Chapter 26: Chapter Twenty-Six
Three hours later, they were in his car, burgers and fries in their laps, and headed down the road. “So, what’s the plan when we get to Vegas? Are you staying at the casino with me?” He prayed she’d say yes, because he couldn’t stand the thought of them going their separate ways.
She shook her head, swallowing the mouthful of food she had. “I honestly don’t know. My cousin thinks I’m staying with her.”
“Why does she think that?”
“Because that’s what I’d told her.” She gave him a strange look. “I never told her I was engaged.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t?”
“No.” Madison sighed. “I blurted it out to my stepmother, but I never told anyone else. And I know Gina hasn’t told anyone.” She huffed with contempt. “She couldn’t possibly tell anyone her daughter is engaged until after she’s met and approved of the guy.” She took a sip of her drink and then shoved a couple of fries in her mouth. “She is so incredibly shallow. Fair warning.”
“Good to know.” He rubbed his palm on his leg, unease twisting his stomach. “But that still doesn’t answer my question.”
“Next time we stop, I’ll call Heather and check in, let her know where we are. And I’ll tell her I’m bringing my fiancé.”
He nodded.
“If you’re not totally sick of me yet, I’d like to stay at the casino with you,” she said softly.
Ryder reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m not sure I could ever get sick of you, Madison.”
She rolled her eyes, but the blush creeping across her cheeks showed her true emotions. “Thanks.”
“Your parents won’t be mad you’re not staying with them?” he asked.
“They won’t care. Trust me.”
“And your cousin isn’t going to flip out about you suddenly having a fiancé you never told her about?” He cast a sideways glance at her. A sense of dread stirred in his gut. They were going to have to work twice as hard to sell this lie.
“Growing up, Heather was the closest thing I ever had to a sister. We were close. I haven’t seen her since leaving for college three years ago, and we don’t exactly talk that much anymore, so it won’t be too shocking that I didn’t tell her about you. I’ll just make something up about not wanting to steal her thunder when she told me she was getting married. It’ll be fine.”
They fell silent as they ate. Ryder’s mind raced. He was going to have to call his brothers and explain the situation, and hope to hell they would understand and not be total dicks about it. Finishing the last bite of his burger, he wadded up the wrapper and tossed it in the bag. He washed it down with a long drink of his soda.
“After we get checked in at the casino, I’ll go to Heather’s for a little while. I’ll need to be fitted for my dress, and it will give you time to talk to your brothers,” she said.
“Good idea.”
How the hell was he supposed to explain this to his brothers, though? He could already hear them teasing him. And that would morph into genuine concern. Was Madison really faking it? Or was she using this as a ploy to get her hands on Ryder’s money? He knew clear to his soul that Madison didn’t want his money. Maybe he should lead with that, tell his brothers that he’d found someone who didn’t give a shit.
“How are your brothers going to react to what we’re doing?” she asked, snapping him from those very exact thoughts.
He shrugged. “They’ll harass the shit out of me about it, but what else is new?”
She nodded, chewing, then swallowing. “I’m sorry you even have to get them involved in all of this.”
“It’s fine.” One way or another, he’d make his brothers understand. And really, pretending to be Madison’s fiancé for a weekend wasn’t anywhere near as bad as punching her father and getting thrown in jail like Xander had.
“It’s your turn. Tell me about your family.” She twisted in the seat so she was angled toward him.
“What do you want to know?”
“You must be really close to your brothers to drive thirty-five hours to spend the weekend with them.”
“We’re inseparable. Rather, we used to be. But now that they both have steady girlfriends we don’t see each other as much. That’s why I’m willing to make this trip, and because I don’t know when we’ll get another chance to hang out like this.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. They’re both in college, too?”
“Yeah.” He’d already told her all of this. Why was she asking again? “Why?”
“If you’re the oldest, and you’re a senior… It just doesn’t make sense that Tanner’s already in medical school. Shouldn’t you have graduated before him?”
He glanced at her, noting the intense look in her eyes, the determination etched on her forehead. It was sexy as hell. “I took a year and a half off after high school. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and I didn’t want to waste money on college trying to figure it out. So, I spent a year working as a personal assistant in a law firm. By the time I finally decided that was my career path, Tanner was a sophomore, and Xander and I enrolled at the same time.”
“Most people take a year off to travel the world, not get a job.” She laughed.
A smile tugged at his mouth. It had been a point of contention between him and his father, too, but eventually his father had agreed.
They fell silent once again, and he concentrated on getting back to the highway. Less than two hours into the drive, Madison was asleep. Every few minutes, he’d sneak a glance at her, almost like he was afraid she’d suddenly vanish. Thank God she was staying with him at the casino, though, that was another thing he’d have to explain to his brothers. This was supposed to be a girlfriend-free weekend. Granted, Jules and Kylie would be arriving on Sunday, so Tanner and Xander couldn’t really give him too much shit about bringing Madison along.
He blew out a breath and once again looked at the woman beside him, the woman who’d so quickly and completely stolen his heart. The intensity of his feelings for her overwhelmed him, and he had no idea how the hell he was going to survive the rest of the weekend pretending to be her fiancé when he knew the second they were back on the road home, things would drastically change between them.