“I tell ya there’s a good chance this was foul play and that Colton Braxton is somehow involved, and ya wanna take a trip to Vegas with your girlfriend.”
“Proof before the pudding. We go talk, we sort things out, then we take it to the brothers. We’ve all got enough on our plates, and if we want to stay in the game, we have to find time to decompress.”
“Oh, shit. Ya only use that word when talkin’ about one place.”
And the grin that slid across Lucas’ face made me groan.
“Damn it. I can’t believe we’re going to Vegas again.”
“Oh yeah,” he said. “We’re going to Vegas again.”
FIVE
Everett
Two Weeks Later
“I still don’t think we should be goin’ to Vegas,” I said.
“Everett, it’s been a very rough couple of weeks. For all of us,” Lucas said.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean now is the time to get out of town. The fire marshal is almost done with his formal investigation. The insurance company is gonna be waitin’ for our call.” I wasn’t in the mood for this trip. I didn’t need to blow off some steam in Vegas. I needed to plan our next move. Or fix a house, work with my hands, something. And for Luke to be the one pushing this trip? It made no sense. Sure he could be a bit on the trouble side, but work always came first.
Well family, then work.
“No, the insurance company is going to be waiting for my call. And anyway, the fire marshal’s got my personal information. If he concludes his investigation while we’re out of town, he’ll call me. Simple as that.”
“I still think this is a shit idea.”
“You always do because you work too hard, Everett. When’s the last time you went on a vacation?”
“The last time ya dragged me to Vegas.”
“Everett, that trip was seven years ago to celebrate the official declaration of Wisteria Lake Designs. If you haven’t taken a break since then, no wonder you’re strung so damn tight.”
“I’m not strung tight. I work. I make a livin’.”
“And even the hardest working men—like the president—go golf every once in a while.”
“I hate golfing. You go golf,” I said.
“We’re going to Vegas.”
“You can go to Vegas. I’m stayin’ here and workin’. Someone’s gotta man the fort while you guys are off drinkin’ and blowin’ singles off at the clubs,” I said.
“You’re coming, and that’s that. Jessica’s looking forward to this trip and meeting you as well. All the brothers actually. She’s even bringing some friends of hers, so maybe you’ll find yourself a companion for the weekend.”
“No. Thank ya.”
“Everett, this isn’t a choice.”
“Lucas, there’s a damn good chance we were specifically targeted in some sort of bullshit playing field from some company up north. This is happenin’. This is serious. One of us has to stay behind, and I don’t wanna go to Vegas. So, I’m stayin’ behind.”
“No, you’re not. And before you argue with me any further, I’ve already talked to Mom and Dad about this.”
“You what?” I asked.
“They’re still ten percent stakeholders in the company, so it’s their business when all of the main employees want to duck out and take a vacation. They told me to let you know that if you tried to duck out, they’d make your weekend a living nightmare.”
“No they didn’t.”
“Want to call them and ask?”
I slid my phone out of my pocket and promptly dialed Dad. Lucas crossed his arms with a grin on his face and leaned against the wall of my townhome. I didn’t like this shit one bit. The last time we went to Vegas, my ass almost got some random ass skull tattoo because I was so damn drunk. We had too much shit goin’ on to party it up like we’re just all turnin’ twenty-one.
“Everett! Here’s what I was thinking for this weekend. You guys need a way to make some quick cash, and since you have your real estate license, we can go look at some properties.”
“Dad, I already know what you’re doin’, and it’s not gonna work. There’s plenty of paperwork to do in the office, so that’ll be my weekend,” I said.
“No, it won’t. Check your email,” he said.
I furrowed my brow as I pulled my phone away from my ear. I opened up my email and saw a forwarded message from United Airlines. My eyes flickered up to Lucas as his grin turned to a full-blown, cheeky-ass smile, and when I opened up the email, my eyes bulged. Two economy-class tickets to Wyoming.
“You boys need to start branching out a bit, and Wyoming is the perfect place to buy property to start utilizing,” my father said.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“Yeah! Your mother and I just took a look at some property and land parcels out there and found a few you boys might like. You and I are going to go take a look at them. The plane leaves tomorrow at seven in the morning.”
“When does the plane for Vegas leave?” I asked.
“Seven in the morning,” Lucas said, grinning.
I really hated my family sometimes.
“As much as I enjoy the offer, Dad, I think I’ll stick with Vegas,” I said.
“Good choice. Stop fighting a vacation, Everett. You work too damn much.”
“That’s a hypocritical statement coming from you, Dad.”
“Your mother helped me mitigate it over the years, especially with my weekends. It almost ruined our marriage up until that point. Take the vacation, Everett. I know it’s the reason why you blew off the insurance for the mansion.”
“Thanks for always bringin’ that up.”
“We have to. It was a serious lapse in judgment that I know is due to the fact that you never give yourself a break. You’re terrible at it, just like I am.”
“I think the rest of my brothers could use a little bit of that.”
“What they do is normal. What you do is not. Now, go enjoy Vegas, or I’m hauling your ass to Wyoming.”
“Are ya really looking at property in Wyoming?” I asked.
“I really am. And since you’re now headed on vacation for the weekend, your mother gets to go with me.”
“I bet she’s thrilled,” I said flatly.
“When I make it romantic, she’s already thrilled. And first-class. I’ll have to bump up the plane ticket.”
“So, she gets first-class and I get economy?”
“When you’re being stubborn? Yep.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“One day, that thank you will be serious. Don’t waste your best years working yourself to death, son. Enjoy Vegas.”
“I’ll make sure my brothers stay alive,” I said.
Lucas was laughing his ass off in my bathroom by the time I hung up the phone. Fuck. This was bullshit. He was actually blackmailing me into a damn vacation I didn’t want to go on in the first place. It was reckless to do something like this right now. With everything going on and Colton keeping me updated on some shady shit, the last thing we needed to do was fly halfway across the damn country to go throw back some shots. We could do all that shit here after a long workday.
“I can still hear your mind going, which is why this vacation is needed for you,” Lucas said.
“I’m not overreactin’ to anything that’s goin’ on right now,” I said.
“You might not be, no. But we won’t know anything for sure until the fire marshal’s done. Until then, we’re going to go get some rest, have some drinks, eat some good food, and come back refreshed to tackle whatever the hell all of this is that we’ve found ourselves in.”
“You were more concerned than this a couple of weeks ago.”
“And I’m still concerned, but not enough to ruin what I know we all need. Stop fighting me, Everett. All of the brothers are coming along. Jessica’s bringing some friends of hers that need the same kind of break you do. Maybe you’ll meet a workaholic girl who can work your cock a bit before you come back.”<
br />
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me with this shit?” I asked.
“Just saying. If you don’t, you don’t. But you’re coming to Vegas and I’m making you take at least one shot with us before you stalk off to your room and coop yourself up. I know how you get during stressful times, but the least you can do is coop yourself up in a top-level hotel room.”
“You’ve paid for all these girls to come to Vegas with us, haven't you?” I asked.
“I have. And it’s going to be very worth it. We all have our separate rooms. I’ve booked out the entire top floor of the Mandarin Oriental. Beautiful views, great tubs to soak in, decadent room service, a five-star bar and restaurant in the hotel, and it’s right on the strip. So, if you coop yourself up, you’ll still have a really nice spa, view, and area to eat.”
“Thanks,” I said flatly.
“You’re pissed now, but you won’t be tomorrow. Now, pack your bags! We’re headed to Vegas in the morning.”
Lucas finally let himself out of my townhouse and I sighed. Fuck. I was going to Vegas. I went into my room and dug my suitcase out of the bottom of my closet and began to rifle through my clothes. If I was going to do Vegas, then I was going to do it right. Nice jeans. Button-front shirts. My nicer shoes. Maybe a pair of my boots. I folded everything up and put it all in nicely, then started packing up my toiletries. A spa day in Vegas did sound nice, though.
My brothers would all want me to go out. That much was for certain. But during the day, I could get some sleep, order in some room service, and hop onto the couch and order a movie. All of my brothers were rebel rousers, partiers, and trouble starters. But not me. I took care of the business, did what we needed to do to push things forward, then I went home and spent the weekends in, looking over paperwork and watching television. I didn’t enjoy getting dressed up and going back out to deal with more people. I dealt with enough of them during the week.
I was excited about meeting this new girl of Lucas’, though. He was obviously smitten with her and talked about her every second he could. I was happy he’d found someone to spend his time with. Out of all of us, Lucas was the last one I figured would settle down and be happy with anyone. Not that the two of them had settled down with one another after a few weeks. This was the longest he had ever stayed with a girl he encountered, and this was the first time he had ever wanted to take her on vacation. Hell, this was the first time he’d ever wanted to introduce a girl to us.
Maybe that would make it all worth this shit, meeting this girl of Luke’s that had captured him so much. I placed my toiletries off to the side in the suitcase and zipped everything up and rolled it over to the front door. I heard my email ring out in the other room and figured that was the itinerary for the weekend. Probably one Flynn drew up. He was our numbers guy as well as our logistics coordinator at times. When we needed something planned, he was the one we called. Shit. It was gonna be a long weekend.
I flopped down onto the couch and turned on the television. There was some mindless nature documentary on television, so I kicked off my shoes and propped them up on my coffee table. I closed my eyes and listened to the drone of the voice, lulling me in and out of sleep. I fell asleep on my couch more than I did my own damn bed. Mostly because this was the first place to flop down after a long day of work, but partially because my bed was massive.
And it felt empty some nights.
I’d never admit that to any of my brothers, but there were days where I got lonely. Days where I wondered if I’d spend the rest of my damn life sleeping in a king-size bed by myself. Being almost two hundred and fifty pounds didn’t afford me the possibility of Sleeping in a bed any smaller, which only reinforced the notion of it being so lonely. I didn’t even have any other choice to make it not feel so lonely. Maybe Lucas was right.
I mean, I wasn’t gonna hook up with his girl’s friend, but maybe I could go out and find someone to bring back to my hotel room for a night, even if it was just platonic or some shit. I didn’t need to get laid, but waking up to someone would be nice. Fixing breakfast for someone would be nice. Waking up to a warm body curled into mine with soft legs hooked over my thigh would be really nice. Maybe a little sex would be nice, too.
If she was up for it.
I jerked awake to my phone ringing out in the other room. I listened to it as it shot itself to voicemail, then the ringing promptly started up again. Fuck. It was probably Lucas calling me from the airport or something. I pulled myself off the couch and shuffled into my room, groaning with every step. I hated mornings. Early mornings. Late mornings. I hated them in general. I sat on the edge of my bed and picked up my phone and took in Luke’s name scrolling across my damn screen.
“What?” I asked as I answered the call.
“Just making sure you were up. The plane leaves at seven. It’s already four thirty.”
“It’s a red eye flight to Vegas. No one’s in the damn airport.”
“You hear this?”
I rolled my eyes before a dull roar kicked up in my ear. People were shouting and children were crying. I furrowed my brow as I cleared my throat, standing to my feet.
“The hell’s all that noise?” I asked.
“The people in the airport that you think aren’t here. Now splash some water in your damn face and suck it up. You’re going to Vegas. See you in an hour.”
Then, my brother hung up the phone.
I cleaned myself up really quickly and changed my clothes. I sure as hell didn’t wanna fly in some tight ass jeans and slick black socks. I shouldn’t have slept in them either. I pulled out some sweatpants and a t-shirt before I slipped into a pair of flip flops. If I was gonna be flying to Vegas on a red eye flight full of assholes all morning, then I was gonna be comfortable doing it. Hopefully Lucas purchased us all first-class tickets.
I made myself a cup of coffee to down before I headed out, then I grabbed my suitcase, shut down my television, and turned off all the lights, then set my security system. Normally, I didn’t use it. But I wasn’t takin’ any chances in my life right now. I locked the door and shut it behind me before I made my way to my car. I knew I could summon an Uber or get a taxi or some shit. But I wanted to ride in my own car to the airport. I’d park it for the weekend and use my pocket change to get it out. No big deal.
At least it was somethin’ I was in control of.
I tossed my shit into the back, chugged the rest of my coffee, then shook my head. I slid behind the wheel of the car and cranked it up, heading my happy ass to the airport. I knew my brothers would wanna go out the first night they were there, but I’d make it very clear that I was only going out that first night. The rest of the nights were up to me, and they weren’t forcing my hand in the matter. If I was gonna be forced to do some stupid ass vacation, I was at least gonna be given the option to do it how I wanted to do it and on my own time.
And if they didn’t like it, they could all kiss my ass.
SIX
Andrea
“Please go to Vegas with us? It’s going to be fun,” Jessica said as we walked down the street towards my place.
She drank her coffee while I sipped on a smoothie. We skipped dinner. Too much else to focus on.
“I haven’t seen you since you walked away from me at lunch, and now you suddenly want me to come to Las Vegas for the weekend?” I asked. I tugged on my dark curly hair. I didn’t like where this was going.
“We fight all the time. You brought me food afterwards. We’re good.”
“I brought you your leftovers.”
“And that sweet tea. You know that’s the way to my heart. Please, Andrea? It’s going to be a lot of fun. You’ll get to meet Lucas and see for yourself the kind of man he is, and some of his brothers are going.” She had a point; the sweet tea was an apology tea. I was king of pushing my plans on her that day. It wasn’t fair. Especially when she was all giddy like this. Giddy enough to make me sick.
“You’re not hooking me up with a Wilder brother.”
“I didn’t say a word about it.”
“Your wiggling eyebrows did.” There was no way in hell I was sleeping in some cheesy hotel wrapped around a Wilder boy. “At any rate, is Everett going on this trip?”
“So, you do know one of the Wilder brothers! Do you like him? Is he cute?”
“No, he’s not cute. He’s pretentious and piggish. I literally ran into him one day and he invited me to one of those parties of theirs by reaching around and sliding the invitation into my ass cheek pocket.”
“Oh, that’s hot.”
“No. It was intrusive. He’s pompous and arrogant, just like the rest of them. I don’t want to go to Vegas with all of them.”
“Then come and meet Lucas. Do if for me, please?”
“What makes you think I can afford a trip to Vegas anyway?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter if you can. They’ve already purchased the tickets and booked the rooms.”
“So, the Wilder brothers are financially footing a vacation for a girlfriend of four weeks and a friend they haven’t met yet? Sounds like another one of their parties,” I said.
“You need a vacation, Andrea. When was the last time you took one?”
“Is Bianca going on this thing, too?”
“She can’t. She’s sick. Though she did agree to go beforehand.”
“So I’m filling a ticket that’s already been bought.”
“No, Bianca’s ticket was refunded. Yours was purchased as well.”
“Before you asked me?” I asked.
“Are you going to complain and bitch about everything?”
“Yikes. You’re cussing. This must mean a lot to you.” I continued to consider the option. Free vacation wasn’t hurting me. But it did make me think of my kids. They never got opportunities like this. Hell, I didn’t either.
“It does. I want you to meet Lucas. I know you’re wary about him because he’s a Wilder and I want you to see how genuine he is. I also want you to have a nice time. When was the last time you took a vacation?”
“I’ve never taken a vacation.”
Accidentally Wild: An Accidental Marriage Romance (The Wilder Brothers Book 2) Page 4
