Chapter 11
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
brOOKE
After we realized that neither one of us had any fresh clothes–and we didn’t have time to go to our rooms at the other hotel–Silas ran down to the hotel shop while I showered.
I’m not in panic attack mode. Yet. Still, I can’t help but run the events of last night through my head again now that I’m alone and can think without his ridiculously sexy body distracting me.
Was this the craziest thing I’ve ever done? Hands down. However…my brother and my therapist both said to have fun in Vegas, let loose and all that. So…I did.
Oh my god. What have I done?
I stop pacing and walk over to the window looking out over the Strip and pull in a deep breath to steady myself.
While I admittedly have feelings for Silas and have definitely been attracted to him for a long time, this wasn’t exactly in my plan.
What’s even crazier about this though, is that when I brought up the annulment, he was like ‘nah’. Well not in those words exactly, but not in a rush to do it. Like he really wants to be with me, and see how it goes.
And I kinda want to too.
I start to pace again and he opens the door to the room, smiling.
“I found some clothes for us.” He has a Bellagio sweatshirt for me, a t-shirt for himself, and some shorts for both of us. “We better hurry if we want to get there in time.”
I nod, and shake myself out of my thoughts.
We dress quickly, and make our way down to the lobby.
Now, as we make our way out of the Bellagio to the Marriott, the hotel we were supposed to be at last night, I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to say, and how I’ll explain this to my dad and brother.
“You okay, Cupcake?” Silas has my hand in his as we walk out of the hotel.
“Honestly? No. I’m just trying to work out in my head how to tell them.”
I look up at him. I don’t want to make him feel bad or think that I regret what we did last night because I’m not sure that I do. But this is a lot to take in, and knowing I have to explain it all is making me a bit sick to my stomach.
He stills, his movements gentle as he cups my cheek.
“Listen, Brooke. I don’t want to cause you stress over this.
” His thumb brushes just beneath my eye.
“I know you didn’t marry me for love. Hell, you didn’t even know how good we’d be together in bed until after.
” A quiet smile tugs at his mouth before fading.
“But I can’t explain it perfectly, other than this just …
feels right to me.” His voice drops. He’s honest in a way that makes my chest ache.
“I’m truly happy. Right here. In this moment. ”
He exhales slowly and continues, “If you want to grab a car and ride down to the courthouse and get this annulled before anyone knows, I’ll do it.
I swear. I’ll only do it if it’s what you want—not because you’re worried about what your dad will say.
Or your brother. Or your friends. Or your professors.
Or me.” His eyes search mine. “What do you want?”
It’s a loaded question.
What do I want?
I want my dad not to lie awake, worrying that his daughter married a football player on a whim in Vegas and threw her life away for a man he doesn’t know.
I want my brother not to lose his mind and take it out on Silas.
I want to be the perfect daughter—the one who follows the rules, gets the good grades, doesn’t cause a ruckus, and keeps her family calm.
But what I also want is to feel alive.
I want to feel free.
I want to be a little reckless for once in my life.
And surprisingly … I want to stay married to Silas.
Even if it’s just for a little while longer.
I let out a breath. “I want you.”
His smile is beguiling as his brows rise. “I can handle talking to your dad and brother if you want.”
He’s so sweet. Truly. I guess if I had to pick a guy to elope with, Silas is a great one.
I shake my head. “I have to do it. It would be nice to have you with me. I’m not sure I’ll have the nerve to bring it up at breakfast though.”
“We can even keep it between us for a while if you need time. Whatever you need, just say the word.”
He starts to pull me toward the Bellagio fountains, where the water is splashing and dancing. “Our driver told us to make a wish before we left, so let’s go do that, and then we can get over to the hotel.”
“I don’t think we have time.”
“Nope, we have to. And I doubt we’ll be the last ones there anyway.” He snickers.
“Okay,” I say softly. “I have no idea what I’ll wish for though. My mind is all over the place.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a five-dollar bill. “Shit. I don’t have any coins.”
“I don’t either. I mean, you have my ID and card.”
He has my phone in his pocket too. I almost forgot it in the room because I was so distracted.
A man and a woman with three kids walk by us, holding out quarters, excited to make wishes.
“Excuse me.” Silas holds out a hand.
The family stops and looks at us.
“Hi,” the woman says, smiling.
“I forgot to grab some coins before we came out here. Do you happen to have a few extra for me and my bride?”
“Oh, how sweet. Did you just get married?” She looks over at me and takes in my outfit, confused.
“Last night, but we were told to make a wish for luck before we left.”
The husband digs into his pocket. “I have a half-dollar coin, but not two. Will that work?”
Silas looks at me. “Yeah, that would be great.”
He holds it out to us, and I take it in my hand.
Silas tries to hand the man the five-dollar bill, and the guy waves him off.
“Nope, keep it. My wife and I were married here ten years ago. Great memories for us.” He looks at his wife and smiles. “Congratulations to you both.”
“Yes, congrats!” the wife says before chasing after her kids.
“Thank you,” we call after them.
Silas and I look at each other and smile as we watch them try to keep their little boy from climbing over the rail.
“Let’s just stand here for a minute and let it come to you.” He leads me over to a spot that’s not too crowded.
“Do you know what you’ll wish for?” I look up at him.
“I do.” He winks, then turns me and takes both of my hands in his. “Are you superstitious?”
I shrug. “A little, I guess.”
“Just close your eyes and take in some deep breaths. Clear your mind and think about what you want in life right now. Or maybe a long-term goal.”
He leans forward and kisses me softly on the lips.
I keep my eyes closed after he pulls his lips away and focus on the sound of the water and the faint sound of the music accompanying it.
Nothing is coming to me, but standing here, enjoying the moment, is calming me down a little.
“Okay, wife. Are you ready to make that wish?” He slides his arms around my waist and pulls me into him.
My arms move around him, and I link my hands together on his lower back. When I rest my head on his chest and take in the safety of him, I feel calmer.
“We only have one coin, so we need to toss it in together.” He pulls away and reaches for my hand, turns it, and lays the coin in the center.
“Okay, so let’s hold hands and do it?” I cup the coin so I don’t drop it.
“Let’s do it.” He moves his hand under mine, and his fingers cross with mine, so I’m still cupping the coin, but we’ll make the toss together.
As we stand side by side, hand in hand, I look over at Silas and see him already watching me.
“Three, two, one.” He counts us down.
I close my fingers around my palm so the coin doesn’t fall out too early, and we pull back our arms and when we swing forward, I release the coin and we watch it soar through the air, as I make my wish.
Once we see it plop into the water, he turns toward me. “You make a wish?”
I nod. “I did.”
“Good. Me too. But don’t tell me.” He chuckles. “Or it won’t come true.”
“I won’t tell you.” And I won’t because I want it to come true, and today, I might believe in a little superstition.
When we walk into the restaurant at the hotel, I see my brother and Archie sitting next to each other first. Kind of hard to miss Archie because he’s so big. And loud.
Silas squeezes my hand again. “Go in guns blazing or …”
I reluctantly let go of his hand. “Well, I don’t really want to announce it to everyone at once. I think Beck should know first, don’t you?” I look up at him.
“Yeah, that would be the smartest move.” He places a hand on my lower back as we walk around a few tables to reach our group.
Chelsea sees us first and waves. “Hey, guys!” She motions to two empty seats next to her.
Silas walks over, but I stop to hug my brother and Charlie quickly.
“Hey,” I say, trying my best to swallow down the nerves.
When I get to my seat, Silas is standing behind my chair, waiting to push it in once I sit.
“Arbuckle, the gentleman,” Casey says.
“Damn straight.” He pushes me in, then taps fists with Casey.
Noelle leans around Casey since she’s on the other side of him. “So, what did y’all end up doing last night after we left?”
Silas places his arm over the back of my chair. “We went to the Ferris wheel and got a limo to drive us around to see some Vegas lights.”
I pull my hands from the table and into my lap, absentmindedly twisting my ring around my finger.
“Oh, how fun!” Charlie says from across the table, next to my brother.
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun.”
“When did you get back last night? Wait, why are you both wearing Bellagio clothes?” Charlie points.
Fuck.
“Well—” Silas starts to say, but Archie interrupts.
“Where the hell did you two come from?” He’s looking behind us, so I turn and see Ace and Aston walking toward the table in the same clothes from last night.
“Dude, it was fucking epic.” Ace pulls a chair from the table next to us and sets it between Archie and my brother.
Aston also pulls a chair over, but he settles next to Emma, and he quietly hugs her.
“Good Lord, Aston. You smell like a distillery.” She pushes him away gently.
“Lay off my wife, fucker.” Archie playfully knocks the back of Aston’s head.
“Ow, asshole,” Aston mumbles.