Holding the glass door open for Harper, a wall of memories hits me. That happy feeling of walking in here with her on my arm. The anticipation of marrying her.
God, I remember just how much I loved her that day. My very first NHL game. She was there and it was the best damn day of my life, and I wanted to do something big.
Getting married while in Vegas? Why the hell not?
I didn’t want to let her get away.
I guess the joke was on me.
“There’s a happy couple!” A man with slicked-back, dark hair greets us. A tacky mustache sits above his lip. He’s wearing a cheap suit and smells of even cheaper cologne. Or it could be that he’s trying to cover up the scent of booze hanging in the air.
She turns to glare at me like I’m the cause of this welcome.
“Don’t look at me,” I mutter.
“How can I help you? Are you here to get married?”
Harper throws her hair behind her shoulder before plastering on what I can only determine is the world’s fakest smile.
“I called this week because we had originally gotten married a few years ago.” Harper pulls the same piece of paper she slapped against me onto the glass counter in front of her. “We were told that it wasn’t legal because there was a missing signature, but come to find out, it is legal.”
The man behind the counter looks stunned for the briefest of seconds before he puts on his happy face again. He picks up the paper she gave him and looks it over. “I’m not sure who told you that, but this is a perfectly legal document.”
Harper’s smile grows wider and the next words that come out of her mouth are dripping with more fake niceties.
“If it’s perfectly legal, then why did we receive a phone call that we had to come back in to sign it in order for our marriage to be valid?”
“Ma’am. I haven’t been here long enough to know the specifics. But see here?” The man points to a few different lines. “All valid signatures. You, your husband, and the officiant. I’m sorry you’re upset because you got drunk and?—”
“We weren’t drunk!” Harper yells at the greasy man, slapping her hand on the glass display case. “We were in love!”
Were.
That one word is a knife through the heart.
The man shakes his head, the smile slipping from his face. “Drunk or in love, it’s still a valid certificate. I cannot help you. You would need to speak with a lawyer to get it annulled.”
“I know that,” she snaps. “Why was this information not given to me over the phone?”
“Do you remember who you spoke with?”
She shakes her head. “No, because, as you can imagine, it’s quite jarring to be told by someone that works here that the form wasn’t filled out correctly only to find out it actually was. And that I’m still married.”
The man behind the counter flits his gaze to mine and gives me a quick once-over. “I’m not sure why you’re complaining, lady. You’re doing better than most people that come in here.”
“That’s not the point!” Harper screams in frustration.
“Look,” I intercede. “We’re trying to figure out why we had to come out here to question a marriage license when we were told the signatures weren’t valid.”
Grabbing the license once again, he gives it another look. “I cannot see why anyone would have called you to tell you this. You and the officiant all signed, so all was in order.”
“Could they have gotten us mixed up with another couple?” I ask.
He shrugs. “It’s possible. Now, is there anything else you need?”
“Not from you,” Harper mumbles.
I try to hide my smile from her. The last thing I want is for her to turn her anger against me. I’ve already felt enough of that.
