Vegas Love (25 page)

“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 hand 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.”

“
I
don’t kiss good,
we
kiss good,” I tell her, pressing my lips against hers.

My phone starts ringing loudly.

I ignore it.

It stops, starts ringing again.

“You should answer that,” she says.
 

I see Cade’s name on the screen and shake my head. “No.”

She grabs the phone out of my hand, presses the button to answer it, and then holds it up to my ear.

“Hey, Cade.”

“You and Ashlyn are fucking
married
?! When did this happen? Were you the guy she fucked on the plane? Did you go to Vegas with her that night and get married? And then when I told you about your job and how you couldn’t sleep with her, you lied to my fucking face? Actually, it doesn’t matter. You’re fucking fired. F-I-R-E-D. Fired. Do you hear me? I took a chance on you. And you fucked up this one thing?”

“I can explain.”

“There is no explanation,” he continues to yell. “It’s bad enough you lied to your boss, but it’s a hundred times worse that you lied to your brother. Mom just called me. She was crying.”

“Mom? How the hell did she find out?”

“Kelli called her.”

“That little bitch.”

“She may be a bitch, but at least she’s honest. Go pack up your shit and go the fuck back to Seattle.”

“But, I—”

I hear a click.
 

“He hung up on me,” I say to Ashlyn, hanging my head.
 

“Good news travels fast, huh?” she says with a sad chuckle.
 

I hold my head in my hands, trying to figure out how best to handle this. “You could say that.”

“I heard what Cade said. I’m sorry you got fired because of me.”

“It’s okay. We were going to tell them this weekend. I’ll just explain what happened. They will understand. Eventually.”

I look up at her. She’s a mess. Black mascara tears are running down her cheeks. The ocean breeze is blowing her hair, causing it to stick to her face.
 

I brush it back and kiss her forehead.
 

She cries harder, her whole body shaking. Then she takes the ring off her finger, hands it to me, and says, “Cash, I want a divorce.”

“What? No! Why?”

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“Ash, my family will get over it, I swear. Cade is just shocked.”

She’s still shaking when she says, “I thought I loved you, but I don’t. Not enough to deal with all of this.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m sorry,” she says again as she stands and then runs to her house.
 

I should run after her again, but I can’t.
 

I’m devastated.

So I sit in the sand, stare at the ring, and do something I haven’t done in years.

I cry.

Perfect Girl

Cash

I went back to Carter’s house, locked myself in the bedroom, and slept for fifteen hours straight. I’m pretty sure it was my body’s way of ignoring the hurt.

Now, I’m packing. Carter hasn’t said a word to me since I came home last night, so I’m going to fly back to Seattle in the morning, lick my wounds, and figure out my next step.
 

I want to talk to my family, but I can’t.
 

If I do, I’ll have to admit to defeat. I’ll have to admit that she didn’t love me enough to stand up to my family with me.
 

I can take my family being mad at me. I know they’ll get over it eventually.

But I don’t think I’ll ever get over her.

And that’s the part I don’t know if I can explain.
 

How did I fall for her so fast?

Why did I marry her?

Why do I
still
want to be married to her?

Why do I love her?

That one, I know the answer to. Because she’s the perfect girl for me.

I’m absent-mindedly grabbing the little bit of stuff I brought with me and throwing it into a suitcase.

But I stop suddenly and look at what’s in my hand.
 

It’s the conch shell I found on a family trip to Belize when I was young. I remember there were piles of them on the beach, but this is the one that I had to take home.
 

“Look, Mom. Isn’t this one pretty?”

“Are you sure you want that one, Cash? It’s cracked. Why would you want to take it when there are so many perfect ones to choose from?”

“Because it’s my favorite,” I say.

I’ve taken this shell with me everywhere. It has sat on a nightstand next to my bed since I was nine. When Kelli moved in with me, she tried to throw it away.
 

I stare at the shell and know why I’ve kept it all these years.

I run down the beach to her house and bang on her bedroom window.
 

She turns on an outside light, illuminating me, and opens the door with a questioning look on her face. “Why are you here?”

I thrust the shell at her. “This is why I’m here. Please let me in. I need to explain.”

She stands in the doorway, blocking it and not even allowing me to step inside. If I have to do it this way, so be it.

“I found this shell when I was nine. My mom told me it was cracked and I should find another one, but I didn’t. This shell has laid next to my bed since that trip. At my house, at my dorm, at my apartment in Seattle. I know now why I kept it. This shell is like you. It’s a pretty shell, but the crack is what makes it beautiful. All my life, I’ve been looking for the girl who matches this shell.” I flip it over. “And look at all the twists inside it. Underneath the exterior is something crazy, wild, fun, and unpredictable. Just like you. I love you, Ashlyn.”
 

I get no response, so I get down on my knees and beg. “Please, take the shell. I want you to have it. I want to marry you again, just like we said.”

Tears stream down her face, but she doesn’t say a word.
 

I desperately pull the ring out of my pocket and hold it up. “Will you marry me?”

“I can’t, Cash. I’m sorry. Vegas was amazing and crazy, but all it will ever be is a good story.”

Then she shuts the door in my face.

Divorce Papers

Cash

The next morning as I’m getting ready to leave for the airport, I find an envelope on my doorstep. Inside are divorce papers that she printed off the Internet. I can see the website address sprawled across the top of the document. She’s also included a copy of our marriage certificate, our napkin prenuptial agreement, and a note from her asking if I would please sign and return, along with her promise to handle our divorce as discreetly as possible.