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“I don’t think Emilyneedsyou to provide or take care of her.”
“Wow… man, that’s tough. If she’s expecting a ring and you don’t have one, it’s going to be a rough vacation in Vegas. I mean, people go to Vegas for a few key reasons – and that’s it. You’re either gambling, you are going to get laid, or you are getting married or eloping…”
“I’m not doing any of that…” John sputtered nervously, his eyes darting from man to man. “Do people really think that? I mean, we are driving out to Hoover Dam…”
“Boooooring. Nerds and old people go to Hoover Dam.”
“We’re going out on a boat for the afternoon – do you really think it’s boring? What would you do if you were going to Vegas?”
“If I was meeting my girlfriend, I wouldn’t leave the hotel room,” Ricochet grinned, elbowing Ghost, who shook his head in dismay.
“What would you do, Ghost?”
“I’d take her to the fountains at the Bellagio or to a very nice dinner,” he shrugged. “Easy, unassuming, and something lots of people would do.”
“See? We are doing exactly that…”
Ricochet crooked an eyebrow and looked at Hot Cakes.
“A fancy dinner or going to the fountains?”
“Dinner at the Eiffel Tower, yes.”
“She’s gonna be expecting a proposal,” Ricochet muttered, elbowing Ghost again – who nodded solemnly.
“Sorry. I’d get a ring just in case and see how things go,” Ghost offered softly, and Hot Cakes was just looking at him with a strange frown on his face.
“Oh my gosh, Hot Cakes? What do you think?”
“I’m not touching this with a ten-foot pole. The less I know the better. Plausible deniability towards my wife – Emily’s sister.”
“Oh wow! Hot Cakes would end up being…your brother-in-law?”
The two men looked at each other in stunned silence.
“I gotta go,” John said, shooting to his feet and nearly running from the room, heading towards the exchange. It certainly didn’t hurt to look, and he needed to think, breathe, and…
Apparently, he needed to clear the air with Emily if she was expecting a proposal. He liked her so much, but was scared he would let her down. He’d never married, dated, or even considered any of it, because he was afraid to leave a wife or child in the same situation he had once been in…
The thought of falling into that same position, repeating his mother’s life, or dragging a spouse…possibly a child someday… through that mess that he’d managed to drag himself out of long ago?
John froze outside of the exchange, unmoving.
… He couldn’t harm anyone – much less Emily. Marriage meant commitment, spoken promises, unconditional love, and eventually children… and he was terrified of ever having a child.
Blinking at the random path his thoughts were taking, John realized he was one of the last people to get off the plane. Gathering his bag from the overhead bin, he hefted it on his shoulder, and headed towards baggage claim.
CHAPTER19
EMILY
She was pathetic.
She knew she looked anxious and excited.
Emily had raced down to baggage claims, found her luggage, and then returned to find John’s gate so she could be there waiting for him. She was so yearning to feel that warmth just being around him gave her, that secure and loved feeling, that she couldn’t wait to have his arms around her, hugging her.
… And now he was here!
