She answers the phone on the second ring. “We were about to send for a search party,” she says by way of greeting.
“Hi, Brooke.” My voice is a stark contrast to her cheerful greeting.
“Are you okay?” Brooke says.
“I just did something stupid,” I tell her.
She chuckles from the other end of the phone. “Everybody does something stupid in Vegas. That’s why we all love it.”
I inhale deeply. “Does everybody get married to a stranger after a drinking spree?”
There is no response from the other end.
“Brooke, Are you there?”
“You got married? I thought you were talking about a one-night stand,” she says, her voice a screech.
“I did that too.”
“Oh my God, Marian. You really shouldn’t be let loose, should you?” Brooke says. “Are you sure that you actually got married?”
“Pretty sure,” I say, misery coating my voice.
“Like, you married a stranger off the street?”
“No, we were on the same flight from LA, and when we got to Vegas, we found ourselves in the same hotel.”
“And to your drunk self, you had enough in common for a happy marriage?”
“What am I going to do?” I cover my face with my free hand.
“Hang on a sec,” Brooke says and then whispers to somebody.
I imagine her updating Jason on what has happened. The voice that comes back to the phone is not Brook’s, it’s Jason’s. “Marian are you OK? What happened?” Jason says, his voice filled with concern and worry.
“I’m fine, except for a tiny problem.” I’m a second away from breaking into tears.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jason says. “Go to the wedding, and we’ll figure out what we’re going to do.”
Relief floods me, and I grip the phone as if it’s a lifeline. “Thank you, Jase, and I’m sorry for ruining your Saturday.”
“It’s fine,” Jason says. His confident tone works its magic, and the knot of fear in my stomach melts away. “Try and have some fun. Everything will be fine.”
We say goodbye and disconnect the call.
I feel as if a weight has been taken off my shoulders. I know Jason and Brooke will figure out a way to get me out of this mess.
I get ready for the ceremony, and by the time I leave my room, it’s already noon when the ceremony was supposed to begin. Luckily, everything is within walking distance and in the hotel. I find my way to the chapel, which is on the ground floor.
I slip in and take a seat in the back pew. The ceremony has already started, and Connor and Jen are at the front with the man officiating the ceremony. I wave at a few people, most of whom are firemen at the fire station where Jason works.
I notice that most men do not have their wives or partners with them, but that doesn’t surprise me. A lot of the guys are married with children, and I suppose one partner had to stay behind to mind the kids.
At the thought of kids, my heart lurches. Lilly would have been almost six years old now.
Leonard had not wanted to name her, but I secretly called her Lilly. He said that she wasn’t a real baby, but she was. She had become real to me in the five months that she had resided in my stomach.
I push away thoughts of my past and try to concentrate on the ceremony unfolding. In the periphery of my vision, I see another latecomer skulk in and slide next to me in the pew. I smile as I turn to him. The smile freezes on my lips. What is it with Declan? He has become like a fly that shows up everywhere I go. I turn away and pretend not to have seen or heard him sit down next to me.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” he says.
Maybe if I pretend that he’s not there, he’ll disappear. His scent, though, is not so easy to ignore. It’s woodsy and masculine and oh so sexy.
When I don’t respond, Declan leans to me again to speak. “That’s what good wives do.”
I want to throw up. It really happened. I’d clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, I had made a mistake and we didn’t get married. His words confirm my worst fears. We are married.
He chuckles, and I turn to him in disbelief. “You think it’s funny?”
He stops laughing. “You thought it was funny last night.”
“I was drunk,” I hiss.
“Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, but being pissed off about it right now won’t change anything. Besides, I’ve thought about it, and I figure we can work something out.”
“Work something out?” A few people in the front pews turn to look at us, and I realize that my voice is too loud. I smile at them apologetically.
“And now the bride will kiss the groom,” the official’s voice booms in the small chapel.