Thank you, Hannah (grahamlecter) for Beta-reading my story and finding my mistakes so that I can fix them.

To answer your question, yes and no. For the most part, the ant invasion has ended (I won), but I'm still dealing with a few stragglers here and there. I spray and spray and spray (Not chemicals; I use white vinegar, water, and essential oils, like peppermint, clove, orange, and cinnamon). Ants hate cinnamon oil.

It makes me wonder sometimes if the ants back at the colony miss those that never return. Sheesh. Thanks, Disney and It's A Bug's Life.

G-Girl

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/

Chapter Thirty-Five – What Happens in Vegas…

Dressed in a sleeveless, button-down, blue denim dress, Susan fastened the clasp of the elastic belt while slipping on her shoes. She went into the bathroom, where Spencer, with the towel wrapped around his waist, was nearly finished shaving. He saw her in the mirror and smiled appreciatively.

Her arms slithered around him, and she kissed him on the back of his shoulder. "Would you like some coffee, Love?"

"I'd ask how the coffee is here, but… sure, thank you." Susan made a cup, using an individual serving pod from the basket, adding two packets of sugar. She left it on the table and took two bottles of water out of the fridge in the kitchenette—one for her and one for Spencer, setting them on the counter.

Checking her small purse, she made sure she had her phone, room card, travel wallet, a packet of Kleenex and lip balm, and put it on the sofa table near the door. Spencer came out of the bedroom, dressed casually—a button-down shirt, slacks, and his Converse shoes.

"If we don't have plans later, I can think of a few things we could do. You're deliciously irresistible, Dr. Reid."

"Hmm. Thanks." Grinning, he pulled Susan into his arms and kissed her before sitting down at the table to drink his coffee. Before he had a chance to finish, the phone rang. It was the valet desk, calling to let them know their driver had arrived.

/

At the restaurant, Bill introduced Spencer and Susan to Rebecca, his fiancée, as the hostess was showing the group to the table. She was a pretty blonde and appeared to be only a few years younger than Bill, and a couple of inches taller. Apparently, he has a type, he thought. She reminded Spencer of his mother.

She was a widow and met Bill when she started working for his law firm as the HR director. And she had two sons around Spencer's age. Dwayne lived in Las Vegas with his family and her other son Warren, who was flying in from Maine for the wedding.

After ordering, they talked about the wedding. Bill noticed the ring on Susan's finger and asked, "That's new. When are you two getting married?"

"We haven't set a date yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we do. The guys' night out tonight sounds like fun… though I'm not much of a partying type."

"I'm not either, but Steve insists we'll have a good time. Oh, this was delivered this morning." He lifted the flap of a brown leather satchel on the back of his chair, taking out an overnight mailing envelope. "This gift certificate says it's good for a seven-day trip of our choice. All we have to do is call Marsha, and she'll set it up? Thank you, son, it's very thoughtful."

"You're welcome, Dad. It's from Susan and me."

Becca smiled broadly when Bill showed it to her. "Thank you, both. That's so sweet." While they ate, they talked and got to know each other better.

When they got back to the hotel, they still had several hours before Spencer was going out with his father and the guys, so they went strolling around the resort.

Holding hands, they walked through the conservatory and the VIP Lounge, where Spencer saw a copy of Dancer on the wall, among other prints.

While wandering past the high-end shops, the Harry Winston store and the displays slightly intimidated Spencer. Other women walking by were gawking at the fabulous jewelry. He looked over at Susan. Her focus was on him.

He gestured at the glass doors leading out to a terrace with a stunning view of the fountains. Susan told him it was The Terrazza Di Sogno, one of the hotel's wedding spots. At the moment, it was deserted. Spencer picked up her left hand and led her out to it.

"May I borrow your ring?"

She took it off and carefully handed it to him. "Okay. But please remember how much I love it."

Spencer held the ring between his thumb and index finger. "The mall I went to first had two jewelry stores, but I just happened to drive by the third and decided to go in. That's where I found this, and I knew it was the one, because it reminds me of our paths, crossing over and over until finally coming together… in a dazzling convergence." He knew what mattered to Susan; not the size, the cut, or the clarity of the stone; it was the emotional connection.

"I was thinking something similar when you gave it to me. It's beautiful. I love it, and I especially love you."

"I love you, too." He slid the ring back on her fingers and then pulled a length of red ribbon out of his pocket. "I… took this out of your craft supplies." Holding her right hand in his left, he had her help wrap the ribbon around both of their wrists, as he told her, "We promised Dave we wouldn't elope, but there's an old Celtic tradition, called Handfasting. We can declare our commitment to each other. Susan, I'm asking you to be my wife, steadfast and true, to be by my side and make the rest of my life as wonderful as it has been."

She got teary-eyed, and they used their free hands, working together to tie a bow. "Yes, I'll be your wife, steadfast and true, and be by your side, with you as my husband." Holding each other close, they kissed to seal their vows. "I can't guarantee there won't ever be problems, but I promise to talk to you about everything... unless it's a surprise, of course."

He promised the same and kissed her again.

A crowd of people was now watching them. One, a teenaged girl, said she assumed they had just become engaged, took a few pictures with her phone, and offered to send them. Susan gave the girl an e-mail address, thanked her, and moments later, she received notification that the pictures showed up in her inbox. Others were waiting to stand at the balustrade, so Susan and Spencer hurried back to the elevators and up to their room with the ribbon still tied around their wrists.

As soon as they were inside the room, with the door closed, Susan whispered, "We still have some time before you have to meet up with your dad and his friends."

They untied the ribbon, leaving that and a trail of clothes from the sofa to the bedroom…

Nearly an hour had gone by when he woke up, still holding her against his side. He thought about how much his life had changed since Susan came into it. She was still asleep; her left hand rested on his chest. Lifting his head, he checked the clock on the nightstand and mentally calculated there was enough time to get a shower, get dressed, and head down to the lobby, plus forty-five minutes. He picked up her hand, kissing her wrist, then turned onto his side and kissed her neck. When he looked up, she was awake and smiling. He kissed her soft lips, feeling her tremble.

She started to say, "Shouldn't you…", but he put his finger on her lips, saying quietly, "Shhh." He kissed her, down her neck again, and over the hollow of her throat. He held her hip, pulling her closer. She shuddered and let out a soft moan.

Susan gave herself, heart, body, and soul to him, so freely, and he wanted her to feel as loved and desired as she made him feel. "I love you." He kissed her softly, gently.

She trembled yet again. "I love you... so much."

They made love again and afterward held each other, relaxing in the bliss, for a while longer. Spencer propped himself on his elbows with his hands under her shoulders as he kissed her. "I can't seem to get enough of you."

"I hope I never see the day you've had enough of me. This is wonderful, as long as we eat every so often… to keep up our strength." She winked playfully.

Spencer laughed, kissed her again, and sighed. He wiggled his toes, hanging off the edge of the bed. "This mattress is smaller than the one in your… uh… I mean, our bedroom. I thought this was supposed to be a king-size bed?"

"Mmm, this is a King. The bed in our room is custom made. I had to find a company that makes mattresses big enough to fit the bed frame my grandfather made for my grandmother. Before they got married, she told him growing up, she shared a double bed with two sisters and wanted the biggest bed he could find. It's called a Vermont King."

He grinned. "And yet we always wake up snuggled up together. I thought it was an optical illusion with the huge bed frame and posts. In my apartment, I either had to sleep with my knees bent and lay diagonally on the bed, or on the couch."

"Well, I like the comfort of the bed, more than the size." Susan stretched, and Spencer kissed her again. "Of course, it's even better with you in it."

"Hmm, I agree. And now… I need to get up and get ready. I hope you're going to do something fun while I'm out." He moved over and sat on the edge of the bed, setting his feet on the floor.

"I'm sure I can find something, maybe go to the spa for a mani/pedi or play some blackjack. First, how about we rinse off?"

After showering quickly, they got dressed. As they reached the lobby, Spencer's cell phone rang. It was his dad letting him know he and his friends were in a car outside, waiting for him. He held her for a long moment, kissed her again, and went out.

Susan stopped by the concierge desk to see if she could get an appointment at the spa and something to eat beforehand. They could get her in right away and assured her she could get dinner; whatever she wanted.

Spencer met his dad's friends, Steve and Bob, and Rebecca's son, Dwayne. The plan was dinner and a show at a Burlesque club, which wasn't Spencer's style, but spending time with his father was what he looked forward to.

The Burlesque club turned out to be a Boylesque club, which didn't particularly appeal to the group, so instead, they went to a nightclub downtown to listen to music, have dinner and drinks.

Near their table, a party of four women, obviously celebrating an impending marriage; an intoxicated, bleached blonde in the group wore a sash, with Bride printed on it. Bob suggested dancing with the group and elected Spencer—the youngest among them—in charge of asking. He walked over, and they immediately gave him their attention.

"If you ladies would like to dance, my father and his friends would like to escort you to the dance floor." The bride-to-be said she would only if she got to dance with Spencer.

"I have a fiancée, and we're getting married soon."

She replied, "Relax, Cutie, I'm getting married tomorrow, it's one dance." He waved the guys over. The ladies were good sports about it and headed for the dance floor. They had fun, and after the song ended, the women left, continuing on their bar crawl.

Steve brought up the idea of playing blackjack at one of the casinos, so Spencer told them he was banned from playing, and why, but also explained, due to Susan's connections, the ban didn't include the gaming tables at the hotel he and Susan were staying.

Steve asked, "Do you know what that means?"

Bob replied, with a grin, "We're going back to Spencer's hotel?"

In the car, on the way over, Bill told them about another time his son was in Las Vegas. A little boy had been abducted, and the case was resolved, with the BAU and Spencer's help. He went on to tell the guys how proud he was of his son and the work he did.

The driver pulled the car up to the hotel, and the guys got out, heading into the casino. Spencer saw Mr. Oliver near the VIP desk, asked how busy the blackjack tables were, that he, his father, and friends were enjoying a night out before his father's wedding the next day. Ben shook Bill's hand, saying he would take them to the tables personally and if any of them wanted food or drinks, to let his assistant know.

Ben called over a young man in a navy-blue suit and said to the group, "Douglas will assist you with anything you need." As they got to the table, they gave their drink and snack orders to the young man, and Spencer took a moment to call Susan. She didn't answer her cell phone, so he left a message, letting her know he and the guys were there, at a blackjack table, then sat down, bought some chips, and started playing.

After playing for nearly an hour, Bill could understand why Spencer had been banned; he had stacks of chips. Bill was doing fairly well, but he had only played at home on his computer. The others were holding their own.

Bob looked up from the table and whistled. "Oh, boys… we've got company, and she… is… a… hottie." He articulated each word as a woman walked up to their table. "She must have smelled money in the air and… is… on… her… waaay… over."

After she left the spa, Susan got Spencer's message and went upstairs to change into her red dress. As she walked to the tables, the other two guys in the group were watching her; Spencer and his father were sitting with their backs to her. She draped her arm across Spencer's shoulder and spoke low. "Hello, Handsome. How's it going?" Her fingers slid along the nape of his neck.

He smiled and looked up at her. "Well, hello, Gorgeous. It's going very well. Better, now that you're here." He leaned over and kissed her.

Bill laughed. "Guys, this is my son's fiancée, Doctor Susan Spencer." She waved and smiled sweetly, asking to join in.

Dwayne, who sat next to Bill, got up and offered his seat. "I'm going to get out now, while I still have a few bucks left."

Susan thanked him and asked for a marker. The dealer turned to Douglas, who simply nodded once, and within moments Susan signed for five hundred dollars in chips.

"How are you guys enjoying your evening?"

Bill told her, "We've been having a good time."

Spencer grinned, adding, "We danced with a group out on a Bachelorette Bar crawl. The bride wanted to dance with me."

"I can see why, Love. Sounds like you guys had fun."

Steve lost the rest of his chips and got out of the game while Bill, Spencer, Bob, and Susan kept playing. Spencer asked her, "Did you get to do anything fun?"

"I had some dinner, went to the spa, and got a mani/pedi, a facial, and… was on my way upstairs when I got your message. So, I changed and came back down to look for you." Bob remarked on how well Susan played. "Gosh, it must be my lucky day." She remembered to play a hand for Marsha. Susan ended up splitting two aces and doubled down on both, winning an even larger sum for her godmother.

At eleven, Bill decided it was time to pack it in, reminding the group they had a wedding to attend the next day. He was happy to end up with more chips than when he started.

Spencer had the largest stacks of chips. Susan did nearly as well since she'd made bigger, more daring bets. After buying back her marker, they each gave the dealer a handful of chips, making for a nice tip, as Douglas brought over trays and escorted them all to the cashier's cage.

Afterward, Bill and his friends went to the valet to meet up with their driver. Douglas came back over and gave Susan a note with the information she had asked Ben for earlier.

She showed it to Spencer. "I asked about Frank, the cab driver, and figured, if he's driving tonight, we could find out how he's doing?" The note said Frank's cab was in the queue outside.

"Sure, we could go to another casino, for a little while." Spencer saw her shiver. By now, he could tell a shiver from a shudder. "Sweetheart, do you want to wear my jacket?"

"Mm-hmm, I should have brought a wrap…" He slid his jacket over her shoulders, and they walked out with over forty-five thousand between them. Nearly two hundred dollars of that, she stashed in a hidden pocket of her dress for Marsha.

Walking out, they saw a couple ahead of them, in line to get into the next cab, which was Frank's. Spencer asked quietly if they could cut in, offering to pay, if they took the cab after that.

The young man agreed, so Spencer handed him a hundred dollars, and they stepped aside. Frank's cab pulled up, and when they got in, Spencer asked the driver to take them to Treasure Island. He told Susan, "They use a double deck and are required to stand on soft 17, reducing the game's house edge rate."

"Sounds good to me." While waiting at the red light, Susan asked sweetly, "Hey Frank. How are the wife and kids?"

He glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled when he recognized her. "Well, hello! They're all wonderful. We had another daughter four years ago. We named her Angel because I never got your name. And in six weeks, we're having another girl."

"Congratulations. Angel? What a lovely name. I'm Susan."

"Well, I'll be dam—" He chuckled, "… darned. That's what my wife wants to name the baby." Frank continued driving, smiling.

"That's so sweet! So, I was talking to my friend, the manager at our hotel. Did you know he has drivers for the VIPs and they're paid very well, get great tips, and have better hours? One of his drivers is retiring next week and moving to Florida. And Ben needs an experienced driver. He told me if I found you, to give you his card. Please call him? He's expecting to hear from you, even if it's to decline the offer."

Spencer spoke quietly with Susan for a moment, then asked, "Frank, when was the last time you took your family on vacation?"

He laughed. "With our schedules, and Uber and Lyft biting my a—uh… into my fares, vacations are tough to plan and even harder to pay for. Thank you, Susan, I'm going to call your friend tomorrow." He stuck the card into his shirt pocket.

The cab pulled up to the casino, and Spencer paid the fare, adding, "Why not take the rest of the night off and spend time with the family… take them on a nice vacation. We had a good night." Spencer pulled a stack of bills out of his jacket pocket and handed it to the driver. They didn't count it out but figured it was more than enough for a nice family trip.

Frank got out, opened the passenger door, and asked if he could get a picture with them. Since Spencer had the longest arms, he took a group picture with Frank's phone.

As the pair walked into the casino, Spencer heard Frank say into his phone, "Honey, you won't believe what just happened…"

Susan sat at the Blackjack table, and Spencer found a seat nearby. Since she was sitting with a group of men, including a guy with a trucker hat, who kept ogling her. She held the coat closed and turned to her left, so her legs faced away from the others. After an hour, she had several large stacks of chips. She did her "Gosh, it must be my lucky night," and since she wasn't in Vegas very often, never tripped their suspicions.

She yawned. "Must go; I have a wedding to attend tomorrow." She gave the dealer a handful of chips, asked for a tray, and they went to the cashier, then out to the taxi queue.

/

Back in their room, Susan closed the door and flipped the latch. Spencer leaned against the wall next to her and pulled her close. He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her longingly.

She reached behind her, unzipped her dress, then slid her fingers to the back of her neck and undid the clasp, easing the dress down off her hips, letting it drop to the floor.

He drew back as he sucked in a breath. Here he was, with this beautiful woman, who was now wearing only lacey red panties and sandals. He kissed her and whispered, "What's this, four times today?"

"Oh, no, Lover, only one. It's Saturday." Grinning saucily, she stepped out of her dress and picked it up as she leaned against him. Taking off her sandals with one hand, she had her other arm on the wall next to him and her breasts pressed against him, just above his belt.

Breathing heavily, he groaned and held her arms, pulling her up, and kissed her harder. When Susan broke the kiss to breathe, she whispered, "Oh, I also got a wax today, too, but didn't want to talk about that in front of your dad and his friends."

"A wax what?" The words swam in his head.

She purred against his neck, "I always make sure the hedge is trimmed, but today I got something special… just for you."

A heady mixture of confusion and arousal swirled in his brain. "The hedge?" Susan silently picked up his tie and turned, holding it over her shoulder as she walked to the bedroom, with him close behind her, holding her waist. "Honey, I'm confused…"

Leading him into the bedroom, she turned on the light, flung the dress over a chair, and left him standing by the bed. She dropped her sandals in the closet, took off her panties, stuffed them in the laundry bag, and came out to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, after having removed his shoes.

As soon as he saw her, he understood, grinning. "Oh, hedge. Got it. Is that a heart shape? Wow."

Susan sauntered over with a wicked smile on her face, kissed him, and asked him to lie back on the bed.

He scooted back, laying his head on the pillows, still grinning, as Susan sat astride his hips, leaned over, and kissed him.

"Hold on, let me see it again?" She leaned back against his legs as he bent them, setting his feet flat on the bed, slowly traced the little heart with his fingertip, making her shudder. "Hedge. Hmm. Okay. Wax, like hot wax? Did it hurt?" He held her hands, gently pulling her arms towards his head, so she was once again laying over him.

They could hear the hum of the fountain show making the windows vibrate, even up on the 32nd floor.

She kissed him softly. "Very warm. It wasn't too bad, but worth it to see that look on your face. You make me feel so sexy."

"Honey, you were already sexy." He reached between them, undoing his belt; the back of his hands brushed against her. Moaning, she trembled, kissing him harder…

/

Later that night, as they snuggled together in the darkness, Spencer sighed, kissing the back of her shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She whispered softly, "Spencer? I want to have a baby with you."

He was smiling; not that she could see. "I've been thinking about that, too. And I want to get married as soon as we can plan it. How does next week work for you?"

Susan laughed quietly. "That doesn't give our family and friends from out of town much time, Love." She yawned. "Hmm. How about we put together a plan after we get home?"

Still smiling, he murmured in agreement. Spooning together, they fell asleep.

/

/

A/N

See? Baby talk. More on that next chapter.

(Coming soon, more fun in LV, the SoCal leg of the trip)

The road to love is never as smooth as it may seem. Caution; bumps in the road ahead...

Stay "tuned" and thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you all enjoy it.

I'd like to hear from more you. Reading your comments makes me feel good, knowing how much you enjoy reading the story.

Also, I appreciate constructive critiques. See something? Say something. (Thank you ElleAtGW, I'll work on that.) That's how I learn to be a better writer.