All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Eighteen

        "Oh, my gosh, your guys' rings are so sweet!" Kylie gushed, walking along beside us. "When did you get them?"

        "A few days ago. Since the wedding was a bit unexpected, we figured it would be good to get them as soon as possible," I said airily.

        "Yes–the wedding," she said forcefully. "When is it?"

        "January third," Grayson said quietly. He was suddenly looking a lot more dejected, and I didn't blame him. The arrival of my bridesmaids made things feel a lot more real than they had a few hours ago.

        "Pretty. But so far away," Nina complained.

        I pasted on a smile. "We have so much to plan, and then we figured it would be better to just wait until after the holidays so it won't be such a busy time." We being Laura, who had insisted we wait until after Gracelynn's wedding out of respect, then after her own Christmas parties, then after New Years. The extension was rather unfortunate for two people who were looking to spend as little time together as possible. 

        "So who's all in the wedding party?" Kylie asked. She was clearly thrilled to be on the planning committee of my wedding.

        I weakly spread my arms. "So far you're looking at it."

        Kylie looked a little skeptical of that. "And...can five people pull it off?"

        "My mother is helping a lot," Grayson added, not sounding enthusiastic.

        "And...is she excited?" she asked, extremely cautious. 

        "She's the worst, if that's what you're asking," Clay chimed in bluntly.

        "I wasn't...yeah, you caught me," she admitted sheepishly.

        He shook his head. "S'okay. Most people can't handle Laura but won't say it out loud."

        "Oh, gosh, Jackie, is marrying her son a good idea?" Nina asked in distress. 

        No. "I know, she's a little much, but Grayson is worth it," I said, leaning into his arm and beaming up at him. "We're already married anyways. A big wedding with him would be just magical," I murmured dreamily, accepting the short kiss Grayson placed in my hair.

        "Told you they were adorable," Kylie told Nina in a loud whisper.

        "Jackie's doing all the adorable," he said, smiling down at me with such magic in his eyes. He was so good at this romantic stuff. 

         "Trust me, it gets old really quick," Clay told my friends.

         Kylie giggled. "I don't know...I've been waiting for Jackie to fall in love for a long time now, this is kind of a dream come true for me."

         "How long?" Clay wondered.

        "Eight years."

        "Kylie!" I said, embarrassed. Grayson just laughed and tightened his grip around my shoulders.

        "I'm serious! This girl never goes on dates, never succumbs to my plans of introducing her to guys, nothing," she told him. "You are a lucky man, Grayson Answell."

        "Indeed I am," he said, and I almost swooned when he pressed a long, soft kiss to my temple. Sometimes the line between married and faking it became a little too blurred, but I didn't mind it one bit. Such affection in my life was in such short supply, I didn't mind terribly when it came unusual circumstances.

        "You guys are staying at our house, right?" Clay asked, trying and failing to seem cool and smooth. Casual. He proceeded to slam face-first into a potted plant.

        "Our? Clay, you haven't lived at our house for like three months." Grayson enjoyed calling his little brother out.

        "Well I am staying with you for like a month," Clay amended, righting his balance. "And I did live there permanently as of last year."

        "Where do you normally live?" Kylie asked, not so innocently tucking her hair behind her ear. She was falling for this moron harder by the minute.

        "Montreal, but I travel a lot. Not a ton, I'm at home quite a bit, and then sometimes I come out here." Clay was rambling and stammering like I'd never seen before, and honestly, it was a nice change of pace from the immature guy that liked to bounce around the house.

        "Aw, that's sweet. I don't know many guys that would fly across the continent to see their family," she said with a smile.

        He got even more flustered. "Not so much Laura, I don't love seeing her, but I try to catch dad and Grayson when I come."

        Kylie got talking with my idiot brother-in-law, so Grayson and I drifted back with Nina, who was also watching the unfolding conversation with great interest. I pulled her close and whispered, "Nina, I'm going to say something later, but if you wouldn't mind, could you maybe add something about how you don't get great vibes from Clay? He's not exactly...the most gentlemanly. Or cordial. And I'm worried she's falling for a scumbag."

        "He's that bad? He seems nice," Nina said incredulously.

        "Trust me, this is the nicest I've seen him in like six years," Grayson said darkly.

        "Okay, I'll say something. Crazy if Kylie met someone around the same time you did though," Nina sighed, constantly in pursuit of dreamy romance.

        "Crazy," I agreed.

        Oh, if that were the case, Kylie and I would end up very single by the end of all this.