“Allie.”
The Justice paused for a second, “Right, Allie. I must have heard wrong. Please sign here. Print there. Good. All done. Meet me outside in five minutes. Go through that door and don’t be late.” He pointed at a back door I hadn’t noticed.
“Oh, and Ellie, sorry, Allie, you might wanna put on your other wedding dress. That one’s got a stain on it. Your parents are already logged into the live feed, just like you requested.”
He chuckled as he snatched up the carbon copies of the paperwork we’d signed.
Allie groaned. “Shit. My parents were going to watch the show. I forgot about that.”
4
Allie
Amore, Ti prometto di proteggerti con la mia vita. – Love, I promise to protect you with my life
My parents didn’t know the wedding was off. I shot a quick text off to Ellie. “You OWE me.”
No reply. Damn it. She was probably passed out already.
“We have to wait five minutes.” The Phantom paced the room, even peeked out the door Judge Stone went out of. “There are people out there.”
“Guests?”
“You invited guests?” he asked. His tone rose in pitch slightly, and it didn’t ruin his appeal. If I were the type of girl to swoon over sexy Italian men, he’d definitely do the trick. Especially ones with broad shoulders and a tight?—
Before I got too sidetracked, I replied, “Ellie did.”
I was surprised to discover my sister planned this wedding without me. She made sure the livestream of the ceremony went out to the whole family. Unfortunately, our parents couldn’t leave the farm because the alpacas were expecting, and my father’s parents didn’t want to fly to Las Vegas because it had been thrown together at the last possible minute. But Grandpa Alfie’s third mistress was out there with her whole country club ladies’ mob and their escorts. Not husbands, the real deal, escorts. Worse? The reality TV show film crew who followed those women around had to be lurking in the corners. They never went anywhere without them.
And because of Ellie’s surprisingly meticulous planning, calling off the wedding would create a shitstorm of questions and unregulated emotional outbursts. One I did not want to face alone. “I’m screwed.”
“Why?”
He pressed on his ribcage with his right hand. He’d been favoring his left side since he wrestled with Johnny. “Because my mom and my dad’s sister are absolutely enthralled with opera.” I sighed. “And it’s Vegas. It’s all about the show.” If I didn’t at least try to go through with this ceremony, it was likely that one of the men in attendance would start his impersonation of Magic Mike. That alone would insure this fiasco made it to social media viral notoriety in minutes.
“Somehow that doesn’t answer my question.”
He had a rich voice, sexy accent, and damn him, a strong chin. His facial hair was gorgeously thick, but not overpowering. He wasn’t neatly groomed, but not quite unruly. It was as if he’d spent a few days on the run and the beard had filled in where it would. It wandered up his strong jawline to brush against, but not fully connect to his expertly cut sideburns and sexy tapered haircut. The longer top perfectly suited a cluster of dark curls that fell forward but didn’t obscure his thick eyebrows or those piercing brown eyes.
By Ellie’s scale, he was an eleven. Maybe a twelve. In mine? Heck. I didn’t have a scale. But if I did, he’d pass muster.
Or to be more truthful, create the high-water mark I’d forever judge everyone else by.
“Opera?” he prompted.
“Right. Ellie chose the Phantom of the Opera-themed event. A single red rose, the mask, this dress.” I shook the clear bag containing Ellie’s flowery dress of shame. Virginal and slutty all at once.
He studied the dress, then me. “It will look beautiful on you.” He sounded sincere.
I huffed out an exasperated sigh. “I’m so screwed.”
“How? We go out there, pretend to get married, and then leave. Explain later.”
“We couldn’t. That’s against the rules, isn’t it?” Or at least, it would be a hefty bending of them.
The phantom studied me. His lips were slightly canted as if he were considering some rule breaking. But only slightly. That sent a shiver snaking from my nipples to my?—
A knock sounded on the door. A man asked, “Is everything okay in there?”
