‘Oh yes. You’re very good at months. It’s December because it’s mybirthdaytomorrow.’
Dan started to sing ‘Happy birthday to you’as they walked down the Strip.
Evie got her phone out to google the sights of Las Vegas. The Fountains of Bellagio and the High Roller were supposed to be somewhere around, but it was really difficult to work out what direction they were walking in.
‘You’re shivering,’ Dan said. ‘Come here.’ He put his arm round her and Evie leaned against him.Meltedagainst him if she was honest. ‘That better?’
‘Mmm?’ Evielovedhow their hips were bumping as they walked and how Dan’s arm felt along her shoulders. She could smell his musky scent too. And if she glanced up she could see his strong jawline and cheek. So bloody sexy.
‘You should have brought a coat.’
‘I don’t need a coat. I have a gorgeous man heating me up.’ She stopped and pointed. ‘Look. It’s an actual Vegas wedding chapel. We have to check it out.’
Dan nodded. ‘Important sightseeing.’
‘Thatis one of the tackiest Christmas trees I’ve ever seen,’ said Evie in delight, stopping outside the chapel. She looked up above the chapel entrance. ‘And that is one of the biggest bunches of mistletoe I’ve ever seen.’
Mistletoe.
She looked at Dan and smiled. He looked at her and smiled too.
‘Mistletoe,’ he said. ‘It’s obligatory.’
Evie closed her eyes as Dan bent his head and kissed her. And,Godthat was good. His firm lips on hers, their mouths opening for each other, his arms round hers, hers round him, her hands on his back, his legs hard against hers.
They were pressed up against the wall of the chapel now, kissing and kissing.
‘Remember,’ said Dan, between urgent kisses, ‘the pact we made. Under the mistletoe. Our fallback pact. We were young then.’
‘Yes,’ panted Evie. ‘A lot… older… now.’
‘We said your thirtieth birthday.’ Dan ran a finger along her cheekbone and jawline.
‘Mmm.’ Evie couldn’t really speak. Where else was he going to trace his finger?
A couple came out of the chapel and nearly bumped into them.
‘Whoops.’ Evie would have fallen over if Dan hadn’t held her up. ‘Your arms are very, very strong,’ she told him, giving his biceps a little squeeze. ‘Let’s go and look inside.’
‘You wanna get a licence, you only have a half hour. Closes at midnight,’ a woman with a gigantic beehive hairdo and a pale-yellow pussy-bow blouse told them as they stood there, still with their arms round each other’s waists.
‘Do you work here?’ Evie asked.
The woman nodded. Her hair didn’t move.
‘You have great hairspray,’ Evie said. ‘I’d like hairspray like that.’ She leaned in towards the woman and pulled Dan in with her. ‘I’d like to get married. I’d like to get a licence. This is Dan. I’m Evie. We have a pact. We made it under the mistletoe and we kissed just now under mistletoe.’ She stuck her finger out to point at the mistletoe but everything was spinning a bit and she couldn’t remember where it was. Never mind. It was irrelevant. Thepointwas thepact. ‘We’re supposed to get married on my thirtieth birthday tomorrow if we’re still single.’
‘And are you both still single?’ the woman asked.
They both nodded.
‘So you need to get married, right now.’
‘What’s your name?’ Evie asked.
‘Susan.’
Evie turned to Dan. ‘Susan’s making a lot of sense.’
