He’s seriously the best-looking man I’ve ever seen.
“This is your last glass,” he says, furrowing his brow. He traces his bottom lip with his finger, and I watch it skim the surface. It’s just a sexy display. I tighten my thighs, trying to reel myself in. Between the moscato and the look he’s giving me, I’m a hot mess.
“Oh, Cane. Let her enjoy herself,” Kari interjects, smiling brightly at me. “This is Vegas. You’re supposed to be wild and crazy here.”
“Then get crazy,” he responds, shooting her a warning glance. “Have fuckin’ at it, Kari. But Jada isn’t.”
“I’m right here,” I remind them. They all turn to look at me, and I feel like I’m under a spotlight. I feel my cheeks heating under their gazes, and I shift in my seat. “What?”
Max chuckles. The timbre of his voice always soothes me in a way. He’s one of my favorite people. He’s kind and dependable ... and ridiculously handsome, especially in his khaki pants and black polo shirt. “Nothing, Jada.” He smiles. “Are y’all about finished eating?”
A server comes by and asks the same thing. We let her take our plates—and my drink, thanks to Cane—and we wait on the check. There’s a small current of discomfort at the table, and I can’t place it. I know it’s there, but I can’t quite make sense of it.
Everyone is discussing tomorrow’s plans, but my head is too fuzzy to think about tomorrow. It seems like so far away and so pointless to consider. We’re on vacation. I don’t want to think about plans and tomorrows. All I want to do is look at myfiancéand think about how lucky I am.
He loves me. He protects me. He would do anything for me.
I glance at my engagement ring, and my mind starts swirling. I know I’m a bit tipsy, but maybe that just helps me think without the clutter and doubt I usually have. Because even though I’ve nearly drunk my weight in moscato, I know that the one person who would do anything for me, who wants tomarryme, is sitting next to me. And I’ve been putting off marrying him for what? Convenience?
Well, it doesn’t get more convenient than Vegas.
“Hey,” I say rather loudly, causing everyone to stop talking. I giggle at their startled reactions but look at Cane. “Sorry. That was a little loud. Anyway, I was thinking ... We’re in Vegas. And I love you. And you love me. And we’re getting married anyway. And why don’t we just go get married tonight?”
“No, Jada,” Kari shrieks.
I ignore her and watch Cane. He’s sitting quietly in his chair, his face a touch paler than normal. Most people wouldn’t recognize it, but I know him. Even slightly drunk, I know something’s wrong.
Cane takes my hand and holds it. His eyes are soft, but there’s a hint of unease in them. I’m not sure why. It causes my stomach to sink and the wine to swirl around it, churning with a force that makes me queasy.
“You don’t want to do that,” he says, his voice barely a whisper. “You don’t want to go to some ridiculous Elvis-inspired building and get married.”
“I do. I want to be Mrs. Alexander tonight.”
He doesn’t respond. He squeezes my hand, his eyes raging like a storm at sea. I see the love I always see in them, but also a resolution that we arenotgetting married tonight.
“What?” I actually feel humiliated. I try to take my hand awayfrom his, but he holds on tight. “You don’t want to marry me all of a sudden?”
“Jada,” Max says, “you don’t want your wedding done like that. Just take it easy, darlin’.”
“How do you know? I want to get married tonight. You’ve all been pushing me to make decisions, and I haven’t, and you’ve been annoyed. But then I want to get married ...”
My eyes fill with hot tears. I know on some level they’re right, but it hurts my pride that they shut me down. I finally do what they want, and all of a sudden, it’s the wrong thing to do?
“I want to marry you,” Cane says, a touch of a smile on his lips. “But not like that, beautiful girl. I don’t want to marry you without your dad and friends. I want you in a white dress and a sexy garter belt I can take off you later.”
I sniffle. His words make me feel a bit better. “You said we could get married as soon as I wanted ...”
“Not like this, Jada,” Kari says softly. “You’ve had a lot to drink. Let’s just discuss this tomorrow.”
“Fine. But stop asking me wedding questions all the time. Don’t push me and then not want me to go through with it.”
“Oh, we’re going through with it ...”
“But nottonight,” I say pointedly, earning a glare from Cane.
He drops my hand to take the check from the server. I grab my purse off the floor and stand, smoothing out my dress. I don’t know at this point if I’m hurt that he doesn’t want to marry me tonight or if I’m happy he wants a real wedding.
It just stings regardless.
