Los Angeles Bad Boys: The Complete Series: Cold Hard Cash, Hollywood Holden, Saint Jude
Page 37
“What has you so happy?” Cassius asks Bex, handing her a glass of white wine.
“Oh. Um. Well. Okay.” She looks up at Holden, then, as if unable to contain her excitement, she throws her hand to the center of the circle, displaying a gorgeous solitaire diamond on her ring finger. “We’re engaged!”
Everyone starts talking, offering their congratulations.
“Oh, my god!” Evangeline says, dropping her jaw. For a moment I think she’s about to burst into tears, but instead, she tosses her hand into the center of the circle, too.
Another diamond ring.
Another engagement.
“I had no idea you were proposing,” Cassius tells Holden, and the two of them clap one another on the back.
“This is fucking great,” I say, congratulating them both. I look over at Catalina, who’s smiling graciously, asking the right questions—if Holden and Cash got down on one knee, and what the moment was like. The moms are animated, and Etta is just throwing her fingers over the piano keys, giving the moment the perfect pint-sized ambience.
“Sorry to trump your girl’s big day,” Holden says. “But we knew we couldn’t keep it a secret.”
“No. It’s awesome,” I tell him, meaning it. Etta won’t remember this day, but Cat will. And I’m currently more worried about her big day being trumped.
Her engagement being eclipsed.
Catalina pulls on my arm, “We should bring out the cake, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” I tell her as we walk into the kitchen. “And later you can blow out my candles.”
“I don’t want to start a fire,” she says coyly. “But don’t worry, I will certainly blow on something.”
Later, everyone has watched Etta unwrap more presents than any child needs, finished their cake, posed for pictures, and told us the details of the proposals. Holden took Bexley on a private helicopter ride, where they looked over the Hollywood sign. Cassius wrote a song for Evangeline, and sang it to her on the beach as the embers from their bonfire faded.
No fucking pressure.
Still, a big flashy proposal is not what Catalina would want. She would want to be here, in her home, with the people she loves. That is all—to her, that is everything.
“It’s just so crazy,” Evangeline tells Bex. “Being engaged together.”
“It is,” Marshall says, “You kids should have a double wedding.”
“Can you imagine?” Bexley says, staring at the ring on her finger. Then she laughs. “Though, honestly, it’s not the worst idea. I mean … half the work, double the fun.”
Evangeline grins. “Seriously, and the guys would be happy, they wouldn’t be flying solo on their big day.”
I know my opening when I see it. “But you know what’s better than a double wedding?” I ask.
“What’s that?” Cat asks, taking the bait. Etta is in her arms, with frosting on her upper lip, her party dress rumpled and her eyes blinking slowly as she heads toward sleep. Catalina kisses her forehead, rubbing her back.
“A triple wedding.” I fall to one knee, pull an antique ring from my pocket and present it to her. “Catalina,” I say.
She’s completely caught off-guard and shakes her head in shock. I reach for her finger, holding her hand.
“You make me a better man, a better father. And more than anything, I want to be your husband. I want to be yours. Marry me. And make me the happiest man on earth.”
“Jude.” Her word is an echo, her face flooded with tears. “Jude, of course I’ll marry you. I love you.”
I slip the ring on her finger and stand, wrapping her and my baby girl in a hug, feeling like the goddamn luckiest man in the world.
“This is insane,” Cash hollers. Everyone’s clapping, laughing, surprised.
Trish pulls us into a hug, and my mom does, too. Everyone exclaims their surprise. Bex takes Etta from Cat, and I pull Cat into my arms.
“Jude,” Cat says, her arms around my neck. “You planned this?”
“Of course I did. I just didn’t plan on the other two engagements today.”
“I love you,” she tells me, kissing me, and the world around us disappears for a moment as we melt against one another.
“I love you more.”
“Do you love us, too?” Evie asks, breaking the stolen moment. “Because we want to know if you’re in.”
“In what?” Cat asks, laughing. She turns to face our friends, but her eyes are on the engagement ring. Precious stones in a rainbow of colors, set against gold. There’s no other ring like it on the planet.
“In for the triple wedding,” Bexley asks. “It’s a go.”
“What are you talking about?” Cat asks, laughing.
“Are you in? Or are you one of those bridezillas who needs things perfect?” Holden asks, teasing his sister.
“I do not need things perfect,” Cat says. Looking up at me, she adds. “I mean, I already got pretty damn lucky.”
“So it’s a go?” Evie asks, laughing. “I mean, it would be pretty epic.”
“And pretty….” I trail off, not wanting Catalina to feel any pressure about this crazy idea—an idea I happen to like. I mean, my two best friends, their women, and the start of our lives? Pretty epic, actually.
“Pretty cool,” Catalina finishes. “I mean, only if the wedding was as crazy as this concept.”
“Right,” Cassius adds. “Like, it would have to be in Vegas or Monte Carlo or something insane.”
“A Vegas wedding?” my mom asks. “That sounds like … exactly what I’d expect from you three.”
“Is this for real?” Holden asks, laughing. “I mean, on a bullshit scale, how much bullshit are we talking?”
“I’m not bullshiting,” Evie says. “I think it sounds fun.”
Cash pipes up. “And my buddy Jack Harris has connections in Vegas. His best friend Ace owns a hotel. We can get married there.”
“This is bananas.” Catalina shakes her head.
“Like, good bananas or bananas-bananas?” Bexley asks.
“Like banana splits with a freaking cherry on top,” Cat says. “I mean, who does this?”
“Apparently, we do,” Holden says, laughing, raising his glass.
“To a triple wedding in Las Vegas,” I say, pulling Cat close to me.
“To us,” she says, the rim of her glass clinking against mine. “To us all.”
❤❤❤❤❤
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ACE
Las Vegas Bad Boy
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Check out the Las Vegas Series … starting with ACE!
ACE
I don't take women to bed.
I take them against the wall, hard and fast, and when I come I make sure they remember.
They always do.
I'm cocky as hell, but sh*t, I've got reason to be. I own Spades Royalle, the sexiest casino in Vegas. F*ck, the sexiest casino in the country.
I'm gonna keep building my empire all on my own - my ties with the mafia are in my past, buried with the bones of my family.
I like my money clean and my women dirty.
That is until I met Emmy Rose.
She says she doesn't want a bad boy.
I guess I'll have to change her pretty little mind.
EMMY ROSE
F*ck. My. Life.
I made one rule when I moved to Vegas two months ago - I would not screw bad boys. Or asshats. Or really anyone I met on the casino floor. And the thing is, I've made good on my promise.
I'm here for one reason, and one reason only: it's a f*cking job.
Landing in Vegas was never my plan. But plans change when your sister is in a coma and you don't know who put her there.
If only she'd wake up and I could get some answers.
Until then, I'll do everything in my power to avoid men who have a past as shady as my own.
***This book contains a helluva lot of chemistry and smokin' hot sex. Just be prepared, babycakes. And don't say I didn't warn you. xo, frankie
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