Page 104 of Get Me to the Starting Line

“Hey, Richard, use those long legs and keep up,” Leah calls from the front of the group. We’re on her dessert crawl right now, nearing the end. I don’t think I can eat any more sugar.

The only other grump here besides me is Liam, Adam’s eldest brother. But he always seems to be in a bad mood, so I can’t tell.

I snort at Leah calling me by my last name. It sounds too hot coming from her mouth in that tone—exasperated and teasing at the same time. I don’t know how she manages it.

The last dessert ends up being the best. Sure, it tastes incredible, but watching Leah lick an ice cream cone? Heaven and torture. Always the mixed feelings with this one.

I take a glance at the itinerary and groan. We have some time back at the hotel to change, then dinner in the adjoining restaurant before our evening activity.

A fuckingMagic Mikeshow.

My hackles rise, picturing us there.

It’s as bad as I imagine. The show is pretty spectacular, and I’m impressed at the moves these guys are pulling off. The whole wedding party, including grumpy old Liam, are out of their seats and cheering.

I know it’s coming—it was on the secret itinerary for the wedding party, but not Adam and Paige’s. I still bristle when Paige and her bridespeople—Paige, Leah, Isabel, Shay, and Jake—are pulled up on stage.

The other guys seem to be having the time of their lives. Paige and Jake are the only ones with partners here, and Jake’s husband Simon, Adam’s second eldest brother, whistles loudly and cheers them on.

Adam only has eyes for Paige, but even though he’s smiling, I see the slightest tension in his shoulders. He loosens up when he sees how much fun Paige is having.

I do not loosen up for one second. Adam knows Paige is coming home with him. She’s his. But watching Leah up there, surrounded by men who are literally paid to be sexy and turn people on?

No fucking way. I have no power here though. It’s not like I can stomp up there and fireman carry her off the stage. I could take out the security guards no problem. It’s tempting.

Imagining every possible way to get Leah away from these dancers is the one thing keeping me sane while she’s up there. I swear her eyes flash to me a few times, seductive and taunting as if she knows this is killing me.

I watch as they dance around her, grabbing her wrists to run her hands down their chiselled abs. I’m practically breathing fire by the time the segment is done and the audience cheers for the bridal party leaving the stage.

She’s not mine. I have to remind myself.

Except she feels like mine.

Fuck, I want her to be mine.

She takes a seat as far away from me as possible, and I have to sit there and watch the rest of this show, stewing in my irrational jealousy.

TheMagicMikeshowwas awesome. Not just because of the talent—damn those guys can move—but also the look I saw on Julien’s face. He was seconds away from hauling me off the stage. I don’t think I would’ve minded.

I get a taste of my own medicine though. Friday night is stripper night, soMagic Mikefor Paige’s half and a strip club that allows women in for Adam’s half.

It’s so kitschy, and we aren’t planning to stay long, but when Paige and I were planning my wedding, she would often talk about what she wanted in the future if she ever got married.

She wanted all the stereotypes—Vegas, strip clubs, parties, dancing, drinks, poolside hotel, the works. So that’s what we’ve planned. I’m grateful she and Adam are so similar because I checked with him to see what he was thinking too.

I didn’t want him to be uncomfortable. Turns out, Adam’s wild side is just as cheesy as Paige’s. I love them.

What I do not love is the way these strippers are actively trying to get Julien to interact with them. But he sits there with hisarms crossed, glaring at anyone who comes close. Liam sat this one out since Dana wasn’t comfortable with him coming here without her—totally fair—so he went back to the hotel.

I wish Julien had gone with him. I know he wanted to, which makes it a little easier to watch this gorgeous, nearly naked woman practically climbing him. Her slender body is toned and lean, not a scar or a mark on her. My fingers move to brush the marred skin of my stomach like I can wipe the blemishes away.

Keeping my eyes off of them is nearly impossible. Julien is a magnet, and I can’t help but be pulled in. The group is having a blast, though, and the planner in me is thrilled that everything is going how it should. Everyone’s a little tipsy but not drunk—the sweet spot—and having a good time.

Except Julien, but since he fought this in the Google Doc and got outvoted (now he knows how it feels), I knew he’d be suffering through this.

Here’s the thing, as an older sister and a mom, I have these protective instincts. My violent thoughts are no surprise to me. I dare anyone to come after my sister and my son. I’d burn the world down for them.

So when a dancer gropes Julien and he flinches, my hands ball into fists at my sides and I attempt to make my way over there, ready to deck her.

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