“He has to besingle.” Amber argued with Tash. “He was by himself, wasn’the?”
“Yeah, but hecould have been there on business or something.” Tash said.
“Hey, I’m goingto sign off.” Emma stifled a yawn. “My body has no idea what timeit is so I’m going to eat and then try and get some much-neededsleep. I’ll call again in a few days.”
Standing andstretching, Emma shook off her tiredness. She was in Las Vegas, forheaven’s sake. This was the first time she’d been overseas and shewasn’t going to waste another minute sitting in her hotel roomfeeling sorry for herself.
She quicklyfound a change of clothes in her suitcase and took them into thebathroom. Then, she went back to the desk and picked up the chairand wedged it firmly beneath the handle of the entry door. Justbecause she had a new room didn’t mean someone else couldn’t walkin and surprise her. Feeling a little more secure, she showered.The warm water cascaded down her shoulders, easing some of thetension and washing away the stress of the day.
The bathroomwas even more magnificent than the bedroom. The glossy marble tilesshone beneath the bright bathroom lights. A full-size tub sat thelength of one wall. A two-basin vanity complete with marble benchoozed the kind of luxury Emma wasn’t accustomed to, and the mirrorreflected every glossy surface. The toilet even had a phone on thewall!
Emma showered,and drying off with the plush white towel, she reapplied hermake-up and brushed the tangles out of her hair. She dressed infresh clothes then plucked her purse off the entertainment unit.She removed the chair from beneath the door handle and put it backat the desk. The guard had slid the key card into the socket whichran the electricity for the room when she’d brought Emma to theroom, so Emma grabbed it as well and headed downstairs.
Every guidebookEmma had read before leaving home all said the same thing: thedancing fountain was the highlight of any trip to Vegas. Though thehotel was five-star and even its cheapest room was more than shecould afford, Emma had chosen to stay at this hotel for onereason.
Her sister,Michelle, was coming to do a photo shoot here for a fashionmagazine.
Emma rememberedthe day Dad and Michelle had left like it was yesterday. She’d beenseven years old and heartbroken, with tears streaming down her faceas they’d driven away; Michelle hanging out of the passenger seatwindow, waving like a lunatic until the car rounded the corner andvanished from sight. Michelle was four years older but the sistershad been close. She had been a wonderful big sister, always lookingout for Emma and holding her hand when they crossed the street.She’d never been embarrassed or impatient when Emma couldn’t keepup.
Michelle wasbeautiful, even as a child. She had something, even then, that madepeople stop and stare when they were out. When she’d beendiscovered by a modelling agency at the local shopping centre,their parents had disagreed over it.
Emma stillremembered hiding in the hallway after she’d been sent to bed,listening to her parents argue: her mother dead against it, herfather encouraging the opportunity because who knew if she’d everget another one?
Her father hadwon and taken Michelle, and Emma hadn’t seen her sister in twentyyears.
The elevatordoors opened and Emma stepped into the lift and pressed the buttonfor the ground floor. She watched the numbers count down until thelift glided to a stop and the doors opened, revealing a fancy foyerarea.
It was a hiveof activity—guests dragging suitcases in and out, peals of laughterand a steady hum of chatting voices. Security guards stood at theentry to the small room of elevators, checking key cards andpreventing anyone who wasn’t a guest staying at the hotel fromaccessing the elevators, and therefore the hotel rooms.
Her cheeksheated as she nodded at the nearest guard. She should have realisedat the time that her intruder wasn’t a thief, but she hadn’t beenthinking straight. Exhausted and suffering her first case ofjetlag, her mind had jumped to what she’d considered the mostobvious conclusion. Wasn’t she always teaching her kids not to jumpto conclusions? To weigh all the evidence before making anassessment? Some teacher she was. She’d failed spectacularly.
The poor manhad seemed to have gotten just as big a fright as Emma had, butshe’d been too panicked to see it at the time.
What would hersister have done? Michelle would no doubt have laughed and turnedthe situation to her advantage, instead of reacting like a prudishwaif. She would have thrown back the cover on the bed, raised aseductive eyebrow and said, “care to join me?”
But Emma wasn’ther sister and this was another reminder that her life had beensheltered. What little she remembered of her sister was thatMichelle had the sparkling personality. Michelle was theadventurous one; the beautiful one. Everyone had said so.
Michelle wouldhave seen the male intruder as an opportunity for some fun; Emmasaw him as a serial killer.
She pressed herhands to her hot cheeks.
The corridorleading back to the check-in desk was carpeted and wide with floorto ceiling windows that overlooked the pool area. People brushedpast Emma in both directions. Accents she couldn’t identify driftedpast, again reminding her just how far she was from home.
Emma stepped tothe side of the wide corridor nearer the windows and away from thefray of other guests. She paused as she stared out at thebeautiful, exquisite gardens. Discreet lighting highlighted neatlycropped hedges. Ornate concrete pots were filled with topiarytrees, and she even spotted a few rosebushes boasting whiteflowers. White marble pillars and red and sandstone paving stoneslined the pool area. Sun-lounges filled every space. And the pools!She counted at least five, and two even had fountains! She couldwell believe she’d stepped into a private, Italian villa. It wasthe perfect site for a photo shoot and Emma would investigate thearea further to find the best place to carry out her plan.
The hotel wasenormous. Walking at a leisurely pace, it took Emma four minutes toreach the check-in area. She passed a chocolate confectioner withan amazing floor to ceiling chocolate fountain and another shopwhich only sold Christmas decorations. That was amazing, since itwas only July. But
