“Listen, if you eloped without me, I would be mad at you.”
“Wait, did you know about this when we went shopping?”
“Of course I did,” she said, pointing at her jeans. “I needed these for the trip. And you needed some stuff too, if I’m not mistaken.” She winked at me and all I could do was shake my head.
I was baffled.
I’d never been so surprised.
My mom hugged me and told me how she’d flown up the day before and stayed with my brother. It was when her arms were around me that I nearly broke down, realizing what Camden had really given me. He was responsible for so much goodness in my life, I didn’t know how I would ever repay him for making it so easy to love him, and to let him love me.
“Don’t cry,” my mother whispered as she took in the tears welling in my eyes. She framed my face with her hands and kept whispering. “This is the happiest day of your life, sweetheart. That man would walk through fire for you. You’re going to spend the rest of your life with him and it’s going to be so wonderful.”
It was a whirlwind. Every emotion imaginable was swirling around me while my closest friends and family stood by, caught in the storm. I was so incredibly happy but still wiping a tear away every few minutes, completely overwhelmed. We boarded the plane and I was sure the flight crew was going to kick us off. We were happy and loud and rowdy. Luckily, I think the crew and the other passengers saw us as excited, not disruptive. Everyone was on their way to Las Vegas, and they all seemed down to party too.
We took our seats, Camden on one side of me, Hadley on the other—very reminiscent of the first time we met. I let my gaze trail over him, from head to thighs, and had a flutter in my belly.
“So,” Hadley said, pulling me out of my Camden haze. “Once we land, we’ll go to the hotel and drop off all our stuff, but then it’s go time. You’ve got a hair appointment, followed by a makeup appointment, and then a wedding to get to.” She smiled widely and clapped her hands excitedly. “This is going to be so fun.”
“Wow, maybe you missed your calling as a wedding planner,” I teased.
“Hey, I don’t want to do this for a living, but you know I’d do anything for you.”
“I know. And you don’t know how much I appreciate all this. I still can’t even believe it.”
“Well, Rachel and Jasper helped a lot. I can’t take all the credit.”
“You’re still going to stand up with me, right? Be my maid of honor?”
“Of course. I even have a killer dress.”
“You’re going to kill Justin, aren’t you?” Camden added, interjecting himself into the conversation.
Hadley just shrugged. “I look amazing in my dress, and he’s going to have to deal with it.”
“Is Justin your best man?” I asked Camden, realizing we’d never spoken about it.
“Actually, no. Greg is on a flight to Vegas as we speak.”
I’d heard a lot about Greg, even talked on the phone with him a time or two when Camden had put him on speakerphone. They’d been best friends since childhood, but Greg moved to the East Coast for college and never returned. His wife had their second baby around the time Camden and I met, and Greg, now a father of two, wasn’t traveling much.
“Are you serious?” I asked, shocked and excited that Camden would get to have his best friend by his side for his wedding.
“I am. I called him, told him what was happening, and he made it happen. His brother, Ben, is coming too. It’s going to be good to see them.”
“We owe his wife a fruit basket or something. What a saint, letting her husband go to Vegas while she stays home with two kids. Too bad she couldn’t come.” I was looking forward to the day I could meet Greg and his wife.
“She wanted to but wasn’t ready to leave the baby.”
“Understandable,” I replied. “Maybe soon we can go visit them.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
“Is this Ben guy single?” Hadley asked, and I shot her a withering look. “What? I’m just curious.”
“You can’t seriously be thinking about hooking up with someone with Justin around.”
She shrugged. “He doesn’t have a say in anything I do.”
I kept my mouth shut and fought the urge to roll my eyes. I had a feeling Justin had a very strong hold on her, and she was fighting it tooth and nail.
“So, what color is your dress?” I asked, attempting to change the subject. Luckily, she took the bait. The next two hours was spent ironing out all the last-minute details of a last-minute wedding.
It was the best two hours ever.
Chapter Twenty
Camden
The last few days had been ridiculously stressful. Keeping secrets from Riley wasn’t my favorite thing, even if I knew she’d love them. I loved surprising her, and I was fairly certain she’d enjoy what I’d planned, but it was always risky to plan a woman’s wedding without her input. Luckily for me, in so many ways, Riley only cared about marrying me, not about when or how. The fact that she’d agreed to elope before she knew her whole family and all her friends would be there meant more to me than she’d probably ever realize.
The flight went smoothly and it was the most relaxed I’d been in days. I looked out the window, Riley’s hand in mine the whole time, and listened to the woman I loved chattering happily with her best friend about our wedding.
My parents were a few rows ahead of us, sitting with Riley’s mom. Justin was next to Jasper, and Rachel and Tripp managed to snag two seats next to each other as well. I didn’t think Riley had noticed, and I wasn’t going to be the one to point it out to her either.
“Oh no,” I heard Riley say, her tone suddenly worried. “You didn’t get a bachelor party.” She rested her hand lightly on my thigh. Fuck, I loved her hands on me. Any spot would do, but I knew how much she liked my thighs, always caught her sneaking peeks at them, so to feel her hand there was a huge turn-on.
I had to laugh at her concern.
“Babe, I don’t need a bachelor party.”
Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.
“You don’t think a week or month from now you’ll regret not having one last crazy night with your man friends? You don’t want to watch a woman take her clothes off while she spins around a pole? Stick dollar bills in her G-string?”
“Is the woman on the pole you?”
Hadley snorted in her seat.
“You don’t want to see me on a pole,” Riley scoffed. “I tried one of those pole dancing classes before and I was a hot mess.”
“She really was,” Hadley added with yet another snort.
“Okay, first of all, we’re going to talk about this you getting on a pole thing again. I can’t believe I didn’t know this about you. In fact, I think I might have one waiting for us when we get home.” Truly, the image of Riley seductively swinging around a stripper pole with only thin scraps of lace covering her body went straight to my dick. I was beginning to regret inviting everyone to come with us. Surely they’d never let us live it down if I dragged Riley into the bathroom of the airplane. “And secondly, no, I don’t need to watch some random woman take her clothes off. I’ve been there and done that, and I refuse to treat our marriage like the death of a time in my life that I can’t wait to be rid of. Marrying you isn’t the end of something, it’s the beginning.”
Her eyes went soft like they did whenever she thought I was being sweet. The truth of the matter was it was easy to be sweet with Riley. I loved her, and that love was evident in the way I treated her, revered her, cherished her. I didn’t understand how a man in love didn’t treat his woman with utter respect and kindness. It seemed like second nature to me.
I used my forefinger and thumb to gently tilt her chin up so I could look her in the eye.
“Do you need a bachelorette party?”
“No,” she whispered.
“Sure?”
She nodded slightly, as much as she could anyway with her chin
between my fingers.
“Okay,” I replied and then kissed her gently.
“Don’t worry, guys. When I get married we can have huge bachelor and bachelorette parties. I’ll make up for it,” Hadley said, then took a sip of her Coke.
I rolled my eyes and Riley laughed.
The thing was I believed her. Hadley would definitely mourn the end of her single life. I couldn’t even imagine her ever settling down anyway.
“Good afternoon, everyone. This is your pilot speaking. We are about to make our final descent into Las Vegas. The temperature is a cool ninety-two degrees, and the skies are sunny as far as the eye can see. We hope you enjoyed flying with us. Flight crew, prepare for landing.”
“I’m so excited,” Riley said, practically bouncing in her seat.
I gave her leg a squeeze and then took her hand.
The plane touched down and Jasper and Rachel went immediately into event planning mode, which I couldn’t have been more grateful for. Everything was planned, every last detail taken care of. We made our way to baggage claim and that’s where I saw Greg and Ben waiting.
“Hey, man,” I said, shaking Greg’s hand and pulling him into a hug, patting his back. It had been too long since I’d seen him, and I couldn’t fully express how much it meant that he was there. “It’s good to see you.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Cam.” We pulled back, but I held onto him for a moment more. “Ally is sad she couldn’t make it. She sends her best.”
“We totally get it,” I replied honestly. Ally was a wonderful mother and I couldn’t hold it against her for staying home. “I guess I’m just lucky she let you come at all,” I added with a laugh.
“Ha-ha,” he said, also laughing. His eyes slid to my side where I knew Riley was standing. “This must be the woman crazy enough to take you on.”
With more pride than I could verbalize, I put my arm around Riley and introduced her to my best friend. “Greg, this is Riley, my fiancée and soon-to-be wife. Riley, this is Greg, my best friend since forever.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, holding her hand out to him.
“None of that,” he said as he playfully took her hand and pulled her into a hug.
“Ben,” I said, looking to Greg’s brother. “I’m so glad you guys could make it.” We hugged and I introduced him to Riley as soon as Greg let her go.
“I’ve heard so much about both of you,” Riley said sweetly, wrapping her arm around my waist and leaning into my side, fitting herself against me, exactly where she belonged.
“Same goes,” Greg replied with a warm smile. I knew I wanted Greg at my wedding, but it hadn’t occurred to me how much his presence would make everything feel even more perfect—if that was even a thing. I would have married Riley under any circumstance. Seriously. But having my best friend to stand by my side made everything better.
“Okay, folks, I don’t want to rush a reunion, but we only have a limited amount of time to get to the chapel, so let’s get the show on the road.” Jasper’s voice pulled us all out of our bubble and I had to laugh.
“Is he always like this?” I asked Riley.
“Yes. That’s why he’s so awesome at his job.”
“Thanks, babe,” Jasper replied, winking at my girl. “But your praise isn’t going to save you today. Get your sweet ass moving.”
Everyone laughed, but we all did exactly what he said.
Just like Jasper had promised, there was a large SUV limo waiting for us after we’d all retrieved our bags. My parents had graciously offered to pay for everyone’s hotel, the limo, and the wedding site. It was a pretty big bill, but nothing compared to what a huge wedding would end up costing if we’d planned to stay in Portland. My mom was so excited and insisted on covering most of the expenses.
The ride to the Bellagio was invigorating. Everyone was riding a wave of excitement, people were laughing and smiling, and I couldn’t help but notice a few had opened a bottle of champagne. It was, by all means, a celebration.
When we arrived at the hotel, my parents checked everyone in and handed each person their room keys, and people started to disappear.
“I’ll be up to get you in thirty minutes,” Hadley said to Riley. “Thirty minutes, Camden. Do not get her all flushed or sweaty. There’s no time to shower before the hair and makeup appointments. So no funny business.”
Riley blushed at Hadley’s words, but I promised her we’d be on our best behavior.
My mom handed us a key card and, with an enormous smile, said, “They had a suite available, so we upgraded you.”
“Mom,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t have to do that. We don’t need all this. You’ve done so much already.”
“No, no,” she said, pushing the key card toward me. “This is what we want to do. We’re so happy to be here and we’re so happy for both of you. It’s the least we can do.”
I pulled my mother into a hug, knowing she was close to tears and I didn’t want any crying. Not yet, anyway.
“Okay,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
“We’ll see you at the chapel.” She pulled back, then turned and walked away. I knew she was trying not to lose her composure.
“She’ll be all right,” my stepfather said, reaching out to shake my hand. “She’s just happy.”
“Thank you, for everything,” Riley said sincerely.
“For you, Riley, we’d give anything.”
“Okay, enough,” I said, pulling Riley close to me before she lost it too. She and my stepfather had a tumultuous history, even for such a short relationship, but things were good between them and I knew that meant a lot to Riley.
“Go,” he said with a smile. “Get ready for a wedding.”
I smiled at him and aimed Riley toward the bay of elevators to take us up to our suite.
A bellhop helped us by wheeling all our bags and Riley’s dress up to the room, leaving her and me to take in the opulence of the hotel.
“This is a little crazy,” she said right before we entered the elevator.
“It’s nice,” I agreed. “I can’t believe you’ve never been to Vegas.”
She shrugged. “Never had the money to go when I turned twenty-one, and then after that it seemed kind of silly.”
“It can be a fun town. Lots to do. You can see concerts, shows, sit and gamble, drink—there’s a lot of ways to spend time.”
“Well, I’m glad my first time will be with you.”
I smirked at her.
“I might not be your first, but I’m gonna be your last,” I whispered right before I pressed a kiss against her mouth. I kissed her until the elevator pinged, knowing the bellhop had probably seen way worse than two adults sharing a kiss. It was Vegas, after all.
We followed him down the hallway and it was clear to both of us that our floor was the nicest.
“I think this might have cost your parents a fortune,” Riley whispered as the bellhop opened the door.
“Don’t think about it. They wanted to give this to us, so let’s enjoy it.”
The bellhop placed our luggage in the bedroom, showed us the impressive features of the room, and left twenty dollars richer for it. I closed the door behind him and locked it, then walked back to the bedroom, stopping at the threshold and leaning against the doorjamb.
Riley had opened her suitcase on top of the bed and was sorting through everything she’d brought, appearing to make a pile of things she needed to take with her. Suddenly it hit me that in just a few hours she was going to be my wife. I was going to be someone’s husband. No, not someone’s—Riley’s.
I didn’t know how I got so lucky to find her and convince her to stick around, but I’d spend forever making sure she never regretted it.
I placed my hand over hers, which was moving around at lightning speed. I’d brought her here to avoid stress, but I could tell her eyes were about to pop right out of her head.
“Babe, calm down. Come here,” I said, pulling her
away from her things. “Just be with me for a minute.”
I sat on the bed and spread my legs, bringing her to stand between my knees. Her hands came to rest naturally on my shoulders, and my hands went to her ass… naturally.
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Don’t blink. It’ll be over before you know it.”
A smile crept across her face. “Good.”
“Are you okay with the only sex you have for the rest of your life being married sex?” I used my thumbs to push up the back of her shirt, letting my hands roam against her skin, and watched as she shivered at my touch.
“Is married sex different than what we’ve been doing for the last couple months?” she asked, breathily.
I shrugged, pulling her closer, lifting her shirt so I could place kisses around her navel. “I don’t know,” I said between kisses. “I’ve never had married sex.”
“Oh,” she panted as I pulled her even closer, forcing her to straddle me. I’d been trying to distract her, to get her mind off the million things surely running through it, but now I was invested. Now I wanted to feel her writhing beneath me. Or on top of me. I wasn’t picky.
She came willingly, putting her knees on either side of my hips, settling her core right against my dick, making me groan and wish I could do all sorts of things to her.
I pushed her shirt up over her breasts and took the top swells in my mouth, thumbing her nipples over the lace of her bra.
“Hadley said no funny business.”
“I don’t want to talk about Hadley right now,” I said as I moved my mouth from one breast to the other.
“Okay,” she breathed.
I smiled against her skin, then put my mouth over the lace covering the rosy peak and pulled it into my mouth, eliciting a moan from her.
“Cam,” she whispered, rocking her core against me, letting out small whimpers at the friction.
“Yeah, babe?”
“We can’t have sex right now,” she said, even as she ground against me.
Riled Up (With A Kiss #2) Page 19
