Tilting her head back, she laughs and slaps my chest. The earlier distance is gone. We’re sitting on my bed, her side pressed firmly against mine. It’s amazing what a few tiny bottles of booze, beer, and two hours can do.
She’s drunk. I’m drunk. And I’ve never felt so comfortable before.
“Can we go out, please? Back to that bar we were at yesterday?” She presses her lips together and smiles, fluttering her eyelashes.
Really?
“Erm, fine, but try to act normal.”
We get up off the bed and my body sways. I laugh and place my palm on the wall to steady myself.
Rolling those eyes, she pulls on my arm, and I almost fall again.
“To the bar!”
“Wren, walk. You look drunk.”
She turns, her mouth falling open. “I’m merry.”
“That’s what drunk people say.”
“You’re being very negative. We’re supposed to be having fun.”
I lift my brow. “I should be in a casino with a chick hanging off my arm.”
“They only care when you’re winning, you know.”
“And you care even when I’m losing?”
A bubble of laughter erupts from her. “No. I only care when you’re taking me to bars.”
I asked for that one.
I lead her to our bar just off the strip with her gripping my arm so tightly, she’s probably cutting off the blood flow.
“Here we are,” I say, shoving the door open.
She grins up at me. “Yay. I love it here.”
Breaking out a heart-stopping smile, she spins, making that dress rise up, and walks into the bar like she owns it.
The key to any lie is in your conviction.
Don’t ID me because I’m supposed to be here.
On a sigh, I follow her in.
I’m a classy guy, bringing her here a second time.
The room is dark with dimly lit green lights. Two pool tables are off to the side, and there’s a heavily stained oak bar running along the back. It smells like cheap beer, and my feet stick to the floor as I walk.
“You’re not getting wasted,” I tell her. I don’t mind taking her for a couple, but I’m not carrying her arse anywhere.
Leaning forward, her body presses against mine. The little white sun dress that skims her upper thighs could be off in seconds.
Fucking hell!
“Wren,” I warn.
I don’t know what she’s doing, and I don’t think she does either, but we’ve never been this close before. I’ve never felt her breasts pushing against my chest. My heart thuds against my rib cage.
Clearing my throat, I step back and put some much fucking needed distance between us. I’m attracted to her, sure, but I can’t sleep with her. Way too messy. You don’t sleep with your best mate’s sister. You don’t sleep with your mum’s best friend’s daughter. You don’t sleep with your sister’s friend.
I could break a whole lot of rules in one fuck, and as much as I would love to see that dress draped over my bed, I can’t go there. Our families are too close. The only way I could sleep with her is if I married her.
“Wren.” I catch her hand as she heads to the bar. Pulling her back, I twist her to face me.
“Don’t. This is fine,” she replies, reading me. “Brody, I promise.”
I think we’ve all been guilty of putting Wren on some kind of pedestal and treating her like she’s going to break. As the youngest and final kid of our crew, we’ve always seen her as the baby. That’s been unfair to her because she’s not a kid anymore. Our Little Wren has become the most beautiful woman. She’s sexy, and a massive pain in the arse, but she’s one of us. An equal.
“Line them up. I’ll get the drinks,” I tell her, twitching my chin towards the free pool table.
“Yay!”
I watch her sway towards the table.
Yep, definitely not a kid.
I order us four tequilas because I’m not going back to the bar every five minutes. Wren takes a glass from me, and I set the spare two down on a grubby table next to where we’re playing.
“Ladies first.”
“Oh, I was going to go first.”
Her smart mouth …
She bends over the table and whacks the ball as if it personally did her wrong. It clashes into the stripes and sends one flying off the table and onto the floor.
“Nice shot,” I tell her.
She glares over her shoulder and picks the ball up.
“You should give her some pointers!” the girl playing on the other table says with her hand on her hip and the other clutching her cue.
Her boyfriend wraps his arm around her waist. “I’m Jayden, and this is Kaci. As you can tell, my girl has no problems inserting herself into others’ lives.”
Wren laughs. “She’s right. Brody won’t teach me anyway because his ego will be bruised when I kick his arse.”
“Oh my God!” Kaci says, throwing her curly black hair behind her shoulders. “You’re British.”
I nod.
They both sound like they’re from the South with the drawl.
“I’m Wren. Do you want to join us? We can play doubles.”
“Great. Now, I’m going to lose,” I tease.
She waves her hand at me. “Ignore him. Another couple of tequilas and he’ll be so much friendlier.”
“We’re in,” Kaci replies. “But I think it should be girls against boys.”
“You sure?” Wren asks, holding up the ball she just got off the floor. “I’m quite terrible.”
Kaci leans in and whispers something in Wren’s ear that has her laughing.
What are they plotting?
Jayden and I share a look of total confusion.
“I’ll set them up again. Kaci can go first,” Wren says.
“What are you doing?” I ask when she rounds my side of the table.
Smiling up at me, she places her hand on my stomach. I take a sharp breath.
“I’m not doing anything, Brody.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.”
Shrugging, she bends right over the table, placing the stripe back where it needs to be. Her dress rides up again, and I can see the curve of her arse under white lacy underwear.
Fuck.
She could have reached better if she had gone to the far side of the table. That little show was all for me.
What the hell does she think she’s doing?
As we start playing, it takes me all of three seconds to guess what she’s doing. She’s shit at the game, so she’s putting me off.
And it’s working.
All I can think about is slamming her down on the pool table and ripping that lacy underwear off.
I shake my head and down another shot of tequila. Since Jayden and Kaci joined us, there has been a whole load more shots.
The couple Wren was supposed to have has turned into five.
She’s hilarious when she’s drunk, and surprisingly better at pool. Though not by much.
Stumbling towards me, she grins. “You’re up, hotshot.”
“You’re drunk, Wren.”
Her jaw drops open, and she folds her arms, almost whacking herself in the face with the cue. “How dare you, sir.”
I should have cut her off a few drinks ago.
“Okay, let’s get you back to the hotel.”
“No, you can’t go,” Kaci wails. “Jayden and I are getting married, and you have to come!”
Wren’s eyes light up. “Tonight?”
Jayden nods his head and wraps an arm around Kaci. He lifts his eyebrow. “You in?”
“Hell yeah!” Wren says. “But first, we celebrate.”
We celebrate with four more tequilas.
Eleven
Wren
Tequila is fun. It’s making the whole world shine and spin a little slower. Or making me move a little faster. I can’t tell.
Brody and I follow Jayden and Kaci to… a place we need to g
o first to get a licence. A clerk’s office or something like that. Then, they’re getting married by Elvis. I’m so excited for them. They’re awesome, and I’ll love them forever.
Brody has me pinned to his strong side, the both of us laughing as we follow in a slightly zigzag line. He’s kind of awesome, too. I knew he had coolness in there, he just hid it behind arsehole. All I had to do was give him a lot of tequila. Plus, he smells really nice, fresh, addictive.
I should do that every day because, right now, I really like him. The warm, fuzzy feeling could just be the alcohol, though. No, he’s funny, and he’s barely taken his hands off me.
We seem to walk for a very long time, and I don’t mind because Brody and I are going to be witnesses to a wedding tonight. I can’t wait. It’s something we will share.
“You good, Wren?” he slurs into my ear, holding me close.
His voice vibrates through my body, heading straight down south.
“I’m perfect. Tonight is awesome, and I love you.”
Kaci turns around. “Oh my God, you two should totally get married, too. We’re here!”
Brody bursts out laughing. “We can’t get married.”
Slapping his chest with the back of my hand, I scowl. “That wasn’t nice. I’m offended.”
“Wren, you’re eighteen.”
“You can get married at eighteen in the state of Nevada. You’ll need your passports for the licence,” Jayden tells us.
I giggle and bite my bottom lip as the world tilts a little more to the left. We have passports.
“Wren,” Brody groans. “Your brother would kick my arse.” He chuckles and adds, “You cannot tell him.”
I press my index finger against my thumb and draw them across my lips. Then, I pretend to throw away the key.
It takes a shockingly short amount of time to get a marriage licence. We have IDs because Brody needs to prove his age to drink. And I carry mine because I don’t want someone stealing my passport and selling my identity. We told them we wanted to get married, and boom, I’m holding a piece of paper that allows us to do just that.
Crazy, exciting stuff!
Brody takes the paper out of my hand as we walk to our next stop—a chapel. An actual chapel. In Vegas, so it’s likely to have flashy lights.
Nothing can kill the buzz of getting married, so I don’t really care what it looks like.
Snorting, Brody asks, “You ready to do this?”
Jayden and Kaci walk into a building ahead of us. By the door, they’re advertising weddings in neon pink.
Who else that I know can say they got married in Vegas?
I nod. “This is so much fun.”
With a lopsided smile, Brody takes my hand and pulls me through the door.
I almost stumble but he has a good grip of me.
The lobby is so damn bright.
Brody’s lips brush my temple. “Last chance to pull out.”
You probably should.
“No way. Getting married is, like, the thing to do in Vegas. Right?” I bite my lip and take hold of his upper arm because my legs feel like jelly.
He smirks. “We’re definitely doing Vegas better than the rest of them.”
Jayden and Kaci take a seat with two other waiting couples. Brody and I step forward and give our details.
Brody shoves his card in the machine and taps his pin number.
The old lady behind the table smiles. “You can take your card, sir, and you’re ready. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” I beam.
Then, we join the others.
Kaci laughs. “I love that we’re all doing this together.”
“Me, too!” I flop down in a seat next to her, and Brody sits on the other side of me.
The lobby smells like mints from the bowl on the end table, and the cream leather sofa sticks to my thighs.
“Everything’s moving,” I tell Brody.
Chuckling, he dips his chin in a lazy nod. “Yeah, it is.”
“It’s fun.” I tilt my head up and try to follow the lights above me as they spin in a big circle.
Jayden and Kaci are called through after the couple in front of them leaves.
Squealing, I jump up, and the contents of my stomach swish. I press my palm to my belly and lean against Brody.
“You good?” he asks, leading me into the room.
I stumble against his chest. “I just need to be still for a minute.”
Jayden and Kaci take centre stage, and Brody tells the officiant that we’re going to swap places when they’re done.
I bite my lip, grinning through their short but sweet ceremony. Kaci bounces with excitement throughout. Elvis is cool.
I can’t wait to be that excited when I marry Brody.
This is awesome!
“I pronounce you husband and wife.”
Jayden and Kaci kiss.
Brody claps. I’m not so reserved.
Jumping up and down, I whack my hands together and cheer. “Woo, I love you guys!”
Now, it’s our turn.
Brody stands tall and takes my hand as we step forward. My heart races. The officiant is short with dark hair and dressed in a white Elvis outfit. His face is all wrong though, too round, but he puts on a decent Elvis voice.
“We’re getting married,” I tell Elvis.
He nods and gets straight to business. “Welcome to the marriage of Brody Harris and Wren Clark.”
In my head, I’m screaming, but even with a bottle of tequila in my veins, I know not to shout out loud. I’m getting married right now!
Brody squeezes my hand and sways into me.
“Today, we celebrate their love and special union…”
He sounds funny, talking like Elvis.
I press my lips together as my stomach buzzes with a nervous excitement.
“Marriage is the union between two hearts, forsaking all others…”
The idea of Brody forsaking all others is hilarious.
“Brody, repeat after me. I promise to you, Wren, before our witnesses,” Elvis says.
Brody repeats, carefully watching me, his eyes full of emotion that lays heavy in my heart.
Elvis continues, “To commit to you, love and respect you, for as long as we both shall live.”
Brody tilts his head to me and grins. His gorgeous dark blue eyes glazed. “To commit to you, love and respect you, for as long as we both shall live.”
For a second, I can’t look away. I’m flying.
“Now, Wren, repeat after me. I promise to you, Brody, before our witnesses,” Elvis says.
For a split second, I can’t speak.
“I promise to you, Brody, before Jayden and Kaci and Elvis,” I say, giggling at how much I screwed that up. It’s kind of what he said, right?
Elvis goes on as if I’d repeated word for word perfectly.
“To commit to you, love and respect you, for as long as we both shall live.”
I push my chest into Brody’s. “To commit to you, love and respect you. Oh, for as long as we both shall live.” I nod, nailing it.
Brody’s lips part, his eyes darkening.
“Now, we will exchange rings.”
I gasp. “Brody, we don’t have rings!”
His lopsided smile makes me giggle.
Who cares, right?
“Hold on. I have this!” He lets go of my hand and digs around in his pocket. With a triumphant grin, he produces a black casino chip.
He frowns and looks to Elvis for help. “Oh, there’s no hole in it, mate.”
I snatch it from his hand, earning the attention of both him and Elvis. “I can work with this,” I tell them, sliding the chip into my bra. “There.”
Elvis chuckles. “Well, all right. We have heard the willingness of Brody and Wren to be joined by marriage. They come of free will and have declared their love and commitment to each other. Therefore, by the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I am pleased to declare them husband and wife. Brody, you may kis
s your bride.”
Oh. I have never kissed Brody before.
Should we?
There’s no hesitation from him, however.
His hands reach around my back, one trailing up and into my hair. His lips descend and press to mine a second later, scorching my skin.
Shit. I’m kissing Brody—my husband.
I’m pretty sure that his mouth does not leave mine for longer than five seconds at a time. All I remember of the walk, well stumble, back to the hotel is his mouth and changing music as we passed different venues.
His tongue slides against mine and my toes curl in my shoes. He tastes like tequila.
Why have I not been kissing him my whole life?
How dare he keep this mouth from me.
“Wren.” My name is a whisper against my lips and sends a fresh bolt of desire straight between my legs. I need to be closer, to have his hands and mouth all over my body right now.
Brody keeps one hand curled around my jaw and the other lets go of my waist. I hear a click and then he pushes me backwards, kind of in a zigzag as he loses his footing.
“How did we get here?” I slur as he tries to deepen the kiss.
He shakes his head like he has no time to answer my ridiculous question.
We’re in his room and he seems very impatient to get me out of my dress.
Okay, whatever.
My hands slide up his t-shirt and over every bump of muscle. I know Brody goes to the gym, and I love the results.
He shivers under my touch. His fingers tug at the hem of my dress. In one smooth movement that I almost miss, he pulls the dress over my head and throws it somewhere behind him.
Swollen lips meet mine with a renewed urgency that steals my breath. I’m too hot all over and when he pulls me against him, I hold onto his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist.
Brody’s hips grind mine and he becomes very handsy. His fingers scrape my skin from my butt all the way up to my bra. He unhooks it and I tug the damn thing off.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” I tell him.
“Take my top off.”
I don’t need telling twice. I rip the thing over his head. Laughing, his midnight eyes smile in amusement. “Eager.”
“Shut up, Brody.”
He walks to the bed and drops me on the mattress.
I bite my lip and stare up at the half naked man I once thought barely tolerated me.
Waking up in Vegas Page 6