Page 24

Coco was amused when Jackie had announced a change of plans and that they weren’t going to the strip joint she mentioned but to another one that was underground and were a little more risqué with their type of entertainment for women.

She’d not been pleased to go as this wasn’t really her thing, not like it used to be when they were in college, but Jackie had convinced her saying she needed this for herself.

Jackie, since high school, had always had a vibrant, witty, outspoken personality but a couple of days leading up to them coming, she seemed a little deflated and hurt.

Coco didn’t think it had anything to do with business as she worked for her or family because Jackie and her family were very close.

So, she cornered her one day to get answers.

Coco had been surprised to find out that Keith was becoming distant with Jackie.

“He won’t tell me what’s going on, says nothing is wrong but I know he is avoiding my calls and now he’s always busy and can’t even meet up for a cup of coffee.

” She looked at Coco, sad and dejected. “I thought he was the one for real this time. I know I’ve said that in the past, but he is everything I have been looking for.

Smart, driven, and has no baggage, and the sex was out of this world. ” She gave Coco a weak smile.

“Maybe he is having a bad week right now and you should just give him his space.” Jackie had just nodded but didn’t look convinced.

Jackie tried to be in a chippier mood when they got on the plane to Vegas, but she kept checking her phone every five minutes and would walk away from the group to leave messages.

Coco was going to talk to her father when they arrived in Vegas to see if he knew why Keith was giving Jackie the cold shoulder.

Jackie’s mood soured further when they had arrived at the hotel, and she’d not heard from Keith checking to see if she got in okay.

When they went out for dinner that night, joining Colin and his entourage, she’d been a bit snappish to Colin but also turned her animosity onto Abbott, who was sitting next to her.

Coco could tell by the way Abbott was clenching his jaw and the slight flush along his cheeks that the two were sharing some heated words before Jackie got up to excuse herself.

Coco was going to follow when Zahara shook her head.

“Let her cool down. I will go talk to her. I have to pee anyways” Zahara grinned and patted her belly before getting up and making her way outside.

Coco turned to have words with Abbott, but she noticed his chair was empty.

Colin simply shrugged and they both were soon distracted when the waitress came in with a cake that said ‘Congratulations to the Happy Couple.’

They stood up to the loud calls of family and friends and Colin placed his hand over hers as they cut the cake, foreshadowing what they will have to do again in front of their guests as husband and wife.

Her hand shook and he gave her a gentle squeeze.

She saw emotion swirling in his eyes before he dropped his lids lower and leaned down, taking her mouth in a kiss that had her rising up onto her toes.

They broke apart to the loud cheering in the room and now feeling flushed all over, she cut the cake and separated from him, needing space because her resistance was melting away like butter the more time they spent together.

To distract herself, she made a big production of going around offering a piece to everyone at the table.

When Zahara finally came back in and sat down, Coco turned to her. “So, what happened, did you calm her down?”

“Huh?”

Coco gave Zahara a look. “Zahara, Jackie’s your friend too, remember? You went to go and talk to her.”

“Oh yeah, sorry. I had to pee so bad, I forgot about her. Where is she?”

“Wasn’t she in the bathroom?”

“No, I was alone. The other stalls were empty.”

She had risen out of her chair when Jackie came back into the private area of the restaurant, her eyes bright with unshed tears and her mouth pinched in a way Coco recognized as a way to keep herself from crying. She looked quickly over her shoulder, then hurried over to Coco.

“I’m going back up to the room to change, are you almost ready to go?”

“Are you okay?” Both Coco and Zahara questioned her, Zahara reaching out and placing her hand on Jackie’s arm. She gave both of them a weak smile. “I will be, just need to get out of here and get the party started. Nothing like looking at naked men to cheer up your mood.”

Both Zahara and Coco knew that Jackie was not ready to talk about what was going on; her look was dark and pleading for them to let it go.

“Okay, I will be up soon. Just want to make sure that Zahara makes it home safe.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.” Zahara waved her off.

“Carter is waiting upstairs in a room for me. His parents are watching the twins since we will be away in New York, and we are going to use this time to be together without having screaming kids interrupting our quality time and I can scream as loud as I want. Pregnancy makes you so horny and wet and I love it when he sucks on my nipples; it helps me to lactate quicker.” She grinned.

They both grumbled. “Too much information.”

“Did it make you forget your troubles?” She turned to Jackie, who just gave her a look.

“I tried.” Zahara grinned. “Help me up and I will leave with you. No need for Coco to come with me.”

They both walked to the door, and she saw Jackie freeze and avoid looking at Abbott, as he stood right there in front of her.

She was talking to Zahara and acting like a grown ass man was not standing there.

Zahara’s puzzled look as she glanced between the two of them had Coco biting back a laugh.

Something was going on between the two of them and when she got the chance, she was going to have a conversation about her beef with Abbott.

She found Abbott to be the sweetest out of all the siblings and couldn’t understand what he could have done to get into Jackie’s bad books that she kept a grudge against him since high school.

Colin had placed a hand on her leg, had her heart racing and her thoughts scattered.

Her focus snapped to him. He then ran his fingers over the skin on her exposed knee of the short dress she wore.

She jerked up and made a face because she was very ticklish.

He uttered a low chuckle, his eyes dancing with amusement and she gave him side eye, her hand grabbing his as he was about to try it again.

She squeezed, knowing that it would have little effect on him.

He grinned before he turned his palm around took her hand in his as he continued to talk to one of his friends, rubbing his thumb up and down on the soft part of her wrist. She tried to tug her hand away, but he held firm.

So she let him hold her hand, liking the rough texture of his skin against hers, making her feel cherished.

She later felt bereft, missing his warmth when she went upstairs with her friends to change for their outings.

Once they arrived back at the hotel, Jackie had exited the limo, with Abbott following after, then the rest of the party filed out.

Colin escorted her to her suite. His eyes had been dark as he stared down at her and she wondered what he was thinking.

He’d been irritated when he came through the doors of the strip club but seemed to calm down when he saw that she was at a private table surrounded by her girls having drinks and fun while the dancers did their thing in the back or on the stage.

Even Jackie who would have given the new men a look and even asked for a dance, stayed at the table with them, her mood pensive.

Until Colin and Abbott showed up. Seeing Abbot was like a match to a keg, he set her off again.

Colin had cupped her cheek, bent down and gave her a sweet kiss on her lips, waiting until she opened and closed the door behind her.

Making her all confused, her emotions swirling around her with the way he’d been acting lately.

She went to bed but couldn’t sleep and when she finally got some shut eye, that was when her mother had called her, waking her up.

Now she was standing in her doorway in shock as Jackie froze on the spot after closing the door. “What in the hell, Jackie?”

Jackie burst into tears and blurted out, “I made the biggest mistake of my life last night. I got married.” Jackie held up the wedding band that shone bright on her left third finger.

She moved toward Coco and hugged her friend, needing comfort. Coco wrapped her arms around her in shock and heard her say, “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”