‘Well, that was eventful,’ murmurs Matteo. He has regained the power of speech. ‘I’ll have a word with Hank. Find out what he means exactly.’
I feel nervous as I watch him walk over to Hank Junior, who has his arm around Liberty’s waist. She is looking adoringly up at him. He smiles when Matteo approaches. He puts a hand on Matteo’s shoulder. They both laugh in a forced kind of way, and Matteo makes his way back to me with a fake smile almost splitting his face in two.
Before he can explain, we are yet again distracted. ‘That was the most miserable fifteen minutes of my life,’ wails Liam, gagging as he sprints from the pod.
Manny, who was far from professional in the way he kept screaming each time the vomit slid closer to him with each movement of the pod, has radioed for the cleaning team who are there to greet us with scowls. The ride doesn’t stop, they remind us. They have less than two minutes to clean it up otherwise they have to go right round, trapped inside.
‘Sorry, guys.’Ah.Poor Cherry. It’s not her fault her thinning-haired husband put his sperm inside her while she was trying to tidy the kitchen.
I instruct everyone to walk back to the hotel, seeing as it is a lovely sunny day and approximately only a seven-minute walk. Because of the Cherry incident, everyone suddenly needs some fresh air and alone time. Liberty and Hank take the opportunity to slope off in the opposite direction. Likewise Big Mand and Big Sue.
Ged screws his eyes at Sister Kevin. ‘Happy birthday, by the way. How old did you say?—’
Tash grabs Sister Kevin by the arm. ‘Connie, pet. Can you look after Cherry? Thanks, love.’ And within seconds they are speeding away from us.
Oh, crap.
‘Sure,’ I say.
‘We’re going to pop into the Bellagio to do some filming,’ says Liam. ‘See you later, Connie, babes. And thanks for organising. Mwah-mwah.’ He and Ged can’t wait to get away.
‘How many times?’ Cherry says to me. ‘I don’t need a friggin’ babysitter.’ She marches off, furious with her husband and the world.
Everyone has disappeared. The coast is clear. ‘Well, that was much easier than I thought,’ I say.
Matteo fixes me a look that makes my toes curl. ‘Time to get married?’
* * *
We make the conscious decision not to ruin the day by speculating over Hank Junior’s remarks. In fact, we laugh it off as nerves.
‘A lot has happened in the past few days. We’re tired.’
‘Of course, we are going to interpret things in unusual ways,’ I agree readily.
‘Maybe Hank is jet-lagged and behaving differently? Where did he say he flew in from?’
‘Who knows? Maybe it is the Vegas culture and that’s how they all talk?’ I reason.
‘Maybe it is the fake murderer’s moustache Liberty has been making him wear that has given us a false impression of him?’
By the time we arrive at The Venetian, we have more or less convinced ourselves that Hank Junior is simply here in Vegas, without friends, for a quick relaxing break from his charity business that he runs to save animals and old people from neglect. And that if anything wasoffabout him then Liberty would surely let us know. After all, she has a degree in mood management. She is practically a trained psychiatrist.
We hurry to our room to get ready, scampering along the maze-like corridors. Matteo holds the door open for me. I hesitate a fraction and try to quash the nerves before I go in. We’re really doing this. We’re going to pretend to get married. I’m going to transform myself from downtown Barbie to uptown bride.
Matteo studies me, smoothing back a lock of the wig hair from my forehead with tenderness. ‘You okay?’
I summon a bright smile for him.
‘You’re like no other woman I’ve ever known.’ He trails the backs of his fingers down my face and kisses me in a slow, languid way, as though we have all the time in the world. The weight of his hands on my waist ignites a fire deep within my belly as my body responds to him in its customary way. I loop my arms around his neck and press myself against him. The door closes with a click and Matteo holds my gaze. ‘I will never stop wanting you.’
His words melt against my neck as his hands loosen the straps and buckles of my outfit. I slide my hands beneath his shirt to feel his smooth, hot skin. He shivers at my touch.
‘Constance,’ he murmurs against my lips. The way he says my name sends delicious tingles up my spine. My fingers slip down to inside his waistband. He takes a sharp inhale, holding his breath as I undo the zip of his shorts. Our breathing quickens as he hardens and pulls me to him. We find a patch of wall to kiss against. He knots both my hands in his, holding them above my head as our kiss deepens.
We make our way across the room in a tangle of hands in hair, under clothes and between legs. ‘I will never stop wanting to kiss you,’ I whisper into his ear as he leaves a burning trail of hot kisses down my throat and along my collarbone, his fingers working their way inside my knickers. It causes an unholy throbbing of desire to pulsate throughout my entire body. I can barely breathe.
‘Then don’t stop.’ Matteo pushes his fingers inside me, expertly sliding them back and forth. His thumb rubbing gentle circles on my sweet spot causes me to moan loudly.
