I cover my mouth with my palm as the memory suddenly resurfaces.
“Look at all those tennis shoes, Hollis,” I whine. “They’re just sitting there on the other side of the glass—mocking me.”
I plop my ass on the bench in front of the store and sag against the back of the seat. My feet hurt, and my whole body feels like Jell-O.
I haven’t been this drunk in a very long time.
“I really can’t believe the shoe store is closed, but the jewelry store is open? Why?”
“It’s Vegas,” he says, as if that’s an explanation. I raise a brow. “Pres, it’s the wedding capital of the world. Where are all the lovebirds gonna get their rings?”
My eyes grow comically wide. “That’s the reason it’s open?”
He shrugs. “Why else?”
“Insomniacs with a shopping addiction?”
“Illegal gambling den?”
I frown. “But it’s Vegas? Wouldn’t it just be legal?”
“Fuck if I know. I hate gambling.”
A giggle bursts free. “You are in the wrong city, dude.”
He sits down right next to me. He turns to face me, placing an arm across the back of the bench. “I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
The way he’s looking at me is the same intense stare he gave right before he kissed me back in the bar.
Neither of us has discussed it, but I swear I can still taste him. I still feel the way his body molded against mine. The way we kissed felt desperate, like I’d been waiting my whole damn life for him to finally toss caution to the wind and make his move.
But then he pulled back, a warring expression in his gaze.
He paid our tab, and we left shortly afterward and took a walk.
And now I can’t stop thinking about that kiss. About how right it felt. About how it left me wanting…so much more.
“Not sure if you remember,” I say, glancing up at the jewelry store. “But you once promised to marry me if I ended up old and alone.”
His eyes follow mine. Among the gold bangles and earrings, the designer watches, and the glittery necklaces, there’s a small sign in the window that says, “Wedding Bands 50% off.”
“I remember. You were watching some sappy movie and rambling about how if Kate Winslett couldn’t find love, then what hope was there for the rest of us. Pretty sure I meant it as a joke to make you laugh, but go on…”
I stand and hold out my hand, my heart hammering like a jackhammer. I give him a wicked grin. “Remember how you said I’m practically geriatric now?” His eyes go wide, and then I say, “Wanna do something really crazy tonight?”
“Oh my god,” I whisper, my hand still covering most of my face. “It was totally my idea.”
“Of course it was.” Hollis shrugs and then gives me that half-lidded grin again. “You looove me.”
I brush a loose curl from his face. “Yeah.” I smile. “I do.” And that is all that really matters. But then I lean down close to his ear. “But if you wake up tomorrow and forget you told me all of this, we’re just gonna keep acting like it was your fault, ’kay?”
He snuggles into my shoulder, a tiny chuckle escaping his lips. “Never fucking happening.”
Dammit.
Chapter Thirty-Six
PRESLEY
