Lost in Las Vegas (9 page)

“My mom’s booked there until New Year’s. She’s performing in one of those megahotels — you know the kind that has everything you could possibly want all under one roof. Well, I guess it’s not exactly one roof, but you know what I mean. I just checked it out online, and it’s got the best designer shops and restaurants and a really great spa.”

“Cool.”

“Totally. And, trust me, anything will be an improvement over this stuffy old bus. The bathroom in here is about the size of a bathmat. I can’t wait to get out and stretch my legs. Sin City, here I come!”

“Sounds like fun.” DJ sighed. Okay, maybe the Sin City part didn’t sound like fun. But the pools and sunshine and spa sounded a lot better than being stuck in Crescent Cove, Connecticut — with about half the town’s population evacuated for more adventurous locations.

“Hey, why don’t you join me down here, Deej?”

DJ laughed with sarcasm. “Yeah, right.”

“Seriously,” said Taylor. “I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind, and we’re supposed to have a big suite with two separate bedrooms. You could room with me if you want.”

“Really?” DJ was amazed at this generous offer. “Are you serious?”

“Totally. In fact, my mom would probably love it if you came down,” said Taylor. “Just this morning she said she feels guilty that I’m on my own so much. Not that she can help it. She performs every night, then has to rest in the mornings. And then she has rehearsals almost every afternoon.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

“I think it is. Anyway, I’m sure she’d like you to come, DJ. She’d probably think you’re a good influence on me.”

“She thinks you need a good influence?”

“That’s practically what she said the other day — she caught me flirting with a guy at the gas station.”

“A guy at the gas station?” DJ shook her head. “That sounds a little desperate.”

“What can I say? He was totally hot. Seriously, he looked just like Usher.”

DJ laughed.

“So how about it?” persisted Taylor.

“I don’t know . . . I mean if I actually did come, would it be to babysit you and keep you out of trouble?”

Taylor laughed loudly. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen. Get real, DJ. Do you honestly think you could keep me out of trouble?”

DJ considered this. Being with Taylor in a place like Las Vegas could be a serious challenge at best. And yet . . . the idea of getting away to someplace warm and doing something fun. Well, it was tempting. And maybe Taylor’s mom was right . . . maybe Taylor did need a good influence. Maybe DJ would be doing a good deed. Or not.

“Ask your grandmother,” urged Taylor. “Tell her that I begged you. Tell her that I’m lonely and need my roommate.”

DJ couldn’t believe she was actually considering it. “This is crazy.”

“Crazy good,” said Taylor. “Come on, I need you down here with me. It’s not fun dressing up and strutting around all by myself. Come on, DJ.”

“My grandmother will never agree to it.”

“Go ask her!” commanded Taylor. “Right now.”

“What about your mom?”

“I’ll check with her too. But, honestly, she’ll probably be thrilled. And if it’ll help, I can have her call Mrs. Carter for you.”

“Okay, I guess it can’t hurt to try.” But even as she said this, DJ wondered if the idea was totally nuts.

“Call me right back, okay?”

“My grandmother might be gone by now. She’s having dinner at the general’s tonight and — ”

“Quit talking and start moving!” Then Taylor hung up.

DJ braced herself as she walked down the hall toward Grandmother’s suite. Grandmother was probably gone anyway. And if she was still here, surely she’d never agree to anything like this. It was outrageous! Two seventeen-year-old girls practically unsupervised in Sin City. Even Grandmother could see the potential problems with that little setup. Still, for Taylor’s sake, DJ knew she had to ask. Then she’d call Taylor and act disappointed that Grandmother had denied her request, saying that she’d given it her best shot.

DJ paused at Grandmother’s door. She could hear her voice chattering away with an excited edge to it, probably talking to some big-shot fashion friend on the phone. So DJ waited, but as she stood there, she shot up a quick prayer, asking God to intervene and to direct her grandmother’s answer in regard to Vegas, which convinced DJ that the answer would most likely be a big fat no. It took a couple of minutes for Grandmother to finally get off the phone. Then DJ knocked and waited until Grandmother opened the door with a big smile.

“I need to ask you — ”

“Oh, Desiree,” gushed Grandmother. “I’m so deliriously happy. That’s the most wonderful news!”

DJ was confused now. “Did Taylor’s mom already call you?”

Grandmother blinked, then shook her head. “No. That was my designer friend from New York. Remember how Dylan was so impressed with you girls at the Founder’s Day Fashion Show? Well, other than that little fiasco between Eliza and Taylor, which actually turned out to be a rather smart publicity stunt — at least that’s what Dylan thought it was. Anyway, he has invited all you girls to come to New York for Fashion Week the end of January. The Carter House girls will be modeling his new fall line.”

“A fall line in January?”

“Well, of course. It’s always shown in late January or early February, Desiree.”

“Of course.”

“That gives the buyers a chance to plan for the fall season, which actually begins in early summer.”

DJ tried to wrap her head around those conflicting seasons. “Right . . .”

“But what’s this about Taylor’s mother?” Grandmother frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing’s wrong. But Taylor just called — you know she’s touring with her mom during the holidays.”

“Oh, yes. How is our beautiful Taylor?”

“Lonely.”

Grandmother’s brow creased ever so slightly. Her recent Botox injections must be doing their magic. “Taylor’s lonely?”

“Yes. It seems her mom is busy with the tour, and Taylor is on her own a lot.”

“Well, naturally, Eva must be very busy . . . so very much in demand. She’s such an amazing woman . . . so talented.”

“Anyway, Taylor called to ask if I could come join them in Las Vegas.”

Grandmother looked surprised. “Las Vegas?”

“Her mom is performing in some huge hotel, and they’ll be staying there until New Year’s. I guess they have a big suite with plenty of room for me to join them, and Taylor really wants me to come.”

“Oh, my . . .” Grandmother pressed a perfectly manicured fingertip to her chin. “Las Vegas. Why, this is so sudden.”

DJ nodded. “I know. Taylor said that her mom can call you . . . if you like.”

“Goodness.” Grandmother sat down in a cream-colored armchair and just shook her head. “I’m not sure what to say.”

Suddenly DJ wanted her grandmother to agree to this slightly insane plan. She couldn’t even explain why, since part of her questioned the whole thing. Yet another part wanted to go. “Taylor asked me to beg you,” persisted DJ. “She said she really, really needs me down there.”

Grandmother nodded. “Poor Taylor. Yes, I can understand that. She is such a beauty . . . and she is so easily confused. She needs a girl with your mature sensibilities to help her along.”

DJ tried not to look too surprised by this statement, since Grandmother never described DJ as mature or sensible. Beyond that, it was ludicrous to think that DJ or anyone else actually had much influence over someone like Taylor. Still . . . it was nice that Grandmother thought so.

Grandmother glanced at her diamond-encrusted wristwatch. “Goodness, it’s almost time to go to the general’s.”

“Do you want Taylor’s mom to call you?”

“Yes . . . in fact, you can have her call me at the general’s.” Grandmother smiled coyly. “That will be quite impressive, you know, for me to receive a call from the talented Eva Perez in front of the general’s friends.”

“And what should I tell Taylor in the meantime?” asked DJ.

“That you are coming, of course!”

Shocked, DJ pressed her lips together.

“Well, as long as Eva is in favor of this little plan. If it’s something that you and Taylor cooked up yourselves . . . well, I’ll be very disappointed in you, Desiree.”

“I can’t speak for Ms. Perez,” said DJ quickly. “But Taylor seemed to think she’d be happy for Taylor to have a companion.”

“Perhaps the general can help with your travel arrangements. He seems to know how to do these things on the computer. He told me that he rarely relies on travel agents anymore.” Grandmother paused from pulling on her fur-trimmed coat. “But, Desiree, this means you won’t be here for Christmas.”

DJ considered this. “Will you be okay?”

“Oh, certainly. The general had already invited us to join him for a pheasant dinner.” She reached for her bag — a very expensive Bottega Veneta that Taylor often lusted over — and slipped it over her arm. “But now I suppose it will be only the general and me.”

“I hope you don’t mind.”

Grandmother smiled. “Not at all, Desiree. And I actually think it’s lovely that you want to help our poor Taylor like this. She is such a beauty — and she’ll be such a necessity to our big debut during Fashion Week — you must be sure to keep her safe and sound in Las Vegas. Bring her back to Carter House in one piece, dear.”

DJ nodded without answering. Was that the only reason Grandmother was agreeing to this totally outrageous idea — because she wanted DJ to go out to Sin City to act as Taylor’s bodyguard? Just to ensure that Taylor would be around to participate in Fashion Week? Talk about bizarre! Suddenly, DJ wondered what she was getting herself into.

9

“GOING HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, DEAR?”

DJ looked up from her paperback to see a white-haired woman seated next to her and smiling hopefully. DJ was sitting in the O’Hare terminal now, waiting for her next flight — to Las Vegas — which was running two hours late. “You mean me?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your reading,” apologized the woman. “But I’m just dying to talk to someone.”

“That’s okay.” DJ stuck her boarding pass in the book as a marker and smiled back at the woman. “Now what did you ask me?”

“Are you going home for Christmas? Does your family live in Las Vegas?”

DJ frowned. “Actually I’m going out there to meet a friend.”

The woman looked slightly surprised. “Oh . . . you’re meeting your friend for the holidays?”

DJ made a slight nod.

“Not going home to be with your family then?”

“I don’t exactly have that kind of family.” DJ wasn’t sure how much she wanted to say.

The woman waved her hand. “Oh, you’ll have to excuse me, dear. My daughter is always telling me I’m far too nosey. I just assumed you were a college girl on her way home for Christmas vacation. My son lives in Las Vegas, and I’m going to spend the holidays with him and his family. My grandchildren are all grown-up like you, but I’m hoping that some of them will take time to pop in and visit us while I’m there.”

DJ considered telling this woman that she was only seventeen, but then wondered why bother? Besides, she was sort of flattered that the woman assumed she was in college.

“I must say I’m looking forward to some sunny weather. I heard that they’re having quite a nice warm spell in Las Vegas.”

“Yes, my friend said it was supposed to get into the low eighties today.”

“Goodness, that is warm.” The woman peered out the window where snow was flying. “Not like here.” She shuddered. “I just hope we don’t get stuck.”

“Stuck?”

“Well, we could be stuck if this storm doesn’t let up. I heard they’re having a hard time keeping the runways cleared. They hadn’t expected this much snow.”

“Is that why we’re delayed?”

“That’s what I heard. I just hope we’re not stuck here all night.”

“All night?” Now DJ was feeling concerned.

“Yes, it happens a lot here. The weather gets so bad that the flights are cancelled. And at this time of year, it’s nearly impossible to get a hotel. I know because it happened to me a couple of years ago.”

“What did you do?”

The woman smiled and shrugged. “Made the best of it.”

DJ groaned.

“Now, if an old woman like me can make the best of it, surely you should have no problem.”

“I guess . . . but the idea of spending the night in a crowded airport doesn’t exactly sound fun.”

“Think of it as an adventure.”

DJ looked out at the swirling snow and wondered if it had been a mistake to come. The plans had all seemed to work out smoothly. Grandmother had a nice conversation with Taylor’s mother. The general had been successful at booking the flight, which he said was nothing short of miraculous at this time of year. So DJ had assumed that this was God’s way of giving her the green light. But maybe she’d been wrong.

“I learned long ago that it does no good to worry about these things,” the woman was saying now. She’d been chattering away for several minutes, but DJ hadn’t been listening too well.