I gasped in surprise. Gondola rides!
“Romantic shit.” I heard Shelby grumble to Johnny.
“It’ll be fun, pussy.” He patted her arm.
Max led me to one and I noticed it only seats four. Jeremy brought Lynn to the one Max and I were sitting in. I looked over and saw Eric, Taylor, Shelby, and Johnny get into another one.
“I hope you are pleasantly surprised.”
I leaned over and laid my head against his shoulder. “I am. This reminds of the first time you took me on a carriage ride in New Orleans. You definitely scored some bonus points then.” I squeezed his arm. I could feel the hard muscle of his well-defined bicep through the material of his shirt.
The gondolier took us through The Venetian’s Grande Canal Shoppes. We were serenaded in Italian as we floated along. We admired the beautiful Italian inspired architecture in the shops. Max held me close the entire ride. I had butterflies in my stomach. As we passed under each bridge, we were told it was tradition for couples to kiss. Max made sure he didn’t miss a chance to do just that. I must admit I was caught up in the romance of it all.
The ride lasted for about fifteen minutes. When we pulled around the corner I saw Jeremy drop to one knee in front of Lynn. Her mouth dropped open.
Okay…so did mine. I looked at Max and he nodded. My eyes filled with tears when I heard Jeremy ask my best friend to marry him.
She started to cry. No one said a word. Jeremy never took his eyes off her.
Finally, she calmed down enough to speak. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Jeremy slid the diamond ring on her finger and they shared a passionate kiss. We looked away to give them some privacy. Applause erupted around us as people witnessed the proposal.
Johnny shouted, “Way to go, sister!”
Lynn and Jeremy turned toward the gondola the others were riding in and laughed. Lynn waved her fingers to show off her ring. She leaned toward me so I could get a better look at it.
I laughed through happy tears for her. She deserved to be happy.
Eric shouted over them. “Y’all should get married while you’re here.”
Lynn’s eyes widened. She looked at Jeremy who was smiling. He leaned closer to her and spoke in hushed tones. They spoke too quietly for us to hear.
“Why the hell not?” Lynn said to Jeremy. They started kissing again.
When Jeremy pulled back he looked at all of us with a grin spread across his face.
“It looks there’s going to be a wedding this evening.”
Everyone starting clapping again. My attention was brought back to them when I heard Jeremy say something about having a chapel booked for six o’clock. Whaaat? Did I hear him correctly? I looked at Max for confirmation and he nodded.
“This is what we were doing when you called earlier.” He kissed the side of my head.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
Max touched my chin with his thumb. “Jeremy wanted it to be a surprise, and I never had an opportunity to tell you his plans.”
“What time is it right now?” I asked Max to look at his watch.
“It’s almost three o’clock.”
“Whoa! What? We only have three hours until they’re supposed to be there?” Max slowly nodded.
I turned my head toward Lynn and her wide eyes met mine.
“Shit!” Lynn shouted in a panic-stricken voice She took the words right out of my mouth.
Then she said, “I have to find a dress.” Jeremy helped her out of the gondola. Max and I followed them.
All of us were talking at once, but the one thing we agreed on was the need to find Lynn a wedding dress pronto. First, we had to get Lynn to an officiant to show her identification so they could get the marriage license. That was easy with Max pulling strings for them. A short time later they had the license in their hands.
Max made a quick call to his assistant and within minutes he had an address to a dress shop nearby. We pulled up and hurriedly got out. Lynn stopped Jeremy from coming inside because she didn’t want him to see her until six o’clock. Max promised to send the limo back for us in about an hour. We practically ran inside the shop.
We were greeted by a sweet fifty-something year old woman with an asymmetrical pixie cut on her silver streaked dark brown hair, who introduced herself as Lydia. She wore a complimentary black sheath dress with black pumps. She exuded classic sophistication, but had none of the snobbery. A down home kind of chick we could easily relate to. Who would’ve thought we’d find someone like that in Vegas? Not us.
We looked around at different styles of dresses. Lynn didn’t want anything long and not a lot of frou-frou. We were on a mission to find her the perfect dress, but we had less than three hours to do it, and have her at the chapel ready to get married. Lynn was so nervous that she started saying crazy shit like she’d take anything if we could find her size. She was a little nervous about finding something to fit her curves. She was acting like a size 12 was a deal breaker on a dress. That sent Johnny on a tailspin and he didn’t stop until he and Lydia found every dress in her size. Lynn was shocked they had so many for her to choose from. That girl!
It didn’t take her long to pick out THE dress. Lynn’s eyes lit up when she saw it. It was a white sleeveless, A-line tea-length dress with a flared skirt. The neckline was a modest v-neck. Across the middle was a silver charmeuse ruffle sash. Lydia said she had the perfect pair of shoes to complement the dress. She disappeared for a few minutes to get them from the back room.
Lynn’s hands were still shaking when she turned toward me. “Am I doing the right thing?”
Oh, shit! Everyone knows I am NOT the right person to be asking that sort of question. BUT this is my best friend, so…
I placed my hands on her shoulders. “I have never seen you as happy as you are with Jeremy. He is the one you were always meant to be with, Lynn.”
I breathed in a shaky breath, because at that moment something inside me clicked into place. I felt sick! Lynn noticed the change right away.
She had tears in her eyes when she hugged me. “Oh, bestie. I know I have always known it would come back to this.”
I pulled away and shook my head. “I can’t think about it right now. This is your moment, Lynn. That’s all I care about.”
She looked like she wanted to argue with me, but we were interrupted by Lydia when she brought in a pair of white satin, peep toe, stiletto heels. There was a rhinestone on top…nothing wrong with a little bling on your shoes. It was perfect, and by the look on Lynn’s face, she was in complete agreement.
Lynn whipped out her credit card and paid for the dress and shoes. It was surprisingly all under three hundred dollars. That made it even more perfect. I called Max while Lynn paid for everything. He said the driver would be here to pick us up in a few minutes. I made sure he knew to keep Jeremy away. Lynn doesn’t want him to see her until it’s time to go to the chapel.
The driver pulled up in no time, and we were headed back to Max’s hotel. Once we arrived, Johnny walked ahead to make sure Jeremy was not lurking about. We started giggling like little kids when we started to sneak inside the hotel. Johnny waved us over to the elevator. It was decided Lynn would get ready in the room Johnny and Shelby shared. That way, there would be less of a chance of Jeremy seeing her before she’s ready.
We all but ran to get inside their room unnoticed. Once we were there, I called Max.
“Hey. We’re here in Johnny and Shelby’s room. Is Jeremy with you?” I know I sounded out of breath.
Max chuckled. “Whoa, catch your breath. Yes, he and Eric are both here. Did you find everything you needed?”
I smiled. “Yes. She’s so happy with everything. Thank you, Max, for all you’ve done to help with this.”
He was quiet for a few seconds. “It was nothing. Just trying to help a guy in love.”
“I’m sure you’ve done more than I will ever know.”
“Trust me when I say it was all Jeremy. I ju
st made all the right calls.”
One of the rare times Max was trying to be modest. It was out of character to see him act this way. Hmmm…
“After I help Lynn get ready, I will come to the room and change. So, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Okay.”
The phone call felt a little different somehow
I felt…
Well, I can’t think about that right now. I put my phone back in my purse and turned my attention back to Lynn. While I was on the phone, Taylor walked to Lynn’s hotel room to get her makeup and hairbrush. She walked in the room as I was putting my phone away.
Taylor gently pushed Lynn down on the chair and started on her hair. That’s the awesome thing about having a hairstylist in our core group of friends, she made sure we had pretty hair. Lynn wanted her hair down, so Taylor plugged in a curling iron. She wanted to soften Lynn’s naturally curly hair with long curls.
Since she didn’t have her arsenal of hair supplies with her, Taylor had Shelby and I helping her hold back sections of Lynn’s hair as she curled it. The whole process took about forty-five minutes! Damn! That’s a long time.
We helped her change into her dress and I grabbed her shoes to slip on her feet.
The finished result was breathtaking. Taylor curled Lynn’s blonde hair in soft ringlets that fell down her back. The dress looked like it had been custom made for her. She looked stunning.
I glanced at the clock and saw it was 5:15. I squealed a little which got everyone’s attention to how late it was. I told Lynn I would be back as quickly as possible. I needed to change into something more appropriate.
I walked to my hotel room and the moment I opened the door I had the attention of all three men. I laughed at the sight of them.
I looked at Eric and pointed to the door with my thumb. “Taylor has gone to change in case you wanted to know.”
Eric smiled. “Thank you, Becky.” He nodded to Max and Jeremy before leaving the room.
Jeremy excused himself to finish getting ready. I watched him close the door behind him.
“He has been nervous talking this whole time.” Max walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
I looked up at him and stared into his dark brown eyes. Eyes I have gotten lost in thousands of times before.
“Lynn is very nervous, but happy.” I broke the connection by looking away. “I need to change so we’ll be there on time.” I extracted myself from his embrace.
I heard Max sigh. He reluctantly let me go. I could feel his eyes follow me to the bedroom.
I quickly walked to the closet. I knew which dress I wanted to wear, and I’m so glad I decided to pack it. I almost put it back a couple times, but I finally convinced myself to bring it just in case. This is a just in case moment.
I pulled the raspberry colored dress out of the closet. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and it stopped at my knees. What I loved most about it was the high/low skirt. It felt flirty and fun with a little sophistication. I changed out of my clothes and slid the dress on. Before I could call Max’s name to zip me up, I felt his hand on my zipper.
“Beautiful.” He kissed the back of my neck after he finished zipping my dress.
I stepped away from his touch, and slid my feet in my black heels. I could still feel his proximity to me, so I was not surprise to see him behind me when I looked over my shoulder. I noticed he was wearing a white buttoned down shirt tucked into black trousers. He was knotting a dark purple tie. I watched him reach for the hanger and take off the black jacket that completed his ensemble.
He looked damn good.
I’ve always described him as “walking sex.” He raked his fingers through his short light brown hair a couple times before scratching the stubble on his jaw. I must’ve caught him lost in thought, because it took him a moment to realize I was watching him.
I saw immediate approval in his eyes. He loves this dress. I have only worn it one other time, and it didn’t stay on for very long.
I walked into the bathroom and applied a little makeup. I pulled my hair up in a twist and secured it with some pins. Another thing I almost didn’t bring, but I am so thankful I decided to at the last minute.
I heard my phone ringing and raced to the sitting room to answer it. It was Lynn. I had to catch my breath before I could speak.
“Hey.”
She squealed on the other end. “Where are you?” It was almost a shout. I could hear the nervousness in her voice,
“I just got finished. I’ll be right there.” I glanced at Max who was watching me closely.
“You better hurry your ass up.” Lynn ended the call.
Well…
I took a deep breath and looked up at Max.
“Looks like she’s ready. Are you ready to go?”
He took my hand in his. “I’m ready.”
Max led us out of the hotel room and across the hall. When the door opened, I saw Jeremy kissing Lynn. I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t you know you’re supposed to wait until after the ceremony to do all that?”
Johnny looked at me and shook his head. “They couldn’t wait, puss.”
Obviously.
“The driver is waiting out front if everyone is ready.” Max’s demanding voice could be heard over all the others.
One last perusal around the room to make sure nothing was left behind; then all of us walked to the elevator together.
It was a short trip to the Little Chapel of Love. I tried not to snigger at the name. Max tapped my arm with his fingers, but I couldn’t help it. All the chapels around here seem to have similar names. I thought it was funny.
Lynn wasn’t paying me any attention anyway. She had her eyes on Jeremy.
The happy couple stepped out of the limo first, then the rest of us followed. Lynn and I were told to stay near the door while everyone else walked inside and took their seat. They gave her a small bouquet.
From the looks of it, the chapel was very small, but what it lacked in size, was more than made up for with the way it was tastefully decorated.
Lynn grabbed my hands. I looked at my best friend who had tears of joy in her eyes.
“I’m so, so happy for you, bestie.”
“Thank you, Becky. I am happy.” I knew she meant those words.
The music started to play. Lynn’s eyes became very wide, but I squeezed her hands in reassurance. We nodded to each other before I turned to walk down the short aisle.
I noticed Max standing beside Jeremy to act as his best man. His eyes met mine briefly before our attention was turned to the beautiful bride.
The ceremony was short and sweet. We whooped and hollered when they kissed. Never have I seen a happier couple.
CHAPTER 9
The newlyweds wanted to celebrate over dinner with everyone joining them. They didn’t want to go to a fancy restaurant. I giggled when they both mentioned a buffet. Those two are like-minded. We pulled into the crowded parking lot of a restaurant that had a large sign advertising an all you can eat buffet.
So, this is where normal go out to eat when they visit Sin City.
I was afraid there would be a line waiting to get inside, but I was pleasantly surprised to see we only had a couple groups ahead of us and they were being seated as we entered the restaurant. We were lucky to find a table that would seat all of us. Well…we did take a couple chairs from another table to fit all eight of us at one. Some of the people gave us dirty looks, but do you think we cared? Hell, no!
The buffet had such a variety foods ranging from crab legs to pizza. We wasted no time piling our plates full of food. I have done such a good job in the past year staying away from “feel good food” like this. I always eat way more than I should, and feel like shit later. Looking at my plate with corn, baked chicken, and broccoli (so what if it had cheese on it) I was proud of myself for not going overboard. There was a basket of large rolls with that yummy honey butter to go with them on the table. That quickly disappe
ared.
Max sat very close to me throughout dinner. He had his left hand on my thigh, lightly rubbing up and down with his fingertips. Talk about distracting! I was trying my best to pay attention to the conversations around me, but it was getting more difficult the longer he touched me. His fingers moved closer to my panties, but I grabbed his hand with my own, and stopped him. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and could see the surprise that was evident on his face.
I know. I’ve never stopped him from touching me, but I couldn’t pretend everything was alright anymore. Max pulled his hand away from my thigh and was quiet. Everyone was busy with their conversations to see the exchange between us. I really didn’t want to feel the need to explain any of it to my friends. They mean well, but damn, they’re unrelenting when they sense something is not right.
After we finished eating, Max asked us if we wanted to see the Bellagio Fountains. It’s an awe inspiring aquatic show, with what can only be described as a concert of opera, classical, Broadway and pop tunes. More than a thousand fountains dance in front of the hotel, and it was made even better with music and light. The music is what gets your attention. The good thing about the fountain, is that you don’t have to stay at that hotel to enjoy the show.
We were all in agreement. Lynn and Jeremy thought it would be romantic as did Taylor and Eric. Max suggested we walk there since it wasn’t far from the restaurant. I looked at my friends (we were in heels after all) to make sure that was okay with all of them. They nodded. So, we set off on foot.
Max reached for my hand, and I let him hold it while we walked. All of us were unusually quiet. When I looked behind us, I could see their attention was either on each other (the couples) or the sights. Max squeezed my hand to bring my attention to him. I looked at him for a moment before returning my attention back to the direction we were walking.
My heart was beating a little faster, but it wasn’t from the walk. A part of it was breaking because I know what must be done. I know it isn’t fair to Max to stay with him when I will never be his completely. Hell, it isn’t fair to me.
I saw both the fountains and heard the music at the same time. It made me jump a little, and I heard Max chuckle beside me.
What Happens in Vegas...: The Becky Chronicles Book 4 Page 10