My gaze stays on the side of Daisy’s face as Elvis speaks. “Daisy and Tony, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

At those words, she turns to me with the hugest smile and launches into my arms. I barely manage to keep upright as her mouth lands on mine. Her kiss is wet and sloppy and full of exuberance. And I like it so, so much. Almost enough to forget about that crazy thing we just did.

Elvis clears his throat, “All right, folks. Congratulations but you’re gonna have to take all that kissing out to the lobby. You’re holdin’ up the line.”

Our mouths break apart and I check over my shoulder. A less-than-sober senior couple are going at it like zoo animals while they wait for their turn to exchange vows before the hip-swinging Elvis impersonator.

“Sorry,” I mumble when they break apart so the old man can steal a pump from his asthma inhaler.

Daisy yelps when I lean down and swoop her up into my arms in one fluid movement. Lace and silk and itchy taffeta and all. I carry my beautiful bride down from the platform and out through the gold-trimmed double doors of the Eternal Sunshine Chapel.

I smile at her. She looks so happy. Deliriously happy. And seeing her like this, my heart does a victory dance in my chest.

It was just four hours ago that I discovered her at the bar. Just four hours ago, her heart was broken and she was sobbing as if her world was coming to an end. And now, this…

Daisy nuzzles her face to my chest and sighs. “Well, when I woke up this morning, I never thought I’d end up married to you.” She nibbles at my throat.

I laugh. “Tell me about it. I made some good life choices today.”

“You and me both,” she offers sarcastically.

When we reach the reception desk, the weathered-looking woman in the small swiveling chair flashes us a grin. She reaches under her desk and hands us our fake marriage certificate, a string of condoms and a 10% off coupon for the motel across the street. “Congratulations. You two make the sweetest couple.” She adjusts her oversized gold-plated earrings and nods with conviction. “Y’all are gonna last.”

Daisy thanks the woman for her blessing. Still carrying my blushing bride, I walk through the sea of twinkling lights hanging from the overhead arch. I don’t set her down on her feet until we’re on the sidewalk outside of the neon-lit chapel.

“That was so much fun.” She looks up at me, her eyes twinkling brighter than the string lights.

“It was,” I say.

I scan her face as we walk toward our waiting limo, looking for some hint of her actual state of mind.

She’s either really good at hiding how she feels or the irony of what we just did hasn’t settled in yet.

Yes, we just had a fun fake wedding fake-officiated by a fake Elvis. But when the sun rises, real life will kick in again with all the unpleasant realities it entails. I don’t want it to catch her by surprise.

I intertwine my fingers with hers and lead her off to a quiet spot on the side of the road. There’s a wooden bench and I pull her down to sit.

The martinis she had at the bar earlier have long lost their effect. Now, she’s high off of excitement, drunk off of the bright lights and vibrating energy of the city. When she has to go back and face her real life, she’s going to crash. And it’s killing me to know that I’ll be halfway around the world when that happens. I won’t be there to catch her.

“What’s up?” she asks as she observes my features. I guess she finds worry and uncertainty when she looks into my eyes. One corner of her mouth jerks up into an ironic expression. “Already having second thoughts about fake-marrying me? God, looks like I have that effect on men, huh?” She’s trying to be funny but I hear the genuine hurt under her words.

As crazy as it sounds, I’d marry this woman in a heartbeat. I would make her my legally wedded wife and love the fuck out of her for the rest of my life. We may have only just met but she’s the kind of woman that you make crazy, out-of-character decisions for. And with the vulnerable mental state she’s in tonight, it probably wouldn’t be impossible to talk her into marrying me. But that would be selfish of me. She and I are just ships passing in the night. We don’t have a future beyond that.

I cup her cheek in my palm and draw my thumb alone her cheekbone. “Are you okay?”

She’s had a rough night. Even the most confident woman would take a mental beating after being dumped the way she was.

Her shoulders expand when she pulls in a deep breath. “I know…” she says softly. “I know you’re worried about me, about how I’ll handle everything tomorrow and the days after that. And the answer is, I have no idea. But what I do know is that we’re here now. I want to be Daisy tonight. And I want to enjoy every second of you, my Tony.” She leans into my touch. “So, let’s do that. Let’s make tonight memorable. Let’s not worry about tomorrow.”

She sounds confident, rational and level-headed when she says that. It puts me somewhat at ease. Maybe she will be okay when all is said and done…

A slow grin spread across my face. “I can do that. I can be your Tony tonight.” I knot my fingers with hers. “What do you wanna do next?”

She chews on the corner of her lip and stares off into the distance as she thinks. When she looks back at me, her eyes are wide with excitement. “We can get tattoos!”

My eyes roll into my head.

“What?” she laughs.

“You wanna get tattoos?”

Her head bobs enthusiastically. “Yes. I wanna get tattoos. Why not?”

I reach into the pocket of my pants for my necktie. I pop out the tie clip and swiftly prick her arm with the pin at the back.

“Ouch!” she leaps an inch into the air and clamps a hand down on the spot where I poked her. “What’d you do that for?”

“That’s why we’re not getting tattoos, my delicate Daisy.” I smirk.

An unrestrained giggle pours from her. “Point taken.”

I grab her arm and pull it across my lap. “Here. I have a better idea.” I reach into my pocket for the pen I stole from the Eternal Sunshine Chapel when I finished filling out the fake wedding forms.

She howls with laughter as the pen scribbles across her skin. “I’m ticklish. What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.” I give all my focus to what I’m writing on her.

When I’m finished, I hold her arm up. She cranes her neck and twists her arm to read what I’ve written. “Don’t let the boy who couldn’t love you keep you from the man who will.”

Her stare freezes on the words for a long time. She doesn’t say anything but her jaw trembles. Finally, she looks up at me. “Thank you for being so nice to me…”

“You deserve it, Daisy. Being loved isn’t a luxury. It’s your right. You’re an exceptional woman. And any man in your life who doesn’t love you to the point of delirium doesn’t deserve to be your husband.”

She grinds her eyes closed. “And what if I never find anybody? What if I end up spending my life alone?”

I lay a kiss on the corner of her mouth. “You’ll find a great guy one day. That’s what you deserve. Just promise me you won’t settle for anyone else before you find him.”

She looks up at me with tears pooling in her big, black eyes and nods. “I promise.”

“Good.” Pulling her close, I press a kiss to the crown of her head. We stay like that for a long time, absorbing each other. Coming to terms with the fact that, in a few hours, we’ll be saying goodbye to one another. “So, how about we check out some casinos?” I squeeze her hand.

She nods again. There’s melancholy in her eyes. “That sounds like a very good idea.” She forces a smile just for me.

Rising, I take her hand in mine and I lead her back to the limo.