“You’re going to need it for what we’ve got planned.” Lily’s teasing tone has me slightly disturbed as she slumps into her seat.
“You better not have anything too mental planned, Lily Chambers.” Olivia, Jade’s mom, now joins us with Henry, her new husband, helping her to her seat.
“Of course not, Mama Wilde,” Lily sweetly says, but the mischief in her green eyes gives her away.
“Why do I not believe you?”
“I promise, you’ll enjoy everything I have planned.” Her smile is wide as she shimmies her shoulders.
“You always were a wild one. I shudder to think of the trouble you got my girl into.” Olivia grimaces.
“Nothing she wasn’t a willing participant in.”
“Leo!” Hunter shouts as he runs up the stairs, the muffled sounds of a familiar Celine Dion song following him. “Go help that fool. Apparently he needs his karaoke king.”
“Perfect.” Leo jumps up and darts toward the door, seemingly back to his normal self, our little moment long forgotten.
“I’ve told you before, Leo, I don’t do karaoke,” Hunter shouts at Leo’s retreating form.
“I’m very persuasive, Stone.” He winks as he bolts down the plane steps.
“Fuck my life.” Hunter sighs.
Chapter 4
Leo
Kai arriving in true Kai style was the distraction I needed. Two seconds later and my lips would have been on Ria’s. She looked so damn beautiful in her relaxed travel clothes of baggy joggers and an oversized sky-blue sweater that hung off one shoulder, showing me her slightly tanned smooth skin that I wanted to mark with my teeth.
She has always had this way of drawing my attention, and the whole plane trip, I was constantly checking in. Every time she laughed or I heard her sweet voice in the distance, my head was swinging in her direction. And when we all decided it was a good idea to have a nap over the Atlantic before we landed so we were all ready to party as soon we got there, I watched her sleep next to me. Her eyelashes splayed out across her cheeks and her softbreaths coming from her slightly parted pink lips had me in a trance.
I’m so gone for this woman.
“We’ve got you in the Elvis Suite, Mr. Brent, with the bachelor party, and then Miss Chambers,”—the chirpy receptionist turns to Lily to hand her the key to the girls’ suite—“the bachelorettes are in the Priscilla Suite.”
“You’re kidding me, Petardo?” Marcus growls in her ear, and she’s grinning from ear to ear.
“What? They are the best suites in the hotel. Isn’t that right?” she addresses the receptionist.
“That’s correct, Miss Chambers.”
“Don’t worry, princess, they cleared out the geese.” She kisses his cheek before she joins the girls, laughing the whole way.
“Geese?” we all ask in unison.
“Don’t ask.” He shakes his head, and I see all the girls throwing their heads back laughing and looking at Marcus while Lily blows him a kiss and finger waves before they head off to the elevator, their suitcases trailing behind them. Ria gives me a small smile as she walks into the elevator, and it makes my breath catch in my throat. She looks so goddamn beautiful. I need to get a hold on myself. Bury my feelings deep like I have been doing for so many years. It was a silly moment on the plane, and Hunter would hate me. A woman can’t hold my attention for more than a night, and Ria is worth more to me than that. She deserves so much more than that, and she knows that now. Since Ezra crushed her, she’s determined not to let someone hurt her like that again.
“You need to explain.” Henry bumps Marcus’s shoulder.
“I’m certain Olivia will fill you in later, sir.” Marcus grins as he hooks his arm around Henry’s shoulders, pulling him into a hug.
“Less of that ‘sir’ stuff. I’m no one’s teacher this weekend.” He playfully bats Marcus away. He’s an English teacher. That’swhere he met the lovely Olivia, Jade’s mum and his complete world. He’s much younger than she is, but you can’t deny the love that rolls off them.
“Come on, boys, let's get these bags upstairs and then we can get this party started.” Kai is practically vibrating with excitement next to me, and it shakes me out of my wandering thoughts.
“Too right, my friend.” I clap him on the shoulder before hooking my arm around my best friend. “You ready, brother?”
“Honestly? No.” Hunter nervously chuckles.
