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A few minutes slipped by. I began to wonder if she hadn’t just walked away from the whole thing, giving up as soon as things got a little hairy. Maybe it was a mistake to drag a normal girl into this. Maybe I really did need a crazy actress or someone like that.
And then I heard some shouting from the street. I watched with a delighted smile as the two paparazzi assholes began to walk away.
I took my chance. Silently, I moved from the spot and kept to the wall. The men disappeared from view, and so I walked fast, slipped out behind them. I glanced up the sidewalk and noticed them walking slowly up the hill toward the entrance.
I turned around the corner and was gone.
I laughed the whole way to the bar. Selena had done it; she really had.
Maybe this was going to work out better than I thought.
I found the bar and pushed the door open. Sitting on a stool was Selena, looking flushed but grinning like mad.
“What happened?” I asked her.
“I started yelling about a man stealing my purse.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Smart. That was a good call.”
“I can’t believe that happened. I just walked away as soon as people started coming over to me. I pointed down the street and then walked away.”
I grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “Good job. You did good.”
She grinned back at me, and I felt a thrill run through my chest. The girl was impressive, absolutely amazing.
“Thanks,” she said. “I can’t believe it.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get a cab.”
I kept hold of her hand, pulling her along as we went back out into the street.
She was grinning like mad, still clearly running on an adrenaline high. I knew the feeling, and was maybe a little jealous of it. Eventually I dropped her hand as we got a cab, but the feeling of her skin against mine still lingered.
We sped along toward the airport.
Toward Las Vegas.
Toward our damn wedding.
I smirked to myself in the back of the cab, heart pumping, ready.
9
Selena
As far as last-minute flights went, ours was pretty uneventful.
The first flight to Vegas didn’t leave until five in the morning, and so we were stuck sitting around in the terminal all night. I tried to sleep while Nash sat around reading on his phone or whatever he was doing. He didn’t seem particularly talkative, which didn’t exactly surprise me. He wasn’t known as a super chatty guy.
He was a Navy SEAL, after all. He was supposedly a badass, trained to kill in a thousand different ways. Part me of understood that and was afraid of it, and part of me was excited beyond belief.
Eventually, though, we boarded the plane. Nash got us first-class tickets, so the flight out to Vegas was actually pretty comfortable. We both finally got some sleep, thanks in part to the free whisky Nash drank like water.
Eventually, though, the plane landed, and we were out walking into the dry Las Vegas air.
We took a cab to the main strip, and I couldn’t help but gape around us as we walked.
“This is amazing,” I said.
Nash laughed. “Yeah. Looks that way on the outside.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It’s Las Vegas. This whole damn city is rotten on the inside.”
I frowned at him. “Why are you so pessimistic all the time?”
He shrugged. “Realistic, babe.”
I sighed. “Listen, I need to buy some clothes. I feel disgusting.”
“Here,” he said. He pulled a card from his wallet. “Go get whatever you want. I’ll check us into the Bellagio.”
I raised an eyebrow. “The Bellagio? Isn’t that really fancy?”
“Fuck yes it is,” he said, laughing. “It’s our damn wedding; we might as well go all out.”
“Okay,” I said, smiling despite myself.
“I’m checking in under the name Glen Patton. Ask for that at the front desk. I’ll instruct them to give you a key when you’re ready.”
“Okay.”
He grinned at me. “Welcome to Vegas, wife.”
Without another word, he turned and walked off.
I watched him go for a minute, completely overwhelmed, before walking again. I was looking for somewhere to buy some decent clothes that wouldn’t cost thousands, but I couldn’t exactly find a Gap.
Eventually I wound up in a little boutique, picking out clothes. I got some underwear, a couple shirts, a couple skirts, pants, and finally ended up in the dress section.
I looked around, biting my lip. I felt strange knowing that in a few hours I was going to marry a perfect stranger. And yet my stomach was doing flips from the nerves, and I knew I was excited. The rational part of me was aware that it wasn’t really my wedding day, but I couldn’t help myself.
I’d always thought about what it would be like to get married. I figured it would be to some handsome, kind person who I’d fallen in love with, not some brash, rich asshole who only wanted to use me.
