"I'm going to need more pool time," Ginny said, peering toward the windows. "It will start getting cold so soon at home."

"I know," Jen moaned. "How did it get to be September already?"

"Okay, so shopping, botanical gardens, and pool time," Eric said, looking down at his watch. "We better get a move on it then. That's a lot of stuff to fit into one afternoon."

The shopping at our casino was pretty awesome. I have no idea how they managed to fit an entire mall in there with everything else that was in the building. At the Michael Kors store, I stared around at the accessories in awe. There was a silver bag that I couldn't keep my eyes off. I wanted that purse more than I'd ever wanted a purse in my life.

But when Nate offered to buy it for me, I was horrified. I did not let guys do things like that.

"No," I told him firmly. "I mean, thanks, but no."

"It's a gift, Annie," he said, shaking his head with that amused glint in his eyes. "It's not a huge deal."

"It is," I told him. "I've only known you for a few days, and that bag is really expensive."

He merely shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you want," he said.

After a few hours, even Ginny had had enough of shopping. Kiki was eager to check out the botanical gardens, but the rest of us were feeling pretty rough and decided to go straight to the pool. I realized that I wasn't the only one nursing a hangover.

"Oh, man," Ginny said, as a waiter brought her a giant pink and white concoction with an umbrella. "This looks incredible." She took a deep gulp and moaned. "So good."

"What is it?" I asked, looking at the drink with interest.

"A Miami Vice," the server replied. "Half pina-colada, half strawberry daiquiri."

"Yeah, we'll need a couple more of those," Jen said. The waiter smiled and went off to get our drinks.

A few moments later, stretched out on the lounger with a Miami Vice in my hand, my headache was totally forgotten. "This is heaven," I said to no one in particular. "Seriously, if you lived here how would you ever get anything done?"

"It's pretty hot though," Jen said, wiping at her forehead. "I mean, we're just laying around and I'm already sweating. My hair is getting messed up."

Under my sungla.s.ses, I rolled my eyes. Cla.s.sic Jen.

A few minutes later, I was regretting my internal mocking of her. It was really hot. "Ugh, I'm all sticky," I said after I had drained the last of my drink. "I think I need to hop in the pool."

"I'll go with you," Nate said lazily.

I walked over to the edge and contemplated the water. It probably wasn't too cold, not with the sun beating down like this.

Before I could out-think myself, I jumped right in. I swam under the water for a few minutes, luxuriating in the feel of the cool liquid against my heated skin.

When I resurfaced, Nate was standing right next to me in the water, grinning.

"You're not like other girls, Annie Duncan. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Multiple times," I said drily.

"Do you know how many girls I know that would refuse to jump in a pool because they're too scared of getting their hair wet?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a girly girl," I told him, feeling slightly defensive, though I couldn't tell why. "Sorry if that disappoints you."

He grabbed me around the waist, pulling me close to him. "I love it," he said softly, before kissing me.

I knew that my friends were probably sitting there watching me, probably coming up with more ammunition to tease me with. I tried to pull back, but the insistency of Nate's lips kept me locked in place. Finally, I decided to just give in to it. After all, he was a really good kisser.

And my friends could just eat their hearts out.

Chapter Twelve.

The last full day in Vegas pa.s.sed in a blur. After we'd had enough of the pool we went inside to change for the afternoon. We did one more round at the buffet ("I'll miss this so much when I have to start cooking again," Ginny sighed) then headed off to the Eiffel Tower to check out the views of the strip. In the evening we had reservations at Bobby Flay's restaurant, as well as tickets for some comedy show.

In the evening, Nate had to go and eat with his friends. He said he was neglecting them. When I apologized for occupying so much of his time, he waved me off.

"They don't really care," he said. "They've all been drunk pretty much twenty-four-seven. Besides, they know how unlikely it is for me to fall for someone like this."

His words sent a jolt of panic through me. He wasn't serious, was he? I mean, we had only known each other for a few days. He couldn't actually think he was falling for me.

"Anyhow," he said. "I think we're planning to go see the comedy show as well. Wanna meet up there? And then maybe we could hang out after?"

I wondered if I should refuse him. It freaked me out, what he had said. Would it be better to put the kibosh on this whole thing right now?

"Annie," he said softly, kissing my neck just below my ear. It made me shiver. What had I been feeling so worried about? It was hard to remember.

"Did you hear me?" he whispered. "I asked if you wanted to meet up later."

"Mmmhmm," I murmured, not really caring too much about my objections anymore. "That sounds great."

The whole group did some casino-hopping after the comedy club. Nate stayed close by me throughout the night. He even taught me how to play a few of the games. With him teaching me, I had to admit it was a lot more fun than I had thought it was the first night. I even won a bit of money at blackjack.

"This is awesome!" I told him as I turned my hundred-dollar chip over in my hand. "I don't think I've ever won anything before!"

He kissed me.

"What was that for?" I asked him "Nothing," he replied. "You can just be really, really cute when you let your guard down a little."

I had no idea how to take that, so I just rolled my eyes. "Whatever," I told him. "Let's go try our luck on the slot machines."

I spent the night with Nate again, lying awake for a long time after he had fallen asleep. It felt really nice in his arms, really comfortable. I knew that it was a feeling I could get used to.

There was a part of me that was starting to dread the next morning, when we would have to say goodbye. It was ridiculous-I barely knew him. And I wasn't interested in a relationship anyhow. But nonetheless, I got a little pain in my stomach when I thought about it. It must just be that you don't want the vacation to end, I told myself. It made me feel better.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that I hadn't thought about my callback all day. I had been having such a good time, and had been so caught up in Nate, that it had completely escaped my mind. For some reason, the realization scared me. What was I doing? There was nothing more important to me than my career, besides the girls and Danny. Why on earth was I allowing myself to forget that, even for a minute?

I suddenly felt claustrophobic in Nate's arms. I yearned for my own bed, in my own room. As quietly as I could, so I wouldn't disturb him, I started to wiggle out of his grasp. I had almost made it to the edge of the bed when he woke up.

"Hey," he said, smiling at me in the darkness. "Where ya going?"

"Nowhere," I whispered. "Just getting a drink."

"Well, hurry back," he said.

I found a gla.s.s on the desk and took it to the bathroom to fill it. I stared at myself in the mirror. My fair skin had taken on a lot of color down here in the hot sun. My hair was pulled back in a braid and little wisps were escaping around my face. It made my face look softer, not so familiar. In fact, I hardly recognized myself there in Nate's room.

I walked back to bed, hoping he had fallen asleep. No such luck.

"Get over here," he murmured, pulling me close and kissing me.

"I thought you were sleeping," I told him.

"I was. But now I'm awake. And so are you. And if we're both awake, why are we wasting the little time we have talking?"

I laughed. "How about we spend it sleeping in this crazy comfortable bed? I have an early flight tomorrow."

"Oh, you poor thing," he said, pushing me onto my back and kissing my neck. "She has to fly home on a luxurious private jet. Never mind that some of us will be slumming it in coach."

It was hard to concentrate when he was kissing me like that. Not for the first time, I had the sensation of my mind being wiped clean, all the worries and anxieties fading into the background. "You're a dangerous boy, Nate Hughes."

"Me?" he asked, laughing against my skin. "I'm one of the nice boys, Annie. I'd imagine we don't look all that familiar to you, but take my word for it." Then he was kissing me again, and I decided that talking was overrated.

Nate was right, of course. He was one of the nice ones.

But that sure didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.

When I woke up in the morning, I had that horrible Monday morning feeling. Like I used to feel when my mom would wake me up for school-particularly on those mornings after I had snuck out with Jen and Ginny the night before.

"I can't believe we have to go home," I moaned, burying my face in the pillow.

"It sucks," Nate agreed, wrapping his arm around me and snuggling into my side. "But it helps knowing you'll be there when I get back."

"I...what?" I asked, caught off guard.

"Your flight leaves first, right?" he asked. "So by the time I get home, you'll already be there. That makes it a little easier to head back."

I was stunned. We hadn't talked at all about what would happen when we left this city. Was he a.s.suming we would pick up where we left off? Sure, I had totally lost my head with him the last few days. It seemed like all he had to do was kiss me and I would forget about all of my objections.

But in the cold light of morning, they were all coming back to me.

"Hey," Nate said, pulling my face away from the pillow. "Why aren't you talking? What's going on?"

"Nothing," I said, trying to quell the flash of fear I was feeling. "I just...I didn't realize you would still want to see me. At home, I mean."

"Why wouldn't I want to see you?" he asked, bewildered.

"I don't know. I guess I just thought..."

"What, Annie?" he asked, an edge to his voice.

"I just thought this was a bit of fun, you know? A vacation fling."

He was silent for a moment and I couldn't meet his eyes.

"It was fun," he finally agreed, his voice measured. "I think we're good together. So why can't that fun continue in Detroit?"

I finally looked up at him. His expression was a little worrying-almost like he was trying too hard to be casual.

"Nate...I don't really date. I'm just not into it. There's so much going on at home right now; work, and the audition. I don't...I don't think I would want anything to get serious."

Why was it so hard to tell him all of this? I'd had this conversation with a ton of guys over the years.

"That's fine, Annie," he said, staring at me with an intensity I couldn't place. "There's no pressure. We have fun, right? Let's just keep our options open."

I stared hard into his eyes, trying to decide if he was serious or not. Finally, his face broke out into a huge grin. "Oh, relax, woman. I'm not going to start stalking you or something. I just want to take you out once in a while."

It did seem pretty silly, when he put it like that. I grinned back and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I can deal with that," I said, leaning up to kiss him.

Chapter Thirteen.

"Going home sucks," Ginny said, plopping her bag down on the floor of my living room. "Why the h.e.l.l do we live in this cold-a.s.s state anyhow?"

"Oh, you would hate it if you didn't get to experience the seasons," Jen said, walking past us to put her bag in her room.

"I would not," Ginny muttered.

"I do love fall," I admitted, sitting on the couch. "When the air gets all crisp and the leaves change color. We can take Danny to the apple orchard. He would love that."

"True," Ginny said, sitting down next to me. "But winter can suck it."

"Speaking of Danny," Jen said, rejoining us in the living room. "When are they coming to get you?"

"Ready to be done with me?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, right," Jen said. "I just have a present for the baby, I'm excited to see him."