Chapter 19
Adelaide
We’re headed to see Marshmello at Encore Beach Club, located within the Encore hotel toward the north end of the strip, and although it doesn’t seem that far away, Hailey points out it’s a forty-minute walk.
It’s already ninety degrees out and us ladies are wearing wedge heels.
There’s no chance in hell we’re enduring such a trek, so now we’re all piled into three different Ubers.
I’m in the back seat with Liam on my left, Melissa on my right. Connor rides up front in the passenger seat, but it’s no coincidence he ended up in the same Uber as Liam and me. He’s keeping an eye on me, like he said he would, but it’s making me incredibly self-conscious.
“You look absolutely stunning,” Liam murmurs as he gives my thigh a squeeze, and when I turn toward him, he’s watching me with a soft, admiring gaze, like he so often does.
“Forget Cancun. I’m so much happier right here with you.
” His hand finds mine, threading our fingers together.
“I can’t imagine anything better than an ice-cold beer by a pool with you by my side, Addy. ”
“You know this is a Vegas pool party, don’t you, Liam?
” Connor pipes up from the front seat, and it’s the first sign that, yes, he’s decided he’s going to be difficult today.
“It’s going to be wild, and definitely not the peaceful kind of bliss you’re envisioning right now.
You and Addy will not be relaxing on a cabana. ”
“We’ll still have a good time,” Liam says with a squeeze of my hand. “Won’t we, Addy?”
“Absolutely,” I confirm, and I swear I catch Connor roll his eyes in the side mirror.
This is going to be a long day . . . A long weekend . . . A long lifetime, perhaps, of Connor Lexington being utterly convinced I’m marrying the wrong person. I care about him, but right now I really wish I could just tell him to fuck off—though maybe more politely than that.
Today is a new day. Last night with Liam, that was another small blip in our otherwise stable relationship.
We’re going to have a fun day together; we’re going to enjoy the sunshine and the cocktails and a DJ wearing a giant marshmallow on his head.
If I have anything to worry about today, it’s Evie—my apparent thief of a sister—and the random man in his thirties who has followed her in one of the other Ubers.
I have no idea why he wants to be around Evie after the stunt she tried to pull, and I’m not sure how much fun I’ll be able to have while overseeing what’s going on between those two, and Evie has planted a seed in my mind about Theo and Hailey .
. . So maybe I’ll need to watch them, as well.
And make sure Connor doesn’t say or do anything that will bring my private matters to light.
So, essentially, just another day in Adelaide Sinclair’s life looking out for everyone else around her and keeping things under control. Why is it always so exhausting?
Our Uber pulls up outside the grand entrance of the Encore hotel, and only moments later, the other two cars arrive.
I do notice that despite no longer being handcuffed to one another, Theo and Hailey climb out of a back seat together.
The most likely explanation is that Hailey just feels more comfortable around Theo than some of the others in the group.
After all, she’s known Theo and Evie for as long as she’s known me, which is a hell of a long time.
I’m not sure there’s anything more to it than that.
“Addy, there’s a problem,” Hailey says gravely as she immediately dashes straight to me, but any slight inconvenience is always an emergency in Hailey’s mind, so her panicked expression doesn’t concern me too much.
I grab hold of both her hands to calm her, offering a reassuring smile that whatever it is, it’s not the end of the world—because it never is. “What’s the problem?”
“The beach couch we reserved? It was only for up to four people . . .” She trails off nervously, like she’s just dropped a bomb and is now waiting for its impact.
When I don’t react with the same panic she’s obviously feeling about this realization, she explains further, “None of the guys are going to be able to get in with us like they did at the club last night.”
I laugh, because as expected, it’s not really a problem at all. Well, at least it’s not a problem for us.
“What is it?” Liam asks, his hand finding my hip as he falls back into place by my side.
“You guys are going to have to wait in the general admission line, and it’s probably going to be expensive,” I tell him, somehow managing to keep my blatant smugness out of my tone.
The guys have had an easy ride up until now, piggybacking on my bachelorette party, so it’s about time they were left to their own devices to figure things out for themselves.
“Our reservation only covers admission for us girls, so you’re out of luck. ”
Liam shrugs with an air of nonchalance. “We already knew Vegas was going to have our pants around our ankles just because we have dicks. It’s fine, babe. You go on ahead and get checked in, and we’ll meet you inside. You’ll invite us into your little VIP spot, won’t you?”
“Only if you ask us nicely.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll have lots of time waiting around in line to think of nice ways to ask,” he says, pressing a quick kiss to my temple.
After some grumbling from mostly Theo and John about having to fork out for expensive on-the-day tickets, we make our way through the Encore casino floor. The entrance for table service guests is indoors, whereas the guys have to head on back outside to join the masses in line.
“Bye, boys!” Evie taunts, blowing them a sarcastic kiss. Once they have all disappeared through the doors, she releases a long breath and leans back against the wall. “You think Jameson will survive hanging out with them?”
“Will Jameson survive? Imagine how Liam feels,” I point out. “A complete stranger has joined his bachelor party, and now they have to make small talk with him in line.”
“Imagine that, someone crashing his party,” Evie snickers, but then quickly rearranges her features into a neutral expression when I cast her a disapproving look.
Encore Beach Club has only just opened, so there’s not much of a wait to check in for our reservation.
We’re called forward, carded, put through a thorough security check—seriously, they even remove the protective cases of our phones to check for stashed drugs—and then escorted out to the pool.
I knew it would be massive, but it’s not until we’re setting our purses down on our cute little couch and gazing out over the beach club before us that we really comprehend the true scale of this place.
It’s an exotic oasis out here: three pools filled with glistening ocean-blue water, surrounded by bright palm trees and potted shrubbery and parasols, all facing a DJ booth.
There are so many different VIP tables all over the venue—cabanas, daybeds, bungalows, even cute little couches in the pools—all draped with red and orange cushions and towels.
If we didn’t have our own hostess, then there’d be four bars to choose from and even a walk-up grill for food. It’s absolutely gorgeous.
“Oh, Hailey, this is exactly what I wanted,” I gush, pushing my sunglasses down over my eyes as I collapse back onto our couch, enjoying paradise.
It’s not crazy in here yet, and there’s a warm-up DJ already in the booth for now, but I imagine once this place fills up and Marshmello hits the decks, things will get wild.
Hailey grins and says, “I’m so happy you’re happy.”
We order our first couple of bottles—some vodka and some champagne—and when the hostess returns to drop them off, Evie looks at me with pleading eyes.
“No,” I say, and she starts pouting and batting her eyelashes now. “No. You’re clearly incapable of being a law-abiding citizen when you’re drunk.”
“Don’t be that kind of sister, Addy,” Melissa chimes in, giving me a sidelong look as she pours out four glasses of champagne. “Let her drink. Can you imagine how miserable this would be, surrounded by drunk people and loud music while stone cold sober? It would be mean to put her through that.”
Evie nods in agreement with a sweet smile, and I sigh.
“Fine, but I’m counting,” I say, pointing two fingers at my eyes and then at her. It takes only a nanosecond for her to claim a champagne flute from Melissa with a gleeful smirk.
The first hour whizzes by, mostly because we’re snapping nice photos of each other for our Instagram feeds and working our way through a second bottle of champagne so that we’ve got a good head start on the guys.
Liam keeps me updated on their progress in line via text, and it sounds brutal out there.
Secretly, I kind of hope they don’t make it inside anytime soon, because I’m enjoying my first taste of how this weekend should be—just me and my girls and overpriced alcohol.
When Melissa and Evie dash off to the restrooms, I stretch out beneath the protective shade of the parasol above us and push my sunglasses up into my hair, my gaze wandering to Hailey.
“Did anything happen last night?” I ask gently, and then for the avoidance of any doubt, I clarify, “With Theo?”
Hailey’s face scrunches. “What? No,” she says sharply. “What happened with you and Liam? I heard you guys had a little tiff. Everything okay?”
“Oh, that was nothing,” I say dismissively, quickly nudging my sunglasses back down over my eyes. “You know how it is when everyone’s had too much to drink. Patience wears thin when someone spills a vodka cranberry down your shirt.”
“Look what we found!” I hear Melissa’s voice weave through the music.
Hailey and I turn around, picking her out from the thickening crowd of glamorous partygoers, and she and Evie stride toward us with delighted grins and a pack of men in tow they have somehow claimed in the five minutes they have been gone.