Page 42 of Vegas with my Brother’s Best Friends

“Can I just get a water?” I ask the bartender once I make my way over to the bar.

He nods and digs a bottle of water out of a cooler nearby. “Anything else?”

“No, thank you,” I reply as I take the bottle from him. I rest it against the back of my neck first, closing my eyes as I hear the yacht’s engine cut off.

The boat slowly drifts to a near stop, the waves lightly rocking it. It’s not terribly hot today, but the sun is really beating down.

Cold water from the melted ice in the cooler runs off the bottle and drips down my neck and face. I almost didn’t wear my bikini because I was afraid someone would be able to look at me and tell that I’m pregnant, but I don’t have a baby bump yet.

I look just like I did before Las Vegas. Just probably more tired.

“Hey.”

Oh, man. This is turning into a nightmare.

I open my eyes and turn to face Derek. “Hey.”

“You okay?” Derek asks as he tilts his head, his eyes moving over me.

“I’m fine,” I reply. “Aren’t you snorkeling?”

Derek shrugs. “I thought about it, but I saw you alone over here.”

“And?” I question him.

Bitchy, maybe. But come on.

He dumped me and hooked up with another girl a week later. What could he possibly want from me?

Derek steps closer and motions for the bartender to get him a beer. “I wanted to check on you. I still care about you, Cassidy.”

I drink my water to stop myself from laughing in his face.

“Look, I’m sorry for how things played out. I was…close-minded,” he says as he leans his side against the bar to face me. “I’ve really been thinking about things lately. Decisions I’ve made. The future.”

Maybe I fell off the boat and drowned at some point, and this is purgatory or something.

“That’s great, Derek. I’m sure you’ve come to some interesting conclusions,” I sigh as I place the cold bottle back against my forehead.

“Well, I have—”

“Hey, guys.”

My head snaps to the side as Jackson, Tyler, and Marcus stride over to us.

“I thought you were snorkeling?” I question them.

Why is everyone over here when I’m trying to have a moment?

“We need some water for the group,” Jackson replies before stepping between Derek and me, forcing Derek to take a step back. “Six waters.”

The bartender nods and digs around in the cooler full of ice.

“You should grab a pair of flippers before they’re all gone, Derek,” Tyler says.

“I don’t know if I’m going to go anymore,” Derek replies. “Cassidy and I were talking.”

“Well, you were talking. I was trying to cool down,” I tell him as I take the water bottle off my forehead. “There’s too much body heat over here.”