Page 58 of The Model

I had barely taken two steps in Alyssa’s direction when she scurried over to me. “We’re going to a buffet that’s in the hotel if you want to join us.”

“Oh.” She looked down at the floor with the corners of her mouth turned down. “Do you think they’ll have a healthy option?”

“It’s Vegas, so probably.” The others had started to leave, so I followed them with Alyssa following at my side.

“Have you ever been before?”

“Vegas?”

She nodded.

“It’s my first time. How about you?”

“I’ve been a few times for shoots.”

Ty was standing at the entrance with Sadie when we got to the restaurant. She held a credit card in her hand and waved us closer. “Go on in, Mathers is picking up the tab. “

Alyssa perked up as she spotted all the food. There were rows of every possible breakfast dish you could imagine and some you couldn’t. Picking up a plate, I filled mine with bacon, a ham and spinach omelet, one slice of French toast, and a banana. It wasn’t my usual breakfast, but I needed to eat, and I was going to splurge this morning. Today was a good day, and I was celebrating.

I found Lexie sitting at a booth next to Raine, and Tyson and Sadie on the other side of them. I wasn’t sure how they’d managed to get their food before me, but they had. I sat down next to Lexie at the end of the bench, and a moment later, Alyssa slid in beside Sadie.

Everyone looked at her with curiosity, but didn’t say anything and went back to eating. I didn’t want her to feel like an outsider, but this was uncomfortable. For the next few minutes, no one said anything as we all ate. With each bite, I could see everyone’s eyes slowly start to droop a little bit more. We’d be lucky to not fall asleep at the table at the rate we were going.

“So, what is everyone going to do once they’ve got some sleep in their systems?” Tyson asked.

“I might hang out at the pool or go shopping,” Alyssa spoke up. Her plate mostly consisted of fruit with a lone hard-boiled egg in the mix.

“I’m going to see if I can get a ticket to a show,” Raine announced.

“What’s playing? I might be interested,” Lexie said, perking up some.

“Us too,” Sadie nodded excitedly. “We haven’t been here since we got married, and let’s just say we didn’t see any of the local attractions.”

“Did you honeymoon here?” Alyssa asked a little more boldly. She was starting to break out of her shell, and I liked that we’d made her comfortable enough to do that.

“No, we got married here.” Tyson looked down at his wife. I could see his pupils dilate all the way from across the table. I had a pretty good feeling he was remembering their time in Vegas.

“Really? Was it planned?” Alyssa leaned on her hand as she looked toward the couple.

“If you count a couple of days planning, then yes,” Sadie laughed. “It was spur-of-the-moment, and once we were here, we went to the first chapel we saw.” One side of her mouth turned down. “Maybe not the best decision, but it got the job done.”

“But you’d recommend getting married in Vegas?” I asked Tyson.

He looked back and forth between Lexie and me. “Um…if you’re ready to get married, then yeah. We couldn’t wait a single minute longer and jumped on a plane.”

“That sounds so romantic,” Raine sighed dreamily.

It did, and it didn’t. While I wanted to marry Lexie today if she’d let me, maybe she wanted a big wedding or something more special.

Setting down my fork, I turned to her. “Do you want a big wedding?”

She finished chewing before she answered. “Not really. In all actuality, I’ve never put much thought into it.”

“Why?” Alyssa asked a little too loudly. “Didn’t you used to dream about your wedding when you were a child?”

Lexie frowned before she picked her fork back up and started eating again. Each time, she stabbed her food a little bit harder. Maybe she never wanted to get married, and that’s why she was upset. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her into my side and kissed her temple. Instantly, she relaxed into me and started to eat with her usual grace.

Ducking, so my mouth was near her ear, I spoke quietly enough for only her to hear. “I’m sorry if her question bothered you.”

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