DREW

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed to find Charlee gone when I returned from the bathroom, but when I saw my phone lighting up like a Christmas tree, I knew why she had left. As I walk into the buffet, where we’re all meeting for Sunday champagne brunch, I spot Charlee almost immediately, sitting with my sister and friends.

Fuck, she’s beautiful.

From her long brown hair down to her red-tipped toes, my eyes eat up every little detail. As far as drunken Vegas brides go, I certainly hit the jackpot. I don’t know what led us to the altar last night, but I’m not nearly as freaked out about it as I should be. That’s weird, right? I really wish I could remember fucking her. I’m positive we did it, not only because she alluded to it earlier, but as I was getting dressed, I found three open condom wrappers on the floor. I didn’t go digging in the trash for the condoms themselves but the unmistakable scent of sex was clinging to the air. I don’t really need to see my jizz to know that the rubbers were used.

“There you are, fucker,” Brody says as he spots me.

I raise my hand to acknowledge him when the light glints off the shiny gold ring on my finger. Shit. How did I not notice that earlier? I remove the wedding band as discreetly as possible and slip it into my pocket before joining them at the table. I take the only open chair which just happens to be next to my new bride.

“What took you so long?” my sister asks.

I shrug. “I slept through my alarm.”

“Huh. You and Charlee both. Weird.” The look on her face says she doesn’t think it’s weird at all and knows we’re hiding something.

Brody removes his face from Rainey’s neck. “What’s weird?”

“Nothing,” Charlee quickly replies.

Riley takes a sip of juice and faces me. “So, what’d you guys wind up doing last night?”

“Uh...”

“Not much,” Charlee interrupts. “We just gambled for a while, then I went back to my room for some greasy room service.”

Okay, I can work with this. “Yeah, uh...same. Pretty uneventful for the most part.”

Brody takes Rainey’s hand and kisses her knuckles. “I wouldn’t say completely uneventful.”

Charlee’s eyes widen. “Why? What did you hear?”

He gestures for Rainey to answer the question. “Well, some of you already know this, but for those who don’t...I’m pregnant.”

My eyebrows lift. “Holy shit! Seriously?”

Brody’s smile is probably bigger than I’ve ever seen it. “Seriously. Totally knocked her up.”

Rainey smacks him on the back of the head. “Idiot.”

He grabs her chin and pulls her into a kiss. “You love it, baby.”

Jesus, these two and their PDA.

A round of congratulations erupts and more champagne is poured for everyone but Rainey.

“Too bad we have to go to the airport right after this,” Brody says.

“Why?” Riley asks.

Brody smiles and pulls Rainey into a side hug. “Because we’re doing this a little backwards. There’s no easier place to get hitched than Vegas. If I wasn’t so busy banging my sexy baby mama all night, we could’ve gone then.”

“Overshare!” Devyn whines.

Rainey smacks his chest with the back of her hand. “First of all, if you ever call me your baby mama again, I will maim you.” She pauses a moment to let that sink in. “Secondly, if you think that’s an acceptable proposal, you really need to work on that. Third, quit being so old-fashioned. We don’t have to get married before we have a baby.”

“Ha!” Charlee says. “Tell that to our mom. She’s going to go ape shit.”

Fuck, I wonder what she would do if she found out I married her daughter during a drunken night of debauchery. I’ve only met their mother a couple of times but she’s fucking scary for such a tiny woman.

Brody winces. “Don’t remind me.”

Rainey rolls her eyes. “I’m sure it will be fine. Hasn’t she been hounding you guys for grandkids for years?”

Charlee smirks. “I’m just saying...be prepared. The day you tell her, she’s going to ask when the wedding is. She’ll be happy about the baby—ridiculously happy— but she’s old school about getting married first and she can be persistent. Really fucking persistent.”

Rainey smiles. “Well, at least now I know where Brody gets it from.”

Everyone at the table laughs. It took Brody four years to convince Rainey to be with him. If that’s not persistent, I don’t know what the fuck is.

Charlee looks at her watch. “We only have an hour before checkout. I’m going to go hit the omelet station while I can.”

I wait until she walks away so I don’t look too eager. “Yeah, I need to get some food too. Nobody wants to be on a plane with me when I’m hungry.”

Brody uses his fork to point over my shoulder. “Dude, make sure you get some of that Southwest breakfast casserole. It’s fucking awesome.”

“Thanks.”

Brody nods. “Of course, man. I’ve got your back.”

I try my best to look him in the eye. “You always do.”

Fuck. He’s going to kill me if he ever finds out what happened last night. Problem is, the guy can read me like a book and I’m a shit liar.

Double fuck.

I take my time with the buffet, slowly but surely making my way over to Charlee as she waits for her omelet to cook. Thankfully, the line died down so I’m able to slide in right behind her.

“Hey.”

She turns her head back. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you and I can’t do it at the table.”

The chef slides her eggs onto a plate and hands it to her. As she starts walking away she says, “Drew, we can’t talk about this right now. Our flight is in a few hours and we can’t exactly excuse ourselves so it’ll have to wait until we get home.”

“Really? That’s your master plan?”

She lifts her eyebrow in challenge. “Do you have a better idea?”

“Well...no.”

“Exactly. So let’s shut up about it for now, enjoy our breakfast, and when we get home, we’ll figure out how to erase this sham of a marriage from the records.”

I swallow the sudden lump in my throat. “Right. First thing when we get home.”