Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
“I was just explaining to Con how I’ve always dreamed of getting married on a cliff overlooking the ocean or on the beach with our bare feet buried in the sand and somehow that translated to a drive-thru wedding in Vegas with the King of Rock and Roll officiating.”
I sensed Gideon’s presence when he reached my chair. I could tell he was behind me, so I tipped my head back and softly said, “Hi.”
“Hi yourself,” he murmured, then he kissed me.
His fingers laced with mine and he hung on to them even as he moved around the chair. It was the most natural thing for me to get up and give him my spot on the chair and then settle on his lap.
“Ok, so Las Vegas chapel and either your brother or The King himself performing the ceremony, right? Make Brewer the flower girl and I’m golden,” Gideon announced.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t make me call the girls in here to get their wedding ideas,” I responded.
“Con, you’re out,” Gideon said simply. “And give The King our regards. There’s a beach out there somewhere calling our name.”
I chuckled and leaned in to kiss my man. The kiss quickly spiraled out of control and it wasn’t until Con coughed that I remembered we weren’t alone. I was pretty sure my cheeks were on fire when I glanced in my brother’s direction. “Sorry,” I said, even though I wasn’t completely sorry.
“No you’re not,” Con responded. I could hear the smile in his voice. “You’re lucky I need to be somewhere, or I’d stay here and watch you two squirm.”
He’d do it too. And considering that I could feel Gideon’s erection pressing against my thigh, we’d definitely both be doing a lot of squirming. As it was, it was awkward to stand up so I could give my brother a hug. Con had the audacity to chuckle in my ear, proving he knew exactly what my problem was.
“Shut up, big brother. It’s going to happen to you someday.”
“The hell it will,” he grumbled. He squeezed me hard and said, “No way am I—” before his beeping phone cut him off.
He sighed and released me. I assumed he was going for his phone but when there continued to be nothing but silence for several long moments, I said, “Con?”
More silence that frustrated and frightened me at the same time.
“What is it?” Gideon asked as he stood up and took my hand. That move in itself ratcheted up my fear.
“Con?” I whispered. “Is it about Gio?”
“What?” Con asked, seemingly surprised. “No… no, sorry. No, it’s not… it’s not about him or the family.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. “What happened?” I asked Con, because there was no denying the shock in his voice.
“Nothing, it’s…” He hesitated before saying, “This guy who used to be a fighter died.”
“Did you know him?” I asked. While Con was very well known in the MMA world, I didn’t know much about the sport. I’d never been a big fan of watching my brother getting beat up, even if he did always win his matches.
“Yeah,” Con said glumly. “I, uh, need to go,” he added. Then his arms were closing around me briefly. “I’ll call you when I get back to Vegas.”
“Wait, are you heading back there today?”
Con didn’t respond to me. Instead he said to Gideon, “Take care of him.” Then I was getting one more hug before he was gone.
“Gideon—”
“He looked as upset as he sounded, Lex,” Gideon confirmed.
Before I could say anything else, my phone beeped, indicating I had a text message. I hit the button and heard the robotic voice say, “I’m okay, Lex. I promise. I love you and I’ll see you soon.”
Gideon wrapped his arms around me. “He’ll be all right, sweetheart.”
I nodded my head because I knew how strong my brother was. How strong he’d had to be. But I also knew Con had a lot of secrets and there was only one person on Earth who might be privy to them. “Do you think I should tell King?” I asked.
My husband-to-be pressed a kiss to my neck. “I think we need to let Con and King figure things out between them on their own. But how would you feel about a little detour on the way home? Maybe in a certain city that’s obsessed with quickie weddings?”
I turned in Gideon’s arms. “You’d be okay with that?”
“With what? Making sure my future brother-in-law is okay? Even if he weren’t already important to me, Lex, he’s important to you and that’s all I need to know.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, then I dropped my head against his chest and just let him hold me for a while.
After a minute or two, Gideon pressed a kiss to the top of my head and said, “You should know that I have every intention of trying to convince you to agree to one of those quickie weddings while we’re in Vegas. You, me, and Elvis.”