“I’m scared,” I confess.
“I know, baby. I know.” He pulls me into his chest. I want him to tell me that everything is going to be okay, but I’m glad he’s not. I don’t need false assurances, and I know that neither of us knows how this is going to turn out. I just pray that Gramps makes it through this. He has fight in him. I know it. I just hope it shines through at this moment.
Moving from Rip’s arms, I continue to get dressed. I glance over my shoulder to see him doing the same. He has a large white envelope in his hand, and a sad smile is tilting his lips. I don’t have time to ask him what’s in that envelope that would make him smile. I have to finish packing. “Thank you for this,” I tell him.
“Don’t ever thank me for taking care of you, McKenna.” His tone is soothing, but there’s an undercurrent of scolding to his tone.
It’s not his job to take care of me, but I’m grateful he’s doing so.
Running my hands over my face, I try to regroup. I don’t know how we ended up here together, and my brain is too foggy to recall much of the latter part of the night. Slowly, I turn to face Rip. “What did we do?”
“The details are fuzzy, but from what I remember, we spent an incredible night together.”
“W-What?” I whisper.
“I made love to you, McKenna.”
I close my eyes, trying to remember last night, and all I can remember is Rip and me dancing, getting closer as the night wore on. I don’t recall coming back to my room. This isn’t real.
“Tell me you’re joking.”
His brown eyes bore into mine. “No. I’m not joking. Making love to you is not a joking matter.” His voice is tight, yet his eyes are still soft as they take me in.
“I’m sorry. I—” I don’t know what to say. What does one say to the man she’s always wanted when she finds out that they finally slept together after a drunken night in Vegas?
“Stop.” His voice is firm. “We can talk about this on the plane or after we land and see your grandfather. Right now, you need to get moving. We still have to stop at my suite and grab my bags before we head to the airport.”
“Rip—” I try again but stop when he advances, his long legs carrying him toward me.
“Baby, we can talk about this, about us later. Right now, all that matters is us making that flight. I promised you and your gram that I would get you home, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He surprises me when he bends and places a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “Finish doing what you need to do. I’m going to call downstairs and order a cab.” He walks back to the bed, slides into his shirt, picks up his phone and the white envelope, and walks out of the room.
What’s in that envelope? Wait… I slept with Rip!
Shaking out of my stupor, I rush to the bathroom to freshen up quickly before pulling on some clothes and throwing everything into my suitcase haphazardly. I make a quick sweep of the room to ensure I didn’t miss anything and turn for the door to find Rip with his hand held out for me.
“I’ll take that.” He grabs my suitcase handle. “You all set?”
“I think so.” My head is still fuzzy from last night, from hearing that Gramps had a heart attack, and the thought that this man, this handsome, kind, caring man, my best friend’s older brother, was inside me last night. If I had more time, I’m sure I’d be freaking the hell out, but there’s no time. My grandparents need me.
Settling into first class back to Texas, I sigh with relief as the plane taxis down the runway. We’ll be home in a few hours. I hate we’ll be out of touch during that time. I called Gram before we boarded the plane, and she said he was in surgery. Closing my eyes, I send up a silent prayer that he’s okay. Please let him be okay.
“Ma’am.” I hear Rip say softly. “Can I have a blanket for my girlfriend?” he asks.
My girlfriend.
I want to open my eyes and tell her he’s joking, but I decide to pretend to sleep instead. We had sex last night. When we were waiting to board, I’d asked to see what was inside the envelope. He handed it to me without complaint. Inside were pictures of us standing outside of our hotel in front of the fountain. Neither one of us are looking at the camera. Instead, our eyes are locked on one another. There was also a picture of our entire group with Elvis, standing outside of a wedding chapel. My heart rate kicked up thinking about marrying him for real.