What Happens in Vegas...

by Kimberly Lang

  She panicked when the minister asked for the rings, but Lottie touched her arm gently and passed her a heavy gold band with a faint outline of Celtic knots across the surface. Evie fought back tears as Nick took her hand and slid a matching band over her knuckle. This wedding was perfect and beautiful and totally false. It was killing her.

  When she turned her head, she saw Nick’s strong profile as he listened to the minister pronounce them husband and wife. Nick turned to her and smiled wryly as he lowered his head to brush a gentle kiss across her lips. Time seemed to stop, and her heart beat faster as that kiss arced through her, stirring her blood with desire. But the gentleness of it caused her stomach to flip over again, making the moment feel poignant and important and one she wanted to remember for the rest of her life. She leaned in, pressing her mouth more fully against his, and she felt his lips soften as if he were going to deepen the kiss, make it…

  Then Kevin clapped and Lottie was snapping pictures and horrid reality crashed in. Rice landed on her shoulders and slid inside her dress, and they were back outside with a certificate proving they were married before she could wrap her head around it. Another couple was already taking their place at the chapel doors; a very young couple with ear-to-ear grins and an inability to keep their hands off each other. She was suddenly irrationally jealous.

  Needing a moment to regain her equilibrium, Evie pretended great interest in the envelope containing her marriage certificate. The date and “Mr. and Mrs. Nicolas Rocco” were written in fancy script across the front.

  Mr. and Mrs. She was now Evie Rocco—a name she hadn’t known until a couple of hours ago. Or maybe she should do like Gwen and hyphenate: Evangeline Harrison-Rocco. No. Too many letters. She guessed it didn’t matter too much; she wasn’t going to be keeping the name for very long.

  That bothered her more than she liked.

  Nick was being very quiet; something she found a little odd, but Kevin and Lottie didn’t seem at all bothered. Evie got the feeling Nick’s silence really was normal as far as they were concerned. In the backseat of Kevin’s SUV, she leaned as close to Nick as her seat belt would allow.

  “Thank you for arranging something so nice. I really didn’t want to get married at a drive-through,” she whispered, hoping Kevin and Lottie would think they were simply nuzzling newly weds.

  He shrugged. “Thank Lottie. It was mostly her doing.”

  Oh. So much for warm fuzzies. “I see,” she whispered, trying to keep the deflation out of her voice by thinking of the way that kiss at the chapel had almost…

  “None of that,” Kevin shouted from the driver’s seat, and Evie jumped back to her side of the backseat. “I know you’re eager to get to your bridal suite and—” Lottie’s hand smacking his arm cut Kevin off.

  Evie choked back a laugh. Lottie and Kevin reminded her a little of Will and Gwen, the way she kept pulling him back into line. The amusement faded, though, at the thought of how disappointed Will and Gwen were going to be when she showed up at home with her new husband.

  “Ahem,” Kevin started again. “Lottie has a surprise for you two first.”

  She felt she’d had enough surprises recently, but it would be ungracious to say so. But déjà vu set in along with surprise when Kevin parked in the lot at Blue and indicated they should get out.

  “Obviously your last date here worked out pretty well,” he grinned lasciviously and winked, “so Lottie thought it might be a nice place to start off your new life together.”

  Nick’s eyebrows drew together. “The roof is booked tonight.”

  “It was,” Kevin corrected. He looked at Evie. “I had to tick off a few B-list celebs by cancelling their party, but they were happy enough to be rebooked in the VIP room at Starlight.”

  “Kevin,” Nick growled.

  Kevin waved him off and leaned into Evie as they walked. “Nick’s partial to Blue since it’s his pride and joy, but really, Starlight will work for them just fine. It’s not like he’s really losing any money off of it.”

  All kinds of details were pressing their way through the fog that had entered her brain the moment she met Nick, and now she needed some answers. Answers she should have gotten before she waded into this, but Nick and clearheaded thinking didn’t come as a package deal. Evie plastered a smile on her face. “Could you excuse us for just a second? I haven’t had a chance to be alone with Nick since…”

  Kevin lifted his hands as he backed away. “No problem. Lottie and I will go check on your surprise. Just don’t get too carried away.” He winked and disappeared through Blue’s door.

  Evie grabbed Nick’s hand and pulled him out of the direct line of sight of the door. “Explain to me how you ‘know the owner’ of this nightclub?”

  Nick cleared his throat. “Well…”

  “You and Kevin own this place, don’t you? This is how you’re business partners, isn’t it?” Why hadn’t he told her?

  “Not exactly.”

  “Oh.” She felt foolish and wished it was a little darker in this parking lot so he couldn’t see the flush she felt on her cheeks.

  “I own Blue. Kevin runs a different part of the business.”

  She felt her jaw drop. “You own Blue outright?”

  He smirked. “And four other clubs.”

  How’d she miss that piece of information? All those details she’d overlooked—first in lust, and then in her marriage panic—jumped to the forefront to scream at her. Nick’s expensive car, the obviously custom cut of his clothes, the deference of the employees here at Blue and Starlight…

  “Including Starlight?” She waved the question away before Nick could reply; she didn’t really need an answer that obvious. “No wonder you didn’t need a divorce settlement spelled out in the prenup.”

  Nick stiffened. “So you did think you could buy me off with money. Go slumming and use your trust fund to get out of the mess?”

  She lifted her chin at the insult. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”

  “Don’t bother to try.” His jaw hardened. “You’re not the only one who can afford to support this child.”

  That seemed a gross understatement. “I see that now. Why didn’t you just tell me this that first night?”

  The corner of his mouth curled again, but this time it was in sarcasm. “Probably for the same reason you didn’t mention your trust fund.”

  She would not feel guilty, damn it, for not advertising who she was on their first date. “I wanted you to think I was just an average girl.” Her voice dropped. “I guess we both surprised each other.”

  Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “And this disappoints you somehow?”

  His attitude rankled her. The last warm fuzzy feeling from earlier evaporated. “Not at all. In fact, it will make things much easier at home. Less speculation about why we got married.”

  He looked at her stomach pointedly. “I think the why will become obvious soon enough.”

  She wanted to hit him just hard enough to knock that sarcastic look off his face. “Yes, but at least no one should be able to accuse you of knocking me up just to get a piece of my inheritance.”

  “Or think you’re a fool for letting it happen,” he finished for her, the words dripping with bitter disdain.

  The urge to smack him was growing stronger by the second. “Exactly. It’s all about me, you know.”

  “Isn’t it?” he challenged.

  Anger battled insult and came out as outrage. “Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”

  “Couldn’t you have just as easily claimed to have fallen hard for your personal trainer and avoided all this? I’m sure he would love the ‘settlement’ you outlined and served your purpose nicely enough.”

  She opened her mouth to inform him she didn’t have a personal trainer before she realized the stupidity of that argument. “If you have some kind of problem with me—” Nick snorted and she dug her nails into her palms. “Which obviously you do, why on earth did you agree to ma
rry me?”

  “As you said, it’s my baby.” Nick’s possessive tone grated across her already raw nerves.

  “You seem to be taking that at face value. No doubts about paternity? No real fears about my trainer?”

  He stiffened. “Like you’d come all the way to Vegas to get me to marry you if the baby wasn’t mine. It’s too easily disproved.”

  “Are you two coming or not?” Lottie’s head appeared around the door as she shouted for them.

  “In a second,” Nick called, and Lottie disappeared back inside. “Come on,” he muttered at her.

  She took a step back. She’d been insulted enough for one day. “No way. I’m going back to my hotel now.”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw. “This was your idea, Evie.”

  “It was your idea to involve your friends. Not mine.”

  Nick’s eyes narrowed. “If you can’t pull this off in front of Kevin and Lottie—who, by the way, are genuinely happy for us—then you don’t have a prayer of convincing your family.”

  Dear God, he was right. She needed to screw her head on straight, suck it up and ride out this rodeo. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She was doing what was best for the baby, for her family—for everyone. She needed to stay focused on that. The deed was done—she was pregnant and safely married—now she had to follow through.

  If she managed to survive this with her sanity and dignity intact, she would never, ever, step outside the lines again. I swear, God, really. She’d live the most boring, circumspect, politically correct life Dallas had ever seen.

  If she managed to survive.

  She nodded her agreement at Nick and plastered a smile on her face as he took her elbow and led her to the door. To her surprise and chagrin, her skin tingled where it touched his, and getting back in close proximity caused an uptick in her pulse.

  That if was getting more questionable by the moment.

  Kevin might have initially been skeptical about this sudden wedding, but Lottie—who just happened to be right there when Nick called—had let her inner romantic out to run free at his first mention of the word married. Even Kevin had warmed to the idea rather quickly—thanks to Lottie—trapping Nick in their romanticized reading of the situation before he could tell Kevin the truth. He hadn’t planned on misleading Kevin about this wedding, but he got in too deep too fast to extricate himself gracefully.

  As the elevator doors opened to the roof, he realized he should have stopped them both long before now. The Sheik’s Tent was romantically lit with candles, and Lottie had sent someone up here with flowers and a miniature wedding cake. Kevin popped the cork on a bottle of champagne as the elevator doors closed behind them.

  Lottie was beaming, but apologetic. “It’s not much, but on such short notice…”

  He looked at Evie, whose shoulders seemed to square as Lottie spoke, and noticed the kind smile on her face. “It’s beautiful, Lottie. So much more than I could’ve hoped for. Thank you.”

  Evie could pull out the grace and graciousness in a millisecond. In fact, he was beginning to notice how the more uncomfortable she got in a situation, the more polite and amiable she became. Except with him. Evie was shooting daggers in his direction every time she caught his eye, but she played her part well, holding his hand, trailing her fingers down his arm playfully and generally driving him insane with her touch. But with Lottie and Kevin, she turned on the charm, accepting their toast with the tiniest of sips of the excellent champagne, admiring the cake and expressing what looked like genuine interest in them both.

  All the hallmarks of the society belle she was. He needed to remember that, and not get blinded by her beauty or her charm. Nick could easily picture Evie at her debutante ball, a charity gala, even a polo match, working the crowd with charm and ease. But Kevin and Lottie left as soon as they cut the cake—Kevin making ribald comments about needing privacy while Lottie hushed him and dug elbows into his ribs.

  Their exit left him alone with his wife, who shut off that charm the moment the elevator doors closed behind their wedding guests.

  Evie lapsed into silence, setting aside her champagne glass and foraging behind the bar for a bottle of water. She sank onto the low sofa, only to jump to her feet again as if it burned her. The flush rising over the V of her neckline made clear the memories of that sofa were fresh in her mind, as well.

  Although his earlier compliment had been rather offhand, something that seemed appropriate to say in the silence, Evie looked more than just nice. She looked beautiful, as stunning as the first time he laid eyes on her, but tonight her elegance and good breeding were on display, as well as her charms. Her skin glowed in the candlelight, and the simple dress hugged the delicious curves he remembered with stark, haunting clarity.

  And while he was touched by Lottie’s thoughtfulness, he rather wished they’d not brought him and Evie here, of all places. Returning to the scene of one of his most erotic memories with the woman who played the starring role had his body hard and aching, but tonight was a far cry from last time. Instead of the sensual, exciting Evie of his memory, this Evie was distant, wary and bordering on hostile.

  She was also his pregnant wife, and the stunning absurdity of that knowledge was enough to send him behind the bar to search for something stronger than champagne.

  “So we seem to be stuck here. What do we do now?” Evie asked, as the silence stretched out between them.

  He raised an eyebrow at her, and she blushed deeper.

  “I mean, the official part is taken care of, so where do we go from here?” She twisted the gold band on her ring finger as she spoke.

  His body had a grand idea, and it circled around Evie wearing nothing but that gold band. Somehow, he knew Evie wouldn’t be amenable to that. “Are you hungry?” he asked lamely for lack of something better. Lottie’s minions had left a simple cold dinner behind the bar.

  “No. My stomach’s all tied up in knots at the moment. Food is the last thing I need. But I guess we do need to stay here for a little while, at least. You go ahead, if you’re hungry.” Evie pulled out a chair and sat at the small table, the politeness back in her voice and her hands folded neatly on the table. “We can make a few plans, get our story straight.”

  “What’s there to get straight?”

  Her tone all business, she jumped into the conversation. “I’d really like to avoid dropping two bombs on my family at once. Our elopement will be enough of a shock for them without mentioning the baby. I can call home with that news in a couple of weeks—after they’ve had a chance to recover.”

  “Unless your family is stupid, surely they’ll make the leap from elopement to pregnant.”

  Evie shrugged. “Maybe not. This isn’t the first time I’ve done something crazy and unexpected.” A bitter laugh escaped.

  So she did have a wild streak. “This is merely par for the course?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. Eloping is definitely an extreme even I hadn’t considered. There will be speculation, of course, about me being pregnant, but I’ll be safely up here before any of that gets spinning.” She drummed her nails on the glass tabletop, but when he came to take the chair opposite hers, she slid back and moved her hands in her lap. “Since we’re mar-married,” she stumbled over the word, “I’d like to break the news to my family as soon as possible, and I think it would be more believable if you were with me. Is your schedule flexible enough for you to come to Dallas for a couple of days?”

  It wasn’t. Especially not with a sale pending on The Zoo. But something in Evie’s wide green eyes stopped him from saying so. “I’ll need to make a few calls in the morning to arrange things, but we could go to Dallas tomorrow afternoon.”

  Evie’s shoulders dropped in relief, and she nodded. “You could be back here by the weekend, but it may take me a couple more days to get my things together, tie up a few loose ends at work—”

  “You have a job?” He couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice. Between the state of her fi
nances and the fact she was in Vegas on a Tuesday, he’d assumed being beautiful was her primary job.

  Her eyes narrowed at him again. “Of course I have a job. It’s not much of one, but it’s a job.”

  Most people would describe a job flipping burgers like that, but there was no way Evie worked for minimum wage. But what did someone like Evie do? Honestly curious, he asked her.

  “I work in HarCorp’s marketing department.”

  He’d used Google to look up Evie shortly after leaving her hotel this afternoon. In addition to seeing her smiling face at every society event in Dallas worthy of making the paper, he’d found Evie’s description of her “family’s company” to be misleading. HarCorp was a huge international company with fingers in many different pies. And she worked in their marketing department? The surprise must have shown on his face, and Evie’s mouth twisted.

  “I’ve been regulated to PR mostly—doing all the ‘public stuff’ like charity work and fundraisers—and it’s only part-time, but it was the best I could do considering my brother’s extreme surprise I’d even want to work for the company.” That hollow, bitter laugh escaped again. “I see you’re surprised, as well. I realize you can only judge me based on our current fiasco, but I’m not a complete ditz. I graduated at the top of my class and everything.”

  Oh, he had no doubt of her intelligence, even if everything else about her—including how she used that intelligence—was in question. “From finishing school? Let me guess…France?”

  Evie bit her lip and he saw her knuckles whiten. Then she lifted her chin and smiled broadly. “Switzerland, actually. But I was really referring to Trinity University’s Business School. I should be able to get a job up here doing something, don’t you agree?”

  “Why would you want to?” She didn’t need to work—even temporarily while she was pregnant. Did she not want to stay home with the baby?

  Genuine confusion twisted her face. “What else would I do for the next nine months? Sit around and knit booties? You don’t expect me to become president of the Junior League or join the UDC, do you?”