“What is?—”
“Just the details to claim your prize.”
I pause, pen in hand, and try to scan the paperwork, but the lighting is so bad, and they’re rushing me.
“It’s literally just the stupid fine print so you can get your money,” the guy says. “Hurry. They need you on stage.”
I scrawl my signature on the line where he’s pointing, and then I’m being hauled back out to the stage where Travis is waiting. He’s been given a ridiculous bow tie to wear over his button-up denim shirt. But it’s the giant belt buckle at his waist that I can’t take my eyes off.
I don’t know how I didn’t notice it before. It’s massive, shiny, and gold.
A champion bareback bronc rider.
My eyes travel up the length of him. I swallow hard because the makeup girl was right. He’s very,veryhot. He’s easily over a foot taller than me, muscular in a way that tells me he’s earned his muscles through a lifetime of hard work, not from hours in the gym. His skin is warm and tanned from a life lived outside, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes confirming it and suggesting that he’s obviously at least fifteen years older than me.
I’m only twenty-two, fresh out of college. I have barely any experience with men at all, and…
What am I doing?
A wave of panic rolls through me. The stage tilts as I almost pass out.
A strong arm wraps around my waist, holding me upright. “Are you okay?”
I look up into his green eyes and, for a moment, forget where I am. All I can do is stare.
“Maisey?” My name on his lips snaps me out of my daze. “We don’t have to do this. We can walk away right now.”
He’s close enough that only I can hear what he’s saying. His voice is deep but calm and soothing, too. He won’t hold it against me if I want to back out. Hell, I didn’t even sign up for this.
But before I can say anything or make any decisions, everything starts.
“Yee-haw, ladies and gents!” the announcer, who now has a matching rhinestone-studded cowboy hat on, steps up behind us, yelling into the microphone. He throws his arms up in the air as if he’s summoning the spirit of the Wild West, and if I weren’t already so overwhelmed by it all, I’d probably be rolling my eyes.
“Welcome to the most rootin’-tootin’, heart-stealing union this side of the Strip!”
Travis stiffens beside me, but his hand reaches out to grab mine. It’s grounding and warm.
The crowd roars as he goes on to tell us all the prizes we are about to win.
A list of drinks, dinner, and other items that the bar’s sponsors have provided.
A bar tab for the night.
A night in the honeymoon suite of the hotel that’s probably a lot more comfortable than the pull-out bed in Patty’s hotel room that I’d been assigned.
And the main attraction: fifty thousand dollars.
I swallow hard and look up at Travis. “It’s a lot of money.”
“It is.” He nods. “But we don’t?—”
“Our bride,” the officiant says, turning to me with a flourish, “has been wrangled from the wilds of the dance floor. Ain’t she a vision?”
Spotlights sweep over me. Once again, I resist the urge to melt into the stage. The girl backstage worked her magic, but despite her handiwork and the stupid veil on my head, this isnothow a bride is supposed to look.
“This ain’t your usual Vegas bride, ladies and gents,” the officiant continues. “No, ma’am. This one’s got some spunk.”
I glance at Travis, beyond mortified. “You don’t have to go through with this.”
