said, “Yep.” Tori turned to me. “See you in twenty?”
She loosened her grip on my hand but not ready to be parted yet, I tugged her close and dropped a chaste kiss to her lips. One of her hands went to my chest and I wondered if she could feel the thunderous applause of my heart.
I let go and turned toward the elevators, unable to keep the smile that had seemed etched into my cheeks from spreading. I was actually doing the cliché Las Vegas wedding with someone I’d just met. This wasn’t like me. Under normal circumstances, I might have taken Tori’s number and brushed off the dare like the joke it was. But these were not normal circumstances and Tori wasn’t just some other woman I’d met at a bar. She was different.
In the grand scheme of things, this wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t legal, I reminded myself. But it felt big. And, of course, the one person I wanted to tell was the one person I couldn’t.
9
“Come on,” Katy said for the fourth time. “You know him. You have to know him. There’s no way some random dude would agree to this.”
I combed through my hair, debating if I should pull it up or wear it down. “I don’t,” I said, even though I couldn’t totally call him a stranger either. “You dared me, and I don’t turn down a dare.” My stomach felt empty and nerves caused my hand to shake. Why was I nervous? This wasn’t a real marriage. We didn’t ever have to see each other after this ceremony was over. There were no obligations, legal or personal, committing us to all eternity together.
My phone buzzed, a call from my mom. Guilt poured in me as I hit ignore. Maybe I was using this fake wedding as a distraction. Maybe, in a small way, this was my only way of rebelling against my dad and how blasé he’d treated his own marriage. It was immature—I could admit it. And maybe a little bit over the top, even for me, but I’d be damned if I let Katy hold this over my head. And besides, all it took was one look at Liam to know that this was one of my better ideas.
So, ultimately, it was my pride that committed me to going through with this.
I rubbed a hand over my stomach, catching on the gold sequins on my cocktail dress. It was the only semi-dressy thing I’d brought with me. Sliding on the strappy gold heels, I checked the time. I had four minutes to get back down to the lobby to meet Liam.
There was some excitement in this too. We hadn’t exchanged numbers; he may very well not show up for this wedding. He might decide that the whole thing was a momentary lapse of judgement.
The thought made me break into a sweat, so I swiped a tissue and blotted my forehead, ultimately deciding to put my hair up in a high, sleek pony so it’d be off my neck. We’d been cushioned in air conditioning for the latter half of the day; once we stepped outside in the heat, we were bound to sweat our asses off.
“I’m so excited,” Bekka said, clapping as if she was the one getting married. I mean, technically she was the one getting married in two weeks. Mine was just a facade.
“I can’t believe we’re here for your bachelorette party but she’s the one getting married,” Katy said, acting like she’d been blindsided by this when it had been her idea.
“Is that jealousy I hear?” Lauren asked, tilting her head to the side as she regarded Katy. “He’s kind of a babe,” she told me, taking a bobby pin and securing my flyaways. “Like in an Ian Somerhalder way. Those eyes…”
“I know,” I said, exchanging a look with her in the mirror. Those eyes had completely disarmed me the moment I met him.
“Come on,” Katy said for the fourth time. “You know him.”
“I don’t,” I insisted.
“Yeah,” Lauren said backing me up. “We were there when she told him she loved him. He looked just as shocked as she did to be saying such a thing.” She turned to me. “Time to head downstairs. You look beautiful. Like a golden disco ball.”
“Thanks,” I said, not entirely sure it was a compliment. Bekka cheerily led the way, with me and Lauren following. Katy brought up the rear, several steps behind us—enough that we had to hold the elevator