“Rafe is healing with you, even if he doesn’t realize it. Please, give it a shot — open your heart and search inside the man; ignore the hard exterior he has created for himself. Look at how good he is to us, and all the wonderful things he does for his community and the world. Give him a reason to trust again, and I know he’ll earn it,” Rachel finished.
Ari couldn’t help the tears that slipped from her eyes. These beautiful women were amazing. They really loved their brother, and they seemed to care about her, too. Could she listen to them and give Rafe a real chance? He’d warned her not to fall in love with him — told her he absolutely didn’t want that. How could she take such a risk?
“I don’t know if I can do it,” she finally answered.
“Well, to answer your question, Ari — you are our friend now. No matter what happens with Rafe, we won’t allow you not to be a part of our lives,” Rachel promised.
“Thank you.” Ari knew they meant it — knew they intended to keep that promise. She also knew it would be impossible. How could she stay friends with them when she and Rafe were through? They were bound to mention their brother, and Ari wouldn’t want to hear how wonderful his life was without her. It would be too painful.
“OK, enough emotional drama for the night. We came to get blitzed and watch a show, so let’s go,” Lia insisted as she pulled out tissues and handed them over.
The three women stopped in the bathroom to freshen up, and then went to find the theater.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The lobby crackled with excitement as a throng of women stood in line for the Thunder from Down Under performance. Ari couldn’t keep from smiling as groups of females sporting bachelorette party banners called out to each other.
Rachel, Lia and Ari were next to the bar, and of course, Lia insisted on going in.
“I hate lines; let’s have a drink.” She tugged at Rachel’s and Ari’s hands as she stepped into the open space and marched up to the front cashier.
Before they could order anything, the bartender jumped on top of the counter right in front of them with a bottle in his hand.
“Are you ladies having a good time?”
A chorus of cheers echoed though the bar and out into the line of people waiting to get into the theater.
“Who here is going to see the boys from Down Under?” the bartender asked with a wolf whistle. Again the crowd roared. It seemed to Ari that Lia and Rachel were the loudest of all. Not wanting to be the dud of the party, she opened her mouth and cheered with the rest of them, which earned her a big smile and wink from the man on the counter.
“I have a problem, ladies. I need to empty this bottle and I just don’t have any clean shot glasses. Can you help me out?” All the women yelled assent. “Who wants a shot?” Lia was the first one in front of him as she held her head back and waited for him to poor curaçao into her mouth.
Bending down, he tipped the bottle when it was lined up with her bottom lip, making the women scream again as the blue liquid cascaded down her throat. The excitement was catching, and when Lia pushed Ari to go next, she didn’t hesitate to throw her head back as she waited for the man to give her the shot.
Ari almost gagged, but she managed to swallow the bitter liqueur, then waited for Rachel to take her turn. Each time another woman took a shot, the crowd grew louder. Ari was laughing as she turned and made eye contact with a stunning man sporting a dark suit and tie.
“Are you here for the show?” he asked with a laugh.
“Of course. You?”
“No. I’ll pass on watching men strip, but how about I buy you and your friends a round of drinks?”
“I wouldn’t pass that up,” Ari replied, feeling the tiniest bit of guilt over flirting with the stranger. It was a girls’ night out, though, and a bit of harmless flirting wasn’t wrong, was it?
“Is that a cigar?” Rachel asked, making Ari scoot aside as she pushed up against the man; he didn’t seem unhappy in the least at having the petite Rachel practically in his lap.
He held the large brown cigar out, offering it to her, and to Ari’s surprise Rachel grabbed ahold of it and took a deep puff.
“That’s such a disgusting habit, Rachel,” Lia said with a laugh as Rachel blew a puff of smoke from her mouth.
“I only do it when I’m drinking. The smell reminds me of grandpa and it’s so much fun to hold the sweet smelling tobacco,” Rachel said as she took another puff before handing it back.
“Sitting here with you three beautiful ladies would make it almost worth it to watch a male stripper show,” the stranger said as his eyes drank Rachel in.
“Sorry, bud, only girls tonight. You can give Rachel a business card, though — then, if you’re lucky, she might call you back,” Lia said as she downed her second shot, vodka-based Sex on the Beach.
“Phillip Monsoon,” he introduced himself as he pulled a card from his wallet.
“And what brings you to Las Vegas, Phillip?” Lia asked.
“If you call me, you’ll find out,” he answered with a laugh. “It looks like they’re starting to let you ladies in. Would you like one more round before I lose your company?”
“How could we say no to that?” Rachel answered as she grabbed his cigar again and took a big puff.
“Tequila shots,” Lia called, and the dozen women at the bar all yelled their approval of her drink as the bartender pulled out enough glasses for them all, then flipped the bottle in the air before filling them in one long line.
To Ari’s surprise, Philip didn’t seem put out at all that Lia had turned his offer of three drinks into a dozen. The same sparkle remained in his eyes as he watched Rachel. It looked as if he was a little smitten.
The women all licked their wrists, poured salt, took their shot, then sucked on limes. Rachel sent Phillip a wink before they rushed to the door and entered the theater. As soon as they walked inside, all thoughts of Phillip were forgotten, at least by Ari.
Lia led them to the front of the room, right in front of the stage, and sat Ari front and center. The big screen showing a photo shoot of the performers had the ladies screaming. When the spotlight hit a shot of their na**d behinds, the crowd went wild.
Several minutes later, a gorgeous man wearing a button-up shirt, a tie and some worn-out jeans jumped onto the stage and welcomed them, asking whether they were having a good time. The crowd went wild again. His sexy Australian accent had Ari melting as her stomach twisted into knots in anticipation, and slight fear, of what was to come.