The Last Cowboy Standing (7 page)

“True enough,” Danielle was forced to agree.

“If we want you to stay in Vegas to discuss, I don’t know, spending strategies, you have to stay.”

Danielle came to a stop in front of the mirror next to Katrina.
“Spending strategies?”

“Yeah, you know, what to do with all our money and stuff.”

“These really are killer shoes,” said Danielle.

“That settles it. We’re staying to dance.”

“And Reed is going to agree to this?”

Katrina’s lips curved into a suggestive smile. “I can get Reed to agree to anything.”

“That’s as much detail as I want to know.”

Katrina gave a delighted laugh. “We’re going to need dresses, something outrageously sparkly and short. The kind that make men’s jaws drop open.”

Danielle couldn’t help but picture Travis’s jaw dropping open. She tried to stop herself from thinking about him, but Katrina’s carefree exuberance was infectious. It wasn’t like anybody could read her mind. If she wanted to fantasize about gyrating on a dance floor in a short, sparkly dress and killer gold shoes in front of Travis, it was nobody’s business but her own.

They bought the shoes. Then they made the rounds of some high-end dress shops, each laughing their way through about forty dresses. In the end, Katrina went with a mauve-and-white sheath, with a sparkling bodice and subtle, purple flowers on the skirt, saying that Reed liked her with a bit of color.

For Danielle, there was no choice but gold. She found a strapless party dress, with a glittering, tight bodice that fanned into a short, three layered, crinoline skirt, scattered with gold sequins. It was by far the sexiest thing she’d ever owned. She might have chickened out, but Katrina was very persuasive.

Purchases in hand, Katrina marched them straight to the nearest hotel, easily finding an available limo.

“Now, we’re going to do something exciting,” said Katrina as they pulled out from the entrance.

“This hasn’t been exciting so far?”

It was one of Danielle’s most indulgent days ever.

“Not yet,” said Katrina with a secretive grin.

“I’m getting hungry.” Danielle glanced at her watch, noticing it was after six.

“I have an appointment,” said Katrina. Then she leaned forward to call to the driver. “Abyss Photo Studio, please.”

“You need pictures?” Danielle wondered if they were for Katrina’s dancing career.

“I need pictures,” Katrina confirmed.

“In Vegas?” Surely, she got her publicity shots taken in New York.

“It’s a special photographer that I heard about.”

A few blocks down, they left the strip and pulled into a small parking lot in front of a neat, nondescript building.

“Would you like me to wait, ma’am?”

“That would be great,” said Katrina, sliding forward to hand the man her credit card. “That way we can leave all the bags here. We might be an hour or more.”

“Not a problem.”

“An hour?” asked Danielle. “How many pictures do you need?”

“Quite a few.” Katrina took back her card and bounced out of the limo.

Danielle followed. “These are for work?”

“Not work,” said Katrina as she opened the shop door. “For Reed. He has a birthday coming up.”

“Oh,” Danielle responded politely as she followed her inside. But she was thinking Reed must have hundreds of pictures of Katrina.

Then she glanced around the opulent reception area, taking in the sample pictures on the walls.
“Ohhh,”
she repeated. Now, she got it.

The portraits displayed were sensual, sexy, some of them downright erotic.

She followed Katrina to one of three private reception desks. “I guess Reed’s going to be one happy birthday boy.”

“I hope so,” said Katrina. “What he really wants is a baby.”

Danielle couldn’t help but be surprised. “You’re thinking about getting pregnant?”

“Not right now. Maybe in a couple of years.”

“Would you have to give up dancing?”

“I’ll want to retire from the stage eventually, maybe do choreography, or something else behind the scenes. When your husband donates ten million dollars to your ballet company, you can pretty much have any job you want.”

“Is that the trick to unfettered employability?” Danielle joked. She’d been helping Reed and Katrina manage the Sasha Terrell Fund, named after Reed’s mother, for nearly two years now.

Katrina gave her an answering smile. Then she sat down in an armchair in front of a neatly dressed, friendly looking woman. “Katrina Terrell. I have an appointment.”

Danielle took the chair beside her.

The woman smiled brightly at both of them. “Will we be taking your pictures together?”

Katrina drew back in obvious confusion. Then she glanced at Danielle and her eyes danced with amusement. “Oh, no, we’re just friends.”

Danielle stifled a grin. “I’m only here for moral support.”

The woman was obviously embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. I misunderstood.”

Katrina waved the apology away. “No problem. If I was going to have a girlfriend, it would be Danielle.”

Danielle’s grin grew wider. “Thanks. I think.”

Katrina twisted her body, giving Danielle a considering look. “You know...”

“I don’t think Reed would let me date you,” Danielle gamely carried on the joke.

“That’s not what I was thinking.”

“Good to hear.”

“I was thinking you should get some pictures done, too.” Katrina quickly turned back to the woman. “Do you have time to give us each a photo shoot?”

Danielle felt her jaw go lax. “I’m not—”

“Certainly,” the woman agreed, typing into her computer. “We can manage that.”

“Oh, no,” Danielle stated with conviction.

“Oh, yes,” said Katrina, nodding happily.

“I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

“You will someday. Save them. Put them away.”

“I’m not dressing up like a floozy. What if they end up on the internet?”

“There’s no chance of that,” said the woman. “We give you a glossy copy of your favorite shots, and you keep the original memory card. We don’t keep a single record here.”

“Come on,” Katrina cajoled. “It’ll be a blast.”

“I’m way too shy,” Danielle protested.

“You are not. Besides, they can be romantic. They don’t have to be naughty.”

“This is ridiculous,” said Danielle.

Maybe if she had someone to surprise. Maybe if she had...

Her brain flashed an image of Travis, but she determinedly shook it away.

“You’re not getting any younger,” said Katrina.

“Excuse me?”

“You’ll have a boyfriend again. Of course you’ll have a boyfriend again. And probably soon. And if it’s not soon, and if you’re getting kind of old and wrinkly, I bet he’ll want to see pictures of you when you were young and hot.”

“I’m not getting old that fast.” Then again, would she want to do this when she was older? Not that she was saying she wanted to do it now.

“When are you going to have a chance like this again?” asked Katrina.

“Our photographers are the top of their field,” noted the woman behind the desk. “The pictures can be very tasteful. You pick the costumes yourself. And each customer can choose four pieces of lingerie that are yours to keep. We have the latest and most luxurious lines.”

“My treat,” said Katrina, handing the woman her credit card.

“Really, I can’t,” said Danielle.

The woman accepted the credit card. “We have an extraordinarily high level of customer satisfaction.”

“Ring it through,” urged Katrina.

“Do you have anything in flannel?” asked Danielle.

“No, but we have some full-length, satin nighties. I tell you what,” said the woman, swiping Katrina’s card. “If you’re not completely satisfied, we’ll destroy the memory card and I’ll refund Mrs. Terrell’s money.”

Danielle couldn’t quite find an argument for that, and she found herself agreeing.

In the end, she had an astonishingly good time. They started with a makeup artist and a hairdresser, before moving into the clothing store.

The studio provided complimentary champagne, which they drank while joking their way through lacy baby-dolls, slips and camisoles. Katrina braved a low-cut, black push-up bra and a pair of tiny panties. In the end, Danielle threw caution to the wind and modeled a magenta teddy, with gold, satin trim and mesh cut-outs across her middle. She paired it with black stockings and her new jeweled shoes.

“We have
got
to find you a boyfriend,” said Katrina as they gazed at the photo proofs, selecting ten for immediate printout.

Danielle hesitated over one of the magenta teddy pictures. She was turned slightly to one side, her hair looking soft and sexy, her eyes bright, smile provocative, the angle hinting at the curve of her hip and her behind.

Katrina nudged her in the arm. “Don’t be so shy. The camera loves you. I sometimes wear less than that when I dance.”

“You’re the one the camera loves,” said Danielle, switching her attention to the pictures of Katrina. There was a reason audiences adored her as a prima ballerina.

“We’re both pretty hot.”

Though Danielle might be reluctant to admit it, she was surprisingly happy with the pictures. The photographer had known just how to capture her best looks. The lighting was soft, and her skin seemed to glow.

Katrina took over the mouse and dragged the magenta teddy shot into Danielle’s print basket. “There, that’s ten.”

“I can’t believe that’s me,” Danielle admitted.

“Well, I sure can.” Katrina straightened. “Let’s go find ourselves some dinner.”

The photographer packaged their prints and handed each of them their memory cards. Danielle secured everything in her shoulder bag, and they headed back to the limo.

* * *

After a fabulous dinner, and a late night of girl talk with Katrina, the limo driver pulled up to the front doors of the Emperor Plaza.

“Don’t worry about the bags, ma’am,” the driver instructed as he helped Katrina out of the car.

“Welcome back,” greeted a uniformed porter, smiling at both women. “We’ll be happy to deliver your packages.”

“Room thirty-four sixteen,” said Katrina.

“And your name, ma’am?”

“Katrina Terrell.” She pointed. “Those five are mine. The others can go to Danielle Marin’s room.”

“Eighteen twenty-two,” Danielle added.

“We’ll take care of it. Have a good night, ladies.”

They thanked the limo driver and made their way into the brightly lit lobby.

“They’re in the Ace High Lounge,” said Katrina.

“Who?”

“Reed and the rest of the guys.”

“You’re not going near that place, are you?” Danielle had no desire to go anywhere near a bachelor party at midnight.

“It’s my husband, my brother-in-law and two brothers.”

“And thirty-five other men.”

“Who won’t dare look at us sideways.”

“What do you mean us?”

“Come on.” Katrina studied a brass sign. She pointed down a hallway. “This way.”

“I’m tired,” Danielle protested. She was. “I want to go to bed.”

Katrina linked her arm and tugged her forward. “Too bad. You have to come and keep me company.”

“Who says?”

“I say. And I just paid for your sexy pictures.”

“I thought we agreed never to speak of them again.” Danielle wanted to get them safely locked away as soon as possible. She was beginning to worry about carrying them through airport security. What if someone searched her luggage? How embarrassing would that be?

Katrina laughed, still tugging her along the hallway. “Your secret’s safe with me. Come on. You owe me.”

“I paid for dinner,” Danielle pointed out, but she gave up and kept walking.

“Aren’t you at all curious?”

“About what men do at bachelor parties?” asked Danielle. “I honestly don’t want to know.”

“Maybe someone jumped out of a cake.”

“I hope not. That’s so eighties.”

“I’m sure they kept it tasteful.”

“Travis did the planning.”

“Good point. This might be more exciting than I thought. Here we are.”

Danielle hesitated. If it turned out there were strippers in there, it was going to be mortifiying.

Before they could pull on the door, it opened from the inside, loud music thumping from the depths of the dim room. Caleb appeared, jerking back in obvious surprise at the sight of them.

“Katrina. Danielle.” He gave a wide grin. “What are you guys doing here?” It was subtle, but his speech was measured, as if he was being careful to properly enunciate his words.

The door swung shut behind him.

“Having a good party?” asked Katrina.

“Fantastic,” he responded. “You want me to get Reed?”

“We want to find out what’s going on inside,” said Katrina.

“No, we don’t,” said Danielle.

“You always were the smart one,” Caleb said to Danielle.

“Thank you.”

“What’s going on in there?” asked Katrina.

“We’re drinking DFB beer and watching a game.”

“Are you drunk?” asked Katrina.

“I am not.”

“Is Reed drunk?”

“Reed doesn’t get drunk.”

The door opened again, bashing into Caleb’s shoulder and sending him stumbling.

This time, it was Travis who appeared.

“Danielle,” he grinned heartily. “You’re back.”

“We’ve been shopping,” said Katrina.

“So, I heard, baby sister.”

“And out for dinner,” she continued.

Danielle held her breath, fearing Katrina might mention the pictures. But the door opened again, and Reed joined them.

He zeroed in on Katrina. “Hey, sweetheart.” He moved to stand next to her, putting a hand on the small of her back and giving her a quick kiss on the temple. “Did you have a good time?”

“It was great. I got you a birthday present.”

Danielle stilled, bracing herself. She couldn’t help a fleeting glance at Travis, and found herself shifting from one foot to the other.

“What did you get me?” asked Reed.

“Oh, no,” Katrina teased, waggling a finger. “Not until your birthday.”

“Yeah?” he growled on a challenging note.

“Yeah,” she responded saucily.

“We’ll see about that.” He looped an arm around her shoulders. “Good night, boys,” he called to Travis and Caleb, as he steered her down the hall.