“Um...” I mumbled. “Okay.”
Nothing about my dream was making sense anymore, but I found comfort as Luke’s confident hand wrapped around mine. I’d known that hand my whole life. I knew I could trust it.
After we were ushered through the crowd, the world settled and my mind came alive again. The ritzy steakhouse served up its best dry-aged steaks with truffle butter and truffle parmesan fries. I’d never eaten anything so expensive. The meat and potatoes helped soak up the liquor lining my stomach, but that was before our diligent waiter brought out champagne and crème brûlée.
“How does it feel to be rich?” I teased Luke as my spoon hit the top of my caramelized dessert. “Has it already gone to your head?”
He laughed. “I’m not rich.”
“You’re a...thousandaire,” I teased before the sugar hit my lips. “You won five figures in five seconds. Come on, Luke, we should be celebrating.”
“I guess I should be living it up now,” he mused lightly. “I’ll be hiking in Georgia in just two weeks.”
“No time like the present,” I agreed.
“So, what should we do? How do you want to celebrate?”
“We?” I echoed.
Luke threw back the last of his champagne before pouring another glass. Then, he finished the bottle by pouring more into my half-full flute. The bubbles floated around my glass like they were floating around my head.
“Yeah, Imogene.” He chuckled. “The rest of our friends aren’t here. It’s just you and me, so... how do two people celebrate in Vegas?”
I picked up my sparkling wine and smiled. “I guess they get hitched.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
My eyes shot up from the champagne. I thought my mind was playing tricks, but Luke’s eyes were serious again. Those earthen-green eyes were entirely immovable. The smile on his face hinted at a conspiracy, and I couldn’t believe I was part of it.
“Luke... we–we can’t,” I began, not knowing how to reply. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?” Luke laughed. “It’s only eleven o’clock. I bet this casino could set something up before the clock even struck midnight. They do those kitsch elopements all the time.”
“But...”
“It doesn’t have to be real, Imogene,” he pointed out. “It’s only legal if you get a marriage certificate.”
I gulped down a fizzy swallow of wine. Nothing made sense anymore, but I didn’t care. I liked Luke. He was my brother’s best friend and stupidly good-looking. My understanding of consequence was gone again, and I didn’t have a reason to deny him.
“Okay,” I finally accepted. “Let’s go see the concierge.”
It was only for a laugh, and I found myself giggling to the concierge desk, through the limousine ride, and with the tired-eyed woman behind a clerk’s desk. The world was a whirlwind of glitz and glamour. With every new bottle of champagne, more bubbles clouded my vision. All I had was Luke’s assuring hand holding mine in the limousine and the casino’s tropical garden.
All I knew were his lips finding mine.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant declared nearby.
Then, there were butterflies. They flew up into the night sky and carried me up to the complementary suite. They pulled me into the dark room with nothing but the clothes on my back, or maybe that was Luke. I wasn’t sure until I got a little bottle of water from the mini-fridge.
My mind began to clear again, but not enough. I couldn’t process how Luke’s eyes were filling my vision. I didn’t understand the gravity of our situation. The famous High Roller wheel was in perfect view from our suite’s panoramic window, yet we shut it all out. The glamour of the Las Vegas strip was nothing compared to Luke. His hands were gripping the sequins around my waist, and my fingers were running through his chestnut hair.
One kiss in a garden was turning into so much more.
I was losing the clothes off my back, but I was gaining the feel of Luke’s strong chest pressing against me. My knees hit the back of the massive white bed. I laughed as we toppled backward together. My blonde curls scattered across the comforter, and my body was melting into the bed.
Luke had me feeling hotter than the unrelenting Nevada heat. His touch was the only oasis I could find, and I relished it. I savored every second of his lips on my neck and his hands outlining my curves. It offered a kind of pleasure I’d never known.
“Imogene,” he murmured against my ear. “I don’t have... I didn’t think—”