Page 61 of No Vow Broken

Iwas tired, so when I got back to the hotel, I went straight to our room. I opened the door and found Lexi in the bathroom with the door open, leaning against the sink while removing a pair of wet jeans. I observed in puzzlement the wet bra and shirt that were already hanging over the shower rod and her tennis shoes sitting in the tub.

“What happened?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know. “Did you fall into the pool?”

“No, but you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She draped her jeans over the shower rod, then removed her panties and added those. “It’s pretty crazy.”

“I’m inlovewith you, so, I’m better prepared than most for what you might say. Try me.”

“Okay, but remember, you asked.” She rubbed herself dry with a towel and grabbed a robe hanging from the back of the bathroom door, putting it on. “I got wet because Elvis proposed to Gwen while I hid in the shower. On the upside, she said yes. On the downside, I got wet. Oh, and Basia is pregnant.”

“What?”

I stared at her in disbelief, trying to get my thoughts together. “Can I have some context for the shower and pregnant thing?”

She sighed and tied the robe around her waist before heading into the bedroom to sit on the bed. “Sure. The pregnant thing first. Basia told Elvis and me she might be pregnant when we were in the bathtub hiding from the assassins who attacked us at Bluff House. I didn’t want to tell you until she was one hundred percent sure. She wanted to take a pee stick test first.”

I just stared at her. What the hell could I say?

“Anyway, Basia confirmed this afternoon that she’s pregnant, but she’s not telling Xavier yet, so don’t say anything to him, or anyone else, prematurely, okay? She’s waiting for just the right moment.”

It was a lot to process, but I still had questions. I proceeded carefully. “Okay, I’m following you on Basia’s pregnancy…sort of. But why were you hiding in Elvis and Gwen’s hotel shower, while it was running, and you were in your clothes?”

“I told you it was crazy.” She tucked her bare legs underneath the robe, so just her toes were peeking out. I sat down next to her as she continued. “Let me start at the beginning. Elvis was afraid he might die before he had a chance to ask Gwen to marry him, and given the events of the past several months and days, I don’t blame him. He’d already bought a nice ring for her and had it on him. After he almost died twice this week, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer. While everyone else went to lunch, including Gwen, he drank to get up the courage to ask her. Unfortunately, he had to call me for help because he got so drunk he couldn’t remember what to do next. He did write a poem but, thank goodness, he didn’t give it to her. By the way, I suggest you never,everask to read it. The rhyming was totally off. Anyway, Gwen came back from lunch early while I was still there, so Elvis made me hide in the bathroom so she wouldn’t know I was helping him with the proposal, and the whole thing didn’t go at all as planned. Minor yelling occurred because he was drinking, Elvis turned on the shower while I was in it, and at one point, Gwen threatened to leave him. But all ended well, thankfully. She said yes, so now they are officially engaged.”

I was still at a loss of rational words, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “I leave you alone for two hours and this is what happens? What is it that makes you hide in other people’s bathrooms?”

“It wasn’t my idea. By the way, you can’t say anything about their engagement, either, because they want to make a surprise announcement. It might be a problem—now that I think about it—because if Basia and Xavier make their baby announcement at the same time, they might overlap. Oh, well, not my problem. I’m happy for everyone, and I told them we weren’t worried they would steal our wedding thunder.” She paused and threw me a concerned glance. “Whatever that is. Should we be worried about that?”

Before I could even fathom how to respond, there was a knock on the room door. I strode to the door and peered through the peephole.

Clarissa Carmichael.

I opened the door, and Clarissa walked in holding a garment bag and pulling a small suitcase behind her.

“Hi, Slash.” She gave me a peck on the cheek. “Lexi, I brought the gown and a few of my nicer dresses that should fit you, since the ones you had packed were ruined.” She carefully laid the garment bag on the bed. “This is the wedding dress. You can’t open it while Slash is here.”

“I can make myself scarce.” I grabbed my laptop bag with a bit too much eagerness. I needed time to process everything Lexi had just told me, and there was no way in hell I was sticking around for a wedding dress discussion. “If you need me, I’ll be in the bar.”

“You didn’t even update me on what you found out at the NSA,” Lexi protested.

I kissed her on the cheek. “There’s plenty of time for that later. The dress and your mom take precedence now. Have fun.”

I could feel her glaring at my back as I headed out.

THIRTY-ONE

Lexi

“Men.” Mom took the garment bag and hung it in the closet, unzipping it. “Once you start talking clothes, they disappear.”

“I want to disappear and I’m not a man,” I grumbled under my breath.

Mom either didn’t hear or chose to ignore me. She pulled the wedding dress out of the bag with a flourish and carried it over.

“So, what do you think?” she asked holding it out.

The gown was surprisingly simple, yet elegant. The sleeveless bodice had some delicate lace that wrapped over the shoulders. A bit of beading, but not too much. The dress had a train, but it wasn’t fluffy, long, or cumbersome. Overall, the line to the dress was tasteful, straight, and clean. To my utter surprise, I liked it. A lot.

“Wow, Mom. I didn’t expect this.”

---