Page 57 of Vegas with my Brother’s Best Friends

I’m definitely not complaining.

“You think everyone else is having fun too?” Cassidy asks, her voice sounding hopeful.

“Of course,” I assure her. “This is the best week I’ve had in a long time.”

“Needed a break from work?”

I shrug. “I really like my job. I just think getting out and away for a little while has been good for me. It’s given me some clarity.”

Curiosity lights up her eyes. “Clarity on what?”

I let out a light laugh, not wanting to get too deep. “I mean, Ryan and Sarah are getting married and about to start a life together. Stuff like that just makes you look at your own life. It kind of helps you see what’s missing.”

Her face softens as she nods. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

She just got out of a relationship. I doubt she’s yearning for marriage right now.

Especially not with one of her brother’s friends.

We both come to a stop in front of another shop selling all sorts of handmade art pieces and intricate jewelry. A few other tourists inspect all the items hanging up or lining shelves.

“These are beautiful,” Cassidy says as she admires beaded bracelets with different charms.

I gravitate closer to her so that I can get a better look, my chest nearly grazing the back of her shoulder. “I’ve seen a lot of really good art here. There are a lot of talented local artists.”

“I love looking at art,” she sighs happily. “I get so inspired.”

“There’s a really cool art festival where the guys and I live. It’s in a few months. You should go with me,” I tell her, a surge of hope filling my chest.

I don’t want to never see her again after the wedding. After everything we’ve gone through since Las Vegas, we can’t just go back to how things used to be.

Not without it hurting.

“That sounds nice,” Cassidy replies without hesitation. She then pauses and frowns a little. “But we should probably get other people to go too.”

“It could just be like this. You and me. Casually looking at art,” I tell her.

A bittersweet look forms on her face. “Me coming to your city alone to go to an event with you could be seen as suspicious. At least by Ryan.”

I let out a faint sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

At least one of us is thinking clearly.

Cassidy looks around before letting her hand brush mine. “I’m having a good time with you now, though.”

“Me too,” I say, our eyes meeting. “You get art the same way I do.”

“Try to imagine a world without it,” Cassidy says.

It would be as bland and gray as a world without her in it.

“I was always told I wouldn’t make it as an artist,” I tell her. “I mean, a tattoo artist is a little different from a traditional artist.”

“You’re putting your art on other people’s bodies,” Cassidy replies, her expression warming. “Whoever it was, you proved them wrong.”

“My foster parents,” I admit.

A moment of silence follows my words as Cassidy raises her eyebrows in surprise. I guess I don’t bring them up much.