Page 28 of Vegas Love (Love 1)
"I think I'd rather be your husband than your agent."
"Let's go back to Vegas tonight. Tell your family. Hop on a plane and just do it. "
"No way. The next time we get married, it's going to be the wedding of your dreams. Let's meet with a wedding planner and set a date, then we'll tell them."
She beams at me. "That sounds like a great plan."
My brother kisses both of Ashlyn's cheeks in greeting then slaps me on the back. "You look like you're going to be sick. Don't worry, I'll handle the negotiation. You can sit back and watch the master work."
He chuckles then gestures toward the conference table for us to sit then he goes over the first contract with Ashlyn.
"So this is for the sequel to The Spy Games. Preproduction will begin in three months. Filming will all be done at the studio here." He goes over the terms of the contract in detail, telling her the items he believes are negotiable and those that aren't. Once he's gone through the whole thing and has a list of points, he starts on the next offer.
"Wait," she says, grinning at me. "No."
"No, what?"
"I want more money."
"But this is a very substantial--"
"I don't care, Cade. I'm worth more than that and we all know it. And, honestly, had they not pulled their offer when I was going through what was one of the worst weeks of my life, I might have taken it. But, now, I want more across the board. If they don't like it, they can find a replacement for me, and I will happily take some well-deserved time off." She glances at me. "I believe in me. They need to show me that they do too."
I know we've been talking about telling my family about us getting married again but the way she just looked at me, was almost like she was telling me that she needs to know I believe in her.
And I don't think she's talking about business.
What can I do to show her that I love her? That I'm serious about marrying her? That I'm serious about her?
She wore the engagement ring in New York because she said she could get away with it there. She's not wearing it today.
That's it!
She needs a serious proposal, not some drunken one.
As soon as we're done here, I'm going to show her the house. I'll take her out onto the balcony overlooking the Pacific, get down on one knee, tell her why I love her, and ask her to marry me again.
Then I'll tell her that I'm buying the house. For us.
Hands On My Ass
Ashlyn
After we get confirmation the studio agreed to my contract terms, Cade asks to speak with me alone.
"Ashlyn, can I talk to you freely about something personal?"
"Like what?"
"Cash."
"Oh."
"Oh, what?"
"What did you want to say?"
"I just want you to know that if he ever acts inappropriately toward you, you need to tell me."
"Inappropriately?"
"The other day after the whole Bart thing, I saw the way he hugged you. When he took this job, I told him he needed to be professional. If he's not being professional toward you--"
"I get what you're saying, Cade, and everything is okay. I wouldn't be making all these changes if it weren't for him, so we should both be thankful for that. He's helped me more than you know, and I value his friendship."
Among other things.
"That's a relief. Congrats on your new deals. They are big ones."
I smile. "I know. I owe you a big thank you too. I feel like I'm finally getting my life in order and under control. It feels good."
I meet up with Cash in the lobby and when he pulls me into the elevator, he kisses me.
"What did my brother say?"
"He wanted to make sure you have been behaving appropriately toward me."
He smirks and grabs my ass. "Have I been?"
"Guess that depends on your point of view. I'm pretty sure Cade would not consider your hand on my ass appropriate."
"And from your point of view?"
"I love it." I give him a kiss back. "Were you serious about the whole wedding planner--doing a big wedding thing?"
"That depends if you want to marry me again."
She looks at the ground. "Cash, I'm sorry I snuck out that morning, but I got scared."
"Scared of what?"
"I promised you it was just a one-night thing. That's what you signed up for."
"I agreed because it's what you said you wanted. But by the time I had proposed, I was already crazy about you."
"Well, I freaked out when I got home. I texted Harper on her honeymoon trying to find you. Got the guest list and everything. I told myself I needed to give the ring back but, really, I wanted to find you. To see if you were as amazing as I remembered. Or if I was just drunk."
"You were drunk. We both were."
"Do you think we're even legally married? We gave fake names."
"I refuse to answer that question on the grounds it might incriminate me," I say, knowing that whether or not we're married might be the least of our worries.
"What does that even mean?" she laughs.
"It means I don't care if we are legally married or not. I love you. That's what matters. And I want to marry you again. Soon. In front of my family and friends. And then I want to go on an amazing honeymoon with you."
"I want that too. And how soon are you thinking?"
"Let's call the wedding planner right away. I'd like to tell my family this weekend. I don't want to wait any longer."
"Do you think they will be mad at you?"
"Maybe a little, but they'll get over it. They want to see me happy, and you, Hotass, make me happy."
Top of the World
Cash
On the drive home, she calls the wedding planner and sets up a meeting for tomorrow. When she gets off the phone, I lie and tell her I want to take her out for dinner to celebrate her new contracts. While she was talking to Cade, I messaged the realtor and got everything set up. Told him that I wanted to make an offer but wanted her to see it first.
She curls her hair and puts on a sexy lace dress. One that looks almost bridal. Perfect.
And, thankfully, she's wearing the ring. I want to give it to her again.
"You look beautiful," I tell her. "We'll have to stop by my brother's on the way, so I can put on something worthy of that dress."
"Where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise," I say, barely able to hide my excitement.
I feel on top of the world. I don't think I've ever been this happy in my entire life.
There's a car I don't recognize when we pull into Carter's driveway. I figure it's probably Vale, but when Ashlyn and I get through the door, I see my ex, Kelli, instead.
"Cash!" she says, ignoring Ashlyn and trying to give me a kiss.
I pull back. "What are you doing here?"
"I screwed up. It's fine if you're not ready to get engaged, but we can't just give up on each other. We were together for four years."
"I'm not in love with you, Kelli. And you aren't in love with me either. You packed your bags and left. Never even cried. Why are you here now? It's been over a year."
"I saw a photo of you with her at Fashion Week." She nods her head toward Ashlyn. "I realized how much I missed you and called Jared. He told me you were here. Carter let me come in and wait. He told me you haven't been dating anyone." She looks at Ashlyn again and holds out her hand. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude. I'm Kelli, Cash's girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend," I stress.
Ashlyn smiles and flashes her ring. "You can't be Cash's girlfriend. He's already spoken for."
Kelli's eyes get huge as she grabs Ashlyn's hand and stares at her ring. "Are you saying that ring is from Cash? Are you engaged?"
Fuck it. I grab my hot-ass wife's waist, pull her close, and then flash my wedding band. "We're not just engaged."
Kelli looks very confused and is shaking her head, so Ashlyn clarifies the situation. She holds out her ha
nd like Kelli did earlier and says, "I'm sorry if I'm being rude. Let me introduce myself. I'm Ashlyn, Cash's wife."
"But how could you be?"
"It's really none of your business, Kelli," I say, leading her toward the door. "I think it's time for you to leave."
She stands in the doorway, pissed. "Why didn't Carter tell me?"
"Because he didn't know," Carter replies from behind us.
I turn around and mutter, "Shit," as Ashlyn bursts into tears and runs out the back door.
"What the hell is going on?" Carter demands. Kelli hasn't left yet. She's still standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a bitchy look on her face. It's the same look she used to give me when I suggested doing something fun.
"Yes, Cash," she says. "What the hell is going on?"
I point to her. "It's none of your fucking business. I gotta go."
As I'm running after my wife, I yell back to Carter, "Don't you dare tell Mom."
I sprint as fast as I can down the beach toward her house and find her sitting in the sand, sobbing.
"Why are you crying?" I ask her, even though I feel like crying too. I didn't want my brother to find out that way.
"I shouldn't have said that," she cries. "I just felt so jealous and it slipped out. I swear, I didn't mean for it to come out like that."
I stop her rambling with a kiss. "Shut up."
"Don't tell me to shut up."
I kiss her hard, again.
She kisses me back and then sighs into my mouth. "God, you kiss good. You can tell me to shut up any time you want if you kiss me like that."
