Page 35 of All Bets Are Off

“I hope you sleep well,” Liam murmurs against Addy’s neck as he pulls her in for a quick goodnight kiss.

We reach the twenty-first floor and the guys move out of the elevator. All of them except Theo, that is.

“Melissa, I think you’re forgetting something . . .” I hold up mine and Theo’s handcuffed hands with a smile. It’s officially the end of the night, so my dare is complete.

Liam sticks a foot back into the elevator to keep the doors from closing. “What are we doing? Do Theo and Hailey need to stay together?”

“Hang on,” Melissa says, rummaging through her purse. She’s a bit drunk, but suddenly her boozy smile falters and her brows furrow. She lifts her chin and looks me straight in the eye. “I can’t find the keys.”

“Ha-ha,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“No, Hailey, I’m serious.”

Laughter rips from the guys. Meanwhile, Addy presses her lips together with a sigh and rubs her temples, Melissa raids her purse even more frantically, and I gape at Theo in horror, jaw slack.

“Which one of you stole the keys to the handcuffs out of my purse?” Melissa snaps angrily, pointing a finger at the guys out in the corridor. “Give them back. I’m tired and not in the mood for messing around anymore.”

Silence. The guys exchange glances, each of them shrugging in denial. The elevator doors attempt to close again, but Liam hunkers down even more between them.

“Well, shoot,” Theo says, slapping his thigh with feigned disappointment.

I pivot toward him with a glare, because much like Melissa, I’m too tired to entertain these pranks. “Did you steal the keys?”

“Hails, I’ve been handcuffed to you all night,” he says, cocking his head to the side. “If I stole the keys, you’d be my accomplice.”

“I must have lost them,” Melissa says guiltily. “Do you think . . . Well, do you think you guys could get through the night together and we’ll figure out a way to release you from those cuffs in the morning?”

What an absolutely terrible idea.

Panicked, I glance helplessly around the group. “Connor. You’re a literal Marine. You’re strong enough to break these, right? Right?” I yank Theo forward as I hold up our handcuffed wrists, my eyes pleading desperately.

Connor backs away with an apologetic grimace. “I’d give it my best shot if my hand wasn’t fucked. Sorry.”

“So, what are we doing here, guys?” Liam asks again, still blocking the elevator doors but rapidly losing patience. “Do we need to rearrange rooms? Where are Theo and Hailey going to sleep?”

“It doesn’t sound like Evie’s coming back to her own room tonight, so Melissa, I’ll come stay with you instead,” Addy suggests, because Addy always knows how to resolve a problem. “Hailey, you and Theo can have our room to yourselves. I don’t really want to be there while you two fight all night.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll catch up with you guys at breakfast,” Theo says with a small wave to the bachelor party.

As Liam steps back into the corridor, the elevator doors finally close, shutting them out. Theo is left rocking it with us girls, which doesn’t seem like too much of a hardship for him. As the elevator continues to the forty-ninth floor, he’s smirking in delight.

“This is diabolical, Addy, that I have to share a bed with your brother.”

As we head down the long corridor to our rooms, Addy finally manages to crack a smile. “Hey, it’s Vegas,” she says with a nonchalant shrug, which makes me wonder . . .

Maybe if she saw me glancing at Theo the way I have been tonight, she wouldn’t find it all that repulsive. Whenever other girls in our high school class would fawn over Theo back in the day, Addy would physically gag and beg—beg—her friends to stay away from her younger brother.

But we’re not kids anymore.

“Let me grab some of my stuff,” she says, swiping the key card for our room as Melissa disappears into the room next door. “I noticed your laptop, by the way. I really appreciate everything you’ve done when it comes to planning this weekend, Hailey. You’re the best.”

As Theo and I walk into the room behind her, we exchange a knowing glance. “Oh, you’re welcome.” Note to self: when done sneaking off to write, hide the evidence.

Addy doesn’t take long to get her stuff together—she grabs some toiletries, her bridal-themed pajamas, a phone charger, tells Theo she’s left him a spare toothbrush—and then wishes us good luck before she dashes off next door to sleep in Evie’s bed for the night.

As silence settles over the room, Theo and I turn to each other.

“How are we going to do this?” I ask, then anxiously bite my lower lip. “Because now I need to pee.”