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That piques his interest. “How so?”

In for a penny. I decide to keep lying through my teeth. “She’s my best friend’s sister. And he doesn’t know about us. None of her family does. Which is why we’re trying to keep our relationship,” I clear my throat, “Our engagement quiet.”

He looks at Eden. “You’re in love with this guy?” he asks, pointing his thumb at me.

“So much.” She looks up at me, her breath warm against my throat. Her eyes catch mine, and for a second, I feel a weird ache in my chest. “My one wish is that we could get married, but my brothers will never allow it.”

I arch a brow at her. Too much, princess. But she almost looks like she’s enjoying this.

“Honestly, it’s been a bad week,” she tells Riva. “West says if we can’t get married soon, we’re over. And then I came here to think about things, to try to find a way, and I got splattered with paint at some protest.” She sighs. God, she can be a good actress when she wants to be. Does she realize that Riva’s staring at her, captivated? “And then on top of that, I saw that man cheating at cards and I completely lost it. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I’m just lovesick, that’s all.”

My mouth twitches.

“My wife’s family didn’t want us to marry either,” Riva says. “We had to run away, do it, and then give them a fait accompli.”

I let out a breath. “So you understand the stress we’re under. Either way, I’m sorry for the disruption. We’ll head straight to our room and leave first thing. I appreciate your help, and this will never happen again.”

But instead of nodding, Riva puts up his hand. “Wait,” he says. “You say you want to be together?” A smile pulls at his lips. “You should get married. Tonight.”

What?I shake my head quickly. “It’s okay. We’ve caused you enough trouble. I’ll just take this little maverick to bed.”

But he looks almost excited. Like something inside of him has woken up. “No trouble at all. I have a chapel. And I’m very… close with the Clark County officiants. They owe me a favor. They can have somebody over within an hour.”

Eden looks up at me. This time she looks confused. “Wait, what’s going on?” she whispers.

I swallow hard. I should tell him I’m a liar and walk away. But if I do, he’ll tell Vin and…dammit, why can’t I think straight? What would I do if I was cleaning this mess up for somebody else?

I’d tell them to do it, then quietly walk away. I’ll handle the paperwork, get it annulled, and it’d be like nothing ever happened.

“We’re getting married, baby,” I tell her, a fake smile on my lips.

She blinks. “Of course we are. We’re engaged.”

“I mean tonight.Here.” I lift a brow at her. “Isn’t that wonderful?”

Her mouth drops open. And all those sassy words disappear. Replaced by a look of pure panic.

Riva gives us a huge smile. “My wife is going to love this,” he tells us. “Romance isn’t dead. It’s alive and kicking.” He stands and claps his hands together, and his assistant walks in, looking at him like she’s ready for anything.

“Call the chapel,” Riva tells her. “And then Ryan at Clark County. Tell him to send somebody over right now. We need a licence, we need an officiant. And I need the chapel to be ready within the hour.”

His assistant blinks. “Mr. Riva, it’s the middle of the night.”

“I know.” He smiles at her, all thoughts of what brought us in his office forgotten. “But romance waits for nobody. Come on, let’s set these lovebirds free.” He looks at us both. “Enjoy the wedding. And the honeymoon suite.”

My jaw is so tight with a fake smile I’m worried I’ve pulled a muscle. Eden is frozen next to me, like she’s considering how to escape this as soon as possible.

I tighten my arm around her, letting her know that there’s no way out. I need Vin’s money too much to mess this up. So right now, keeping Riva on my good side so I can build the resort is my only concern.

We’re getting married tonight. And tomorrow I’ll clean it up. The way I always do.

“Thank you,” I tell him. “Isn’t that wonderful news, sweetheart?”

“Wonderful,” Eden echoes, sounding almost despondent.

“It’s a pleasure,” Riva says. “Just make sure you name your first baby after me.” He winks. “And don’t worry. It only took my in-laws twenty years to forgive me for eloping with their daughter.”

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