Page 82 of Vegas with my Brother’s Best Friends

Jackson lets out a dry laugh as he digs around in the mini bar. “What do you mean? There’s nothing to do. It’s all fucked.”

Marcus sighs and sits down on the couch. “All hope isn’t lost. We can try to talk to Ryan again when he’s cooled off. He doesn’t know that we genuinely care about her. He just thinks…”

“He thinks we just see her as someone to have sex with,” I mutter, sinking down on the couch next to him. “No wonder he’s so pissed off. All he sees is betrayal and disrespect.”

“We’re guilty of it all,” Jackson says as he pours himself a drink. Straight whiskey. “We betrayed Ryan. We disrespected our relationship with him, his relationship with Cassidy, and our relationship with her. He asked us to look after her. Not let our desires get in the way.”

“Things are a little more complicated than that,” Marcus replies. “It’s not just about sex. It’s about…everything. What we have with her is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It’s trust and care and—”

“That’s not going to matter to him,” Jackson tells him. “We were never supposed to feel this way for her. He didn’t want that. We should’ve respected that.”

“We can’t help how we feel,” Marcus argues. “And she feels the same way. I’m sure she does.”

I drag my fingers through my hair as I lay back against the couch cushion, weight pressing down on my chest. We’re just going to keep going back and forth. I can’t see a light at the end of this tunnel.

It’s just darkness.

“It’s done, Marc. Ryan probably doesn’t want to see our faces again, and I don’t know if Cassidy will want to be anywhere near us if she and Ryan can’t work things out,” Jackson replies before downing half of his drink.

“She’s still pregnant with our kid,” I say, feeling that familiar flare of panic in my chest, but I breathe through it this time. There’s too much at stake for me to freak out again. “We’re all involved. We can’t run or turn our backs on her. It wouldn't be right.”

“Even if she wants nothing to do with us?” Jackson questions me as he walks closer to us. “If she says that she wants us out of her life, will you walk away then?”

“I’ll do whatever makes her happy,” Marcus replies. “But if the baby is mine, I couldn’t completely walk away. Not from being a parent.”

Jackson’s eyes shift to me. “And you? You had a damn panic attack when you heard the news. Are you cool with letting her raise the baby alone?”

There’s a part of me that wants to run far away from the responsibility of being a parent. I could go back to my life of business and clubs and parties, but I’d be stuck in the same cycle for years. Nothing would change.

But being with Cassidy has shown me that there could be so much more to my life than quick flings and temporary pleasures. They never leave me happy and satisfied.

Not like she does.

If I’m going to have a kid with anyone, it’ll be her.

“No,” I reply. “I’d want to be involved too.”

Surprise glints in Jackson’s eyes, but he doesn’t make a snide comment or give me a disbelieving look. He just turns around and heads back to the bar to refill his drink.

“It’ll be fine,” Marcus says to me. “Everyone just needs time to cool down. We’ll get through this.”

I want to believe him, but I can’t forget the look on Ryan’s face. The anger isn’t even what hits me the most.

It was the disappointment.

I don’t think he’s ever going to forgive us.

Chapter twenty-nine

Chapter 29: Cassidy

When Jackson and Marcus leave to check on Tyler, I shut myself in my suite and sit on my bed, listening to my own rapid heartbeat as it pounds in my ears.

Today was supposed to be a day of rest. I was supposed to recover enough to bounce back from last night and finish this week strong but today isn’t peaceful. Or relaxing. Or quiet.

It’s a disaster, and I can only see things getting worse.

Has Derek told Ryan yet? Does Sarah know?