“You think you’re gonna just waltz in here and get your way?” he sneered.
“Is there a problem, gentlemen?” the dealer asked.
Finn knew any minute some sort of casino security would be approaching. Looking at his brother, he quietly stated, “You can either give me my keys or I will tell security you stole my car. Considering my name is on the registration and insurance cards, it won’t be hard to prove. Your move.” And with a smug smile, he waited.
As predicted, two security officers approached. “Let’s take this away from the table, please,” one of them said, and as Finn stood, Dave glared at him.
“There’s no problem, sir,” Dave said stiffly.
But that wasn’t enough for Finn. “Keys, Dave.”
“Obviously, I don’t have them on me, Finn. They’re up in my room.”
“Then I guess that’s where we’re going.” He turned to thank the security officers when Grace came running over.
“Oh, my gosh, Finn! You’re never going to believe this! Look!” She was tugging on his arm and he saw a bucket in her other hand. “I won! I won! I was playing the quarter slots and I won five hundred dollars!!” Then she hugged him hard and he didn’t have a choice but to hug her back. “I can’t believe it! Isn’t it exciting?”
Finn noticed his brother staring at him with a smirk, and the two security officers were still standing close by. “Um…Grace?”
She pulled back and looked up at him again. “Yeah?”
“I was just about to get my keys back from Dave, so…”
“Oh! I’m sorry! I totally wasn’t thinking!” Turning, she looked at Dave and gave him a hard stare. “You’re a real jerk, you know that?”
Dave’s eyes went wide. “Uh…what?”
“You heard me! You. Are. A. Jerk. How could you steal your brother’s car and leave him stranded like that?”
“You stole this man’s car?” security guy number one asked.
“Um…”
“He did!” Grace cried, pointing at Dave. “He totally did and left him stranded in Carson City!”
The security guys looked at Dave and then to Finn. “Is this true?”
Dammit. He really was only bluffing about telling security about the car thing, but now that Grace had put it out there…
“Wait,” Dave said, holding up a hand and looking at Grace. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Grace Mackie, a friend of Finn’s, and I think you’re a really crappy guy, Dave, for what you did!” She was at least eight inches shorter than Dave and right now, she reminded Finn of one of those scrappy little dogs who didn’t realize how small they were.
Finn reached out and put a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her back. “Easy there, killer. Can you…can you please give us a minute?”
Grumbling under her breath, she stepped aside, and Finn addressed the security guys first. “This is my brother, and yes, he did take my car and left me stranded in Carson City. I came here to simply get it back from him and go. I wasn’t looking for any trouble.”
“Do you want to press charges?” security guy number two asked.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say yes, but he knew it would only make him look like the bad guy. “I don’t think so,” he forced himself to say. “I just want the keys.”
“Fine. Whatever,” Dave said. “I just need to go get them. I’ll meet you back here.”
It was funny to see the serious security guys smirk along with him.
“Nice try, Dave. I’m going with you.” Then he looked to the officers and said, “Actually, I think we’ll all be going with you.”
They nodded in agreement.
“You’re such an ass, Finn,” Dave grumbled as he turned and walked away.
They all went to follow when another call for security must have come in because security guy number one said, “Sorry, sir. You’ll have to handle this family dispute yourself,” before they headed toward the far end of the casino.
By the time Finn turned back to his brother, Dave was gone. “Son of a bitch!”
Grace looked around and shouted, “He went that way!” and took off after him, leaving Finn no choice but to follow.
They wove their way through the crowds with coins falling out of her bucket, but it was nearly impossible to see which way Dave had gone. After several minutes of searching, he reached out to Grace and stopped her. “He’s gone.”
“No, he’s not. Let’s go to the front desk, find out what room he’s in, and go there! We can reach out to security again to make sure he can’t leave,” she said firmly. “Now come on!”
She was definitely a little spitfire, and Finn did exactly as she asked. They were both breathless by the time they got to the front desk and he took a minute to compose himself before speaking.
“I’m looking for Dave Kavanagh’s room, please.”
The attendant smiled at him and said, “I’m sorry, sir. We can’t give out that information.”
It took every bit of self-control not to dive over the desk at her.
“Can you at least confirm he is a guest here?” Grace chimed in. “We have a bit of a situation here–he stole our car, and we chased him here from Carson City. Security was supposed to escort us to his room, but he took off before they could.”
“Oh my,” the clerk said, typing furiously on her keyboard. She frowned and looked at the two of them. “I’m sorry. There’s no Dave Kavanagh staying with us.”
“Are you sure?” Finn asked. “It’s Kavanagh with a K.”
She nodded. “I tried it with both a C and a K, and there’s no listing for a Dave or David Kavanagh.”
Something in the way she said that made him stop and think. Feeling his entire body tense up again, he asked, “How about Finn Kavanagh? Does he have a room?”
She nodded. “Yes. There is a Finn Kavanagh who checked in this morning.”
Whipping out his license, he showed it to her. “I’m Finn Kavanagh, and I’d like a key to my room.”
“What?!” both Grace and the clerk cried in unison.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think to check my credit cards last night after he left! I was so concerned about the car that it was all I could focus on.” He skimmed the contents of his wallet, and, sure enough, his American Express card was gone.
“Sir, I can’t just give you a key to a room you didn’t pay for.”
Leaning forward, he studied her name badge and did his best to stay calm. “Julie,” he began, “may I speak to your manager? Please?”
“Finn,” Grace said, her hand on his arm. “What are you doing?”
“Taking control of the situation. I’m done being played. This has gotten completely out of hand. He thinks he’s so damn smart. Well, this time, I will press charges.”
“Look, I am all for putting your brother in his place, but…this could get really complicated.”
“Things are already complicated, Grace!” he snapped. “He stole my car, my credit card, and God knows what else! This ends now!”
“Mr. Kavanagh, I’m Mitchell Roberts, one of the managers here at Park MGM. How can I help you?”
It took close to an hour, and by the time they were done, Finn’s voice was hoarse, and all he had to show for it was a room at the Park MGM, a canceled credit card, and no car. His brother had left, but now there was a police report about the entire incident. The management had comped them a room for the night, and as he sat down on the corner of the bed, he looked over to where Grace was standing by the window looking down at the Strip.
Finn had tried to reason with both the manager and Grace that they didn’t need a room because they weren’t staying. But then she’d looked at him with her big blue eyes and her bucket of coins, and he’d caved.
And even if he hadn’t at that point, when Mitchell Roberts offered them discounted tickets to see Lady Gaga, it was the point of no return.
They were staying in Vegas tonight.
They were sharing a room in Vegas toni
ght.
And when she turned and smiled at him, one thing was certain–he was in big trouble in Vegas tonight.
4
Little black dress? Check.
Painfully cute new stilettos? Check.
The promise of an epic night to forget how crappy her life currently was? Super check!
To say Grace was excited about this unexpected detour was an understatement. She knew Finn wasn’t thrilled about it, but she thought tonight would be good for him too. He needed a bit of a distraction after the day’s events. If they had left after the lengthy discussion with the hotel manager and filing the police report, he would have obsessed about it for the next several legs of the drive. Of course, there was a very real possibility he was going to do that anyway, but for tonight she was hoping he’d be able to relax a bit and have a good time.
Getting the room had seemed too good to be true. Finn had offered to get one of his own, but she reasoned with him that there were two beds. They were going to run all around town until they were exhausted and were only going to sleep there for one night. Plus, she’d explained how much they’d already been through together in their short acquaintance and how sharing a room wouldn’t be any big deal.
Luckily, he believed her. The more she thought about it, however, she wasn’t quite so sure.
Checking her reflection one last time, she whispered, “Too late to change your mind now.”
Stepping out of the bathroom, Grace found him standing by the window, staring down at the Strip like she had earlier. It was a great view, and it was hard not to stand there and just take it in. He didn’t turn around and Grace took a moment to admire the view.
Of Finn, not the Strip.
They had gone shopping earlier for dressier clothes and now he was wearing a pair of black trousers and a slate gray dress shirt. She had been right about his physique. He was lean and wiry, and with the way the shirt hugged him, she could see he was muscular too. Her mouth went a little dry and she had to force herself to look away. Those months of abstinence were really starting to catch up to her right about now.
Clearing her throat, she walked over to the window. “Great view, huh?”
Finn nodded but didn’t look at her.
“Okay, I know you’re disappointed, and again, if it weren’t for me, you’d be on your way home.”
“Grace…”
“But I want you to know I did this as much for you as I did for me.”
He turned his head and looked down at her; his eyes were so dark and intimidating that they were almost black. “What?”
She let out a small breath. “Look, if we had left earlier, we would have gotten in the truck, and with nothing else to do but watch the road, you would have obsessed over everything Dave did.”
“I don’t see how…”
Holding up a hand to silence him, she went on. “And you have every right to do it, Finn, but I think you need to take a little break from the norm right now. The situation with your brother is still going to be here when we get on the road again tomorrow, but for tonight…” She shrugged. “Tonight, let’s pretend you don’t have a douchey brother and I don’t have a cheating ex, okay? For tonight let’s just be Finn and Grace, who are going out for a fabulous dinner and seeing a great show…”
“I’m not really a fan…”
“Uh-uh-uh,” she interrupted. “Do not ruin this for me. That woman has a voice like an angel and it’s going to be amazing so just…shush!”
He chuckled, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Fine. So, we’re going out for a fabulous dinner, seeing a great show, and…what else?”
“We’re going to end the night by hanging out in the casino for a bit and seeing if I can score another win and then, after a nightcap, we’ll come up here and sleep way better than we did last night because this room is amazing.”
“That is the truth,” he said, grinning. Studying her for a long moment, he reached out and touched her arm. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Because you’re right. I would have been miserable and distracted if we left earlier, and it wouldn’t have been safe. And while I’m not so sure this is going to be as exciting as you seem to think it’s going to be…”
“Don’t ruin it…”
He laughed softly again. “I’m still glad we’re doing this, so…” He held out his arm to her. “Shall we?”
Hooking her arm through his, she smiled up at him. “We shall.”
They had opted to stay in the hotel for dinner–and for everything tonight–and even though she knew it made sense, there was so much out there on the Strip she wanted to see! Was it a mistake to accept the tickets to the show and do everything in-house?
Alone in the elevator, Finn turned to her. “You okay? You look like you’re thinking pretty hard about something.”
Why deny it? “I don’t know. I think I’m having buyer’s remorse.”
“What do you mean?”
Turning, she leaned her shoulder against the elevator wall. “There are dozens of hotels and casinos on the Strip! Hundreds of places we could eat!”
“I don’t think it’s that many…”
“And I went and locked us into this one singular hotel on our one and only night in Vegas!”
Part of her wished he’d say they could stay longer, but she knew he wouldn’t. Finn was definitely a man with a schedule and a to-do list that was probably a mile long. There was no way he was going to do something spontaneous–especially not with the situation with his brother still lingering.
Now she hated Dave even more.
“We can totally go someplace else to eat, Grace. There are a lot of places within walking distance and we have plenty of time before the show.”
And she knew that he only agreed to the show because she had made such a big deal out of it. That was the kind of guy Finn Kavanagh was apparently. He’d already sacrificed so much for her sake–and she kind of was the reason he didn’t get his keys back from his brother. That had been bothering her all afternoon. If she hadn’t come over at that point, he would have left with Dave, gotten his keys and…
He’d be gone by now.
And she’d be alone.
Time for a new plan, she thought.
“If you could do anything you wanted to do tonight–go anywhere you wanted to go, eat anywhere you wanted to eat–what would you do?”
He gave a casual shrug–like he always did–before saying, “I don’t know. I’ve been here a couple of times before and seen most of the hotels and casinos, so…there isn’t really anything I feel like I haven’t seen or done that I wanted to.”
Rolling her eyes, she gave him a slight shove. “Oh my gosh! Could you stop being the most neutral and boring person on the planet?”
“What?” he demanded.
“You!” she cried. “You just constantly go with the flow, don’t make a scene, accept all the crap life throws at you! Do you ever just do something spontaneous, Finn? Do you ever just say screw it and do something just because it’s fun and not because there is some practical purpose to it?”
His expression grew fierce. “You don’t know anything about me, Grace. Don’t go making assumptions.”
“I’m not! Everything I’ve witnessed about you and everything you’ve told me about yourself is what I’m basing this on! You took this road trip with your brother because you were hoping to bond with him–not because it was a fun thing to do! You’re only staying here for the night because I bulldozed you into it! And you’re willing to go see Lady Gaga in concert because I want to! Admit it!”
He sighed loudly but didn’t look the least bit put out–the expression was still fierce, but other than that, nothing changed. “I’ll admit it’s not my top pick–or even my tenth pick–of shows I’d see, but then again, I’m not really a show kind of guy.”
Now she turned and leaned her back against the wall and was about to say more when the elevator doors slid open. Once they were walking across the lobby, she
tried again. “So, you’re not a show kind of guy. That’s fine. Then what kind of guy are you? Do you like steaks or burgers for dinner? Do you prefer to go to a nice restaurant or a bar? Beer or wine? Slots or blackjack? Would you ride the roller coaster at the top of the hotel down the street or is the High Roller observation wheel more your speed? Would you do the zipline over at the Rio?” She let out a low growl when he wasn’t reacting at all. Tugging his hand, she made him come to a halt. “Do any of those things appeal to you at all?”
He stepped in close, and for a minute, he looked pretty intimidating. Grace swallowed hard and looked up at him.
“I’ve done all of those things, and yeah, they’re fun, but been there, done that. If you want to do those things, then just say so and we’ll do them.” And then his neutral, easy-going manner was back. “We’re here for you tonight. Not me. So if you want to experience all those things, then we will.”
And for some reason, she wanted to make it her life’s ambition to watch this man lose control and have fun–to see him loosen up and unclench a bit. Tonight was already supposed to be a distraction for him. But now she was determined to experience as much as she could with him so when he looked back at this time he wouldn’t be thinking about all the ways his life had gone wrong; he’d remember how for one night, he’d had the best and most exciting time.
Maybe somewhere in the back of Grace’s mind she thought she was doing a good thing, but the reality was that Finn was exhausted and he had really been looking forward to the quiet and somewhat boring original plans they made for the night.
If they had opted to call it quits after Gaga took her final bow, he would have been happy.
And, not that he’d ever admit it, but he really enjoyed the show.
After they’d walked out of the theater, Grace was a woman on a mission. She’d dragged him through the casino and out the door onto the Strip and hadn’t stopped since. Now they had ridden the roller coaster, ate multiple desserts because–according to Grace–they were adults and they could, and now she was happily walking toward the High Roller. Part of him realized she had no idea what that really was because it was definitely not a thrill ride. It took thirty minutes to do a full rotation, so…yeah. Speed had nothing to do with this particular ride.
Drive Me Crazy: Road Tripping Series Page 6