ELIAS BUCKLEY
SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO
WITH THIS RING
It turned out that we actually needed to go to the Clark County Marriage Bureau first. Regretfully, the office was open until midnight and our limo pulled up at exactly 11:23 p.m.
It was too simple. We each presented a form of ID and I footed the bill for the license.
I held my breath as Vera signed and when it was my turn, she placed a tentative hand on my forearm. “You can’t say this won’t make for a good story.”
“I never took you for a daredevil,” I told her.
She shrugged. “It’s Brody. He’s reckless. It’s contagious. He makes life a little more... unexpected. Besides, there aren’t really any guys lining up to marry me, so my dance card is free.”
I hated the way she talked about herself. I hated how uncomfortable it made me and how I couldn’t put my finger on why.
“I’m lining up,” I told her.
Her lips quirked and she studied a loose button on her cardigan. “On a dare.”
I signed my name on the application beneath hers. The man behind the counter took our paperwork and began rapidly checking each page.
Then I turned to her and said the truest thing that had ever come out of my mouth. “Vera, don’t think for a moment that I couldn’t have said no. You think I’m scared of Brody? You think I give a shit about him getting riled up over me skipping out on a dare? No.”
She nodded, a deep, steadying breath moving across her lips. “Okay. Let’s get married.”
* * *
Our next stop was a twenty-four-hour tux and bridal gown rental store off Freeman. Neither Vera nor myself cared too much about what we were wearing, but Brody insisted and we were fully committed at this point. So I went in and came out with a light blue tuxedo complete with a vintage ruffled shirt that smelled like a cigar. For his official duties as both best man and maid of honor, Brody opted for an orange tux to fulfill hisDumb and Dumberfantasy. The salespeople in the shop were truly entertained and leaned into the bit, presenting us with canes and matching top hats. I had to admit that I was sort of having... fun.
We waited outside next to the limo, which I’d hired on for an additional two and a half hours for an extra two hundred bucks.
Before we’d walked into the store and veered off in separate directions, Vera nervously picked at the skin around her thumbnail and wondered aloud if they’d have plus sizes available.
“If this place doesn’t have anything, we’ll just go on to the next,” I promised her, because even though this was a sham of a wedding, I’d be damned if she didn’t get exactly what she wanted. I had no right, of course, but the moment we signed that marriage license, something in me claimed her as my responsibility. This wasn’t a new feeling, but I felt the freedom—if only for one night—to act on it.
Brody sipped a foot-long margarita he’d bought off a street vendor.
“You need to start hydrating,” I told him.
He held his drink up. “I am hydrating.”
A few moments later, the door to the store opened, spilling fluorescent light out onto the dark sidewalk.
Upon seeing Vera, Brody let out a wolf whistle, which was loud enough to cover my throaty gasp.
She wore a short ivory dress that just brushed the tips of her fingers. The top of the dress was corseted and molded perfectly to her breasts. Billowing sheer sleeves gathered at her wrists and the hem of the dress looked like it had been dipped in light pink, which matched her floor-length veil. It was the most I’d seen of her legs ever and if I didn’t look away, I was in danger of tenting my tux trousers. She wore ankle boots covered in rhinestones and white heart-shaped sunglasses.
She looked like she’d stepped out of a movie.
“Shit, Vera,” Brody said, sounding the most sober I’d heard him all night.
Something deeply territorial and probably a little misogynistic spurred me to step forward and take her hand before Brody could say another word to my future wife.
“You look beautiful,” I told her. It was too simple of a word to properly describe her. She exuded a flirty confidence that made me want to follow her around like a puppy dog.
“I wanted it to be pretty, but... of the moment,” she said, her self-assurance wavering slightly. “It’s not too much?”
