“I never thought you’d want to settle down. Not yet.”
“I never wanted to, but she changed everything. I can’t imagine going out and chatting to other women now. There is no one else I want.”
“Great, you’re lost, too,” he grumbles, but his tone is light, and I can tell he’s happy that we’re happy. “I can’t believe you fell in love with my sister.”
“Yeah, sorry about that, mate.”
Luke shakes his head. “You hurt her, and you know what’ll happen.”
“The threat is unnecessary.” All I ever want to do from this day until my last breath is make her happy.
“I need coffee. Help me up. I can’t sit on the sofa like a sick person.”
Luke stands, chuckling as he holds his hand out to me and pulls me to my feet. I wince in pain through every second, but the good drugs mean it’s bearable. I shuffle into the kitchen.
Wren, along with everyone else, turns as we enter.
“You should be sitting down,” she says.
“No. You not shredded that yet?” I ask, nodding to the divorce paperwork on the counter.
“I was about to,” she replies.
Luke turns his nose up. “You really have to wait a year to get a divorce? I can’t believe you can be forced to stay married. It’s a stupid rule.”
I grin. “Yeah, I don’t really hate it anymore.”
Luke lifts an eyebrow. “So, that’s it? You’re going to be with Wren? Married to her forever?”
She walks over to me, casino chip in hand.
I meet her eyes, and I’m consumed. Heart racing with the pure joy of knowing I get her for the rest of my life. “Yeah,” I say, “that’s the plan.”
“Good plan,” she replies as I take her in my arms.
“I fucking love you.”
Her eyes flitter closed, and she whispers, “I fucking love you, too.”
Epilogue
Wren
Seven Months Later
I hold onto Brody’s hand as the priest says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Grinning from ear to ear, I bounce on the spot as Mason kisses his new bride.
He and Kate had a bit of a shotgun wedding. They’d gotten engaged a month after Brody’s accident, and they have now married six months later. Who am I to judge shotgun weddings?
In the seven months since Brody’s accident, a lot has changed. Mostly the fact that I live with a boy. Brody asked me to move in with him almost straight away, but I waited a few months because everything about us had been moving so fast. I mean, we started our relationship with a wedding.
The other car who Brody swerved to avoid was never found. I hate them for getting away with it, but at least Brody is okay.
I also think Luke needed a bit of time to get used to seeing his bestie with his sister. He told us he was cool, but it took him a little longer than he showed to actually be okay. Now he just uses the ‘you went behind my back and slept with my sister’ thing to guilt Brody into going out whenever Brody says he can’t.
Sometimes it even works.
Brody wasn’t so patient every time I told him to wait a bit longer to move in with him. In the end he demanded. I made him wait an extra week.
Now we’re blissfully happy pissing each other off in the comfort of our home. I once teased about having half of his apartment. Joke’s on him.
I lean to my side, against Brody, and notice his half smile out of the corner of my eyes. Not that I thought much about how Brody would be as a boyfriend—or husband—but the man is surprisingly affectionate, always needing to touch me in some way.
The guests applaud the newly married couple, and then we filter out of the church, where they will have a million photos in the cool, early spring air. The ceremony was lovely, even if it did go on a bit. Mase and Kate look so happy.
Brody holds me like he’s scared I’ll disappear. He’s been doing that a lot in the eight months we’ve been together. We kind of went through a lot, but things have settled now, and we’re tight.
Today, he’s been holding on a little too tight.
“What’s up?” I ask as we follow Mase and Kate’s guests.
Next to the church, there is a wild field that Kate fell in love with. Apparently, it’s perfect for her boho-style wedding. I have to agree.
If I had to have a big wedding, I would want something like this.
They have one hundred and fifty guests, though, and I don’t think I even like half that many people.
His answer comes in the form of a kiss. The very second his lips brush mine I’m falling. Every. Single. Time. My toes curl in my shoes as his mouth devours me. I wrap my arms around him as his hold me flush to his chest.
“What’s up?” I ask him again when he lets me up for breath.
He lifts his eyebrow. “Nothing’s up.”
“Really? My bones are almost crushed.”
Letting up on the grip, he smiles apologetically. “Sorry.”
“You need to start talking because I’m not going anywhere until you do, and they’re going to want us for photos soon.”
“You liked the wedding.”
“That’s what’s wrong? I’ve got to say, Brody, that seems rather juvenile.”
His eyes dance. I love his eyes. “Juvenile, huh?”
I groan. “Tell me.”
“Is this what you want?”
This? The wedding? Oh, that’s what’s up. We’ve not really spoken about being married much, but I have no desire to do it again. Our wedding was perfect for us. Even if I can’t quite remember every part of it.
“No.”
“You wanted Vegas?”
I shrug. “Never really thought about it.”
“We don’t have any photos.”
“We have a few selfies,” I tell him.
He laughs. “Oh, well, that’s okay then.”
It’s not conventional, but I love the selfies we took outside the chapel, both grinning, obviously inebriated, and holding up a marriage certificate.
“Brody, days like this make me think, too, but I don’t want this. Do you?”
Shaking his head, he barks a laugh. “I couldn’t think of anything worse than a big white wedding. People watching you like you’re some freak show. No, thanks.”
“Then, why did you ask me all that?”
He takes my hands. His eyes are wide and so full of admiration that it makes my insides squirm. “Because I would do it for you. All I need is to be married to you for the rest of my life.”
“Aww.”
“Don’t start that bullshit.” He tries to keep a straight, stern face and prove that he hates the mushy stuff, but really, he likes a little romance sometimes.
Or maybe he only likes it because I now do. Either way…
“You know what you could do?” I ask, pressing my chest back to his.
His sharp intake of breath makes me want to ditch the reception.
“What’s that, Wren?”
“Get me a ring. One I can wear.” The casino chip is in my purse, but I want something I can see all the time.
His mouth parts. Oh, he likes this idea. “Really?”
“We should both have one. I want everyone to know that you’re taken… and it has been nine months since we got married.”
We didn’t bother with anything marriage-related because we were just enjoying being together.
Brody’s heart-stopping smile makes me soar.
“I want a really big one.”
He smirks. “Baby, please.”
Just Like The Movies…
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He was mine for ten years, and now he belongs to Hollywood.
Spencer Lowe, Hollywood’s newest golden boy, has hit the big time. Coming from a small town in England, he never imagined starring in a movie or becoming a household name. Offers from producers come as fast as offe
rs from women.
Indie has been in love with her best friend for years, and their short-lived love affair was the best time of her life, but she had let him go so he could follow his dreams. Now she’s alone, stuck inside a nightmare she keeps hidden.
With the premiere of Spencer’s first movie coming up, he books a ticket for Indie and takes her to LA. She wants to give in to their chemistry and dive back into a relationship with Spencer, but if she does, she risks exposing the family secret she’s been guarding her whole life.
Acknowledgments
I would like to say a massive thank you to some people who are very important to me. Without them, I wouldn’t be publishing. Or I might, but I would be writing in a dark corner and crying.
My husband and sons, thank you for your support. I love you guys.
To Zoë, Charlie, Elle, Sam, Jodi, Vic, Kirsty, and Kim. You’re always a message away when I need you. Thank you for inspiring me and being there when I need you.
Lou… DUDE, THAT COVER! Thank you for making Vegas look beautiful inside and out.
My editors Jovana and Vic, you ladies are awesome!
To bloggers and my readers, none of this would be possible without you. Thanks so much for reading and spreading the love.
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Waking up in Vegas Page 29