Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Donna gasped. “That’s so exciting! Congratulations!”
“Thank you.” I put my arm around Lexi. “We couldn’t be happier.”
“How long have you been together?” she asked.
“Forever,” said Lexi at the same time I said, “We just met.”
“What he means is that it feels like we just met, even though we’ve been together for years,” Lexi said, pinning me with an evil stare. “Right, darling?”
“Absolutely,” I said. “Time flies when you’re this madly in love.”
“Where’d you meet each other?” asked Donna.
“Work,” replied Lexi, just as I said, “School.”
I laughed. “Well, it was work for her, school for me. You see, she was my teacher, and even though her crush on me was totally inappropriate, some feelings just cannot be denied.”
The poor woman looked totally confused. “She was your teacher?”
“His ski instructor,” Lexi clarified. “And he was awful, just awful. I had to spend a lot of extra time with him. Many private lessons.”
“Oh.” The clouds on her face lifted, and Donna smiled. “Well, congratulations. Would you like a picture? A photo of you guys on the plane as you elope?”
“No, thanks,” said Lexi, while I answered, “Good idea.”
I opened the camera on my phone and handed it to her. “Here you go.”
“Smile,” she said, snapping the shot. “Perfect. How about a kiss?”
Lexi shook her head. “That’s not necessary.”
“Now, sweetheart, don’t be shy.” I met her eyes and spoke quietly. “It’s only a kiss. It’s not even against the rules.”
“Fine,” she whispered. “One kiss. And then we’re amending the rules.”
I pressed my lips to hers, which she kept firm and closed. Even so, my body prickled with heat.
“Got it,” said Donna, handing my phone back to me. “And I’ll be back in a minute with your champagne.”
The second she was gone, Lexi turned on me. “What was that?”
“That was practice,” I said, removing my arm. “And clearly we needed it.”
“What we need is to get our story straight. And I’m putting ‘no kissing’ under the ‘no sex’ umbrella.”
I sighed. “You’re taking all the fun out of this.”
“This isn’t supposed to be fun—this is business.” She fanned her face. “God, I’m a nervous wreck already. We’re terrible at pretending.”
“Maybe just try not letting every single thing you feel register on your face.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” I said, already regretting my words.
“You think you’re so much better than me because you can mask what you’re feeling so easily?”
“Well, it makes me a better actor.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Sorry if my face is too honest for you.”
“Here you are.” The flight attendant appeared with two glasses of bubbly. “Congratulations again. You’re a beautiful couple.”
“Thank you,” I said. I handed a glass to Lexi, who looked like she might dump the champagne in my lap. “Bottoms up.”
After a layover in Chicago, we arrived in Las Vegas around three o’clock. As soon as we checked into our suite—which did indeed have one king-sized bed and one blue velvet couch—we headed for the Clark County Clerk’s office to get our marriage license. We’d filled out the application online somewhere above the Rocky Mountains.
With the paperwork in hand, we exited the building and stood on the sidewalk. “So now what?” she asked.
“Now we can get married.”
“Seriously? That’s it?” She seemed dismayed that it was so easy.
“That’s it.” I looked up and down the block where the County Clerk’s office was located, where several smart entrepreneurs had installed wedding chapels. “The guy said we can pretty much just walk into one of these places and get it done.”
“Okay. Then we might as well just do it now.”
“Really?” I faced her. “You’re ready right now?”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.” I gestured to her jeans and tank top. It was warm, so she’d tied my Two Buckleys sweatshirt around her waist. “Is that what you want to get married in?”
“This isn’t my real wedding, Devlin. I don’t really care what I wear. Someday, I hope I do the thing with the white dress and Gran’s veil and a bouquet of roses in my hands as I come down the staircase at Snowberry Lodge, but that’s not today.”
“You want to get married at Snowberry?”
“Yes.” She shaded her eyes from the sun with one hand and looked up at me. “In front of the fireplace in the lobby. That’s where my parents got married. It’s what I’ve always dreamed about.”
I nodded slowly. “I hope you get that someday.”
“Thanks.”
“Rings,” I said, noting her naked fingers above her brow. “We need rings.”
She looked around and pointed across the street. “There’s a pawn shop.”
I followed her gaze. “Looks decent. Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, we left the shop with two plain gold bands in a shabby velvet box. Each one was inscribed with beloved.
“It’s kinda sad,” she said as we headed up the street toward the chapel the pawn shop guy had recommended for a walk-in wedding. “I mean, why are these rings in a pawn shop? What happened?”