Page 60 of It Happened in Vegas

I kissed down her neck, inhaling her sweet perfume. “Tell me, Mrs. Kingston, how would you like to join me in the bedroom?”

“Here? There’s a bedroom on the plane?”

I unbuckled and slid off the seat with her in my arms, carrying her with me. “The Buchanan’s have the best of everything. And I think it’s time for you and I to take advantage of it. What do you say we join the mile high club?”

To the sound of her laughter, I opened the door at the back of the plane and carried her through it, laying her gently on the bed. I locked the door, then pulled my t-shirt off over my head. The thoughts of what I could do with my new wife at forty thousand feet in the air were far from gentle.

22

MADE THE BED

SOPHIE

“Surprise!”Keaton and I arrived at the Hops just in time for the watch party to begin, only we faced an ambush by all of our friends and family gathered there. Closed to the public for the night, the space had miraculously transformed into a wedding party, complete with a huge banner across the ceiling that readCongratulations Mr. & Mrs. Kingstonin large letters.

It was the kind of warm, homegrown party I hadn’t had since my eighth birthday.

Vivian, Chelsea, and Maisy hugged me, squealing congratulations into my ears. Richard, Rex, and Brooks shook Keaton’s hands and gave him ‘atta boy pats on the back. It was as if we finally joined their club, welcomed with open arms.

Which felt great not to be the odd one out.

Maisy brought my left hand closer to her face, inspecting my diamond. “You did real good, Keaton,” came her seal of approval.

I had to admit, he did. I never would have chosen a marquis diamond for myself. Once he placed it on my finger, it became a part of my hand, like it was always meant to be there. Like he knew me better than I knew myself.

“Your approval means the world to me, Maisy.” His lips twitched.

“Seeing how I probably know her better than you, call anytime if you need advice,” she returned the tease. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, my bestie and I have some catching up to do.” Maisy hooked her arm through my elbow, about to lead us away to talk.

“Hey, wait a minute. We just got here. Don’t take my wife away from me yet,” Keaton joked, pulling on my other arm as if in a tug of war over me with his cousin. Then he gave me a peck on the lips and said, “Go on, but hurry back, because I’ll miss you.”

A chorus of “Aw,” came from my friends, and I had to admit he made my heart melt as well. He certainly knew how to play it up for the crowd. In the span of time since we’d first met, he went from grumpy brewer who could also flirt like crazy to a man who could deliver a totally swoon-worthy line like that and look me in the eyes like he meant every syllable.

While I went from infatuation with a reality TV star to… in lust with the man who I now called husband.

Maisy pulled my dreamy eyes off of him and over to the far corner of the brewery by the fireplace and shelves of Keaton’s board games. I eyed them while she hugged me again.

“You’re married? Are you kidding me? Oh, Sophie, I couldn’t be more happy for you. Although you deprived me of having to buy a Maid of Honor gown someday.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. But the whole weekend was… And I don’t know, we… We just went for it.” I smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Filling in the blanks seemed to be a problem for me. Keaton would probably prove a much better method actor than I would.

“Didn’t I tell you to go for it? I knew there was somethingbrewingbetween you too,” she cracked herself up and elbowed me.

“You did tell me. And there definitely is.”

“You beat me to the altar though. Ugh, wedding planning is taking up so much of my time. I want to be married tomorrow. Thank God, Brooks is so patient with me.”

“I’m so happy for you two, Maisy. It’ll be worth it for you to wait.” Deep inside of me, there was a tiny green spot envy how she was doing things the right way—engagement, wedding, a future with a man who adored her. My path? A little less conventional. A little more performative. With a clock ticking.

“Tell me. How does it feel to be a wife?” She asked.

I forced my grin wide. “Incredible. Since the ceremony I’ve been floating on clouds. I stare at my ring and still can’t believe we did it.” I bit my tongue to keep from saying more. A part of me wanted so much to share every other detail about Melanie and our deal, and the term limit on this marital bliss, only I couldn’t. Maisy had been my best friend for years. There’d hardly been any secrets between us. Well, except for a part of myself I kept hidden away from everyone, and for good reason.

She grabbed her heart. “I had a feeling about you two. My vision is coming true, wanting both of us side by side and married, and even better that it’s my cousin you’re with. We’re family now, Sophie.”

“We were family before. I considered you like my sister, even more than a best friend.”

“And now it’s official. Wearefamily, girl.” She grabbed my pinky finger with hers and gave it a shake, a funny little gesture we created back in college to mean we had each other’s backs.

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