Page 52 of It Happened in Vegas

My throat tightened. “Then we guard our hearts. Just have fun with this.”

Doubt still lingered, but then he leaned closer, his voice all gravel and heat. “If we’re going through with this, then I expect you to be my wife every second of the day… and the night. We’ll doeverythinga man and woman do when they have rings on their fingers. The only lie between us will be our vows.”

Heat flared through me. His smoldering promise—and the memory of last night—set my blood on fire.

“Define everything,” I whispered.

He let out a low chuckle. “Plenty of spontaneous adventures. No regrets.”

Desire coursed through my veins, especially after last night and knowing howgoodit was with him. Even if it was just for the brand, or the cameras—I wanted ninety days of being his.

I nodded slowly. “I’m game if you are.”

“This is what you really want?”

“Yes.” I hoped it was.

He scrubbed his beard, his eyes boring into me like he searched my soul. “Fuck it. Then marry me, Soph.”

“Get on your knees at least,” Melanie suggested from behind the door.

“It’s okay. You don’t have a ring or anything. It’s fine.” I shook it off. Was I cheating myself out of the whole experience of marrying someone for real, and all the romanticism that went with it? “I’ll marry you. For pretend. For Hops, and the show.”

“Yeah. Okay. We’ll get through it together, right?” He kissed my temple.

Keaton Kingston and I just agreed to marry in Vegas, of all places. This wasn’t a love story with a neat beginning. It started with pretending, escalated with passion, and landed somewhere between downright chaos and a studio contract.

But as I regarded him with wild attraction, from his beard, to his shirtless chest and torso, to his tattoos—I couldn’t deny the truth landing in my heart.

Fake or not, this thing between us had already taken root. It took hold of me, and I wasn’t sure I could let it go.

19

IT TAKES TWO

KEATON

The air conditioningcould not prevent me from sweating. Wearing Ben’s tux, that didn’t quite fit despite quick altering, I paced in the staging area marked off for the Groom and groomsmen. The pre-wedding chaos was in full swing. Cameras ready. Lights glaring. Melanie screeched about floral centerpieces that were blocking the camera views.

Filming had taken place all day, as she worked hard to spin this new show direction toward my surprise wedding. The crew and cast shot extra scenes that would set up the demise of Vanessa and Ben’s relationship, and make way for the blooming romance between me and Sophie.

More drama unfolded when Cassandra found out we were getting married instead of the original couple. She called me out for sexting her, claiming I lead her on and let her down. She ripped a bridal gown to shreds. Whatever she and Melanie could cook up for extra drama, they made it work. Then Starla finally resurfaced and tried flirting with the actor portraying the officiant.

I doubted if she was even pregnant. Who knew what to believe anymore? I’d seen enough of all of them for one lifetime, and we hadn’t even started the ceremony.

Vanessa and Ben split. People saw them leaving the hotel separately. Yet there were reports of them flying out on a private jet at the airport together. Many reconciliation rumors swirled. But they must have decided it was too late to take the spotlight back.

So here I sat. Contracts all signed with the producers, basically giving my life over to them and this marriage for ninety days. Ten minutes to showtime, sweating in this suit and thinking about my bride to be, trying not to lose my mind. The payoff at the end of all of this had better be worth it.

Anthony arrived, my only groomsman, holding two beer cans. “Take your pick. It’s your day. It Takes Two Brew or the Happy Couple?”

I snorted and popped the tab on theIt Takes Two Brew.Because Sophie and I would need to work together to see this through.

“Bold choice. You okay, man?” He asked, clapping me on the back.

“Just Peachy,” I said, guzzling it down.

“Sure you wanna go through with this?”

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