Bender (Vegas Venom Book 4)

People love the pictures from our date. Another tourist got a little video of Marco singing part of his song at the very end of our gondola ride, and between that and the shots from our stop at Gustoso afterward, Marco and I have gone viral. Not as individuals, of course, although my social media has never been more active and my agent is fielding offers from companies I’ve never heard of before. I mean that we, as a couple, are trending on multiple platforms.

It’s weird, but I don’t hate it. And I’m glad someone caught that video because now I get to listen to his song over and over again on repeat like the lovestruck fool I am. When I look up the lyrics later, it’s enough to make me weak in the knees. I swear Marco’s voice is so buttery smooth that if his plan to be a pro hockey player doesn’t work out, he could take up voiceover work.

I don’t know why I didn’t tell him the truth. Like spill it all and then spill some more. But I’ve had my heart broken so many times that I’m scared. It’s bad enough to trust a hot man, let alone one who plays in the NHL. When I think of Silas and who and what he was before Phoebe, I about have a panic attack. My hot-as-hell brother literally used to open loose legs with only his smile and Chestnut Praline lattes. How am I supposed to think that I’m the one who will change Marco Rossi into husband material?

What if he always was husband material?

I toss that thought aside because it can’t possibly be true, no matter how much I want it to be.

At Julie’s insistence, a week after our M&M date, Marco and I meet up at the Mona Lisa. I’m anxious and twitchy but for totally different reasons this time around. Julie’s new plan is kind of brilliant, but I’m not sure what it means for our future.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I ask Marco, my chest cracking open at the sight of him. When he’s on the road, I miss him like crazy. Good morning texts and late-night FaceTimes are not nearly enough.

“I am okay if you are okay,” he assures me. “Okay?” He looks so good in his suit that it’s almost enough to distract me from how big a deal all this is.

“It’s just that this is huge. This is serious. It’s real.” I twist my fingers together. “It could change things for both of us, you know?”

Marco cocks his head. “Julie is telling me it is only business. Is she wrong?”

“It’s business in the literal sense, but it’ll also link us together. Forever. On social media, the internet… and you know that stuff like that lasts for all eternity.”

“I like being linked to you,” Marco says. “Eternità is not long enough with you principessa.” I’ve noticed that his English is getting even better lately. He still struggles with verb tenses, but honestly, verbs are probably the most confusing part of the English language. I’d compliment him on it if I wasn’t so nervous. I make a mental note to do so later when I’m not climbing the walls.

“I’m happy to hear that,” I say instead. “I just want to make sure that you understand the implications.”

Marco doesn’t seem to have any nerves at all. “Will this help you with your career?”

“I mean, yes.” I roll my lips into a thin line. “But will it hurt you?”

He reaches for me, wiggling his fingers between mine. “The only thing that will hurt me is if I am no longer with you. If we are not linked.”

His touch calms my frayed nerves, and I manage a smile. “Yeah, I don’t think that’ll be happening in the foreseeable future. Let’s go in.”

Marco grips my hand in his, straightens his tie, and pushes open the door to the conference room. A few dozen people are waiting inside, with Julie presiding over the meeting.

I hope I don’t look half as nervous as I feel.

My agent sits at the front of the room two seats away from Julie, so that Marco and I will be placed between them. Sponsorship requests and brand offers have been flooding in, and it was Julie’s brilliant idea to get everyone together in one room, just to hype them up even more. She’s put together folders for everyone attending. I swear the woman is a genius. I’m just glad she uses her powers for good rather than evil, unlike her scary boss.

Marco never lets go of my hand as we take our seats. I spent far too long staring in the mirror before I left, so I know I look good, but this is different than a modeling gig or a photo shoot. When I’m on the runway, I’ve already got the job. Sure, it could lead to others, but not like this. I’ve wanted to do commercials or even scripted television for as long as I can remember, and this might be my chance to make that dream come true.

“Alright, people.” After introducing herself and explaining her reasoning for this shindig, Julie crosses her arms and beams out at the crowd, cool as a cucumber. “Let’s hear your pitches. Show us what you got.”

I’m not prepared for the flood of offers that the reps lay out before us. Like Julie, they’ve brought materials, which at least means that I don’t have to take notes. She and Anna, my agent, keep track of the details, while Marco and I hear each rep pitch their brand.

A lot of them are from clothing companies that want to adjust their marketing, a bit like how Coach B expanded into Coach B+. Most of those are aimed at me, although a few of them suggest doing ‘his and hers’ photoshoots to showcase both male and female product lines. I try to play it cool, but I love the idea. So many ads like that show fat people with fat people and skinny people with skinny people like we can never mix and match. It would be an incredible statement, and even if the companies would mostly be doing it to make money and promote an image of inclusivity for the sake of putting money in their pockets, it would still be meaningful.

My favorite pitch of all, however, comes from a woman in the back. When she steps forward to describe her idea, Anna winks at me.

“We’re interested in signing you on for a commercial.” The rep pushes her chunky, blue-rimmed glasses up her nose. “Both of you. The general idea is that Madison would be in a dressing room trying on some outfits curated by our design team. Marco would be outside, getting excited every time you come out. It would be a personal fashion show, a chance to showcase our range of styles.”

“Oh!” Marco loses his cool, bouncing in his seat like a little boy who knows the answer to a math question. “This is very good! We could do this. Just like a couple would do in real life. It would not even be acting for Madison looks lovely in anything!”

The woman’s gaze shifts to me, and I laugh.

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “Sounds like we’re in.”

The meeting ends up lasting two hours. By the time the reps leave, I’m exhausted and deliriously happy.

“This is incredible,” I tell Marco. “I got offers for three commercials. And you’d be in two of them! Wouldn’t that be fun?” I’m practically bursting with excitement. The number of offers Anna has fielded on my behalf has grown steadily over the last couple of years, but this… this is different. This is everything I’ve dreamed about all happening at once. It’s like my former life simply involved putting my space suit on and now I’m about to be shot into outer space like a rocket. I can’t wait to get home and spill the good news to my mom and Phoebe.

Marco smiles at me. He’s not as excited as I am, but he’s clearly in a good mood. “Bellissima, I’m happy that you are happy. Seeing you this way makes my heart sing.”

My smile fades, and I take a step closer to him, lowering my voice so that Julie and Anna won’t hear. They’re already deep in conversation, not paying any attention to either of us.

“Hey.” I take his hand and squeeze it. “I don’t want you to worry that I’m only with you for the attention, you know? I appreciate this, truly, but I’m not with you to raise my status or anything, okay? None of this was even my idea. And if you’re uncomfortable with any of it, we won’t do it.”

Marco waves this concern away. “No one here is giving you anything for free, Madison. Maybe when they are seeing you with me, they are noticing you for the first time. Because so many people look at the pictures of us. But that is all. Everything they have offered, you have earned. So this, I am not worried about.”

Julie and Anna break apart and stride over to us. I give Marco a quick peck on the cheek just before they arrive.

“Great job today. And by the way, that little scene under the bridge?” She nods in approval. “That was perfect.”

Marco shuffles his feet. “I did that for Madison, not for the fans. I was not acting. Every beat of my heart was real.”

“I know.” Julie grins. “That’s what made it perfect. Did you two want to go through your gift bags before we head out? If there’s anything you’re not interested in, we can send it right out to be donated.”

I hadn’t even clocked the gift bags, but now that she’s pointed them out, I hurry over to the table. Presumably, these are samples from the reps for us to try and hopefully, win us over.

Julie pulls out her phone. “Mind if I take some pictures of you opening them?”

“That’s fine with me,” I tell her. “Marco?”

Marco is distracted, staring at a shiny pink-and-silver gift back with bright pink tissue paper sticking out of the top. “Are those…?”

I lean closer to inspect the bag and let out a snort of laughter. “Oh my God. Metallic silver penises. Yes, yes they are.”

Anna hides a smile behind her hand. She’s a bit more low-key than Julie, but I know that her cool exterior hides a wicked sense of humor. “Oh, I know who that’s from.”

I pull out the tissue paper and remove a pair of panties. They’re heavy-duty, which confuses me for a minute until I turn them over. When I see the label, I let out a snort of laughter. Not only are they vibrating panties, but there’s even an assortment of flavored lubes in the bag that are safe to use during oral.

Intriguing. Very, very intriguing.

Julie photographs my grin and Marco’s bemused expression.

“Thoughts?” Julie asks.

Marco tilts his head to one side. “I am confused. These are not sexy underwear. Not like I think of. Of course, you would be sexy in anything, cara mia, but why are they giving us these?”

I should probably discourage him from chatting me up in front of the social media manager, but given that I’m currently holding a sex toy—a sex toy, specifically, that I have every intention of using—I’m in no position to talk.

“Should we even be opening this?” I ask her. “This doesn’t break Marco’s morality clause or anything?”

Julie shakes her head. “Nope. Since this is Vegas, the brand is actually one of the team’s corporate sponsors. I was just hoping that it wouldn’t make Marco blush.”

Marco shakes his head and shrugs. “No. Why would this be making me blush? We are sex-positive.”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, we are, we just don’t usually tell people during the course of normal conversation.” I peer into the bag again and grin when I realize what’s in there. Oh, this is going to be fun. I hastily stuff the panties back in the bag and set everything inside.

“Why are you smiling, principessa?” Marco asks.

I shake my head, using my chin to indicate both Anna and Julie. “We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

“Later,” Marco repeats. His cheeks turn slightly pink, and I’m suddenly reminded of our conversation at the bar the night I was dressed like a Fraggle come to life.

“Soon,” I promise. “Very soon.”

With naughty fantasies flashing through my mind, I’m already looking forward to it.