“Both. Definitely.”
As our chauffeured car pulled to a stop in front of us, I tugged Theo into my side and looked out at our destination. It was a crystal-clear night and the bright lights of Vegas were more of a glow in the distance, a promise of our future ahead.
“I like that.”
“That we’re insane?”
Theo grinned as he slid into the back seat and I followed. “That I make you a little crazy.”
I chuckled and pulled him to my side. “You definitely do that.”
He let out a sigh and settled into the crook of my arm, then looked up at me, all the love he was feeling shining out of his gorgeous eyes.
“God, I love you,” I said.
“Snuck up on you, didn’t it?”
“Sure did.” I brushed my thumb over his cheek. “Best surprise ever.”
Theo slipped his hand over my heart and purred. “Mine.”
I definitely was. My heart, my mind, and my soul—it all belonged to him now. That had never been more apparent than when he’d whispered those three magic words,“Marry me instead.”
I stared down into Theo’s handsome face as he lay beneath me, more vulnerable than ever, his heart in his eyes as he waited formy response, and everything I’d ever thought about love, soul mates, and happily-ever-afters appeared right before me.
It was Theo. It always had been. My forever had been right in front of me all this time—I’d just been looking in the wrong direction.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation, without an ounce of doubt. I wasn’t one to speak before thinking things through, without weighing all the pros and cons and possible obstacles.
But this?EasiestyesI’d ever given.
Theo gave me a heart-stopping smile, though truthfully, my heart had stopped when he asked me to marry him. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
He bolted up, reached for the back of my neck, and stole my lips in a kiss that sent sparks shooting through my entire body. It was almost like I’d taken him by surprise, like he hadn’t expected me to take him seriously.
His mouth left mine, only for him to kiss his way down my jaw to my ear. “You ready now?”
I choked out a laugh. “Now?”
“Why not? We could hop a flight to Vegas…”
A thrill shot through me, but he was just joking. Right? “Be serious,” I said.
“Iamserious.” He pulled back to look me in the eyes, and there wasn’t a trace of humor in them. “Marry me, Shep. Marry me tonight.”
WE HEADED STRAIGHT from the airport to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau, which, not surprisingly, had a line of couples when we got there close to midnight. Where else could you go to get married at any time of night or day?
“Identification, please,” the woman at the desk said when we made our way to the front of the line.
Theo handed over his passport and my driver’s license, and the woman frowned as she looked them over.
“Do you need my passport instead?” I asked, reaching into my back pocket where I’d brought it just in case, but she shook her head.
“No. You just have the same name as—” Her words cut off when she glanced back up and got a good look at my face. Then she did a double take at the ID and me again, and her mouth parted.
“We’d appreciate your keeping this quiet,” Theo said, slipping the woman a few large bills across the counter.
