Page 2 of Hot Shot

But there’s nothing left to say. So we watch the fountain until the lights go dark and the music stops. Our friends turn to us, but Wilder waves them on. Remy shrugs and says something that’s probably rude, which makes the other two laugh. Then, with a few waves, they’re gone.

He peers down at me with eyes like whiskey, a tawny, gold-flecked dream. “Don’t you think if there was any way to have you that made sense, I would have already made it happen?”

God, I can’t look at him when he looks at me like that. Tears well, clinging to my lashes, and I glance down.

“You were my first everything, Cass. I wanted you to be my last. I’d wife the fuck outta you.”

A laugh bubbles out of me, the sound muffled by my instantly stuffy nose. “Too bad you never asked. We’re even in Vegas and everything.”

His face grows serious, his eyes darkening. “Don’t kid around about that. Remy told you, didn’t he?” His cheeks flush, his lips flattening. “Goddammit, that son of a bitch. He told you.”

“Told me what?”

“That I bought you a ring! I’m gonna kill him.”

My heart stops.

Whatever my face looks like widens his eyes. “Oh, fuck. He…he didn’t tell you.”

I shake my head, mute.

Wilder rubs the back of his neck and searches the sky for answers. “Before we got any acceptance letters or anything, I bought you a ring. Took every penny I’d saved from working at the boat shop. I don’t know why I’ve been carrying it around all this time. It just…well, I guess now it’s too late.”

My mouth pops open. “Right now? It’swithyou?”

He chews on his lip and nods.

I step back and stick out my hand. “Let me see it.”

“No way, Cass.”

“Yes way, Wilder. Give it.”

“Cassidy Winfield, if I show you this ring, it’s going on your finger.”

I pause, staring up at him. By the look on his face, he’s dead serious. The sight does something to me that I don’t understand, but I instantly want more of. In a sweet rush, a vision of us married and happy and together hijacks my brain. I’ve daydreamed about it a thousand times, but here we are in Vegas, and him with a ring in his pocket. For me.

“Wilder Davenport, you brought that ring to Vegas, put it in your pocket for tonight?—”

“It’s always in my pocket.”

Words jam in my throat. “Why?” is all I can squeak.

He shrugs, glancing at his shoes. “Because I love you, and I’ve been looking for a reason to ask you to marry me.”

I can’t parse what he said—it’s too big, too much—so I make a joke. “And what if I say no?”

He laughs. “Oh, you won’t say no.”

“Try me.” My voice shakes. My hands shakes. The whole world shakes when his eyes snap to mine.

“Cass—”

“I’m leaving. You’re leaving. But tonight, we’re here, in the wedding capital of America. We could do it. Have one night together, annul it in the morning. At least then we’ll know whatit’s like, even if it’s just for a minute.” Tears roll down my cheeks, but I barely feel them. “So ask me, Wilder. See what I say.”

His Adam’s apple bobs, but he’s otherwise frozen. War rages behind his eyes for a long, breathless moment before he straightens. Slips his hands in his pocket, retrieving a dark velvet box that triples my heartbeat. Locks eyes with me and drops to one knee.

“Cassidy, I’ve loved you my whole life, and I’ll love you for the rest of it. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. W-would you marry me?”

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