When they eventually arrived at their destination, Trevor opened Kate’s child-locked door and released her from the car. When she got out, she saw a massive Ferris wheel before her. She knew from her hen party research that it was called the High Roller and it was part of the LINQ Hotel and Casino. It looked incredibly similar to the London Eye, albeit much bigger. She had planned for herself and the girls to go on it as part of her itinerary.
The itinerary that had been ripped to pieces.
‘Stop number one on our honeymoon trip around the world,’ Trevor said. ‘London.’
‘I don’t actually know if the LINQ is entirely based on London,’ Kate said.
‘Well, we’re surrounded by fish and chip shops, there’s a red telephone booth over there and, oh look, the London Eye. That’s close enough for me.’
‘I’ve actually been on the real London Eye in London, so this knockoff doesn’t impress me,’ Kate said, sticking up her nose.
‘Well, this is going to be a far more intimate experience.’
‘Just keep your hands where I can see them, please.’
When they arrived at the entrance door, Trevor walked right past the queue and straight to the top.
‘Eh, hello! There’s a line,’ Kate said, always one for following protocol. The Capricorn in her couldn’t condone queue-skipping.
‘We’re having a different experience than the tourists,’ he said. Trevor turned to speak to the hostess at the front desk who appeared to be in charge of checking people in. ‘Hi there, I have a special reservation for Mr and Mrs Rush.’
At this point, Trevor was just trying to find any excuse to remind Kate she was married to him. It was driving her insane, but she refused to show it.
That was exactly what he wanted.
‘Mr Rush, of course! Welcome to the High Roller!’ the hostess said. She was visibly starstruck and practically smitten. The woman looked Kate up and down as if she was trying to figure out what was so special about her. ‘Is this Mrs Rush? I didn’t see anything about your wedding on Instagram.’
‘We’re keeping it low key until she tells her fiancé.’
‘Oh . . .’ the hostess said, clearly confused.
‘You have amazing eyes by the way,’ Trevor said, shamelessly flirting with her.
‘Wow . . . thank you,’ the hostess blushed.
Kate was fuming, although she wasn’t entirely sure why. What did she care, after all? Now was the perfect chance to show Trevor how unbothered she was. ‘I can cover your shift if you’d like to take my place?’ she said to the hostess.
‘Um . . .’
‘You’ll have to forgive my wife,’ Trevor said. ‘She isn’t used to being treated properly.’
‘Aw, I have a cocker spaniel at home who’s exactly the same!’
‘Em, can I maybe not be compared to a dog please?’ Kate said, in disbelief.
‘Apologies, Mrs Rush,’ the hostess said awkwardly. ‘Well, your customized carriage is ready. Right this way.’
The hostess led them up a ramp and their carriage approached them. On the outside, it looked just like any other Ferris wheel carriage. But when the door opened, Kate couldn’t quite believe her eyes.
Inside was an ornately decorated table and two baroque chairs, ready for an extravagant candlelit dinner.
‘Dear Lord, what is this?’ Kate said, in shock at the sheer opulence of it. The other carriages were essentially just glass spheres with a metal railing. But this one was decorated like a five-star restaurant, with a bottle of champagne chilling over ice.
‘It’s the first date of our honeymoon, silly.’
‘Well, Mr and Mrs Rush, enjoy the champagne,’ the hostess said. ‘Your entrees will be served when you loop back around.’
‘Thank you,’ Trevor said, stepping into the carriage. He pulled out a chair and gestured for his wife to sit down.
Kate was still in pure awe of the decor. She got into the carriage and took a seat at the lavish table. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was an experience any rich person could book or if it was something only he could pull off. She had a feeling it was the latter.
‘Champagne?’ Trevor said, holding up the bottle.
‘As long as it’s not a champagne shower. I’m still traumatized from the last one.’
‘Maybe this will rejig your memory. You might get a flashback of falling in love with me last night.’
‘I wouldn’t count on it.’
Trevor popped the bottle and filled up both their glasses. ‘A toast,’ he said. ‘To lovers finding their way back to each other.’
‘How about . . . to fixing mistakes?’ Kate said, raising her glass.
‘To the best mistake of your life,’ Trevor said, raising his glass. He took a sip before she could reply, ensuring he got the last word.
Kate felt as if steam was about to come out of her ears, but she reminded herself to relax as she took a sip of champagne. She didn’t want to argue with him all night. She just wanted to get through it. But he made it so hard for her to maintain her composure. He was completely and utterly infuriating.
The most enraging thing about him, however, was the fact that he was just as annoyingly handsome as he was nine years ago. Better looking even. He had become the best version of himself, much as she hated to admit it. The Trevor she had known was a deadbeat slacker type. The Trevor she was looking at now was a Renaissance man with the world at his fingertips.
And yet, nine years ago, she had believed in him. He had something other people simply didn’t. A rare quality that was impossible to describe. Back then, anyone would have seen a bum going nowhere. But not Kate. She always knew he was destined for greatness. And as she looked at him now, she knew she had been right.
The problem was, after he had broken her heart, Kate didn’t want him to succeed. She wanted karma to punish him for cheating on her. The second she had seen that gorgeous woman going into his apartment, she had hated him. It was so hard to wish a person well when they destroyed your self-esteem. She had built him up and told him he would make it.
But when you build a man up, they will often find a way to break you down.
She had to keep her eyes on the prize.
The annulment.
That was all she needed. And she was going to get it.
‘So, what do you think?’ Trevor said, gesturing to the carriage.
‘I actually have vertigo and I need to get off,’ Kate lied.
‘Nice try, Freckles. Don’t you remember our first date in New York that summer?’ he asked.
‘How could I forget? You took me to Hooters,’ Kate said, unimpressed.
‘Oh come on, you know I go there for the wings, not the breasts,’ he laughed. ‘But that was our second date, not our first. Our first date was at Coney Island.’
‘Oh yeah, we went on the—’
‘—Wonder Wheel,’ he said, finishing her sentence.
Dammit. He was right. It was their first official date. They had gone around all the fun fair rides and played all the carnival games. He had even won her a teddy bear on one of those Strongman punching machines. God, she was embarrassingly smitten after that one. Towards the end of the night, they had kissed with uncontrollable passion on the Wonder Wheel, overlooking the serenity of the moon-drenched Atlantic Ocean. It had been one of the best nights of her life. Everything seemed so simple with Trevor back then. Life seemed to be ripe with possibility.
No.
She knew exactly what he was doing. Trying to seduce her with nostalgia. Making her melt in memory. But that was the problem with cheaters. All the memories become for ever tainted by their infidelity. Sure, those tender moments were beautiful at the time but they were now tarnished by unknowns. Had he been texting other women while on his cute dates with Kate? Whenever he had bought her lavenders, was it just guilt for having others on the side? How many women had been in his bed that summer when Kate thought it was a sacred temple reserved for their love alone? That was the worst part about being cheated on that people rarely talked about. Every sweet moment was soured by treachery.
Trevor Rush wasn’t being nearly as smooth as he thought he was. If memory was his strategy, it certainly wouldn’t work.
‘That was a long time ago and I’d like to change the subject,’ Kate said, stubborn as a bull.
‘Alright then,’ Trevor said. ‘Back to last night.’
‘I don’t want to talk about drunk Kate’s embarrassing actions either.’
‘You mean the real Kate?’
‘No, I mean the drunk mess who didn’t know her arse from her elbow and was in no position to be getting married. So, whatever I told you last night, please disregard it.’
‘What about the part where you told me you were still in love with me?’ Trevor said, cocking an eyebrow.
‘That was clearly the Four Loko talking! I didn’t mean a word of it,’ Kate said, holding her head up high.
‘Maybe not consciously,’ Trevor said. ‘Sometimes alcohol can give people the confidence they lack when they’re sober. I think your true self came out last night after years of repression.’
‘Wow, how enlightening. Did you win your psychology degree in a slot machine?’
‘No, it was one of those claw grabby machines, actually.’
Kate couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Are you always this annoying?’
‘No, sometimes I’m more annoying,’ Trevor smirked.
‘Stop giving me that smirk!’
‘What smirk?’ he smirked.
‘That smirk! You do it like every few minutes. It’s driving me mad!’
‘Because you’re madly in love.’
‘With Norman maybe.’
‘You’re only in love with Norman maybe?’
‘Ugh, you’re the king of only hearing what you want to hear, you know that?’
‘Aw, you think I’m a king?’ Trevor said.
‘You’re anything but. Frankly, I don’t know how you convinced all of Vegas you’re some brilliant DJ.’
‘I seem to recall you being very impressed with my DJ skills in The Emerald Underground that summer,’ Trevor said. He leaned back and sipped his champagne in anticipation of her reply. He gave her another piercing look, once again penetrating her soul. She always felt so naked when he looked at her like that. His gaze had an unmatched intensity and he knew it. He was turning up the heat in an attempt to make her squirm.
Classic Scorpio move. They loved to let things linger.
His tactics were working too. She was officially tongue-tied.
‘Well . . . I’m not a twenty-one-year-old party girl any more. I’ve matured,’ Kate said, in a holier-than-thou tone.
‘Wow, what’s the view like up there in your ivory tower?’
‘Oh please. You’re the one who’s on top of the world.’
By now their carriage was at the very top of the Ferris wheel, poised high above the electric hum of the city as the sun surrendered to the night. Kate looked around at the spectacular view of the Vegas skyline, taking in the entire Strip with all its famous hotels and casinos. The neon lights pulsed wildly, painting the canvas of darkness with vibrant prisms of colour.
It was stunning.
‘The view’s not bad from the top of the world, I suppose,’ Trevor said, looking around.
‘So how does a Vegas DJ end up with an Amex Black Card anyway? Your remixes can’t be that good.’
Trevor laughed. ‘You’re technically right. I invest most of my money from my Omnia residency in stocks. It’s the only way to ensure your money grows with the economy.’
Kate suddenly remembered one of Natalie’s ick suggestions. ‘I don’t really understand the economy,’ she said, feigning stupidity. ‘Like, why can’t the government just print more money?’
‘Because that would cause hyperinflation.’
‘Is that bad?’
‘You’re a clever girl, Freckles,’ Trevor said. ‘What do you think?’
‘I think the only thing that’s been hyperinflated is that ego of yours. Because nobody in Ireland has ever even heard of you. I guess you’re not as famous as you think,’ Kate said, trying to take him down a peg or two.
‘Well, I haven’t gone global just yet. If I’m being honest, Vegas can be a prison for a DJ.’
‘It seems to be a very comfortable prison. Fancy suits, your own chauffeur, women swooning over you. Not to mention your two million followers.’
‘Oh, have you been stalking me, Mrs Rush?’ he said, raising an eyebrow. ‘Your obsession with me is worse than I thought!’
‘I am NOT obsessed with you.’
‘Sorry, I meant infatuated . . .’
‘Try infuriated,’ Kate said, smugly. ‘And it was Chloe who stalked you, not me. She would do anything for a shoutout from someone like you. But I’m not so easily impressed.’
‘I see . . .’ Trevor smiled. ‘Well, yes I have two million followers, but they’re mostly from here in Nevada. My goal is to go international. Once you get to that level, you can live anywhere really. The world is your oyster.’
‘You’ve certainly held on to your ambition anyway.’
‘Well, someone once told me I was the greatest DJ in the world and I guess I believed them.’
‘Oh really?’ she laughed. ‘Who told you that?’
‘You did, Kate.’
It was the first time he hadn’t called her some aggravating nickname. He was right too. She had told him that. And she’d meant it. Whenever he would DJ at a club, she would always be there hyping him up. She was his groupie back when he was a nobody. Even on the nights he was playing to empty dive bars, she was there, cheering him on. He really did have a gift. His talent was one of the reasons she fell in love with him. She even remembered the exact moment she had fallen.
The night they had first met.
Kate and the girls were finishing their shift at Scallywag’s and considering whether to go out. They were all shattered after work, but something told Kate the night was only just beginning. They all went to their favourite nightclub, The Emerald Underground, when Trevor was about to begin his DJ set. Their eyes locked the moment she set foot on the dance floor, and she felt the beat reverberate throughout her entire body. He played his own remix of Taylor Swift’s ‘How You Get the Girl’ and, well, he got the girl.
The rest was history.
Ancient history.
‘With your delusions of grandeur, your dream was destined to come true. Fake it till ya make it right?’ Kate said.
‘True. Although there was nothing fake about our passionate kiss on stage last night,’ Trevor winked, a seductive sparkle in his eye.
Kate suddenly realized her face was going red. Why the hell was he making her blush? He didn’t have that kind of power over her any more. There was absolutely no reason for her body to send a rush of blood to her cheeks. Embarrassment, that’s what it was. She was merely cringing from pure and utter mortification. She needed to shift the attention away from herself.
‘That’s not up for discussion,’ Kate said, eager to pivot the conversation. ‘So what exactly is stopping you from going international? I don’t see anything in your way.’
‘Well, right now I just do remixes and mashups in my live shows. But to go international, a DJ needs to create something new. Something people have never heard before. Think about all the famous DJs you’ve heard of. They all have original hits.’
‘So just write an original song then,’ Kate shrugged. She suddenly realized she was doing it again. She was building him up. She was believing in him. Why was she being his cheerleader? This was the man who tore out her heart and crushed it into a million pieces. She couldn’t let herself forget that.
‘You sound just like my manager, Charlie,’ Trevor laughed. ‘But I can’t write music, so I have nothing new to share. That’s the Vegas curse. Without a new sound, you’re stuck here. Remixing for eternity in the ninth circle of Sin City.’
‘Oh my God, you’re so dramatic,’ Kate laughed. ‘You could easily write a song. Just turn your melodramatic words into lyrics.’
‘Nah, song writing was always your gift.’
‘Maybe a million years ago.’
Trevor’s face suddenly went a shade paler, as if he had just gotten news of a death. ‘You don’t write music any more?’ he said.
‘God no. I have a real job now.’
‘You don’t think making music is a real job?’
‘Well, yeah, maybe for a lucky few. But it’s obviously not realistic for everyone. I’m an event planner now. I get to plan some really cool music festivals in Ireland. And I always plan them to perfection, by the way. Some call me the best in the business,’ she bragged.
‘So you do all the planning behind the scenes for people to perform their music to thousands of people?’
‘Exactly. But don’t even think about asking me for a festival gig. As soon as these three dates are over, we’re done.’
‘That’s not what I was going to say. I was going to ask you if it hurts.’
‘If what hurts?’
‘Helping other people live your dream.’
Kate began to laugh. ‘My dream at twenty-one is very different to my dream at thirty.’
‘So what’s the dream now?’
‘A nice quiet life with a nice secure job and a nice, charming husband.’
Trevor began to snore in an ostentatiously loud manner.
‘Excuse me?’ Kate snapped.
‘Oh, sorry,’ he said, pretending to just wake up. ‘I must have fallen asleep.’
‘You know if you keep being a prick, I’m going to give you your own champagne shower and destroy that fancy suit of yours,’ Kate said.
‘But then I’d have to strip down. Sorry, Freckles, but I don’t get naked on the first date. Maybe the second.’
‘Dear Lord, you’re insufferable,’ Kate said, massaging her temples.
‘I never thought in a million years you, of all people, would want a normal life. You’re not a normal person.’
‘Yes I am! I’m the most normal person ever!’
‘So you don’t think you’re special?’ Trevor asked.
‘I don’t think I’m above anyone, no.’
‘That’s not what I asked. I was referring to your voice. You think you have a normal singing voice?’
‘There’s nothing remarkable about it,’ she shrugged.
‘Wow, that fiancé of yours has really done a number on you,’ Trevor winced.
‘And what exactly do you mean by that?’
‘Well, the Kate I remember was the best singer I’d ever heard. But it seems at some point in the past nine years, someone convinced her otherwise.’
‘Reality convinced me otherwise. I released a . . .’ Kate realized she had said too much. She had no intention of telling Trevor she had released a song, especially considering it was about him. And especially considering it was a complete flop. If she was the talented singer he thought she was, why had her debut single crashed and burned? The answer was obvious.
‘You released a song?’ Trevor asked.
‘No.’
‘You just said . . .’
‘Music wasn’t my destiny. End of story. Can we change the subject please?’ Kate said in a clearly irked tone.
‘Okay . . . so back to last night . . .’ Trevor pried.
‘Dear Lord,’ she sighed. She hated him bringing up her mortifying night, but she also couldn’t handle him finding out about her failed music career. ‘Fine, what about last night?’
‘Even though the alcohol turned you into your truest, most honest self, there was one thing you didn’t tell me.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘Hmm, let’s see . . . how about why you dumped me via text nine years ago and blocked me before I even had the chance to reply?’ Trevor said, his tone suddenly becoming incredibly serious.
There it was.
The million-dollar question.
But Kate had no plans to answer it. At least not fully. She couldn’t have that conversation. That conversation was the reason she disappeared. She couldn’t confront Trevor about his affair then and she couldn’t do it now. She probably never would. She knew she wouldn’t get through that conversation without crying. And there was no way in a million years Kate was going to let Trevor see her cry. She didn’t want him to know the profound effect he once had on her.
She had spent a long time stitching herself back up after what Trevor had done. She couldn’t forget those nights of crying herself to sleep listening to ‘Wildest Dreams’, ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ and ‘Teardrops on my Guitar’. That was the legacy of her feelings for him. Emotional devastation. She couldn’t even enjoy those songs any more because they made her think of him. Some betrayals can be forgiven, but ruining Taylor Swift songs for a person was an unforgivable offence. The wound had finally healed, and she wasn’t about to let Trevor Rush re-open the scar.
Not after all the progress she had made.
And she didn’t owe Trevor an explanation anyway. He knew he had cheated on her. He just didn’t know that she knew. It was obvious that he was going to dump her after meeting that gorgeous woman. He was just annoyed she had beaten him to the punch. He loved having the last word, but Kate hadn’t given him the chance. She refused to tell him why she blocked him. It would only lead to more drama.
She had to keep things simple.
‘Oh, did I block you?’ Kate said, playing dumb.
‘Nice try, Freckles. You know you completely cut me out of your life. In the blink of an eye, I was ditched. For no reason.’
‘HA! You think I didn’t have a reason?’
‘Then let’s hear it! Tell me the reason,’ he said, his voice laced with urgency.
It was clear by his tone that he was dying for the answer to this question. She could see it in his eyes too. It was like a mystery he desperately needed to solve. A puzzle piece that had been lost to time, preventing the full picture from being completed. He genuinely had no idea why Kate had broken up with him nine years ago, and it was apparently driving him mad. Now it was Kate’s turn to smirk.
Finally, some leverage.
‘I’ll tell you the reason if you sign the annulment tonight,’ she said.
‘Oh really now?’ Trevor said, leaning back in his chair.
‘Seems like a fair deal to me.’
‘Sorry, Freckles, I’m not cutting our honeymoon short for anything. At least, not until sober Kate admits she’s still in love with me.’
‘Those words will never leave my lips!’
‘We’ll see . . .’ he said, coyly. ‘But there’s one thing you can’t deny no matter how hard you try.’
‘What’s that?’
‘We still have our spark,’ he winked.
The carriage arrived at the bottom of the carousel and the door opened.
‘Now Mr Rush, the beef wellington for yourself,’ the hostess said, placing a plate in front of him. ‘And the same for yourself, Mrs Rush.’
Kate had to admit that the food looked amazing. She had been too sick to eat breakfast at the buffet and she was absolutely famished. But she suddenly thought of a way to infuriate Trevor.
‘Oh, I can’t eat this . . . I’m a vegetarian,’ Kate lied.
‘No problem, Mrs Rush, a vegetarian dish was prepared just in case. The tofu tartare.’ The lady put the dish down in front of Kate. It looked horrific. She couldn’t eat a rectangle of raw tofu. She was starving.
‘Give me the damn beef,’ Kate caved.
Trevor’s face bore a victorious smile as the hostess swapped the dishes once again.
‘I believe I also ordered some gnocchi to share?’ Trevor asked.
‘Yes, Mr Rush, here you are,’ the hostess said, placing it down on the table between them.
‘Perfect, thank you.’
‘Enjoy your meal,’ the hostess said, before closing the door to the carriage again.
‘Pretending to be vegetarian, darling?’ Trevor laughed. ‘So predictable.’
‘Oh shut up,’ Kate said, letting out a faint laugh. She relaxed into her chair and tried to focus on the delicious meal before her. One more loop around wouldn’t kill her.
‘Is the food up to your standards, Mrs Rush?’
‘It’s not bad,’ she conceded. ‘Although it would have been nice if you had let me order for myself.’
‘I had to order it in advance. What would you have wanted?’
‘I was going to order chicken nuggets.’
‘Well, they serve chicken nuggets at the Hooters across the street if . . .’
‘This is fine,’ Kate snapped. She was slightly annoyed that her chicken nugget ick hadn’t worked out, but when she saw the delicious food in front of her, she quickly forgot about it. Gnocchi was her favourite food in the entire world, although she never ordered it. Norman always pronounced it ‘ganoochy’ and it drove her insane. ‘The food does look good, I’ll give you that much. Gnocchi is actually my favourite food.’
‘I know.’
‘Eh . . . how would you know that?’
‘You told me that summer.’
‘You remember my favourite food from nine years ago?’
‘Yeah, remember we went to that Italian restaurant in Queens? You said it was the nicest thing you ever tasted.’
‘Yes! I totally forgot about that place. And I kept asking for breadsticks and the waiter had to cut me off!’ Kate laughed.
‘To be fair you had him running around like a headless chicken,’ Trevor smiled.
‘Oh God, that was . . .’ Kate almost forgot herself. She was about to say that was a great night. And to be fair, it was. But strolling down memory lane with Trevor wouldn’t lead anywhere good. ‘Where the hell did this food come from, anyway?’ she asked.
‘You guessed it. Hell.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Hell’s Kitchen is across the street. I had them run it over here for us,’ Trevor said.
Kate was in shock. She had tried to reserve a table at Hell’s Kitchen for her and the girls but they didn’t have availability for months. And yet Trevor was important enough for them to run food to him wherever he wanted? It had always been on her bucket list to eat there and now she was finally getting to.
‘Well, I suppose it would be rude of me not to at least taste it then,’ Kate said, picking up her knife and fork.
Thank God she hadn’t ordered the chicken nuggets.