I correct Declan.“I have all the cash, soI’llgive the driver a thousand dollars to take us to a wedding chapel that’s open.”
“Sounds good to me,” the driver says.
Thankfully, it’s not far.I hand all of Declan’s cash to the driver.I think I forgot to count it.We spill out onto the sidewalk, and I read the pink neon sign over the arched doorway.“The Mariah Carey Chapel of Love,” I say aloud.
“I love her,” Declan says.“Let’s go hear her sing.”
We manage to weave our way through the horde of people and slip into the chapel interior.
There are quite a few sloppy drunks just like us milling around.A few more are seated in chairs.The walls are the color of Pepto Bismol and there’s a cupid hanging from the light fixture.Declan’s so tall that he smacks his forehead on cupid’s arrow.
We approach the reception desk.A small man in a tuxedo greets us.“Hello, happy couple!”
“Hello!”I say.“We’re looking for a wedding.”
“You’ve come to the right place,” he says.“We take Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.”
I’m not sure why we have to pay just to check to see if Evander and Phoebe are in there getting married, but what do I know?
Declan hands him his American Express card, the one that could purchase a city.“We’ll run a tab,” he says, which makes the tuxedo man extremely happy.I’m about to point out to Declan that we’re not in a bar when a very tall woman throws open the curtain.
She’s got teased-up, long blond hair and freakishly huge eyelashes, even bigger than Bryttni’s.She’s wearing a gold sequined body suit, mesh stockings, and high heels higher than any heels I’ve ever seen.
I gasp.I recognize her.This isn’t Mariah Carey.
“It’s Beyoncé,” Declan says, his voice a hushed whisper of awe.“I love you, Beyoncé.”
“I also love you, Beyoncé,” I say.
“Beyoncé’s all about the love!Are you two all about the love?”she replies.
“I love love,” I gush.
“I love love, too,” Declan says.
“So who’s next?”Beyoncé asks tuxedo guy.
He points at us with his eyebrows raised.“These two arerunning a tab,and you know what that means.”
“Front of the line!”Beyoncé stretches one hand high above her head and does a fancy flourish thing with her fingers.No wonder they call her a queen.
Then she sings out, “Love is in the air!”She has the voice of an angel.I’ve always thought that.She grabs Declan’s jacket and pulls him behind the curtain.
I stumble after them.
And that’s when things get kind of blurry.
CHAPTER 18
Declan
I’ve tried to wake up a dozen times, but my mouth pounds and my eyeballs are fuzzy.Scratch that.Reverse it.
My mouth is fuzzy, and my eyeballs pound.That’s right.And it’s pretty awful.
Actually, everything above the neck pounds, and my gut is threatening to rebel.
I have no idea how much I drank last night, but I think I reached the too-much stage about ten drinks before I managed to stop.If I move, I worry my head will actually separate from my neck and roll across the floor and then I’m going to have real problems.If I move, my stomach will win the battle it’s waging against me.
