Unbidden, images of a chapel and a big foot dressed as Elvis rose in my mind.
“No,” I moaned.
Lurching across Nathan’s lap, I snatched Thomas’s drink out of his hand and downed it. The alcohol burned down my throat, setting fire to my belly.
“How did this happen?” I hissed at Liam, forgetting our audience for a moment.
Liam looked down at the glass in his hand, his lips curving in a soft smile of reminiscence. “You placed a bet. You were quite insistent on it actually.”
Now that he said it, I did have a memory of standing at a table and placing my chips somewhere. He’d asked if I was sure.
Oh God. I’d said yes.
“The marriage was my part of the wager should I win.”
“What would you have had to pay if you lost?” I asked, forgetting my anger for a moment.
Liam drained the rest of his drink. “Nothing I wasn’t willing to part with.”
That wasn’t an answer, I wanted to say, but couldn’t. The look on his face stole my breath. Far too intimate for present company. The promise there made me wish my memories of last night weren’t so foggy.
“I think it’s best if you remember that on your own,” Liam murmured.
I cleared my throat, my body feeling suddenly flushed. “Why follow through on the wager? You must have realized I was in no state to agree.”
There were certain things you should never do while under the influence. Marriage was a big one.
“Bets made in the Playground are magically binding,” Nathan supplied. “You don’t want to know the consequences if you break your word.”
That reminded me.
“Ouch.” Nathan held the arm I swatted. “What was that for?”
“You should have stopped me!”
“The magic of the dance exposes our innermost desires. I couldn’t have been the voice of reason even if I’d tried.” Nathan slung an arm behind me on the couch. “Besides I wasn’t even there, the magic whisked you away. Liam had to give into its sway to keep up with you.”
His explanation gave me pause. I shot an uncertain glance at Liam. If what Nathan said was true, it put an unexpected spin on the situation. One that I would have to think deeply about. But later. When I no longer felt like a rabbit whose foot was caught in a trap.
“I appreciate that. More than you know.” I met Liam’s eyes, letting him see my sincerity. I might not know exactly how I felt about this, but I wouldn’t dismiss what he’d done to make sure I didn’t fall too deeply under the Playground’s sway. “But wewillfix this.”
I’d never given much thought to marriage, but if I had, I certainly wouldn’t have wanted it to be in a Vegas chapel while under magical influence.
“We’ll see,” Liam murmured.
“No, we won’t.”
One way or another this marriage was going to be annulled. Otherwise, my mother really might kill me this time.
twelve
The conversation regarding mineand Liam’s abrupt and unexpected marriage petered out with the arrival of Anton and Daniel.
The former smirked at me as he sprawled in an armchair. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
My head whipped toward Nathan. “Does everyone know about this?”
Anton hooked a leg over the arm of his chair, sitting sideways in an indolent posture. “How else could we have stood up for our illustrious leader as his groomsmen?”
