“It’s Bowie,” I call after her, staggering a moment now that she’s not around to hold me upright.
Wait a minute. Did she just imply that her own boyfriend killed Madeline? And—hey? I didn’t even get to ask if she was having an affair with Lucas Lane.
My feet keep moving, and eventually I’m standing in front of a huge corral teeming with the fuzziest, long-necked cuties with the most stunning eyelashes you ever did see.
“Llamas!” I announce to no one in particular as I hold up my empty glass.
A waitress zips over and quickly exchanges my empty glass for a full one and I do the right thing without thinking twice.
“You can’t be rude,” I say to the llamas milling around in front of me, each one wearing a funny little hat that probably costs more than all the money I laundered combined.
“Stupid Johnny Rizzo.” I slap my fingers to my lips because I just so happened to say that out loud. “Oops!” I giggle. A pair of llamas break away from the herd and head my way. The first one is a creamy shade of butter with a sweet smile. And the second has light brown fur with large brown eyes. Both have ridiculously ugly hats on that look as if they were vomited out by some fancy designer who is secretly inspired by a third grader’s art. My apologies to third graders everywhere.
“Hey there, ladies,” I say a touch too loud. “Aren’t you the sweetest. I think I’m going to call you Sugar, and you Cinnamon.” I attempt to set my glass on the edge of the corral and my foot slips out from under me, so I do the only thing I can—I latch my arms around the top of the fence.
The world around me begins to swirl, and it feels kind of nice, like a merry-go-round I never meant to get on.
I spot Regina striding my way, angry-faced and mean.
Why is she so mean, anyway?
“What are you doing, Bowie?” she hisses. “You’re letting the llamas loose!”
“What?” I glance down and note that I’m riding the corral door as it opens wide. And sure enough, an entire stampede of ritzy looking llamas strut out and begin mingling among the guests.
A series of screams goes off, and I note that there are just as many men shrieking as there are women. Now there’s something that would never have happened in Hastings. Back home, the men were too proud to scream no matter how many body parts were being rearranged.
I spot Sugar trotting off toward the lake, but I catch Cinnamon by the neck as she does her best to push past me.
“No, you don’t,” I say, struggling to hold on. I give a little jump and end up on her back as she hits a decent stride. “Oh my goodness!” I yelp as I hug her neck for dear life.
The crowd before me darts out of the way as women in fancy dresses land onto the working end of the dessert table. Entire rows of charcuterie boards are destroyed as men dive over them in hopes to avoid a collision, but one man stands firm as he stares at me in disbelief.
“Bowie?” Shep calls out just before he makes a run in my direction and manages to stop Cinnamon cold as she bucks me off. I fly through the sky and land softly in Shepherd Wexler’s arms.
“Hey there, Shep.” I give his tie a tug. “Have you tried the tawny port?”
Before he can answer, the world around me grows dim as a warm and fuzzy feeling fills me. A vision crops up in my mind.
It’s Shep and me, alone in my bed. A smile swims to his lips as he dots his finger over my nose.
The world around me roars back to life and my mouth falls open as I look up at the handsome man who’s currently glowering at me.
“You’re taking me to bed!” The words burst from me and I quickly cover my mouth. But it’s too late. I’ve let the Sexy Wexy cat out of the bag. Speaking of cats, Pixie is going to be thrilled with this latest development. She may not say much, but I can tell by that bored look on her face that she’s sick of hearing me pining after Wexler.
“Taking you to bed?” Shep inches back as he examines me. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Chapter 8
All night I have one feverish vision after another.
Trust me. There is no mistaking these infernal wanderings as something as simple as a dream, and they certainly fall under the nightmare classification if anything at all.
First up was Tilly and me in the Manor Café. Jackson was there, too, looking like the delicious snack he is, and he picked up one of our hands—it was hard to tell if it belonged to Tilly or me. Then he whispered the words, “I’m going to give you a night to remember.”
I’m pretty sure all of his naughty intentions were aimed my way. I won’t even bother filling Tilly in on that one. No sense in getting her carnal hopes up anymore.
Then there was a disturbing vision regarding Regina and Shep. I’m not sure where the three of us were, but her hair was mussed and his tie was askew—and I felt the sudden urge to slaughter them both. No words were exchanged, but I’m betting that’s because I had already peppered them both with a few salty words.
And finally there was the doozy of the bunch. Shep and I were at some unknown locale. It was dark and the mood was tense. He looked me in the eyes and said, “This is where it ends with you and me. It’s over. It’s done.”
It’s that last one that sends me sitting straight up and gulping for air.
“Can’t breathe.” I gasp
