on it.
Beside him on the bed, Julia snickered harder than the drunk version of her did. But then again, only one of them was alert enough to have caught the joke.
“And what is your partner’s favourite thing to drink?”
The unanimous response came back with such perfect synchronization they might’ve practiced for a month. “Tequila!”
“There’s our confirmation of how we got into this mess,” Zach said.
Another half dozen questions and answers followed, interrupted when last-night Julia got an attack of hiccups. Online Zach tried to help by patting her violently on the back. Fortunately, that ended only a few seconds later when he slid off the couch.
Both of them vanished onto the floor and out of sight.
The video cut off briefly, returning to a new location. The Mile-High Wedding chapel had a distinctively western theme. The man standing at the front with Zach at his side wore a ten-gallon hat in a less than pristine white tone.
A few folding chairs were arranged on either side of the room to make a path to the altar. There were actual people waiting to watch the ceremony. All turned toward the camera, waiting for Julia to arrive.
Zach tilted the phone toward himself a little more because what he was seeing couldn’t really be real. “How did you convince Dolly Parton to come to our wedding?”
“I’m very proud she’s there. Dolly is awesomeness to the extreme.” Julia lowered her voice. “I’d like to confess that I would also kill to have a set of tatas like hers.”
A sharp burst of laughter escaped him. “Your tatas are just fine. It looks as if we also got Roy Rogers, but I don’t know who the rest of them are.”
“I’m bitterly disappointed in you, Zach Sorenson.”
She said it with such an absolute conviction he hit the pause button, stopping the wedding march that had just begun to play. “What?”
Julia folded her arms over her chest and blinked hard, annoyance dripping from her expression. “You did not ask a single Elvis impersonator to attend our wedding.”
Dear God, he was going to die. His grin was so wide his face hurt, but the back of his head ached, and his brain swirled with unanswered questions. “What the hell did we do, Julia?”
She let out a big sigh, the phone resting in her lap. “We got drunk. That much is obvious.”
“I guess the good part is, my mentor always said if you’re going to do a thing, do it to the best of your abilities.”
“Well, then. In our Wild Adventures for Beginners class, we just scored a hundred percent.” Julia held a hand in the air, and he gave her a high five.
They both groaned as the shock of impact vibrated through them. “No quick moves,” Julia reminded him as she pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Got it.” He pointed to the phone. “You want to watch the rest of it?”
This time when she hit play, they managed to sit quietly and let the travesty unfold before their eyes.
Part of it was Zach didn’t feel like making any smart comments anymore, because there was something about watching Julia walk toward him and take his hand, and the expression on his face that seemed too real to tease about.
The vows were short and to the point, but the instant the I do’s were exchanged and the faux French speaking administrator asked about rings, the solemnity of the occasion fell apart.
“Dammit—no rings.” Last-night Zach glanced around the room. “One second.”
He stepped to the wall and grabbed down a decoration. One of the lariats that had been draped on a hook.
Online Julia squealed, ducking behind Dolly Parton as Zach twirled the lasso. Chaos ensued. Chairs tipped, the witnesses scattered…
When Julia made a break for it, headed back down the aisle toward the camera, Zach neatly roped her, pulling the loop tight around her arms and bringing her laughing self back against him.
The instant he released her, she lifted her hands to his face, leaning in.
There on the bed, Zach’s heart pounded. Dammit, he was turned on and waiting with breathless anticipation for online Julia to kiss him.
At the last second, she twisted his head and pressed her lips against his cheek, blowing a solid raspberry that echoed over the recording equipment.
The half dozen witnesses returned to the screen, cheering loudly. Rose petals flew in the air, then Julia and Zach were being marched down the aisle toward the camera. Huge grins in place.
Julia jerked to a stop. She glanced down at her shirt and