Chapter 15
Fifteen
Zoey
“ B aby, are you almost ready?” Nash shouts from the bedroom while I slip on my skirt. “I hear your cousins outside the door whispering, not really whispering, about if we are doing it.”
I laugh as I adjust the top of my skirt and then slip on my slides. “I would be ready if you hadn’t come in and taken a shower with me.” I rush out of the bathroom, seeing him lying on the bed, one leg on the floor, one leg off the bed, his white sneakers not touching the bed. His blue eyes seem even more blue with the little tan that he’s gotten in the past two days since we’ve been on vacation.
“Um.” He sits up, and my mouth waters when I look at him. His beard is longer than I’m used to seeing him with, but sexier. “You wearing any panties under that?” he asks of my skirt that goes to my mid-calf but is pulled up on my left hip with a huge slit showing most of my leg. The matching beige-colored, one-shoulder halter top completes the whole look.
“Of course I am.” I put my hand on my stomach to ignore the way it goes up and down like the soft waves in the ocean.
“Perfect.” He grins as he gets up, and I take him in. He’s wearing black shorts that look like they’ve been cut mid-thigh, but I know they probably cost over four hundred dollars to be cut like that. His shirt is bluish green, the top three buttons left open, showing you the tan chest that not too long ago was pressed up against me in the shower. The cuffs of his sleeves are rolled up until his elbows, his silver Rolex watch on his left wrist, and of course the wedding ring that he’s never, ever taken off. Not even to put sunscreen on. He walks the distance to me, putting his hands not on my hips but on the side of my ribs, where he can touch my skin. “I’m going to slide them to the side when I fuck you later.” I roll my eyes, pretending I didn’t just get wet with his words. “I like your hair like this.” He raises a hand into the back of my head, fisting it. “It’s wild and looks like you just woke up.”
“I had no time to do anything,” I inform him. “We literally got dressed in ten minutes. I didn’t even put on mascara.”
“I was done in five.” He kisses my lips. “And you don’t need makeup.” He slides his hand in mine and turns toward the front door. I can hear people outside our door as we get closer and closer, and when he opens it with his free hand, I see them all standing there. “Told you.”
“Finally,” Stone says. “We were standing here forever.”
“We got here two minutes ago.” Ryleigh smacks his abs. “And you were like ‘ewww, they’re probably doing it.’” She looks at him. “It.” She tries not to laugh at the word he was using but can’t help it, and all he can do is glare at her.
“She’s my sister,” Stone defends, and then Romeo comes over and slaps his shoulder.
“Not so fun anymore, big guy?” He shakes his head, going to grab Gabriella’s hand.
“If it makes everyone feel better,” I say, stepping out, “we weren’t doing it.”
“Yeah,” Nash adds, “we did it in the shower before you guys got here.” I gasp, ripping my hand out of his while the girls all laugh and the guys literally look in front of them. “Baby.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders as we follow the rest of them toward the lobby, where there will be golf carts ready to take us to one of the local bars. “We’re on our honeymoon. Everyone knows we’re doing it.” The way he says it makes me laugh and shake my head.
“They can think. They don’t have to know,” I say softly, and he just shrugs.
“Where is Abigail?” I turn, asking where my cousin is. She was the one who was dying to go out.
“Passed out in her bed from drinking all day. Tristan tried to wake her up, but she told him to do it again,” Gabriella says, laughing.
When we get to the lobby, I’m shocked that most of my cousins and their significant others are waiting there for us. “I thought you guys were opting out,” I tell my cousins Michael and Dylan, who are standing side by side wearing the same outfit, matched with the same scowl.
“Your fault,” they both say at the same time.
“It’s like their wedding reception,” Michael mimics his wife, who glares over at him.
“This isn’t our wedding reception.” I turn to Jillian and Alex, who are standing together with Jillian’s twin, Julia.
“Yeah,” Nash agrees, “our wedding reception will be bigger. Probably next year.”
I swear my head whips around so fast I would think it’s going to roll off. “What?”
“Oh, trouble in paradise already?” Christopher teases, joining us, holding Koda’s hand in his, her new engagement ring on her finger. “You can’t do it next year. We’re getting married.”
“Wow,” Koda says. “Good to know.”
“Then this winter break, I guess,” Nash voices.
“There is no reception.” I walk over to a golf cart and get in. “And tonight can be Koda and Christopher’s engagement party.”
“No way,” Christopher says, “that’s next week.”
“What?” Koda snaps.
“It’s nothing big.” He tries to blow it off. “Besides, we’re all here, and my parents want to do it. If you don’t want it, go tell them.” He motions toward the hotel.
“Oh, trouble in paradise already, buddy?” Nash slaps his shoulder while he walks over to the golf cart and sits next to me. His hand goes on my knee.
“Can we go?” someone asks as we all get into the golf carts.
We get to the bar in less than five minutes, and I need a drink by the time I get there. During the whole ride over, he’s had his hand on my knee, but he’s been moving his fingers lightly back and forth, sometimes going higher than he should but then moving back down again.
A long table is set up for us. We all grab our seats, and the margaritas are already coming out and being served. “Okay, okay,” Grace, Caine’s wife, says from in front of me, grabbing her own drink. “I have so many questions, and Caine said I can’t ask them.” She smirks at him. “But he’s not the boss of me, so I have to know.”
“Oh, we should all ask them one question.” Zara looks at Grace as if they’ve discovered America. “Good idea.”
“I’ll go first,” Sofia, my cousin Matthew’s wife, says from beside Zara. “How long were you two dating?”
I swear, my family has never been quiet in their lives. Not once have you been able to sit down at a dinner and hear your own thoughts. Now, suddenly, in the middle of this bar-slash-restaurant, every single fucking mouth is shut, and all eyes are on Nash and me. He puts his arm around my chair. “Um…” I say, looking at him and seeing his smirk. “Um…” I have to laugh because the answer is ridiculous, even for me. “Ten minutes, maybe? I don’t even think.”
“Hold on.” Stone slaps the table and holds up his hand. “You guys weren’t dating?”
“When did you think they were dating?” Christopher looks over at him. “She was dating Jarod like a month ago.”
“I think his name is Jordan,” Dylan chimes in, then looks at his wife, Alex, who shakes her head. “Jacob?”
“Nope,” she replies, taking a sip of her margarita and smiling, “not even close.”
“His name was Joshua!” Zara shouts.
“His name was Josh,” I correct, “and we broke up.”
“How long before you got married did you break up?” Caine’s voice breaks the laughter as he leans back in his chair, his eyes staring straight at me.
“Hey,” Nash warns him, and he turns to look at him with the same look, “watch your tone with my wife.” The way he says it, his voice is tight, and the laughter at the table seems to have died down. It feels like everyone is on alert. Even Zara beside me feels like she’ll be ready to fight, and she’s been half drunk since she got here.
“No tone.” He leans back. “Just a question I’m sure everyone is dying to ask.”
“Caine,” Grace says his name, “chill.”
“It’s okay,” I assure her, avoiding looking at Caine or Nash, because I’m sure he’ll see the tears that are forming in my eyes, and then he’s going to be like King Kong and take me away from everyone. “We broke up a week before.”
“Oh my God.” Grace slaps her hands together. “That is even better than I thought it would be.”
“I have a question,” Dylan breaks in. “How the fuck did you break up with Jordan?”
“Josh,” most of the people at the table correct him.
“Whatever his name is, we’ve met the guy twice.” He shakes his head, then continues his question, “Then you end up dating for ten minutes and get married.”
“That’s not fair,” Gabriella blurts, “that’s like two questions. You get one.”
“We broke up two days before I went to LA to work with Nash for their company.” I hold up my hand to Caine. “And then we ended up in Vegas.”
“I’ve ended up in Vegas before,” Stone says, looking at Christopher, “but I’ve never gotten married.”
“That’s not a question,” Zara scoffs, “so simmer down.”
“How did he propose?” Koda asks. “Like you went from working to let’s get married. That’s a merger and a half.” She laughs at her own joke.
“We were at the bar,” Nash starts, and I look over at him, his eyes looking into mine. “She was finally giving me the time of day and not ignoring or brushing me off?—”
“I did not ignore or brush you off.” I interrupt him, and the girls snort because I totally was, but I didn’t know it was that evident.
He chuckles, ignoring what I just said. “I knew before she was beautiful, but her sitting in front of me at that moment, I knew I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as Zoey. I also knew I wanted her to sit by my side for the rest of my life.” His thumb moves up and down on my arm. “I knew I wanted to marry her. So I asked her.”
“Oh my God,” Grace coos, “that’s so romantic.”
“That is so much better than the sex tour you took me to,” Ryleigh says to Stone. “Take notes.”
“Oh my God,” Michael says, putting his hands on his head, “did you guys even have sex before you got married?”
“Michael,” Jillian, his wife, hisses at him.
“Yeah, not everyone knocks up their one-night stand before they marry her.” Alex looks at her brother, who glares over at her.
“I’m not the only one that happened to,” Michael defends, “look at Stefano and Addison.” He points at Stefano, who shrugs and kisses Addison’s temple as she holds her pregnant belly.
“I didn’t even kiss her until after she agreed to marry me,” Nash shares, and now my brother is the one slapping the table.
“He’s insane.” Stone looks at Nash, then looks at Christopher. “You what, held her hand?”
“Did we hold hands?” Nash looks at me, and the whole table bursts out laughing, even Caine. “I don’t even think we held hands.”
I stare at him, and the lightness in his eyes lets me know it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be awkward, but it’s fine. “I think we side-hugged once.”
“I mean, a side hug”—Stone throws up his hands—“how could you not drag her to the altar?”
“Right,” Nash agrees with him, not even caring if the comment was sarcastic. “So I did.”
“You two,” Caine says, pointing at Nash and then me, “are out of your minds.” He rolls his finger in a circle near his head. “And I’m going to be here for it. Just like he was when I was out of my mind for this one.” He motions with his head toward Grace.
“Once he found out I sold feet pictures,” Grace teases, putting her arms around his shoulders, “he was a goner.”
The whole table bursts out laughing, and I look over at Nash, who is watching me instead of paying attention to what is going on at the table. He leans in and kisses my lips softly, his thumb rubbing my chin. “You okay?”
I nod. “I’m okay,” I admit to him, “for now.”