He whistles quietly, and I briefly think about asking if he knows about the casinos, but then I realize my dad didn’t wantMadden telling anyone in the family about them, and he probably doesn’t want me talking about them, either.
I can’t help but wonder what other secrets we’re all keeping from each other.
Hell, I did my best to keep my kid and my wife a secret from them until one of my siblings crashed the premises, and I had to admit the truth.
We’re admittedly not a very close-knit group, but having a kid of my own and a woman I’m falling for—on top of being here for a funeral that reminds me how short life can be—is making me want to change all that.
I just wonder if it’s far too late to make that change.
CHAPTER 31: Ainsley Bradley
I Hear You Married My Son
He gets up to the room a little before midnight. I’m still awake since it’s only ten back home, and it’s weird to think Vegas has become home while Chicago no longer is.
First it was home living out of that hotel while I filmed the show, and then it became home because of Dex.
Who would’ve thought?
Things seem perfect right now, which is a scary thought indeed since right when they feel perfect is when they tend to fall apart.
“How was your drink?” I ask.
“It was nice catching up with my brother,” he says. He glances out the window. “God, I don’t miss this city.”
I laugh. “Why not?”
“Smog and traffic out the window here versus palm trees and mountains there.” He shrugs. “And this place feels…I don’t know. Claustrophobic. Like my family is all nearby, ready to swoop in and fuck it all up.”
I pat the bed, a king since we’re playing husband and wife, and he sits next to me. “Do you really feel that way?”
He shrugs and glances at Jack, who’s asleep in his travel bassinet a few feet away from us. “Do you?”
“It’s not like I’m running to my parents’ house to let them know I’m in town.”
“Why aren’t you?” he asks. “You could’ve stayed a few days longer.”
“I know, and I thought about that. But you’ll be back in Vegas on Sunday, and I want to be there waiting for you.” I lift a shoulder. “That feels like home now, you know?”
“Yeah. Itishome.”
“Are you okay?” I ask softly.
“I don’t know. It feels like everyone in my family is keeping secrets from each other.”
“How?” I press.
He doesn’t answer, which only serves to make me feel like he’s keeping secrets from me. And maybe he is. We’remarried, and we’ve gotten closer, but that doesn’t mean I’m privy to the things he isn’t ready to share.
I wish he was, though. I wish he’d share everything with me.
And it’s just another stark reminder that for as much as he’s let me in, there’s still a hell of a lot I don’t know about Dex Bradley.
He holds me in his arms through the night, and as we head to the funeral the next morning, I can’t help but wonder if I’ll learn more about him today. He’ll know some of the people at this funeral—some he probably hasn’t seen since he graduated high school fifteen years ago, and others he probably left in the past.
I didn’t know him whenhewas in high school, but when I was in high school, he was already a famous football player. I didn’t know when I befriended Ivy that her brothers were superstars, but I met them on a few different occasions. It never fazed me one way or the other, but I suppose it’s pretty cool tohave a best friend whose brothers play professional sports. To me they’re just Ivy’s much older brothers.
Dex was twenty-seven when I first met Ivy. He was so much older that the thought didn’t even cross my mind to have a crush on him. Ivy was a happy surprise that came along six years after what the Bradley family thought was the last of the siblings with Liam. Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Bradley were busy little bunnies.
