I reach up to rub my temples. “Okay, look. We have the day to figure this out. Our flight back to New York is at five. We can fix this.”
“Annul it, you mean.”
“Obviously, yes.”
She purses her lips. “Fine. Good.”
“Great, we agree.”
“Obviously,” she snaps.
I roll my eyes. “Try not to be too heartbroken.”
She laughs coldly. “I’ll try not to cry too hard, dickhead. Besides,” she shrugs. “Just so you know, there’s someone else anyways.”
Pam comes back with our drinks and leaves again. I frown.
Something churns inside of me. I don’t know why Lucia saying that there’s someone else gets me angry. Especially since it’s the same with me. Sort of. I don’t know what BabyBella99 and I are besides internet friends who send dirty messages to each other. But I know not talking to her for three days now has me feeling antsy and pissed off. It still doesn’t explain the anger at hearing that Lucia has someone.
“Same here,” I growl.
Lucia laughs. “I’m sure.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means sure, okay.”
I shake my head and say nothing. I drink my mimosa. Lucia meanwhile gets a big scowl on her face and hunches her shoulders.
“Hey, I’m Dominic,” she grunts in a gorilla sounding voice. “Grr grr, do what I say, ghuugh.”
I look at her dryly. “That’s me, huh?”
“That’s a generous you.”
I smirk. I should scowl or tell her to get bent. But somehow it makes me grin. Even with the freight train of a hangover roaring through my head.
We both finish our mimosas. And I gotta say, I’m genuinely feeling a lot better than I did when I woke up.
“One more?”
She laughs. “Oh really?”
“With some breakfast attached to it too, maybe. But yeah.”
She grins and eyes me coyly. “You know what?” She shrugs. “Fine. Game on.”
I grin.
“And then,” she taps her ring with a finger. “Then we’re taking care of this.”
“Amen to that.”
6
Lucia
Somehow, against every single ounce of better judgment, I’m drunk again. Worse, I’m drunk again with Dominic…
I frown. It hits me that I don’t actually know his last name. The thought that I’m married to this man without knowing his last name makes me giggle, loudly. Dominic turns to me as we shuffle down the Vegas Strip.
“What?” he grunts. But it’s a grinning grunt. I grin back. I like his smile. I like the way it makes me feel warm inside. I like the way he’s egged me on all day. We’ve been walking around Vegas hitting up every “Vegas Wedding Chapel” in town. We’re trying to find the one that married us, but it’s not looking good.
I’d assume that would mean Mr. Grumps would be even grumpier. But he’s been the more optimistic of the two of us. I like that he’s kept me smiling. I like that he’s gone drink for drink with me all afternoon. And I very much like his arm around my waist right now.
“Nothing, just…”
“Just what?”
I almost tell him the thing about not knowing his last name. But I hide it away. We can’t laugh about this. This isn’t real. And this could blow up in both of our faces, hard. I know Dom thinks the fallout would hit him and not me. It might hit him harder, that much is true. If my grandfather were to find out about what happened here in Vegas?
Well, I don’t know what would happen. But it wouldn’t be good. It might actually be fatal; I think with a shiver. But it’s not like I’d be off Scott free. I know my grandfather has plans to marry me into another crime family. And I know perfectly well that already being married would destroy those plans. I might be his favorite, but I’d still be in a world of trouble.
“I was thinking that this is funny.”
He scowls. “Exactly how is this funny?”
I roll my eyes. “Because the whole reason I’m traveling right now has to do with marriage.”
“What?”
I shrug. “I’m, uh…betrothed.”
Dominic snorts loudly. “You’re what?”
“It means—”
“No, I know what it means. I just didn’t think people did that anymore.”
“Well, welcome to my world.”
He frowns. “That’s fucked up. Sorry.”
“Well, I should thank you.”
“For?”
I grin and hold my hand up. “It’s a little hard to get forced into a marriage when you’re already married?”
He grunts. “Fair enough. So who’s the victim?”
“Hilarious. You and Pam should start a comedy tour.” He snickers when I elbow him in the ribs. “His name is Tomas.”
“Tomas,” Dominic repeats. But he adds a sarcastic flourish. I try and hide it, but it makes me grin. “Well, Tomas sound very fancy.”
“His dad is Giovani Medino.”
Dominic stops cold in his tracks. I stop a step later and look back. “So, you know him I take it?”
“The head of the second largest player in the game? Yeah, I think I’ve heard his name come up once or twice,” Dominic groans. “Tomas Medino. You’re supposed to marry Tomas fucking Mendino.”
“Not anymore,” I wink. “Thanks to you.”
“I’m a fucking dead man.” He grits his teeth. He grabs my arm and starts hurrying me along down the street. “We need to find this place. Now.”
I let him pull me. But I sigh loudly. “This is pointless. We’re never going to—”
“This one,” he grunts. He stops us in our tracks. I look up at the gaudy, ridiculous looking building next to a pawn shop. It’s made to look like a southern Baptist church, steeple and everything. But miniature in size. I glance at Dominic.
“What?”
“This is the place. I remember that sign.”
I look up. The big neon billboard sign above the “church” has an image of Elvis and a craps table next to two huge, gleaming wedding rings. You’d think this would make it stand out. It doesn’t.
“This looks like five other freaking places we’ve been to today,” I groan.
“Let’s just check it out.”
I frown and shake my head. I close my eyes tightly. “No, Dominic, I’m done. Fuck this. We’ll just never speak of any of this again, okay?”
He frowns. “We’d still be legally married.”
“We don’t know that.”
He sighs. “Lucia, I don’t think we’d have the rings and not actually be—”
“Oh, my God! It’s them!”
We both look up sharply. There in the doorway to the strip mall church is an older woman and a man with a big silver Yosemite Sam mustache. They’re both beaming at us with huge smiles and open arms.
“It’s the newlyweds!” she squeals
“Think we found our spot,” Dom grunts.