I couldn't believe the suite Ranger had reserved for us. We had a reservation for the whole week. Imagine a week alone with my soon to be husband! Ranger has been so different. But it's in a good way, he's more playful, less serious and he exudes happiness.

I'm so happy I feel my face might freeze like this. I was thinking about Joe and how it ended. I didn't even shed a tear. I think I finally had enough, and it wasn't a surprise that my feelings toward Joe had deteriorated. It's sad when you love a guy's dog more than the guy. I didn't miss him when he was in Miami. I also know he wasn't alone all those nights in Florida. He'd never be faithful in a marriage and that's the one thing I would need above all else, especially after the disaster with Dickie Orr.

After our morning of playful fun in the suite we decided to head out and do some of what Ranger calls "Retail Therapy".

We went to the shops at the "Palms". These shops were nothing like the shops in Atlantic City. There wasn't a monkey print in sight, no cheap souvenirs, no half priced tee shirts. This was high-end shopping at its finest!

Ranger walked into the store with me. He gave the woman at the cash register his black Amex card and said "whatever she wants, send it up to our suite." He kissed me and said "if you like it and it looks good, don't look at the price tag just buy it!"

I started to argue with him about paying too much. He pulled me close and said "I can afford it, remember most of your clothes are destroyed. You will be getting an insurance check to help with the cost. I'm going to buy some things as well, remember I didn't bring a suitcase either!" With that he walked out of the shop and went a couple of doors down to a man's clothing store.

I walked around just browsing at first. The clothing here was so elegant and refined. So unlike anything I'm used to wearing. I decided to at least try a few things before going to a more "me" type shop.

Ranger was right, the last Malatov cocktail practically destroyed all my clothes. The clothes and underwear I threw into the bag last night had a smokey, slightly burned smell to them.

I found a couple of really nice dresses. One was a stunning black strapless fit-and-flare sequin dress by Mac Duggal. The other was a silver v-neckline sequin embellished full sheer sleeve midi dress by Chic and Holland. Both of these dresses fit like they were made for me. I told the sales clerk to send those up to the suite. Ok two dresses down now time for "me" clothes.

I walked around and finally found jeans! These weren't my usual brand of Levi's but they looked really nice and the denim was soft. I tried on several pairs and bought Nina Ricci straight leg denim jeans, a pair of Victoria Beckham Alina flare jeans,and a pair of Valentino Garavani V logo pocket slim leg jeans. These Valentino jeans were my favorite. I didn't look at the price tag, not even a little peek! I decided to hold on to the Valentino jeans but send the rest up to the suite. The sales clerk was smiling now, so I thought I must have bought some good commission choices for her.

We continued on throughout the shop, me and my happy sales clerk 'Sally".

Did this place even have tee shirts? Sally, brought me over to the 'casual' area of the shop. Finally! Tee shirts! I grabbed a few. There was a Tom Ford black tee with a logo on the back, a Golden Goose striped tee, a Prada tee shirt and one by Akris Punto. I had all those sent up to the room. I decided to keep a sleeveless Prada tee shirt and my jeans with me to change into once my shopping here was complete. I planned to change into these and ditch the rangeman clothes they were a bit too heavy for the Las Vegas heat.

The funny thing I said to Sally was that this store didn't even have a Las Vegas tee shirt! Sally said "why on earth do you want that? You've made some beautiful purchases? Well if you really want one, you can buy those on the strip." I just internally shook my head. Who doesn't want a Las Vegas tee shirt? I went into the dressing room and put on my new purchases. I stuffed the rangeman clothes into a shopping bag.

Finally it was time for shoes!! If I have one weakness, it's my extreme love of shoes, boots, sandals, and sneakers! "Lead on Sally" I said as I noticed Ranger walking up the aisle towards me.

"IT'S SHOE TIME" I said to Ranger. He held my hand as Sally took us to the shoe department. The first thing I saw was a beautiful display,it was sort of like Venus rising from the ocean! I swear I heard trumpets sounding in my head! It was Christian Louboutin!!

There on the display was a beautifully delicate strapped sandal called Joli Queen. I just about wet my pants, I was so excited! I had to try these on! The shoe department had its own sales people so Sally returned Rangers credit card, and bid me farewell.

I was introduced to Jacque, the shoe sales associate. Jacque was probably Jack and the French accent was probably high school French, but Jacque was definitely going to be my best friend for the next hour!

Rangers lips rose slightly onto a smile as I fondled the Louboutin's. "Babe, let's see how they look. Pick out what you want to try on." I chose several pairs of Louboutin, they also had Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Prada, Golden Goose! I was in Shoe Heaven! So I went to town!

Ranger loved almost everything I tried. He was probably thinking how I'd look naked with just the shoes. Men!

I assembled a huge pile of yes shoes and a small pile of nope. I was wearing a comfortable Prada sandal that I decided to buy. I was starting to pick out what I wanted from the rather large pile of beautiful shoes when Ranger said to Jacque "We'll take the large pile of shoes. Please have them sent up to our suite." There were thousands of dollars worth of high end shoes he just agreed to purchase. Jacque smiled and said "oui monsieur, merci beaucoup."

"Babe," Ranger said. Looking like the cat who ate the canary. I didn't even argue. I knew later we'd have a naked shoe modeling session.

Ranger had a few packages under his arm and asked Jacque if those could be sent to the suite as well. Jacque, who decided Ranger was his new best friend, agreed quickly to send them along with the boat load of shoes to our suite.

Our next shop to my surprise was a bridal salon. Ranger explained that we'd both had horrible first weddings. So this was our chance to have a re-do. He wanted me to go into the shop and buy the dress of my dreams, not my mother's dream dress. He was going to go next door to a man's formal wear shop and select what he was going to wear.

When I thought about it I really liked this idea. No puffy sleeved monstrosity for me! I was going for an ethereal, flowing light weight dress. The one I had wanted before my first wedding was hijacked by my mother.

The boutique was mostly dresses to order in advance, however, on the other side of the boutique was "Las Vegas Bridal Specials". This was where the dress you see is the only one available. There were a few gowns in my size. Most of them were white, a few of them were champagne. Nothing caught my eye, they were just too typical "Wedding Dresses".

I was approached by a young sales girl who was watching me as I rummaged through the dresses. "They're pretty horrible aren't they!" She whispered to me. I agreed with her. "I was looking for an ethereal, floating, unique design but it was a last minute decision to fly to Las Vegas. So I guess I'm out of luck on a dress" I told her.

She looked around the shop. "Hi my name's Margo, My mom owns this place. She's pretty old-fashioned in what she thinks are perfect wedding dresses. In fact she won't let me put some dresses out on the racks because they aren't either white or champagne. I have a few differently designed dresses in the back. She doesn't know about. Do you want to look at them?" She asked Conspiratorially. "Absolutely" I replied.

Quietly she ushered me into the back room where there were more racks of traditional dresses. Over here she motioned to a door marked "Margo's Closet" "This is where I keep the good stuff" She explained. When she opened the door it wasn't a closet, it was a small room. "I've been accepted at Parsons in New York in the fall. These are some of my designs. my mom just doesn't think they're right for the shop." I looked at the girl "how old are you?" I asked. "I just turned eighteen" She replied.

These dresses were exquisite!

It was like she had read my mind. They were beyond anything in the boutique. I pulled out a diaphanous dress of pale blue. It was an A-line dress with a plunging bikini neckline and small 3D flowers of pink, violet, and blue that were attached delicately to the bodice and flowed down to a full length skirt. It was the most beautiful wedding dress I had ever seen. "Can I try this one on?" I asked her. "Sure, it should fit you" she said. "It laces up the back". It was a perfect fit! I had to have this dress. I hated to ask the price because I knew it would be expensive. "You designed this dress?" I asked her casually. "Yes" she smiled as she answered. "It was one of the designs I entered in my application to Parsons."

I looked through her dresses and found two more that could be worn for special events. I decided that these would all work and I asked her the prices for all three. She shyly replied "I was wanting to sell these three for about five hundred dollars but you're the first person to ever actually see them in person. I've been so scared that no one would like them." I reached into my purse and pulled out my credit card. "Ring me up" I said. She pulled out her Venmo and we completed my purchase. "When you get to New York, please call me. I'm about an hour outside the city." I gave her my business card with my phone contact. She carefully wrapped each dress in a garment bag, and I left the store in a fantastic mood.

Ranger was waiting for me standing by the car. "Ready to go?" He asked? I was in his arms in a flash. He hugged me tight. "Love you, Babe"