Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Food was being delivered to the table by the time Linc and Jake arrived at the hotel cafe for breakfast. Jake made a beeline for Laurel, while Linc slipped into the empty seat between Emery and Britt.
As soon as he sat down, a bacon and cheese omelet with hash browns was placed in front of him.
“I ordered for you,” Emery told him when he raised an eyebrow. “Figured you’d get your usual.”
“Thanks.” He grabbed the napkin and put it on his lap. That’s when he noticed Britt slouched down in her chair with a hand over her eyes. “Hey, Zan. You okay?”
“Shhh” was her only response. Obviously, he wasn’t the only one with a hangover.
“You should eat something. It’ll make you feel better.”
Some people couldn’t eat with a hangover, but food helped him.
That and drinking a ton of water. He’d practically been mainlining bottled water from the minibar since the first one Jake had opened.
He’d probably have a heart attack when he saw the bill at check out, but he couldn’t bring himself to drink the tap water here.
Back home, he drank it all the time. Idaho water didn’t scare him.
Vegas water, however, was another story.
Britt turned a little green. “Do not mention food to me right now.”
That’s right. She was firmly in the “does not eat” category. He offered her a sympathetic look, despite the fact she couldn’t see it since she’d just lowered her head to the table. Her hair was still damp, most likely from a shower, and hung on either side of her face like a curtain.
He rubbed her back and leaned over to whisper, “At least, drink some water. It’ll help.”
She shook her head no, the movement making her whimper.
“Zana…”
“Fine,” she grumped. Lifting her head, she reached for her water glass, put a straw in it, then placed it on her chair between her legs and rested her head back on the table.
He leaned down and pulled her hair back to see her face. Even with a hangover, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. “Drink,” he ordered. He waited until she swallowed a couple of times before asking, “Do you need some aspirin?”
“Took some.” She sounded so pathetic, it broke his heart.
He caressed her cheek with the back of his finger. “Keep drinking, okay?”
She obediently sucked another mouthful through her straw, most likely to placate him.
Hey, whatever worked. “Good girl.”
Straightening back up, his own headache made a point to remind him it hadn’t left yet. Hopefully, the aspirin he’d taken, along with the food and water, would make it go away.
“What happened to you last night?” Em asked him. “Did you get lucky?”
Linc’s gaze immediately shot to Jake, even though he couldn’t have told Emery anything since they’d walked down from his room together.
Reminding himself Emery was a smartass, he responded in kind. “Yes. I lost track of how many women there were. It was pretty crowded.”
Jake, who was sitting across from Britt between his sister and Laurel, snorted. “That’s what happens when you buy too many blow-up dolls.”
“Speaking from experience, Lockwood?” Chase piped up from Jessa’s right. He was Emery’s brother as well as Jessa’s boyfriend for the last three years.
“Why? Need some pointers?” Jake asked before shoveling in a mouthful of scrambled eggs. Laurel must’ve ordered for him too.
“Nope.” Jessa put her hand on Chase’s thigh and leaned into him before flashing her brother a wicked smile. “He definitely doesn’t need pointers in the bedroom.”
Jake grimaced. “Fuck, Messa, are you trying to make me lose my breakfast?” He’d started calling Jessa “Messa” when they were younger to annoy her. Apparently, some things never changed.
She snickered. “You make it so easy.”
“Britt, are you okay?” Laurel asked, ignoring her fiancé and his twin. She’d been with Jake long enough now, she was used to those two going at it.
Britt sat up slowly, like a corpse rising from the dead, and put her half-empty water glass on the table. At least, she’d drunk some of it. “I will be… as soon as I amputate my head.”
“Wait till I’m done eating.” That earned Jake a swat from his sister.
“Are you still going to want to go shopping with us?” Laurel asked.
On the flight in, Britt had mentioned the girls were planning to shop at the mall in Caesars Palace today.
Helping Laurel pick out some lingerie for her honeymoon was also on the agenda.
The guys had booked a tee time at the Las Vegas National Golf Club.
It was pricey, but Jake wanted to play the course where Tiger Woods got his first win.
Who knew his buddy was a closet golf nerd?
“I dunno, Laur,” Britt hedged. “I feel pretty crappy.”
“She’ll be fine.” Skye bumped shoulders with Britt. “Have a mimosa, you’ll feel better. Hair of the dog and all that.”
“Oh, Lord.” Britt wrapped her arms around her stomach as the minute amount of color left drained from her face, leaving a ghostly pallor. “Don’t even joke about that.”
“Maybe you should stay here and take a nap,” Linc suggested. “It’d probably do you good.”
“Maybe.”
“We can come back after a while and get you,” Jessa offered.
Britt frowned. “I don’t want to mess up your plans.”
“Well, we don’t want you to be alone,” Laurel countered.
“I’ll stay with her.” As far as Linc was concerned it was a done deal. He didn’t want her to be alone either. It didn't matter that she’d be asleep. He had a protective streak a mile wide when it came to her. Plus, the thought of hitting a ball when he still had a headache sounded like hell anyway.
“What about golf?” Jake asked.
Linc shrugged. “I suck at golf.”
“True, but I was looking forward to the entertainment.”
Laurel slapped his arm. “Jake!”
“I don’t want you to miss golf,” Britt protested. “I can stay here alone. I’m a big girl.”
“You can, but I'm staying anyway.”
The soft expression in Britt’s eyes justified his decision. It also did something to his insides he wasn’t going to unpack right now.
Emery threaded her arm through his in an improvised “table hug” and dropped her head onto his shoulder.
“You’re a good guy, hubby.” After their first year of working together, he and Em had started claiming each other as their work wife/husband.
What had started as a running joke was now second nature.
“Thanks, wifey.”
“Okay, it’s decided.” Skye pointed to Britt. “You take a nap.” Her finger swung Linc’s direction. “You take care of her.” She made a sweeping gesture from Gage to Chase to Jake. “You guys go golfing, and us girls will spend money. Perfect!”