Page 11 of Infinite Love Novella

No, it wasn’t the way we wanted to break the news, but the world had a way of forcing our hands sometimes. “It is what it is,” I offered, kissing the top of Pepper’s head when she paced her way to me and came to a stop. “And it’s one more thing to celebrate. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath that she let out all at once before her full lips pulled into a smirk. “Let’s go explain to our friends and family why we eloped and didn’t invite anybody. I’m sure this is going to go really well.”

“I love your positive attitude.” I loved everything about her. I loved how concerned she was over what her friends would think and not in a status symbol way as my mother would. She didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. I honestly couldn’t remember a time when my mother ever operated that way.

There was something in the air when we returned to the group. It had nothing to do with the breeze coming off the water or the omelets being cooked up. A sense of foreboding washed over me when I met a half-dozen wary gazes. “What did we miss?” I asked, looking around.

“You weren’t supposed to say anything,” Lourde told Barrett in a tight whisper that wasn’t anywhere near soft enough for me not to hear. “Remember?”

His scowl deepened before he grunted, “I’m sorry, but seeing as how we might have to pay a lot of money to stop the story from going public, I can’t sit back and pretend everything’s fine. Maybe we should ask your brother for the truth.”

It was like I was living in a surreal nightmare as Barrett sat back, folding his arms and looking me up and down. “Are you sure you haven’t done any traveling lately?” he asked while the rest of the group remained silent but watchful.

Pepper squeezed my hand. “What is this really about?” she asked with an edge to her voice. “It’s like we’re in front of a firing squad.”

“None of this is your fault,” Barrett told her, but it was almost like an afterthought before he glared at me again. “I’m sorry, really. I’m sorry for bringing it up like this, but I can’t sit here and pretend everything’s fine. Connor, have you been to Vegas lately?”

Pepper and I exchanged a glance. “How did you know about that?” I asked.

“Did you know, Pepper?” Lourde asked in a soft voice. I couldn’t tell what she hoped the answer would be, but she sounded as if she was ready to cry. Like something terrible had happened. It was bizarre.

“I mean… yes?” Pepper blurted out a laugh that seemed to take everyone by surprise. “What are you getting at? Out with it already. I want to eat.”

Barrett heaved a sigh. “Fine, then. We’ll do it your way. Lourde got a call yesterday from a friend who works for TMZ. Connor, they got a hold of some pictures of you in Vegas. They’re planning on publishing them soon. He didn’t have any specifics, but he used the word partying, and I think we all know what that means…” He paused like he wanted to let the words sink in. “It sounded like it was pretty wild. It’s probably better that you have the heads-up, anyway, so you’re not blindsided by this.”

“Barrett was going to reach out to see if he could kill the story,” Lourde explained. I could almost taste her disappointment. “But honestly, I think you should be the one to do it. This is your mess.”

“All we ask is that you try to keep it quiet.” Ari was stern, lowering his brow like a bull ready to charge. “The timing is shit, but it is what it is.”

“We just want everything to be all right with you guys,” Olivia insisted. “Whatever you guys need, we’re here for you.”

I couldn’t come up with anything to say. When I looked at Pepper again, it was obvious she was as dumbfounded as I was. “I don’t understand what’s going on,” she admitted with a soft laugh. “You think Connor was partying in Vegas without me and the paparazzi took pictures?”

“That’s what happened.” Barrett scowled at me while Lourde looked completely distraught for Pepper. “Nobody wanted you to find out this way.”

Part of me knew it wouldn’t be received well if I laughed. But dammit, the whole thing was so ridiculous, I couldn’t help it. “Oh, fuck me. And here we are, trying to avoid causing trouble.” I pulled Pepper in close to my chest, and she burst out laughing like I did, winding her arms around my waist.

“Connor wasn’t partying… not by himself,” she told them between fits of giggles. “I was with him!”

“You… were there? But he didn’t say…” Lourde looked at Barrett and put a hand over her mouth as her eyes went wide.

“And we didn’t go out there to party,” I explained. It was sort of fun watching Barrett realize he jumped to the wrong conclusion. “We didn’t want to tell anybody because we didn’t want to steal focus from Ari and Olivia.”

Olivia got it first. Her mouth fell open before she gasped and pointed at us. “Did you get married?” she squealed.

“Oh my God!” Lourde jumped out of her chair. “Are you serious? You eloped?”

“Surprise?” Pepper squeaked out before shrugging. “We didn’t want to wait anymore. It’s not that we didn’t want you guys there. We just didn’t want to steal any attention. But it looks like we did, anyway,” she concluded and sighed.

“We had no idea it would blow up like this. And in case you’re wondering…” I added, turning to Barrett, “… we were about to announce it when we came back up here because Pepper heard about the photos. We figured we should break the news before somebody did it for us.”

It was no surprise when the girls immediately jumped on Pepper, hugging and giving her shit at the same time for keeping it a secret. “Mom and Dad are never going to get over this!” Lourde groaned, not that their opinion mattered much to me.

“Congrats, man. It’s about time.” Magnus shook my hand before clapping me on the back. “There I was, figuring you’d be the last to get married.”

“It was one of those impulsive things,” I explained with a shrug before shaking Ari’s outstretched hand.

“Sorry to give you shit like that,” he said, shaking his head. “It sounded like you were out there, fucking around on Pepper. We all jumped to conclusions, I guess.”

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