Shine On Read online

  “Care to make a friendly wager?” she asked.

  “What type of wager?”

  “If you win the big progressive, you spend the night with me.”

  I froze before pressing the button. She couldn’t be serious. “If I win the big jackpot, you want me to spend the night with you in bed?”

  She snickered. “I never said anything about us in a bed, but if you want to up the ante—”

  “Lay it out for me.” My entire body hummed with excitement. Whether the high of gambling or Ivy’s suggestive proposal, I couldn’t say.

  “You, Miss Moretti have a dirty mind. The mention of us enjoying self-loving put your mind in the gutter.” She leaned toward me and dropped her hand on my knee. “I have a suite at the Deus, and I would love you to see it, perhaps sleep over like we used to do as kids. It would be innocent, unless you decide otherwise.” She traced a circle on my knee, making me restless.” I also have a hot tub that takes up half the living room.”

  I pressed my hand on hers. “I’ve been playing this machine for years and never won the progressive.”

  “I have a feeling the odds are in my favor tonight.” She turned her hand over and linked our fingers. “You giving me a shot proves that.”

  The insinuation underneath her statement was loud and clear. A win for Ivy meant a win for me either way.

  “Maybe I don’t want to win so much. I would have the headache of paying the taxes on it.” I hit the spin-reel button, and the spins circled around on the screen, stopping on three cherries that awarded me a dollar.

  “Nice excuse.” She bent her head to mine, her mouth right under my ear. “But I can tell you’re open to the suggestion, so don’t try to deny it. What do you have to lose?”

  I tapped the spin-reel button again. “I have a lot more to lose than you.” I didn’t mean the twenty dollars.

  “Not anymore.” She nestled her chin on my shoulder and pressed the button when the spinning stopped.

  “We’ll take turns and see.”

  Ivy and I took turns, coming close to playing the progressive wheel but not hitting it. Ivy kept her chin on my shoulder, and our hands linked while we played. The air around us grew thick and muggy, but I didn’t mind. I felt like I was in my own personal bubble with Ivy.

  After what must have been thirty minutes, I was down to my last dollar. Ivy cursed under her breath. It was our last chance…unless one of us added more money to sweeten the pot, to keep the dare alive.

  My finger hovered over the button, but I paused and turned to Ivy. Our noses bumped together, we were that close. I didn’t jerk back but stayed still, waiting for her next move.

  “If I asked you for a kiss for luck, would you give it to me?” she asked.

  “A kiss isn’t going to change anything.”

  “Make me believe it will.”

  I kissed her cheek. She grunted, not pleased. Jabbing the button one last time, I claimed her lips, refusing to let go. She sighed and squeezed my hand as the spinning stopped on a row of tiny progressive wheels. The highest dollar number on the screen lit up, teasing me to try and win it.

  Accepting the challenge, I kept my mouth on Ivy’s and held my breath for my shot at greatness.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Are you in awe of the view or still in shock at being fifteen grand richer?” Ivy asked as she moved to my side while I surveyed the Vegas Strip from thirty stories up.

  I set my palm on the glass, still shaken over winning the progressive jackpot. I tried to digest it, along with being in Ivy’s penthouse suite at the Deus.

  “Unbelievable.” I shook my head, watching my reflection in the glass. I had never been in a casino penthouse, least of all one of the most expensive of all the casinos off and on the Strip.

  “I guess I’m your good luck charm.” Ivy nudged me in the side then slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

  “Why are you staying here and not at your mom’s?”

  She reached over to the control panel on the wall next to the windows and dimmed the lights. “I haven’t been back to the house or spent the night there since I left for LA. It’s hard for me because of my dad.”

  I would feel the same in her shoes. I set my hand on her shoulder. “But your mom doesn’t have a problem living there.”

  She grasped my hand. “Mom feels close to Dad there.” She turned and faced me. “I’m staying at the penthouse suite for now because I was offered it as part of my residency here. I signed the contract with Deus yesterday.”

  “Congratulations.” I really meant it. Ivy was on track to get everything she ever wanted.

  “Thanks.” A tiny smile hovered around her mouth. “Also the huge hot tub under the skylight sweetened the deal.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the hot tub taking up the middle of the room. “I guess an overnight here equals the amount I won tonight.” I approached the tub and inspected it.

  “Probably. But tonight, you’re going to live like a high roller.” Ivy walked to the wet bar with all types of bottles behind it. “Care for a drink? Maybe some wine?”

  “Last time I drank wine with you, it didn’t end well.” I bent down to skim my fingers in the warm water.

  “Last time, you drank it, not me.” She opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “How about soda or water? I can always call for room service.”

  My stomach let out a creak. I hadn’t had much of an appetite the last few days. Now I was hungry.

  “I’ll take a water and might take you up on the room service.” I toed off my sandals, ready to slip my feet into the water. “Since I’m not paying, how about lobster and filet mignon?”

  “Oh, very hoity-toity.” Ivy selected two bottles of water and walked to a huge stereo system and powered it up. After a few seconds, a guitar started strumming and then more instruments. Finally, Ivy started singing. I didn’t recognize the song.

  “Is this your new album?” I asked when she came to my side.

  “Yes. I hope you don’t mind. I want you to hear it, unless you don’t want to. I can change it—”

  I set my fingertips on her mouth then took one of the bottles from her. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. I used to love hearing you sing.”

  “You used to? Not anymore?”

  I caught her chin, enjoying her sharp intake of breath. “After our altercation the night of my father’s funeral, I stopped listening to you on the radio or on TV. It was too painful.”

  “But now?” She unscrewed the top to her bottle but didn’t take a drink.

  “I won’t run out of the room when I hear your voice.”

  “Ha ha.” She sipped her water, swallowing it fast.

  I drank slower, but then paused when the second song began and a name was sung. Her father’s. She kept the bottle to her mouth while the song played, the lyrics making my insides twist because it was about a father and daughter and the pain the daughter still felt for her father leaving her all alone.

  “What’s the name of the song?” I asked.

  “‘The Shame of Me.’” The plastic crumpled in her hand.

  I parked my bottle on the rug then took hers. Setting my hands on her hips, I moved in close until my cheek was next to hers. She didn’t take me in her arms or even move. I could barely hear her breathe.

  “We have a lot to talk about, but first, I want you to dance with me. We never danced together. What’s the song after this one?”

  “Your song.” Her arms curled around me, and she rested her cheek on my shoulder.

  I moved her in a circle. She said my name and raised her arms higher up my back, her fingers catching my hair.

  “I miss him so much,” she said through loud sniffs. “I’ve missed you too much.”

  “I know. If your dad was alive, he would be so proud of you, like your mom…and me.” I hugged her, humming my song as her recorded voice echoed in the room.

  ***

  Ivy’s head had been in my lap since we moved to the couch af
ter dancing and eating dinner from room service. We talked while her album played. It set a nice atmosphere or a soundtrack to what our new relationship might be.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been this relaxed.” Ivy flexed her fingers through mine as I combed her hair away from her forehead. She had also taken off her socks and shoes, and even unbuttoned her jeans. Her T-shirt had ridden up to show her stomach and given me a peek of her music note tattoos.

  I was relaxed also, but hadn’t gone as far as Ivy had. It didn’t stop me from touching her face and throat, tracing the guitar tat in her bicep and the one on the inside of her wrist.

  “Maybe we should get some sleep.” I checked the digital clock near the bar. It was almost four in the morning. We had talked for hours.

  “I’m not sleepy.” She captured my hand and laid it on her chest. “I’m afraid if I fall asleep, you won’t be here when I wake up.”

  “I’m staying, but I’m not sure how much longer I can stay awake.” I opened my mouth wide as I yawned.

  “How about we compromise, then? Join me in the hot tub for a soak first. Then we’ll catch a few z’s.” She lifted up, now more alert than before.

  “It will end up being a naked soak.” I might be able to keep my bra and underwear on, but knowing Ivy, she would try and convince me to go bare.

  “Yeah, and?” She balanced on her elbows and stared at me with a feline grin. “You’ll be the first person I ever soak naked in a hot tub with.”

  “Not even with Billie?” I blurted.

  She kept her easygoing expression. “Never with her. Do you believe me?”

  I curled my fingers around the hand she locked to her chest. “I do.”

  “Great!” She bolted up from the couch and, right in front of me, took off her clothes.

  I cut my gaze down to my lap. A silly thing to do, but I couldn’t help it. I waited while Ivy undressed, not checking her out even when she was naked. Instead of getting in the water, she knelt in front of me, her breasts resting on my knees. I caught sight of her nipples. I wanted to reach out and touch them, to kiss them.

  She nudged my chin up with a finger, didn’t act nervous like me. She bent forward and set her mouth on mine. I opened my mouth and sucked her lips. She then caught my top lip with hers and sucked back.

  When she rubbed my thighs with her palms, I opened my legs and sank back into the cushions. She didn’t climb on top of me. She just kept her mouth on mine while we sucked and breathed together.

  I set my hands on her arms and traced up and down until I met her chest, pausing in the middle and cupping her breasts and those nipples that teased me. Ivy’s lips twitched, and she flicked her tongue out to lick the seam of my mouth. I tried catching it, but she shifted back, leaving my lips puckered in the air.

  “Here I am naked and at your mercy. If you want, we can keep kissing and touching with me naked and you clothed until you’re comfortable enough.” She slid her hand down the inside of my thigh.

  My hips arched up from the couch. Ivy would never be at anyone’s mercy, even mine. She held all the power. I could take what she offered and pretend I was in charge, but I wouldn’t last long. Now was the time to make an important decision. I had to be all in with her. It meant showing my true self as she had done with this next step in her career, and in this moment with her naked, kneeling before me.

  “Take off my clothes,” I said winded and slightly overheated as if I had run a mile down the Strip in one hundred degree heat.

  She kissed my knuckles in gratitude. Impatient, I cupped her face and kissed her deep. She then joined in, taking off my top, pants and everything underneath.

  She helped me stand and escorted me to the hot tub. She turned it on, and while it started to bubble, we kissed some more, easing my nerves and giving me a sense of calm I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  She faced me and backed into the water, never breaking her gaze from mine. She didn’t react to the hot water lapping at her thighs other than to gift me a bright smile, perhaps one of relief.

  Clutching her hand, I stood on the top step with her head level with my stomach. And when she curled her arms around me and kissed the curve of my belly, I sat down on the step and let her kiss me there…and then lower.

  “I’m drowning,” I said much later while we soaked for far too long, completely waterlogged and pruned.

  “You won’t drown alone. I’ll always be there to catch you,” Ivy slurred as she twined around me.

  “I don’t mean drowning in this water.” I wiped away droplets of water from her face, catching them with my tongue.

  “I know what you mean.” She smiled with satisfaction as she swirled her hand below the water and on me, making my insides twist and tumble like she had done for the past hour.

  “Drowning in your love would be a great song title.” I snagged the back of her head by fisting her hair so I could rest my lips in the middle of her throat and add a matching bruise to the one I had left a few inches away.

  “We can write it for my next album,” she said in a rushed voice, and, together, we created a new song.

  EPILOGUE

  The limo behind us kept running even though Ivy wasn’t sure how long she would remain at the cemetery. She did have a time limit because her first show was in three hours. She couldn’t be late, but she had wanted to speak to her father first.

  I stayed a few feet away while she knelt in front of his gravestone. She set down a bouquet of white roses, the same kind her mother had carried at their wedding. Tomorrow was the anniversary of her father’s death.

  Ivy, still kneeling, held her hand out to me. I knelt next to her and took her hand. Other than her eyes being a little red, she didn’t cry. Her visit wasn’t one of sadness but to remember an important man in her life who had supported her and her dream. Much like my father.

  “I should have told Mom about my visit.” Ivy hunched farther in her sweatshirt and shivered, even though it was a comfortable sixty-five degree March day.

  “You could always bring her tomorrow.” I locked both my hands around her chilled one.

  “I might do that.” She wiped under her nose. “I can stop by the house tomorrow and cook her breakfast, or at least bring coffee and bagels. I might check out my old bedroom.”

  “It will give you the closure you need.”

  She wiped the corner of her eyes with her sleeve. “I might lose it tonight when I tell the crowd I’m dedicating the show to my dad and singing ‘The Shame of Me.’”

  “The Shame of Me” had become an even bigger hit than “Jewel.” Ivy had talked her record label into donating a portion of the single sales to a national suicide foundation.

  “Okay.” She rose to her feet with my help. “Love you, Daddy.” She blew a kiss at the gravestone. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Ready to go?” I linked my arm with hers.

  “Yeah. Will you come with me tomorrow to see Mom and the house?”

  “Sure.” I kissed her cheek.

  “Great.” She started walking toward the car but then paused. “If I asked you to go someplace else with me at a later date, would you, no questions asked?”

  “If this is about a possible European tour next year you mentioned—”

  She pinched my side, making me squeak. She loved hearing that sound from my mouth, but usually when we lay in bed together.

  “It’s closer, within walking distance of my place.” She hurried us to the car. The driver got out and held the back door open for us. I got in first, and Ivy followed, capturing my hand in hers again.

  “I’m still wavering about getting a tattoo to match yours.”

  “It’s not about a tattoo.” She cupped my cheek and rubbed her nose on mine. “Deus has a cute little wedding chapel—”

  I jerked back. “You are not asking me to marry you now.”

  “What if I told you I planned on asking you tonight on stage before I sang ‘Jewel’?”

  My jaw dropped.


  Ivy, with her eyes no longer red, and a beaming smile, tapped my chin. “It’s been six months.”

  “Tell me you didn’t buy me a ring.”

  “Maybe I did.” Her smile grew sneakier.

  I smashed my mouth to hers, mainly to keep from asking more questions.

  She didn’t fall for it, though. She broke the kiss and placed her hand between our mouths. The happy light in her eyes diminished. “If I asked you to marry me, you would say no?”

  I once had so much self-doubt about my role in Ivy’s life. We were still working out the kinks, but I was more than certain we would never end up in that dark place that had cut us off from each other for five long years. Eventually, I wanted something more long-term with Ivy, but, like the town I lived in, it was a role of the dice, a chance of a lifetime.

  I turned her right wrist over where her new tattoo had been inked to celebrate our six months together. My name wasn’t written there, but jewel. She had done it without telling me. I would have never expected something so permanent. To erase it would lead to a lot of pain. It was all the proof I needed she was serious about us.

  I lifted her left wrist and kissed my name. “I’ve changed my mind, about getting a tattoo. That should tell you what my answer is to your question.”

  Confusion crossed her face, and then recognition dawned when she figured out what I meant. She did her own rendition of a sexy squeak and hugged me.

  “I decided on the symbol for strength,” I said.

  She sat back. Again, confusion set in. “Why the symbol for strength?”

  I ran my finger up and down the word jewel on her arm and smiled. “Valerie is strength. It means I not only carry strength with me at all times, but you also.”

  Ivy flapped her hands as tears came to her eyes.

  I tucked her hair behind her ears, cupped her face, and sang “Forgiveness.”