One Weekend in Vegas: A Best Friend's Older Brother, Rock Star Romance

Chapter 5

“Wait.” I stop just past the elevator bank on Ryder’s parents’ floor.

He takes another two steps, the tension between his arm and mine tightening, before my silent request registers. But when it does, he quickly returns to my side.

We’re holding hands.

In public.

I must be crazy to go along with this scheme. No, not a scheme. It’s not fake. If anything, this connection between us is too real. That’s why I agreed to his request to be with him out in the open for forty-eight hours.

“What’s the matter?” Eyes the color of the darkest evergreen forest in Colorado study me.

“We haven’t decided what we’re telling…everyone.” Because Krista isn’t the only one we’re coming out to.

There’s no way around it, even if I wanted to keep this quiet. I have zero doubt that my friend won’t be able to keep our news to herself, and I’m as close to her parents as I am to my own mom. It’s impossible not to be when Krista has been my best friend for more than three-quarters of my life.

His look of concern fades into a smile that melts my insides into a puddle of goo. He lifts a hand to my cheek, his pinky skimming my jaw and neck and eliciting goose bumps that travel down my spine.

“By everyone, I assume you mean Mom and Dad. And the band.”

“The band?” My stomach lurches at the thought. I hadn’t considered them.

Four friends who started playing gigs in Boulder and Denver way back in high school, long before hitting it big.

Ryder, the lead singer. Hudson, the guitarist. Reid, their drummer, and Wyatt, who plays bass and keyboard.

“They’re family for me, Britt. I don’t want to keep you a secret from them.”

Britt.

I’m used to being love or Brittany. But somehow this shortening, as common as it is, lends a whole new level of intimacy to our relationship.

“They’ll be at dinner too.”

A ball of trepidation forms in my stomach at the thought of being confronted by so many people at once. “And you guys just expect to have dinner without being mobbed? The four of you all in one place?”

His grin takes on a boyish charm. “Why do you say that?”

“I hate to tell you, but not one of you hit any branches in the ugly tree on the way down.”

He throws his head back and roars with laughter.

The way the muscles of his neck strain shouldn’t be attractive, but dammit if I can’t help but drink him in. What would that corded skin taste like under my lips if I were to step in close right now?

“Stop looking at me like that,” he says when he’s righted himself.

My eyes fly to his, and my heart leaps. His irises are swimming with a mix of amusement and a deep burning fire that has a direct line of communication with my core.

“I won’t be able to stop from kissing you if you keep looking at me like that.” His words are low, a husky murmur of sound.

Heat pools low in my core at the threat. “Is that a bad thing?” It’s meant to be a tease, but my question comes out too breathy to be anything more than a request.

Because yes, fucking please.

The man has the ability to kiss in a way that obliterates the rest of the world.

“If we plan to go to dinner with Krista, my parents, and the guys, then yes. Because the next time I kiss you”—he angles in, his lips caressing my ear—“I don’t plan to stop until I’ve made you come at least twice.”

I swallow around the lump of desire in my throat that makes it hard to breathe.

“Oh.”

He straightens and a smirk twists his lips. “As for what we tell everyone…What if we say that we’re seeing each other?”

“When did we start dating? I’m sure Krista has figured out that you’re the person I’ve been sneaking off with on our girls’ weekends for years.”

I can guarantee I’ll be answering a lot of questions about that.

“So it’s been off and on,” he suggests, “and we decided to give it a real shot.”

“I don’t want to say anything about the baby right now.”

With his lips pressed together and a thoughtful expression on his face, he nods. “Yeah, it’s probably a little more than I can explain right now. Adjusting to this news is enough for Mom and Dad for the time being.” He lifts our joined hands.

That thought sends doubt swirling through me. “You think they’ll be okay with us?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?” The grin he aims at me is one he reserves for his family. And now me. “You already know Krista’s on board.”

“She’s been trying to get us together for years,” I tell him.

That grin turns into a wicked smirk that lights up my insides. “I know.”

“You do?”

“She’s always asking me why I won’t ask you out. She tells me we’d have?—”

“Cute babies,” I finish for him.

“I guess we’ll find out,” he whispers, moving our joined hands to my flat stomach.

In this moment, our situation truly becomes real.

We’re having a baby.

“Oh good. We were just on our way to come find you.” Krista and Ryder’s mom, Lori, steps into the elevator bank followed by their dad, Stephen, while Krista brings up the rear, looking frazzled and stammering out an excuse for why they should stay in the room. “Your dad needs to eat if he’s going to take his medication on time.”

Lori’s eyes find our joined hands, and a smile stretches across her face.

“Do you two have something to tell us?” she asks.

“Off and on,” I blurt out.

Every one of them homes in on me, wearing a confused expression.

“What Britt is trying to say is that we’ve been dating off and on for a while and, well…” Ryder shrugs, giving me an amused wink. “We want to give this a real shot now that I’m not touring so much.” His explanation is smooth, like it’s the actual truth versus what really happened.

I got knocked up because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other despite the fact that neither of us is the other’s biggest fan.

Krista is so excited she’s practically hovering off the ground. Stephen and Lori just nod and give us gentle smiles, like they expected this to happen sooner or later.

“Are the guys meeting us at the restaurant?” Stephen asks as he steps forward to push the down button to call the elevator.

The tension that’s got me tied up in knots eases a little at his question. It looks like food is the distraction we need. When the elevator arrives, we all shuffle into it, and Ryder taps the button for the second floor.

“I reserved a private dining room to avoid the insanity.” His eyes find mine across the small space, and he winks.

A giggle bubbles up, but thankfully, I tamp it down so I don’t look completely insane. Though I can’t stop the goofy grin that accompanies it.

“I have questions for you. Later,” Krista hisses next to me.

A shock of dread runs through me as her words register.

Lori and Stephen may not be asking, but I still have to quell the epic curiosity of my best friend.