Chapter Nine

Since the upper hand in choosing our activities was still mine, I decided I wanted to try a really nice restaurant for dinner.

We ended up at the Foundation Room, which had a killer view that was sixty-three stories up, overlooking the strip. It was themed like an old country house with a cozy vibe.

After we devoured the crab cake appetizer, Chance opted for the steak while I ordered the grouper.

Trying hard not to think about how it felt when he licked the sugar off me earlier, it was to no avail. Every time I looked up at his lips, I could still feel them on me.

We’d ordered two bottles of wine, which seemed to flow endlessly along with the conversation. We talked straight for at least two hours. Chance spoke to me about growing up in Australia and talked more about his years in training for a soccer career that never happened. We’d shared stories about our fathers’ battles with cancer. I’d divulged a lot of the details of my breakup with Harrison.

I was feeling even closer to Chance. By the end of the night, it was as if I knew everything there was to know about him, except where his life stood now. That seemed to be the big black hole.

Further adding to my angst, he’d gotten a phone call in the middle of dinner which caused him to get up from the table. I was pretty sure whoever it was had something to do with why he was holding back with me.

When he returned to his seat, my heart was racing as I asked, “Who was that?”

He looked me dead in the eyes, his tone serious. “No one important, Aubrey.”

Instead of grilling him, I poured myself more wine. With each sip, a false sense of happiness overrode my insecurities. I became happier and happier.

By the time we left the restaurant, Chance had to put his arm around me just to keep me balanced. I wouldn’t say I was piss-ass drunk, but I was definitely intoxicated. So was Chance.

We were laughing about nothing. At one point, we stumbled upon a chapel. There was a sign that read, Fake Weddings Here.

Chance stopped me in the middle of the sidewalk. The vapors of alcohol on his breath infiltrated my nostrils as he spoke close to my face. “Marry me, Princess.”

“What?”

“We have an illegitimate goat—a fake child together.” He laughed. “It’s only proper that we partake in a fake wedding ceremony to make you an honest woman.”

“You’re insane!”

“Shit, we can text a picture to Harry. How fucking awesome would that be?” His mischievous smile sent tremors of desire through me. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” He led me by the hand into the small white chapel.

A large man dressed up as Elvis stood alone in the entryway. “It’s a good night for a wedding,” he greeted monotonously.

“Do you need a reservation?” Chance asked.

“We’re slow tonight. We can take you right now if you want.”

Chance looked at me, his semi-drunken eyes glassy. “What do you say?”

I shrugged. “There’s no license. It’s not real. So, no harm, right?”

We each filled out a form with some of our basic information. For a cool $199, we ordered the full wedding experience that included a ceremony, five digital images, souvenir rings, a silk bouquet and my choice of borrowed dress. Before I knew it, I was being whisked away by a woman named Zelda with a mop of frizzy red hair. She brought me to a back room where there was a rack of assorted white dresses in different shapes and sizes. She had me try on a few different ones, and I ended up picking out a strapless, lace mermaid style gown that was a little too long. My boobs were also spilling out of the top. It was the one dress that I liked, though.

Zelda helped me do my hair into an updo with tendrils framing my face. I had no idea what to expect when I walked back out there.

Music began playing. “Are they starting?” I asked.

“Your boyfriend must have picked a song, so yes.”

“We’re supposed to pick the song?”

“We have a library of music, and we usually let the groom choose while the bride is getting dressed. That’s the best use of time.”

I recognized it as Marry Me by Train. Even though the whole thing was staged, I couldn’t help the butterflies that were swarming inside of me as the music played. As much as I knew this was fake, my nerves seemed every bit the same as they would have been were this a real wedding.

This is ridiculous! Why am I so nervous?

Zelda handed me my small bouquet of silk calla lilies. “Ready?”

A deep breath escaped me. “Sure.” Suddenly, I could feel myself starting to sober up. This was not the time to lose my alcohol high.

When I appeared at the threshold that led to the small aisle, Chance was waiting with one hand crossed over the other. He was still wearing the same fitted black button-down shirt he had on at dinner, except a small boutonniere was now pinned to the front. He looked so handsome and…nervous, too. This was the weirdest experience.

As the music played, I took very slow steps toward him. My heart was beating through the tight lace fabric hugging my breasts. Halfway down the aisle, I tripped over my dress and nearly wiped out. Chance snorted and started to crack up, and I couldn’t help laughing, too. That definitely lightened the mood for the rest of my trip down the aisle.

Zelda gestured for my bouquet as she positioned herself diagonally behind me. Apparently, she was my maid of honor, too. Elvis started to speak.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Chance Engelbert Bateman and Aubrey Elizabeth Bloom in holy matrimony…”

“Engelbert?”

He winked and whispered, “Not really.”

Elvis continued, “Which is an honorable estate that is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly.”

“Not exactly soberly,” Chance cracked.

“If anyone can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

We both looked behind us to the empty seats. You could have heard a pin drop.

“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”

Zelda spoke from behind me, “I do.”

“Will you be using standard vows, or do you have your own?”

We answered at the same exact time.

“Standard,” I said while Chance blurted out, “I have my own.”

“You have your own?” I whispered.

“Yeah.” He grinned.

“We’ll start with the bride then.” Elvis recited the standard vow, and I repeated them word for word after him.

Then, it came time for Chance to speak.

He paused, closed his eyes briefly then looked into my eyes as he took my hands in his. “Aubrey, from the moment you opened your smart mouth and called me an asshole in the first few seconds we met, I knew you were a pistol. At first, I thought it was the stick up your ass. I later realized it was just a protective mechanism. You’d been hurt, and you didn’t want to let anyone in. Sometimes, those who put up the biggest shields are those who are protecting the biggest hearts. My Gram used to always say, if you want to know the size of a person’s heart, look at how they treat animals or those that can offer them nothing in return. For some reason, you decided to trust a random bloke long enough for me to figure out that you have the biggest heart there is. You are just as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. You turned what started out as a miserable trip into the adventure of a lifetime. You can’t begin to understand how much this time with you has meant to me. If you take nothing else from this, please remember that you deserve to be happy.”

Tears were stinging my eyes.

Oh. My. God.

He’d caught me so off guard with that speech that it stunned me into silence. It was beautiful, but also sounded awfully like a cryptic goodbye.

There wasn’t a trace of humor in his expression. He’d meant every word.

I heard nothing else that Elvis said up until, “By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, you may now kiss the bride.”

I wasn’t looking at Chance anymore. I just shook my head repeatedly to let Elvis know he should skip that part, that Chance and I wouldn’t be doing that. “We’re not gonna kiss.”

The next thing I knew Chance’s big, warm hands had cupped my face as he leaned in and growled over my mouth, “The fuck we aren’t.”

In an instant, his lips devoured mine. My legs went almost totally limp. My heart was beating out of control as he pressed his body into me. He nudged my mouth open unabashedly with his tongue as it went in search of mine. Unable to get enough of the sweet taste of his breath, I opened wider, letting him in. He moaned into my mouth as I moved my hands upward to tug on his silky hair. He stopped kissing me long enough to lightly bite my bottom lip before releasing it. The kiss then became hungrier. I had no idea how long it lasted because a sense of time didn’t exist for me anymore.

Elvis coughed. “Alright. That’s nice. We have another couple now waiting to get hitched.”

Chance pulled away.

Completely dazed, I looked up at him. His hair was all messed up from my fingers running through it. His stare was penetrating, and he looked just as bewildered as me.

What the fuck just happened?

The mood changed as we exited the chapel and found two couples waiting in the lobby. The first couple looked like they might skip the wedding and go straight for the honeymoon—right there in the lobby. The groom was dressed in an American flag suit consisting of red pants, a blue jacket spotted with stars, white shirt and a red and white striped tie. When he released his vacuum suck of his future fake bride’s face, he lifted her into his arms, and I saw that she had on a matching outfit, only hers was an American flag bikini.

“Do you speak Russian?” he asked Elvis, who had followed us into the lobby with Zelda in tow.

Elvis shook his head. “Bilingual services are extra. You need an appointment.”

“How much extra?”

“One hundred and fifty dollars. We have to pay the translator.”

The patriotic groom reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wad of bills. He frowned, and his fake bride started shouting something in what I could only presume was Russian. She stamped her foot and flailed her arms as she ranted.

Chance snickered and leaned into me. “And I thought you were a bitch.”

“Hey.” I smacked at his abs.

He smiled, and I was torn between being sad that the sexual tension had ebbed and being relieved we seemed to be back to our version of normal. Chance held his hand out to me. “Mrs. Bateman?”

Shit. I liked the sound of that. A lot.

I put my hand in his, and Zelda ran over. “Would you like to do your wedding photos inside or outside? We have a lovely gazebo and pond out back. There’s even a swan in the pond. She has an injured wing, but she looks beautiful in the background of photographs.”

“We’ll do them inside,” Chance responded quickly.

“But the swan sounds nice.”

“We don’t have room for another pet. I’m not letting you near that thing.”

I rolled my eyes. “We can just skip the pictures.”

“Not a chance, Princess. Harry needs one of those babies.” A dirty grin tempted at the corner of his lips as his eyes dropped to my chest. I had some serious cleavage trying to spill out in that form fitting dress. “Plus. You…in that dress…that’s top of the toilet tank material right there.”

“Pervert.”

We posed for four pictures; it was reminiscent of dreadful prom photos. The last photo, Zelda made a suggestion. “How about something romantic now?”

I cocked my head and challenged Chance, laughing. “Yeah, sweet talker, how about something romantic?”

Zelda changed the background we were standing in front of. No longer were we standing in front of the famous old, neon Las Vegas sign. We were now transported to a honeymoon suite of some sort. The background had a photo of a large bed filled with rose petals and candles were lit all around the room. It was so ridiculously cheesy, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on. It’s our fake honeymoon night. There’s our bed. Don’t you have something romantic to say?”

Chance glanced back, got a load of the scene and turned back to me. “I’m not exactly the romantic type.”

“What a surprise.”

Chance’s eyebrows lifted and then he stared at me for a second before he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “How’s this for wedding night romance. If that were our bed, and I was lucky enough for you to be my wife.” He paused and took a breath in, exhaling warmth on my neck. “If I was lucky enough to get to have you, I’d own every inch of that body. For the first time in your life, you’d give up that control you cling to so tightly. I’d demand it, and you’d willingly give it to me.” He practically growled the rest. “That bed. I’d fuck you full of romance.” He pulled his head back to look at me. Our noses were touching, but neither of us leaned in to formalize the connection. It wasn’t necessary.

Zelda interrupted, “Beautiful. I think I captured the moment. I guess you’re a romantic after all, Mr. Bateman.”

Chance smirked. I stood in place, unable to move. “Lucky for me, it seems my bride likes my brand of romance after all.”