Billionaire In Vegas

by Summer Cooper

  It was the type of relief one feels when you realize that what you have so desperately wanted and longed for has finally arrived and it is even more spectacular than you thought it could be. Shelby’s face lit up even more when she saw the tear stream down his face.

  As the minister spoke Aaron blocked out most of what was said. He was too caught up in looking into Shelby’s eyes and the amazing times they’d enjoyed together over the past six months and the wonderful times that were surely to come in the future for them.

  That night they would be heading towards their honeymoon destination—The Bahamas. Aaron had always wanted to go there and so had Shelby. Aaron had travelled fairly extensively during his fighting career, but he had not gone outside of the country except for a few fights in Mexico and Canada. He had never travelled anywhere exotic, and he was looking forward to a great getaway with the love of his life.

  The hardest thing for him and Shelby was going to be letting go of work, but he was proud of Shelby. She had worked extra hard to get caught up with all of her clients so she could take the week off for their honeymoon vacation. He admired the way Shelby worked so hard at something she was passionate about. She was so determined in everything she did and he knew there was nothing out of that woman’s grasp if she wanted it. It was great how they could just immerse themselves in their work and not see or talk to each other for hours on end, and when they came together it was like they had not even been apart.

  If someone had sat him down and explained to him when he was younger that this is what love was supposed to feel like then he wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to make it happen, and he wouldn’t have wasted so much time and made so many mistakes with women who were obviously not right for him.

  But he guessed it was all for the best. Everything he had done and everything he hadn’t done or achieved had all brought him here today. He thought about all of the what ifs in his life and how each decision—no matter how big or small—had altered his life in some beautiful way to carefully bring him to this moment at this time. It was all so perfect. He was not a deeply religious man, but at times like this he had to believe something higher than him was behind the wheel.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite Aaron and Shelby, two pure souls who have found each other according to God’s beautiful plan. At a time like this we are reminded of what it means for two people to unite themselves together and to make a pact—an eternal commitment—to each other before all of us and before God.”

  The minister’s words filled the air in a hauntingly sweet, almost musical, sing song monotone. Aaron found himself feeling faint for the briefest of moments, and then it was gone. He wondered if Shelby felt it.

  “When two people make this pact together they are forsaking the affections of all others and allowing their bodies, minds, and spirits to become one person. They will stand as one person for the rest of their Earthly days and into the afterlife where they will remain united forever. The pairing of these two children of God that you will all witness today is perhaps the greatest gift our maker gave us. It is the ability to fall in love with another and the privilege of sharing one’s life with that person. The Lord, our God did not want man to be alone. He has foreseen it and he has made it so.”

  Aaron was starting to feel that the minister was laying it all on a little thick, and as cheesy as what he was saying felt, Aaron found himself tearing up more when he realized it was a perfect analogy for the way he felt about his bride.

  Aaron thought about the plans he and Shelby had made together for the next few years. They figured they would both want a bigger house for the two of them and the children they planned on having. It was something both of them had always dreamt of—having children— and Aaron was looking forward to it more every day. They did want to take a few years and enjoy just being a free couple who could come and go as they pleased. There was a lot of the world neither of them had ever seen and they both wanted to, but eventually children were going to be in the picture.

  Aaron found it funny how when he was younger he never saw himself as a dad, or even a husband, but as the years rolled by he started feeling like there was something missing from his life. He had a lot of love to give and he had a lot of guidance to share. He felt he had gained so much knowledge about life over the past few years and he didn’t want that wisdom to go to waste. Shelby would be an amazing mother as well. She was so caring and so nurturing, once you broke down the walls she had constructed around herself to keep the world at bay. He had somehow been able to do that and once he was inside those walls he never wanted to leave. It was the perfect place to be, with the perfect woman.

  After the ceremony they partied it up at the reception. Shelby and Aaron had launched themselves out onto the dance floor. Aaron had never considered himself much of a dancer, but the spirit grabbed him and he found that he could not stop dancing. He was having too much fun and feeling way too good from the endorphin rush of getting married. As soon as the minister said to kiss the bride, Aaron had been on that high. It was all over and the nerves and excitement had built to a final crescendo that finally exploded.

  And the alcohol probably helped a bunch. Both he and Shelby drank a lot that day, but not too much—they did want to remember the wedding day, after all.

  The next morning they were on a plane heading for the Bahamas. The flight was so smooth and Aaron was so happy that they had decided to fly first class, even though it was twice as expensive. They had decided to splurge and make it happen.

  As they approached the end of their flight and they could see the Bahamas islands coming up in the distance, Shelby reached over and grabbed his hand. He turned to look at her and got lost in the beauty of her eyes.

  “I love you,” she said.

  “I love you, too.” Aaron kissed her sweetly.

  As they walked off the plane they were taken in by the culture of where they had arrived. Aaron was used to beautiful sunny weather, living in Phoenix Arizona, but he was amazed by how blue the ocean looked when you were that close to it. As they rode towards the hotel and resort where they were staying he marveled at the crystal clear, blue water that reflected the sunshine back at him. It was breathtaking to say the least.

  As far as he could see there was nothing but blue, so much so that it was impossible to tell where the sky and the water split apart. They stretched on in an endless direction of mingling blues and sunshine. As he watched this vision it reminded him of how it was a perfect metaphor for the journey that he and Shelby were embarking on.

  He was no longer alone and neither was she. They were two shades of blue that had come together at last to create their own distinct shade of blue. It was uniquely theirs and no one could ever interrupt it and nothing could ever separate the gleam from the blue.

  It was time for the next step.

  The End

  Part III

  Wild Fight

  Sports Romance

  About the Book

  “That night you slammed the door in my face, I wanted to ask you out.”

  “Sorry about that,” I said feeling ridiculous now. “It was just a shock seeing you...after...well...you know.”

  “After I deflowered you in the alley?”

  “I wasn’t a virgin!”

  “You were tight like one.”

  Reckless sex? A one-night stand? Did I really have the audacity? If someone had asked me those questions just six months ago I would have laughed in their face or blushed in embarrassment. But six months ago I hadn’t been a recently single divorcee with a chip on her shoulder large enough to carry Paris, France.

  I had no skills, no money and now no husband. What was a girl to do besides get in touch with her wild side? And so, I did. After all, I had nothing else to lose. However, I didn’t know that one night of passion would come with a price. I mean, so what he was a professional MMA fighter. I could handle him...right?

  Prologue

  “Are you leaving me, Tommy?” I tr
ied to keep the fear from my voice as I addressed my husband of five years. He looked so serene, so calm as he told me the words I thought I would never hear. He simply didn’t want me anymore. I shook my head wondering how that could possibly be. I had given so much to him, to our relationship. I had given up so much for him, as well. How could he not love me? I had done everything in my power to become exactly the woman he wanted me to be. How was that not good enough?

  He didn’t answer at first and then slowly his eyes met mine, “I’m sorry, Bree.” I didn’t say a word for a moment. I just stared blankly into his green eyes that I remembered thinking were so beautiful at one point in time. I’d thought for so many years that when he looked at me, those eyes showed an expression of love. However, now they just showed emotional exhaustion and indifference. He was tired of me. Apparently, he was done being with me. My heart started racing quickly and I tried in vain to breathe deeply in and out, while my brain raced in pace with my heart trying to come up with a way to stop my current reality. I felt as if I were having a panic attack.

  “What did I do wrong? What’s going on? Tell me and I’ll change it. You can’t just throw our marriage down the drain.” I know I sounded desperate, but I felt desperate. After all, Tommy was the only family I’d ever known.

  He shook his head and looked elsewhere, not wanting to meet my eyes. “I should leave.”

  “Leave?” I said startled as if he hadn’t already told me that was his intention. “Where are you going?”

  We were in the living room of our spacious townhouse that Tommy had bought only last year. We had agreed to move out of our luxury condo in order to start a family. The townhouse was located in an exclusive neighborhood and the school district was one of the best in the state. Not that it mattered now, I thought bitterly. Apparently that wasn’t going to be my life anymore. I was no longer going to be his wife, let alone the mother of his children. I struggled to keep my emotions in check and pushed that thought aside as tears began to pool in my eyes.

  “Out. I’m going out. I think you need some space. It’ll give you time to process everything without worrying about my presence.”

  “But that’s just it, Tommy. I do want to worry about your presence. I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose us,” I said grabbing his arm.

  “Bree---” And it was then that I knew it was really over. His voice had grown cold. He was done with this conversation. I’d heard him use that same tone before when he was firing a manager over the phone. He was done with me.

  “I’m seeing someone else. It’s pretty serious. I’m sorry to tell you this way.”

  I slowly released my grip on his arm. I hadn’t been expecting that. I had definitely not been expecting that. I went from desperate to angry in the matter of milliseconds. I had never been angrier in my life.

  “Who is she?”

  He stood up and said dismissively, “Why does it matter?”

  “Who is she, Tommy?”

  “Stop punishing yourself---”

  “Keep that pop-psychology bull to yourself and tell me who she is,” I shouted, my voice shaking in fury.

  “Bree---”

  “Who is she, goddamit?!” I said now screaming at him so loudly that my throat hurt. I got up from the table, unable to stay seated, too angry and aggravated to sit with my hands folded and pretend to be the perfect wife. I had done that for years. I had been exactly what he asked me to be. And this was my reward?

  As he gave me a look of pity, he straightened his shoulders and walked away from me. I didn’t say a word. I was too focused on thinking of the past as I watched Tommy walk away with my future. I had met Tommy when I worked as a cashier at a local grocery store and he was a manager. I had been on my own for a while since I was no longer a ward of the state having grown up bouncing from one foster care to another. So needless to say, I had been flattered by his undivided attention. He was older and I had found him to be charming and handsome. I felt he was out of my league and was surprised when he pursued me. He had been romantic, attentive and as he moved up in the company going from assistant manager, to district and then regional manager, his salary had increased and so had his sense of entitlement. I had struggled to keep up with all the lifestyle changes: the fancy cars, the fancier friends. But, I had thought, I had managed pretty well. But as he walked out of the door, I realized that I was wrong. Apparently I had failed. And now my husband was walking out of the door and out of my life. I was alone again.

  Chapter One

  “You sure you don’t mind being here tonight?” My best friend, Jacinda, had to yell over the boom of the music as we tried to find our way to the VIP room. Jacinda was wearing a crown that seemed to be in the shape of a phallic symbol and I tried my best not to stare at it. I was attending her bachelorette party and was wearing a glow-in-the-dark necklace that had a charm hanging from it that resembled a dildo. All the jewelry, and I use that word loosely, was purchased by Jacinda and was deliberately tacky. She felt it was a requirement: tacky and tasteless accessories or it wasn’t really a proper bachelorette party.

  “Of course I’m sure. Just because my ex is a cheating bastard doesn’t mean that Milton is,” I said referring to Jacinda’s soon to be husband. They’d known each other since college and frankly, I was just surprised that they hadn’t married earlier. I had met Jacinda when we had worked together at the grocery store. She had worked there part time to offset her college expenses. “Milton is hopelessly devoted to you. He’s the opposite of Tommy. In fact, I wish I had met Milton first.”

  Jacinda didn’t laugh at my poor attempt at humor, instead she studied me, concerned. “You’re taking the divorce pretty well considering...”

  “Considering that I was a blindly trusting, naive house wife whose husband screwed her over? Yep, I know.”

  “Actually, I was about to say considering that you just got divorced.”

  I shrugged. The divorce had been finalized pretty quickly. After Tommy left me, he had moved in with his mistress. He had moved on and clearly I needed to as well. He had dealt with the divorce in the same efficient manner as he dealt with everything else. He had contacted an attorney and we saw a mediator. I guess he had been concerned that I would ask him for alimony, but I wasn’t interested in living off of Tommy any more. In our divorce settlement he left me the house, hoping to makes things easier on me, he had said. I had surprised him by accepting the house and as soon as it was signed over to me, I had listed it for sale. I had no interest in staying in the home we had built together knowing that not only had he cheated, but he has also given me the house out of pity, stating that with my lack of skills it would be difficult for me to find work and he didn't want me homeless. I was done being his charity case and the sad part is that he actually thought he was being nice. It didn’t even occur to him that he was being condescending. I had surprised him more during the divorce proceedings than I had during the whole five years of our marriage. After six months, the divorce was final and I was a free woman. Part of me still hurt for the marriage I had thought I wanted. I felt as if he had stolen it from me and then I remind myself that our whole marriage was a sham and I needed to move on and stop dwelling on it. There were worst things than being alone.

  “Are you ready to party?”

  “Let’s do this.”

  Ten minutes later I wasn’t doing much of anything but feeling sorry for myself. No one had asked me to dance; no one even looked at me. It was like I was invisible. I looked down at my clothes. I was wearing tight black pants with a hot pink cropped top that also hung off the shoulders. I knew the look was very 80s, but I thought the 80s was in. I had thought that I looked reasonably hot, but maybe I didn’t know what hot was anymore. Figuring the necklace had something to do with why people were ignoring me, I subtly reached up, took it off and stuck it in my pocket.

  “Why are you pouting?” One of Jacinda’s college roommates asked me. They had shown up shortly after we had arrived. Now there were at least f
ive of us. And apparently I was the only one evidently not having a good time.

  “No one wants to talk to me. No one’s asked me to dance.” I whined and Jacinda heard me despite the volume of the music. I thought she was too busy doing shots to really notice who wasn’t enjoying themselves.

  “Just get out there and have fun. And guys don’t ask girls to dance. That hasn’t been protocol in decades.”

  “Really? I feel old.”

  Jacinda sighed, “Ashley is having a great time and you guys are the same age. Look.” She gestured to our mutual friend who was standing next to a group of guys whispering into one of their ears, leaning her ample bosom in his direction suggestively. I turned to Jacinda and said “Are you kidding me? Ashley doesn’t count. As long as men are around she’s peachy. She could be in a retirement home flirting with eighty year olds with dentures for God’s sake and still have a great time.”

  “Bree, you’re a free woman. Have some fun. Maybe you need to try reckless abandonment. Your whole vibe reads uptight. Relax.” Jacinda said while downing another shot.

  “I don’t do reckless abandonment.” I said bitterly.

  “Well you should try. Here: Have a drink.” She pushed a shot towards me. I looked at it and then I made up my mind, picked it up and tossed it back. Jacinda’s eyes widened as I said, “Alright, let’s have another one.”

  We danced. I drank. (A bit too much, I might add, but I knew my limit.) The alcohol was going to my head and I needed to slow down. I was a lightweight.

  “I’m going out to get some air. Be right back, okay?” I called to Jacinda who just nodded in response. I slowly made my way downstairs, careful to hold on to the railing. When I got to the ground floor, I walked out the back exit doors and stood in the alley next to the entrance. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the feel of the night air against my skin.