Til Death Do Us Part (Vegas Vows)

by Harlow Layne

  She opened the refrigerator door and stepped back. “Take your pick. We’ve got a little bit of everything for the party tomorrow.”

  I picked a bottle of water and sat down at the island.

  She braced her hands on the counter. “Leo mentioned you wanted to talk to me.” Her face softened as she continued. “I know you don’t know me and all of this can be a little intimidating, but I promise we’re everyday people just some days my husband is on the big screen.”

  “That’s what Leo keeps telling me. I’ve never been around anyone famous, so yeah, I’m not going to lie, it’s a lot intimidating. Plus, you’re Leo’s family and I want to make a good impression.”

  “You’ve already done that, though. You’ve made Leo so happy in the short amount of time you’ve been together, making us automatically love you. Leo’s had a hard run with dating in the past with women wanting to use him because of Luke.”

  I’d never thought of that, but it did make sense. That’s probably why he didn’t tell me right away. If I’d known, I’m not sure what I would have done. I’d have likely distanced myself from him instead of thrown myself at him.

  “I think I’m the opposite of those women. It freaked me out, and not in a good way. Probably because my mom and I have never had money.”

  Alex moved around the counter to sit beside me. Her voice was soft when she spoke. “When I met Luke, I was a broke single mom, so I understand. I didn’t grow up with money and after I got divorced life wasn’t easy for me, but I knew leaving my ex was the best thing I could do for me and Mason. I know you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all this, but I think it will help when you know how I came into my relationship with Luke.”

  I nodded for her to continue. I was intrigued by what she had to say. It had never occurred to me Alex didn’t come from money.

  “Luke has always been a private person, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t those who don’t respect his wishes and take a picture of him doing even the most mundane of things. I didn’t want to be put in the limelight, and I certainly didn’t want Mason to be. In the beginning, it was hard. We hid our relationship so the media wouldn’t find out, and during the entire time, there was a woman on the internet saying she was in a relationship with Luke. He was afraid I was going to bolt at any second, unable to take the stress of him being a celebrity, but I eventually got used to it because I love Luke. I know we’re not in the exact same circumstances, but I hope my story helps.”

  Strangely, it did.

  “It does. It would break my heart if Leo and I split up. I keep thinking I’ll do something, and he’ll realize I’m not worth it. I mean, how many people get married while drunk in Vegas and stay married?”

  “Probably not many.” She giggled, smiling over at me.

  “I’m sorry about freaking out earlier, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been so nervous about coming to meet you and then on the way here, I realized I’ve missed my period and that sent me on a tailspin.”

  “Oh.” She blinked at me.

  “I know it’s way too soon. Leo and I haven’t even spoken about if or when we want kids and then bam. I’ve always thought I’d wait until I was thirty and I’m only twenty-two.”

  “That’s a lot to take in. Trust me, I know about unplanned pregnancies. I got pregnant when I was in high school and our parents forced us to get married. It wasn’t long after our wedding I had a miscarriage. There were many times over the years I wished I’d left Decker right after I lost the baby, but if I’d left him, I wouldn’t have Mason. So, I have to believe things happen for a reason. I’m sure you’re scared.”

  “Petrified. Leo said we should get a test to find out right away, but said I should talk to you since it might look bad if someone is seen buying a test and they think we’re buying it for you.”

  Alex looked down at her clasped hands and let out a sigh. “I wish I could say that’s a lie, but it very well could happen. Leo’s been here before, so some know he’s Luke’s brother, and I can’t say how many people around here follow celebrity news. For the most part, they leave us alone, but some sneak pictures and sell them.”

  “That must be hard,” I admitted.

  “It can be. For the most part, we don’t think about it or it would drive us crazy. I never thought Luke would give up so much to live here—”

  “I didn’t give up anything,” Luke interrupted her. He swept Alex up in his arms and kissed her long and hard. “It’s the opposite, gorgeous. I’ve received more than I ever thought possible by having you in my life.”

  Holy hell! I sat there watching them swooning on my barstool.

  “Leo filled me in, and I don’t think we need to worry about anyone assuming Alex is pregnant again. People have been saying she’s pregnant since they knew we were a couple, so there’s always going to be something, but it’s only been a couple of weeks. That’s pushing it. Why don’t Leo and I drive to the next town over and pick up dinner from our favorite Italian place? While we’re there Leo can go inside and get a test or ten and you can take one after dinner.”

  Alex turned to Luke and placed her hands on his chest. “You know I’ll never turn down my favorite Italian place, but we shouldn’t assume everyone else feels like Italian?”

  “Oh, hel…heck yeah,” Leo’s eye widened before he chuckled. “Babe, you’re going to want to try it. I swear it’s some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had.”

  “I’m never one to turn down good Italian food.” Although I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to eat dinner without knowing if I was pregnant or not. Maybe I could sneak away and take the test beforehand.

  “I’m not sure we should make Everly wait to take the test. I know if I was her, I’d want to take it right away.”

  Leo shrugged. “Either way, we’ll get food and a test. Problem solved.”

  If it was only that easy.

  Hugging me from behind, Leo leaned down to speak into my ear. “I’ll be back soon, babe. Are you going to be okay?”

  I was. Now that I’d talk to Alex some, I was more comfortable even if I had looked like an idiot when we got here.

  “Oh, I forgot to ask. Is anyone else coming to stay this weekend?”

  “Jenner and Abbi are coming tomorrow morning, but that’s it. I mean Colton and Anna will be here, but they’re at their house. Why?” Alex asked and then looked at me.

  All normal, down to Earth people, I chanted in my head. I could hang with them for a weekend. And I knew being Leo’s wife, I’d be put in these situations over the years. The thought of being with Leo sent more tingly feelings through my body.

  13

  Everly

  Walking out of the bathroom, I wrung my hands together. “It says we have to wait three minutes.”

  “Come here, sweet girl.” Leo patted his lap. I went willingly and Leo nuzzled into my neck as he held me close. “I want you to know no matter if you’re pregnant or not, I love you.”

  My body jerked at his confession. Pulling away, I looked into his blue eyes swirling with emotion. “You love me?”

  “I do, but I wanted to wait because I thought it was too soon to tell you. I knew after you told me you might be pregnant, I had to tell you before you knew the results.”

  My grip on his shoulders tightened as I confessed. “Since the realization hit me that I might be pregnant, all I could think about was how now, after I’d fallen so deeply for you, you were going to file for divorce.”

  “You’re going to have to do a lot more than get pregnant with my child for me to cut you out of my life.”

  “You’ve made me the happiest person in the world right now. It’s like my birthday and Christmas rolled into one.”

  “Good. I want to make you happy now and forevermore. Do you want me to come with you to look at the test?”

  “I can do it.” Cupping his cheeks, I dipped down and kissed him. It was slow and sweet, just what the moment needed. “Before I go to look, I want you to know I love you, Leo.�
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  His answering response was to bring me down onto the bed with his body covering every inch of mine as he took my mouth in a kiss to claim me and leave me breathless as he devoured me.

  When we finally broke apart, it took everything in me to get up and leave Leo for the minute it would take me to find out if I was pregnant or not.

  With tears brimming, I came back to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. Earlier I thought I didn’t want to be pregnant, and that I wasn’t ready, but when I saw the test came back negative, a small piece of my heart broke.

  Draping an arm around my waist, Leo’s hand spanned the entirety of my stomach. “Everly, you need to speak to me. I don’t know what this means. Are you pregnant?”

  I couldn’t answer him with words. Instead, I turned around and wrapped my body around his. While I cried into his chest, I shook my head, giving him the answer I didn’t want to give.

  “Oh babe, I’m sorry. I have to say, even though it wasn’t something I thought I was ready for, I’m kind of sad about it. Is that how you’re feeling?” I nodded and hugged him tighter. “What I said to you before still stands true. I love you, Everly, and one day we’ll be a family, but today is not that day.”

  “I didn’t think it would hurt like this. I thought I’d be fine if it was negative, but I really thought I was, you know. Why else would I be late and my moods all over the place?”

  “I don’t know.” He ran his hand down my hair and brought me closer into the fold of his arms. “Maybe after this weekend we should sit down and talk about what we want for our future.”

  “Like what?”

  “If you want to travel and if so, where to. When we want to have kids, and how many kids we want. Things of that nature that people usually discuss when dating. I mean, maybe we want to try and have kids sooner rather than later. I’d like my kids to have cousins close in age.”

  “I’d like that too. After growing up as an only child and seeing the way you are with your brother and the way you talk to your sister on the phone, I think I want a big family.”

  “What’s big to you? Four is normal for me.”

  I had no idea. Four sounded like a lot of kids.

  “Let’s go normal. Maybe I should hold on to my number until I’ve spawned one. I might change my mind.”

  “Probably wise.” His hand ran down my back to cup my ass. “I know I won’t have any problem knocking you up as many times as you want.”

  How Leo put a smile on my face when I was only crying minutes ago was beyond me, but I was thankful.

  Sliding my hand up his firm chest, I gripped the side of his neck. “I know I’ll definitely have fun practicing until that time comes.” Resting my forehead on his chin, my own chin quivered as I spoke. “I’m sorry for getting your hopes up or for freaking you out over nothing. I wish I could have remained calm until I took a test.”

  “Don’t say that. I’m glad you told me when you did and you didn’t have to go through any of that alone. Do you want to stay down here and watch a movie?”

  I desperately wanted to lie in this bed and have Leo’s arms wrapped around me, but I couldn’t monopolize his time when he rarely got to see his brother and his family.

  “Why don’t we go upstairs for a while so you can hang out with your brother? Once they go to bed, I’d be more than happy to snuggle with you and watch a movie.” Or something else.

  One of the things I loved most about my relationship with Leo was our connection and, of course, the insane sex we had. Before Leo, I had no idea sex could be as Earth shattering as it was with him.

  “If you need time alone or with me, I understand. My brother will be here tomorrow, but the way you’re feeling right now is…I can’t imagine. But I do know you’re hurting deeply.”

  It meant so much to me Leo understood, and he was willing to give up his time with his brother, but I wouldn’t do that to him. I’d seen how excited he was to visit his brother and his love for him.

  “No, we’re going to go upstairs, and later if I need to, you can hold me as I cry.”

  “Seeing how strong you are in this moment makes me love you more.” He stood and pulled me up and into his arms. “Give me a minute. I need to stop in the bathroom before we watch a movie with them. I have to warn you, Mason loves Marvel movies, so it will be some superhero movie.”

  It was a good thing I loved Marvel and DC movies too. Although I would have sat through whatever they wanted to watch.

  “Everly,” Leo called from the bathroom, “you might want to come in here.”

  Being called into the bathroom was never a good thing. Surely my big, strong husband wasn’t calling me in to kill a spider for him.

  “What is it?” I asked as I peeked inside, careful not to have some spider jump on me.

  “Get over here.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to where he stood at the counter. “I don’t claim to know anything about pregnancy tests, but I thought two lines meant you’re pregnant.”

  “It does. At least on the one I did.”

  “Then why did you say you’re not pregnant.” He had a big grin as he held the stick in front of my face.

  “There was only one line when I looked. Trust me when I say I looked for any type of faint line there could be and there was nothing.”

  And it had broken my heart.

  It was like we willed the pregnancy into existence from our sadness.

  “Okay, there’s another test. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow morning and do it the first time you pee in the morning?”

  Taking the test from him, I stared at the now double lines. “How do you know so much about pregnancy tests?”

  “Because Luke told me once.” He shrugged like it was no big deal when Leo had single-handedly saved the day. “If you want, I’m sure you can talk to Alex about it. She’s been pregnant three times now, so I’m sure she knows the drill.”

  He was right. I’d talk to Alex, and tomorrow I’d take another pregnancy test. And this time I knew how I wanted it to turn out.

  With me pregnant with Leo’s baby.

  14

  Leo

  Luke stood at one end of the pool and clinked his fork to the bottle of beer he was holding. His other arm was draped around Alex’s waist while she looked up at him with stars in her eyes.

  I was happy Luke found someone after being alone for years. He’d found another family on this continent and they loved him and Alex. Seeing the love they had for each other and the group of friends they had to celebrate with them made me hope for the same thing with Everly.

  “I want to thank all of you for coming to celebrate my birthday.” He dipped down and kissed Alex before he continued. “I know you really came to celebrate the birth of our daughter, Gracie. We have another reason to celebrate today. As many of you know, my little brother Leo has moved to the States and is living in Oasis, California. In the short time he’s been here, he’s found a wife. They didn’t really have any sort of reception, so I thought we could celebrate their love as well. I couldn’t be happier for my brother and his beautiful bride, Everly. So let’s cheers to the happy couple and Gracie.”

  “Cheers!” the group cheered, raising their glasses.

  Pulling Everly to my side, I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. Nothing too scandalous with everyone around us.

  One by one, people came up to greet Everly and wish her congratulations. I had no idea Luke was going to out us like he’d done, but as the women gathered around her, I could see Everly start to relax and enjoy the camaraderie.

  Slapping Luke on the back, I came in for a hug. “Happy birthday, big bro.”

  “Thanks. It’s nice you’re here. I hope even with you living eighteen hundred miles away, you’re not a stranger. I miss my family.”

  Hugging him tighter, I promised him I’d be around more. I knew he’d been lonely living here and working all the time before he met Alex, but hearing him say the words made me feel guilty for not reaching out more.

>   “Even though I know you didn’t mean to get married when you did, I think she’s a good fit for you. The way she puts a smile on your face like I haven’t seen since you were a child makes me happy.”

  “She does make me happy. Without her, I’d be lost in Oasis with only work to occupy my time. When she told me she thought she was pregnant yesterday, I’ve got to be honest, at first I didn’t want it to be true, but when she came out of the bathroom crying, I realized there was a small part of me that wanted to be a father. I know I’m young, but I think I want to start a family sooner rather than later. I’ve got mom and dad and you as role models on how to be the best parents ever.”

  Grabbing me by the shoulders, Luke turned us so our backs were to everyone mingling around the area. “It means a lot to me, you saying that, but I think you should spend this time getting to know Everly and having fun. Travel the world and make sure to always have Fairlane as a pit stop. Enjoy being a newlywed before you give yourself over to sleepless nights.”

  “You’re right. When Everly informed me how long we’d have to go without sex, I couldn’t imagine not being able to worship her body for that long. Even so, we might be the only ones with kids for a while whenever it does happen for Everly and I.”

  Liam and Stella had never even so much as been in a serious relationship and it didn’t seem to be a high priority. While I wanted to find the right girl for me, I hadn’t been thinking about marriage. Maybe our family wasn’t like regular people and we never really had a serious relationship until we found ‘the one.’ Still, I was disappointed Liam and Stella couldn’t have made it for Luke’s celebration. I wished they put Luke’s happiness as more of a priority. The last time they’d even tried to see him was for Luke and Alex’s wedding, and I knew they wouldn’t be traveling to see me, Everly, or a baby when the time came.

  Mom and Dad were coming in a couple of weeks and were planning on staying for a month. Last night when they’d called Luke to wish him a happy birthday, I heard in their voices how disappointed they were to be missing the festivities.