* * *
“Sorry,I’ve got nothing for tonight. It’s a busy time of year for love in Vegas,” said the woman behind a long glass counter twenty-five minutes later.
I sucked on the fresh drink they’d given us as we walked into the establishment and checked out the different vases of flowers.
Chance’s head fell. “Yeah, yeah. Lots of love, I’m sure.”
“What about tomorrow?” I asked, hoping he’d feel the same way tomorrow morning.
His eyes lit up. “Yes! What about tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “Nothing tomorrow night, but we’re opening early. A few people get married in the morning. I could fit you in for a thirty-minute ceremony at eleven-thirty.”
“Yes, we’ll take it,” Chance said and threw down his credit card. “That works for you, right?” he asked me.
“Sure does, babe.” I finished my drink and set it on the counter. I was so marrying my best friend.
Wait.
My stomach fell.
I was so marrying my best friend.
What if I sucked as a wife? He might regret saddling himself with me for eternity. It’d ruin our wonderful friendship.
“What’s wrong?” Chance asked as the woman swiped his card in her machine. “You’re not getting cold feet already. Are you?”
“No, but…” I had a lot of buts to work through. I leaned in close to whisper. “We’ve never kissed.”
He laughed. “Not true. Sixth grade next to the eight-grade lockers, we shared our first kiss.”
“That doesn’t count.” I mean, it was a good first kiss, but what if we had no spark? You couldn’t get married without a spark. You had to have a spark.
“Sign us up for the big package,” Chance said to the woman and then took a few steps to the side with me.
“What if you marry me and realize I’m crazy?” I asked. The anxiety over me calling his bluff and him throwing down a credit card hit me hard.
He ran his finger over my lips and tipped my head toward him. “I already know you’re crazy.”
His lips found mine, and he pressed us together. Our second kiss started softly, but almost instantly Chance’s tongue swept into my mouth. I stood on my tiptoes, getting closer to him. He jerked my middle, pulling us tightly together as he nibbled on my lower lip.
I sucked in a breath as he pulled away and let the stars from my eyes dissolve.
“Told you. We’ll be great together,” he said, so sure of his conclusion.
I nodded, trying to get my brain working again. “Get a videographer or my mother will freak.”
She was still going to panic, but maybe the videoHope and
would help ease her anger.
4
CHANCE
“Wake up, beautiful,” I whispered to Hope as I shut off my phone alarm.
We had hours until we had to get to the chapel, but I wasn’t taking any risks. I’d finally told Hope my feelings, proposed, and secured a wedding date. No way did I plan to mess that up now. I didn’t expect things to be perfect for us all the time, but once I made her my wife, I’d do all the work to fix any issues we faced. I just had to marry her first.
