me.

  I’m far from tired. Plus, this will give me a chance to finally talk to Jax alone about Dixon. “I’m going to probably stop back into the Pink Taco to grab another drink”—I look up at Jax, “Want to join me for a quick drink and maybe some cheese fries. I’m starving.” I know cheese fries are his ultimate weakness and immediately notice his eyes light up.

  “Sure. I’m quite hungry myself. I’ve been busy the last few hours checking over Kayden’s security here making sure everything was set for the party tonight. With all these hot heads in one place and mixing alcohol into the mix you can never be too safe.”

  Savannah and I both look at each other at the same time.

  We sure as hell know that to be more true than he knows.

  “Yeah. Mixing guys who fight for a living and alcohol is pretty much a given that you’ll have some brawls.” I say letting out a soft chuckle.

  Savannah tucks her purse under her arm and pulls me in for a quick hug, “‘Night bestie, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight, S. Hope things are better for you in the morning. It’ll all blow over I just know it.”

  As soon as Savannah leaves the casino area and heads over to the elevators to go back up to Kayden’s suite, I bee-line it straight for the Pink Taco. I need a shot and some carbs to get me through this talk with Jax.

  Jax rests his hand at the small of my back as he leads me in the direction of the bar. With every step we take I feel the all too familiar nervous knot forming in my stomach. It’s there every single time I think about talking to Jax. He is so damn sweet, the last thing I want to do is hurt him. With everything I’ve been through with Dixon and then Zak, he’s been my rock through it all without me ever having to ask him.