My cell phone wakes me. I see that Dallas is calling and quickly answer.
“We have a problem,” he says.
“What’s wrong?!” I exclaim, waking Aiden up. “Is RiAnne okay?”
“She just had a contraction and you remember how fast the last baby came. We’re on our way to the hospital.”
“Do you need me to do something? Come watch the kids?”
He takes a deep breath. “Riley called me just before all hell broke loose at my house. He, Knox, Dawson, and our little angel, Jennifer, were arrested in Vegas. I’m supposed to bail them out, but now I can’t.”
“Why are they in Vegas? I thought Riley had a date with Ariela?”
“She was kissing someone, presumably her husband, when he got there.”
“Oh, man. Poor Riley.”
“We need to get Ariela out of here. She’s fucking with his life. And when she fucks with his life, she’s fucking with ours too. With our company. Can you imagine the press if this gets out?”
“Shit. I’ll call Vanessa and see what she can do. You go to the hospital and take care of your wife. I’ll go to Vegas.”
“Thanks, call me when you know more.”
“You do the same. Tell RiAnne I said I’m sending her good vibes for a quick, painless, and healthy delivery.”
“Will do.”
I hang up, drop my phone on the bed, and plop back on my pillow.
“What’s going on?” Aiden asks.
“RiAnne is in labor. Riley is in jail.”
“In Vegas?”
“Yes, I need to go bail them out.”
He slides his hand down my arm. “Surely, you can just wire the money.”
“That isn’t really the point, Aiden. It’s not just Riley. It’s Dawson, Knox, and Jennifer. I don’t know what all went down, but we need to pray there aren’t any pictures.”
“You aren’t going anywhere. What you need to do is go back to sleep. I’ll take care of bailing them out.”
“I can’t go back to sleep, Aiden. This is all my fault.”
He pulls me into his arms and hugs me. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is! I’m the one who saw Ariela and invited her to dinner. Riley was so excited to take her out. He was talking to Dallas about how they had made love the night before. How he’d never be able to sleep with anyone else. That she ruined him. Dallas called it true love’s fuck. It was so beautiful that it made me cry.”
Aiden kisses my nose and puts his hand across my stomach. “Pregnancy has your hormones crazy right now.”
“That may be true, but I started this whole mess. I’m pissed at Riley for getting arrested, but I also feel responsible. And although I want to just go hug him, I’m also worried that his arrest could have a negative effect on our business. What if the board gets wind of it?”
“Why don’t you have some breakfast then meet Vanessa at the office? She can help you sort it all out. Do some damage control, if need be. Boots, I don’t want you getting stressed about this.” He bends down and kisses my belly. “It’s not good for you or our baby.”
I reach for one of the gingersnap cookies Grandma made me, grab it out of the plastic bag on my nightstand, and shove it in my mouth. “Breakfast is over. Go, please. Now. Or I’m going.”
He gives me one more kiss and gets out of bed.
The second he leaves the bedroom, I call Vanessa and Tyler and ask them to meet me at the office as soon as possible.
Vanessa’s Estate - Holmby Hills
VANESSA
I’m pulled out of a hot dream, where Dawson and I are having sex on the ridiculously expensive gold inlaid saddle that Bam bought me, by my ringing phone.
I rub my eyes, pick up the phone, and answer a call from Keatyn.
“I was having a really hot dream. This better be good,” I tease her.
“Who were you with this time?” she asks. I’m always telling her about my random hot dreams. She’s even turned a few of them into scenes in her movie scripts.
“Dawson.”
“Oh—um, so the reason I’m calling is because I need your help. Like, right now.”
I quickly sit up and grab a pen and notepad off my nightstand. “What’s going on?”
“Riley, Knox, Jennifer, and Dawson went to Vegas last night. It was wild. I expect we’ll need some damage control on this. Knox and Jennifer are too famous for someone not to have noticed them. And you know how the tabloids scour the arrest records.”
“Who got arrested?!”
“All of them.”
“Do you know what they did? The circumstances behind the arrest?” I ask.
“I’m not sure,” she says. “Dallas was going to take care of bailing them out. But then RiAnne started having contractions, so he had to take her to the hospital.”
“Oh, I’m so excited to find out what they have! I think it’s a boy. She seemed to be carrying the baby low.”
“I think it’s a boy too. We’ll find out soon! So, do you think you can meet me at the office? I’m going to head there in a few minutes.”
“Of course I will,” I say, already scrambling out of bed.