Page 28 of To Have and To Hold

They breathed a sigh of relief when the person moved on, and they heard the stall door next to them open and close. They moved out and toward the sink, where Reena cleaned the rest of her face and washed her hands.

Reena still looked a little pale and Coco took out her compact and put some of her shimmering powder on her to try and make her ashy look go away because if their mother saw her now, she would definitely know something was wrong. It was best to keep silent for now.

She hoped more of Reena’s memory would come back because now both Reena and the unsuspecting father had decisions to make together.

She exited the bathroom with Reena, her mind now preoccupied with her sister’s pregnancy and not on her up-and-coming wedding and hoped they could figure this all out before she walked down the aisle.

Chapter 14

He took a sip of the champagne that was waiting chilled for him and his passengers as they got off the private plane from landing in Vegas. There were on their way to the V hotel run by the Brooks family with the oldest son, Carter, at the helm. They were being giving the top suites at the hotel as Carter’s wife, Zahara, was still best friends with Coco and was going to be a bridesmaid at her wedding.

Coco and her friends had gone ahead the day before to go for a spa day and visit with Zahara. Zahara would not be attending the night activities with them as she was pregnant again and her husband Carter had business in New York the next day; both would be flying out in the morning. Coco mentioned that Carter was probably keeping Zahara at his side because of what happened during their first pregnancy together and how he’d almost lost her when she’d finally gone into labour and the twins were born.

Carter booked them a joint dinner that night in their famous restaurant called The Jewel at his expense as a gift for the bachelor and bachelorette party.

His thoughts went to Coco and their last day on the island; they were flying out on different flights, as he needed to check in on one of his restaurants and she had to prepare for the launch marketing blitz for their newest product being sent out to stores, and the kits to the influencers to help drive sales.

He tried to find a private moment with her but with family being around, it was hard as they all wanted to be there on the last night in Barbados. He noticed that Coco seemed worried and lost in thought, and he wanted to talk to her to see whatwas going through her mind. He hoped she wasn’t about to back out of their upcoming wedding, especially now that he wanted their marriage for good. He knew that there was still chemistry between them by the way she reacted to his touch, but he wanted something more and was hoping over time she would fall back in love with him like she had been when they were in high school together.

He'd been pleased that night when instead of stiffening when he put his arms around her, she was leaning into him. As if being near him was giving her comfort and he felt a warmth spread through him at his thoughts.

When he was finally able to get them alone, he couldn’t resist the temptation to feel her lips under his and leaned down, cupping the back of her neck and stared into eyes so dark, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. But then, she parted her lips and he forgot everything else but finally getting a taste of her that he’d been craving all night. Once they had parted, he’d spent the rest of the night thinking of her.

He missed Coco and was looking forward to seeing her tonight. The guys had a day of golfing planned, then relaxing by the pool that was solely reserved for them for the afternoon. Eventually they would be out in the club for drinks and celebrating with his brothers and friends after meeting up with the girls for dinner before parting ways again later. His fiancée and her friends would be going to see a show that he suspected was a thunder down or a one-buck-or-two strip act.

He wasn’t pleased that Coco would be exposed to another man’s naked chest but what the girls didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. He made sure that none of the strip acts in Vegas would allow them to have any private dances or have any of the men walk through the crowd and acknowledge them. And the last tactic was switching their seats to all the way in the back. Heonly wished he could see Jackie’s face when she found out what he did. He wondered what Keith thought about her going to a strip club; the last he heard, both Jackie and Keith were getting serious and a huge part of him was glad that Keith decided to pursue Jackie instead of trying to go after Coco. He couldn’t blame the man, but she was his and would be his for good once they tied the knot. He made a mistake when they were younger, but he was a man now.

He glanced around the limousine at all of his brothers. His friends were in the other car. Even though his brothers were chatting and smiling and laughing, there was a deep tension running through them. For each one of them, time was ticking, and they needed to find someone to complete their lives and walk down the aisle with. He was lucky he was marrying Coco and Jacob decided to become engaged with the woman who had taken over his daughter’s care after his wife exited the picture. His niece loved her nanny and Jacob said that it was the best solution for both of them, but his brother was sitting in a corner of the limo, twirling his tumbler of dark liquid, alternating with staring into it. He’d been happy to hear that Jacob had found his ex-wife and she was willing to help. Surgery was scheduled when they got back from Vegas. When he tried asking his brother about what went down, Jacob closed down on him and said he would discuss everything with him later. Right now, they all needed to concentrate on his wedding to Coco.

He turned his eyes toward the younger twin when he heard him curse and scowl at his phone. “Nova still giving you a hard time?”

Matt looked up, his blue eyes flashing with irritation and hurt in them. “Yes, she is still not talking to me.”

“Sorry bud, but she is right. You both have been together since you were sixteen and fifteen, but now you are proposing toher when she has been wanting this for a long time and the only reason is because of Grandfather’s demand.” Abbott pointed out.

Matt turned his angry gaze now onto his identical twin brother. “I was planning on proposing; the time was just not right.”

“No time would have been right with that barracuda.” Rafe added and Colin grimaced. Nova was a sore spot with Rafe and Abbott, as both didn’t like her. Dyson was the only one of them who was laid back and easygoing and liked to keep the peace between all of them.

“Keep my fiancée’s name out of your mouth, Rafe.” Matt said through gritted teeth.

“Not your fiancée yet and what do you think you can do to me? Just telling the truth and we all know it. She is only with you for your name and money.”

Matt lifted off his seat and Colin put his hand on his brother’s arm, pulling him back down just as Rafe taunted him again. “I see you have learned nothing from when you tried to swing on me like you did the last time, just remember how that turned out.” Rafe took a sip of the champagne in the flute and tapped his right eye where he had given Matt a shiner for his efforts.

“You know for the longest time I let slide all the snide comments from you, Rafe, but in fact I am now starting to believe you want my girlfriend all for yourself.” Matt gloated.

Rafe raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

“Guys, please, we are here to celebrate Colin’s wedding, not start a fight in a limo car.” Dyson said, leaning forward to pour himself a diet coke. Dyson was the only one that didn’tdrink alcohol, choosing to keep his body fit as a personal trainer. Colin also suspected he didn’t want to be anything like their father or Jacob’s ex-wife, though she seemed to be clean now. At least that was what he was able to get out of Jacob before he clammed up.

“Why are we doing this anyway?” Rafe questioned, then he turned to Jacob for answers.

“Jacob, were you able to talk to grandfather again and change his mind? This whole thing is ludicrous.” Bronson asked.

Colin could understand Bronson’s frustration. He was the youngest of them all and was having fun while finishing college. He wasn’t ready to settle down and probably wouldn’t be for a while. His sibling liked to take his time with everything and didn’t want to be rushed. Bronson could sit and ponder in his head for hours, whether it was about a game, trip, or doing just about anything of importance.

Jacob broke out of his haze and his eyes took in the attentive faces waiting for his answer.

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