Page 33 of Bound To Be Mine

“Well then brush them again.”

I couldn’t even argue because I smelled myself. And it wasn’t good.

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in khakis and a polo. I wasn’t interested in getting in a car. Or walking in the Vegas sunshine. So we chose one of the restaurants in the casino.

I stared down at the menu, my stomach growling despite the lingering nausea. The restaurant was thankfully dim, which my pounding head appreciated. I ordered my usual hangover remedy. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns and toast. If I was going to deal with this disaster, I needed fuel.

Dash was still scrolling through his phone, occasionally snickering. Sebastian had his phone out too. I didn’t like the way his grin kept getting wider.

“What now?” I groaned.

“Oh, you’re going to love this,” Sebastian said, turning his phone toward me.

The video started playing. There I was, standing on a small stage with a microphone in one hand and a drink in the other. The opening notes of Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” started playing, and drunk-me began to sing. Badly. Very, very badly.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The worst part was that I was singing directly to Mandy, who was sitting at a table in front of the stage, clapping and laughing. Her face was flushed, her hair was messy, and she looked like she was having the time of her life.

I was serenading her like some lovesick fool.

“Oh my God,” I muttered, dropping my head into my hands.

“Keep watching,” Dash said, barely containing his laughter.

On screen, I stumbled off the stage after the song ended and made my way to Mandy’s table. She stood up, still laughing. I pulled her into my arms. Then we were dancing, right there in the middle of the bar, swaying to music that was no longer playing.

The video ended.

I looked up at my brothers. “That has to be AI.”

“There’s video from multiple angles,” Dash said, shaking his head. “I’m afraid we can’t blame the robots on this one.”

I groaned. “Please tell me that’s the worst of it.”

“Oh no,” Sebastian said, wiping tears from his eyes. “There’s more. So much more. Someone made a compilation. It’s got like two million views already.”

“Two million,” I repeated.

“You’re a star,” Dash said. “Who knew you had it in you?”

Our meals arrived. I attacked it with the desperation of a man who needed something to make this day better.

“So, I guess I’m the responsible brother now,” Dash said sadly.

I looked up from my eggs. “What?”

“Well, you just got married to a business partner after a drunken night in Vegas. That’s pretty irresponsible. I’d say that makes me the new golden child.”

“Fuck off.” I stabbed at my pancakes.

“Maybe I should handle the documents and negotiations going forward,” he said. “Since you clearly can’t be trusted with important business deals.”

“Seriously, fuck off.”

“Do I need to go to law school now?” Dash continued, thoroughly enjoying himself. “Since you’re obviously retired from being the competent one?”

I pointed my fork at him. “By all means, fuck off to law school.”