by Holly Jaymes
“Making me feel like I was a hookup that didn’t mean anything was best for me?”
His jaw tightened and his eyes went dark. “That was not my intention. And I didn’t see you rushing out to contradict me.”
I let out a derisive laugh. “Oh yeah, like I’m going to rush out and confess my love to the man who’d just said I was a mistake.”
“Love?”
God damn it. It was my turn to look away.
He shook me gently. “Did you love me?”
“I was twenty-one and just had a romantic day and the full attention of a cute guy, of course I thought I was in love. But it wasn’t real.” I couldn’t take the intensity of this conversation any longer. “I need another drink.”
He must have agreed as he released me and followed me back to the table. We had another two drinks, neither of us speaking.
Lisbeth came rushing to the table, her eyes bright and her smile even brighter. She pulled Ethan up next to her. “We’re getting married.”
“Congratulations,” Pax said in a bored tone as he lifted his drink in a toast.
Lisbeth’s smile faltered slightly. “I don’t even need to change my last name since ours is the same. It’s like destiny.”
“That’s wonderful,” I said, putting a little more oomph into my words. “I was wondering about you two.”
She looked at Ethan with such love. He gazed at her with the same affection. It was lovely, even as I worried they were too young and too impetuous.
“We need to hurry because the marriage license office closes at midnight,” Lisbeth said.
“Wait, you’re getting married now?” Pax jerked to attention.
“Yes. Isn’t it romantic?” Lisbeth swooned.
“It’s crazy,” he snapped.
I glared at him, not because he was wrong, because he wasn’t. Getting married on a whim was bad news. But he wasn’t handling it right.
“I think what he means is that it’s very sudden. Marriage is a big decision. And, added to that, Lisbeth, is your career-”
“We’re in love. There’s no reason getting married would ruin my career, and if it did, then it’s a rotten career.”
Ethan put his arm around Lisbeth. “I know how it looks, but this isn’t sudden. I’ve been wanting to propose for some time.”
“And now is the time?” Pax arched a brow. I got the feeling he wished they’d chosen this action when he wasn’t the one in charge of keeping an eye on them.
“We’re in Vegas. It seems perfect,” Ethan replied.
“You’ll be a cliché,” Pax argued.
Lisbeth smirked. “Just because you didn’t take your chance to sweep Victoria off her feet, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.”
“What?” he and I said at the same time.
She rolled her eyes. “Pahleese…you might be his sister’s friend, but that’s not all you are. It’s so obvious. You two pretend you don’t want each other-”
“I don’t pretend I don’t want her,” Pax snapped again. “I’ve been fucking obvious.”
I frowned, wondering if he was drunk. I knew I was feeling buzzed.
Lisbeth looked at me.
“It’s complicated,” I explained.
“Whatever,” Lisbeth said with an eye-roll. “Come on, babe, let’s get hitched.”
“Look, we can apply online,” Ethan said, pointing at his phone.
“Oh, yay, let's fill that out in the car.” They started off.
“Pax, we should go with them.”
He let out a frustrated growl. “Fine.” He stood, not quite as steady as he should have been. He reached into his pocket and tossed a few bills on the table.
Within minutes we were in the car as Lisbeth and Ethan huddled together, apparently filling out a form. Every now and then she’d look over at us and snicker.
“We should stop this,” Pax said, shaking his head. “Dane is going to fucking kill me.”
“They’re adults. They’re in love.”
“Yes, well, young love is fleeting, isn’t it?” He glared at me.
“When it’s a mistake, yes.”
“You two need to get laid,” Lisbeth interjected.
Pax and I both turned to look out opposite windows as the car pulled up to the county building. I wondered how people got accidentally married in Vegas if they had to come here to get a marriage license first.
Lisbeth and Ethan exited the car, willing to go on without us. I reached for the door handle to follow them.
“Where are you going?” Pax asked.
“I’m going with them. There is still time to talk sense into them.” He shrugged and got out with me. “Don’t demean or boss them around,” I warned him. “We need to appear supportive, but work to have them take a breath and put this off.”
He stopped me. “Back in London, if I suggested this, would you have done it?”
I stared at him like he grew a third eye. “It’s not the same, Pax. Lisbeth and Ethan have cared for each other for a while. You and I had one night.”
“I cared for you for a while.”
God.... he was reaching into my chest and crushing my heart. “Well, maybe they’ll get right what we got wrong.” Not wanting to talk about it more, especially since I wasn’t sure he was sober enough to remember this conversation, I turned on my heel and caught up with Lisbeth and Ethan. Once again, I was going to be a bridesmaid and not a bride.
Chapter 8: Deja Vu
Pax
Something was seriously wrong with me. Or maybe I’d had one drink too many. Why was I practically begging Victoria to not just forgive me, but to give me another chance? All the issues that prevented us from being together still existed, although I was willing to stand up to Lily now. Perhaps Victoria didn’t want to risk her friendship with Lily, in which case it was a good thing I’d taken off six years ago. Or maybe she didn’t believe me now.
The last thing I needed was Lisbeth eloping. Dane was going to kill me. I had to figure out how to stop it. Victoria was right. We still had time.
I followed her into the building. It was nearly midnight and there were several people getting licenses. I supposed this was part of what made Vegas Vegas, but it was weird. How many people who were married here did it in a drunken stupor that they regretted the next day? Of all the places that could benefit from a wait period after getting a marriage license, Vegas was it.
One young woman ahead of Lisbeth turned in line and did a double-take when she saw me. My gut clenched as I realized I might have just fucked this up more.
Next to me, Victoria stiffened, as if she’d noticed too.
“Oh my God, you’re Pax Ryder,” the woman gushed.
My jaw locked as I worked to figure out how to respond.
Victoria let out a laugh. “Isn’t that funny, honey?” She patted my chest and then turned to the woman. “We get that wherever we go. Don’t we, baby?”
“Ah…yes. Yes, we do, sugar.”
The young woman’s eyes narrowed as she scrutinized me. But then she was called up to the counter to get her license.
“Maybe we should wait outside,” Victoria said.
“Good idea.” I opened the door and escorted her out. I sucked in fresh air, willing it to clear my brain.
A few minutes later, Lisbeth and Ethan appeared.
“We’ve got it. Chapel of love, here we come.” Lisbeth waved paperwork in her hand.
“Those are good for a year,” Victoria said. “You can wait so you can have your family and friends with you.”
How’d she know that they were good for a year? Had she ever tried to get married here before?
“I don’t want to wait, do you, baby?” Lisbeth looked up at Ethan.
“No.”
“What about your families? Won't they be upset they missed it?” Victoria asked.
“Yes, but we’ll have a big party instead,” Lisbeth replied as she took Ethan’s hand and led him to the limo.
“Now what?” I whispered to Vic
toria as we got in behind them.
“I don’t know. Kidnap ‘em?”
I snorted. “We’re trying to prevent a scandal, not create one.”
A few minutes later, we were at one of the many fast-marriage joints.
“Seriously, we need to stop this,” I said as I followed the rest of them out of the car.
“I don’t know how. They’re caught up in the moment. In the romance of it.”
“Romance? This isn’t romantic.”
Victoria glanced at me with an arched brow.
I huffed out a breath. “I know romance and this isn’t it. Romance is what Lily had. A big wedding. Family and friends.”
“Well, maybe you need to call Dane and have him call her.”
I shook my head. “He’ll want me to lock her away. As wrong as this is, I can’t fuck it up for her.”
“You’ll look like an old fuddy-duddy if you do,” Victoria agreed.
“Fuddy-duddy? I’m trying to stop her from ruining her life.”
“First, you don’t know that this is a mistake. Ethan said he’d been planning to propose, so maybe this is just speeding up the inevitable. And maybe now is the right time, before she’s famous.”
Fuck. She was right. Still, Dane was going to kill me.
A woman met us at the entrance and took Lisbeth’s paperwork. “Come with me,” she said to them.
Victoria and I stayed back.
“You too,” the woman called to us.
I looked at Victoria who shrugged and we followed them. The chapel had weddings down to a science. We were ushered into a room where Lisbeth and Ethan could choose their wedding package that included a venue. They choose the “Under the stars” option.
We were led to a room with a glass roof.
“Now, Lisbeth and Ethan, you stand here. And Pax and Victoria, you’re here.” The woman motioned for me to stand on the same side of the altar as Ethan and Victoria was beside me next to Lisbeth. I guessed we were the best man and maid of honor.
The wedding woman looked at me with recognition but smiled and went about her duties.
“I wonder how many celebrities have passed through here?” Victoria whispered.
“I’m double-fucked if it gets out that I was here too.”
Victoria patted my arm. “Life is so hard for you, Pax.” I hated that she was patronizing me. She was right. I was being a brat, but still. “Look, let’s just support them. What happens, happens,” she said.
I growled under my breath, but was resolved that she was right. There was no stopping this trainwreck.
The ceremony went forward. Afterward, Victoria and I had to sign some sort of paper, I guessed as witnesses. Then Mr. and Mrs. Garner were married and we were all back in the car. Champagne was being poured although Lisbeth and Ethan were starting the consummation of their marriage as we drove back to the hotel.
“I don’t think they know we’re here,” I said to Victoria as I handed her a flute of champagne.
“Lost in love. It’s sweet.”
“It’s about to be a live porno.” I downed my flute and poured another and offered Victoria more. She was giving me a dour look. “What?” I asked.
“You act like an old man. Stop fighting it and enjoy it.”
Annoyance burned in my gut. “I’ve been trying to say the same thing to you.”
Her blue eyes flashed with heat. It could have been anger, but I felt it was lust. “We’re talking about two different things, Pax.”
“Are we?” I straightened and drank my champagne, wishing it was something stronger. I looked over at Lisbeth and Ethan, their lips locked in a passionate kiss as their hands groped and squeezed each other.
“You just want sex, Pax. They’re in love. They just joined their lives together. Maybe it will last and maybe it won’t, but they’re committed.”
Was that all I wanted? Sex? I didn’t think so. I wasn’t ready for marriage, but I wasn’t averse to it either. And one thing I did know for sure was that this thing with Victoria was more than just sex. It always had been. The only problem had been Lily.
I leaned closer to Victoria again. “If not for Lily, that could have been us.”
Her gaze whipped to mine, surprise shining her blue eyes. Her lips slightly parted as her breath hitched. The need to kiss her was the strongest it had ever been, but I fought the urge.
The car jerked to a stop, effectively breaking the tension.
“Come on, baby, let's have our honeymoon,” Lisbeth said, getting out of the car before the driver could open the door.
Victoria exited the car after them, and I half-expected her to leave me on the hotel entryway but she lingered.
I stepped out of the car and only then did she turn to walk inside. By the time we reached the elevators, Lisbeth and Ethan were long gone.
“I have a great view from my suite,” I said as we waited for the elevator to arrive. “We can talk.”
“Talk?”
She probably thought it was a euphemism for sex. Maybe it was, except we did need to talk. But if it led to more, that would be alright too.
“Don’t you think it’s time?” I asked.
She turned her head forward as the elevator arrived. The doors opened and we stepped in, but she didn’t press a button. I took that to mean she was coming to my room. I pressed the button for my floor and stood next to her as the doors closed.
“Did you mean what you said? That if not for Lily, things might have been different?” she asked, keeping her gaze forward on the doors.
“I’m not able to know how things would have turned out,” I said honestly. “All I know is that I wanted more than the one day and night that we got.”
She closed her eyes and I got the feeling she was letting my words slide through her.
“What about you?” I asked.
“I would have liked to have more time too.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets because the urge to grab her and press her against the wall of the elevator and ravish her was acute.
“I always thought you considered me Lily’s annoying friend until that night,” Victoria said.
“I did, until I saw you on the beach in Malibu. I think we were seventeen or eighteen.”
Again, her gaze whipped to me. “Really?”
“Would it be misogynistic to admit that you look fucking hot in a bikini?”
Her lips twitched upward and a blush came to her cheeks. “You look good wet.”
I raised a brow. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I thought you were hot in Malibu too.” She turned her head forward again and her smile faltered. “I told Lily you were hot. She wasn’t happy about it.”
I looked at the door in front of me too. “She caught me watching you. She told me I was a pervert.” She looked over at the buttons on the elevator and I panicked that she was about to press the button to her floor and bail on our drink because she didn’t want to betray Lily’s wishes. “Why do you suppose we let her have her way on this?” I asked.
Victoria shrugged. “Because we care for her and don’t want to hurt her.”
“What about us?”
She turned to look at me. “What do you mean?”
“Does she care about us and how we feel? I don’t know about you, but she hurt me. It hurts me now to think that what I’m feeling right now is somehow wrong.”
She swallowed hard as her bright blue eyes watched me. “What are you feeling?”
Taking a chance, I reached out and dragged the back of my fingers across her cheek. “I’m feeling like I want to kiss you.”
Again, her breath hitched and I felt it straight to my dick. I leaned forward, pressing my lips against hers, softly, testing the waters in case she thought this was a bad idea. Her hand came to my chest and I readied myself to be pushed away. Instead, she leaned closer, her lips pressing more firmly against mine. I moaned and slipped my hand around her waist. I let myself get lost in her taste, in the scent of her enveloping me.
&
nbsp; I cursed the ding of the bell when we reached my floor as it interrupted the sweet kiss. I held my hand out, motioning for her to precede me out of the elevator. We walked in silence to my suite. For the first time in a long time, probably since the last time I was with her, I was uncertain as to what I should do. I told her we would talk, but that kiss in the elevator suggested that perhaps the talking was done.
“I’m here,” I said as we reached the door. I opened it, letting her go in. She immediately walked to the window and looked out over the fountain. I knew I should offer her a drink, but I walked to her, standing just behind her. I wanted to move her hair aside and kiss her neck.
“Nice view.” Her voice was soft, breathless and I wondered if the moment was heady for her too.
“It is.”
She turned her head and I moved to the side so I could look at her. So she’d know that the view I was talking about had nothing to do with what was outside the window.
“This isn’t any different than before,” she said, her gaze dropping to my lips.
“Is that good or bad?” I asked, trying to hold back the desperate need to touch her.
“Both. This between us is nice, but the situation is no different. Lily still stands between us.”
I shook my head. “She’s not here. And I feel confident in saying that she won’t interrupt tonight or tomorrow.” Was I pushing it to suggest she stay the night?
“So, you’re saying we follow the plan we’d attempted before. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her?”
I frowned. To my mind, whatever was between Victoria and I was none of Lily’s business. But it was clear that Victoria valued her friendship, and while it appeared that she was into me, she didn’t want to risk her relationship with Lily.
So I nodded. We watched each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to make a move. When she didn’t, I decided to offer her the drink. We had all night, after all.
“Do you want a-” I didn’t finish because her lips pressed against mine. At first, I held back, wanting to be sure about what was happening. But when her lips parted and invited me in, I let my desire run free.
I turned her body, pressing her against the window as I dove into her sweet mouth, my tongue licking and lapping hers. I was in fucking heaven.