Page 70 of Britta & the Beach Boy
I nod and slide my fingers through his. “Yes, please.”
Dad’s by himself, and his eyes are rimmed with red as he approaches us, and I brace myself for waterworks. He pulls something from his pants pocket, then stops in front of me.
“I forgot to give you this earlier.” He holds up a gold ring with a tiny diamond. “It’s your mom’s and you don’t have to use it as your own. But if you want it, I think she’d like you to have it.”
All I can do is nod because the waterworks are coming from me, not Dad. The Bellagio fountains spring from my eyes, accompanied by an instrumental version of a familiar song I can’t place, playing softly from speakers somewhere in the foyer.
Home.That’s the name of the song by the guy with the same name twice—Phillip Phillips. The lines about taking on an unfamiliar road together fill my head, which only makes me cry more.
“Thanks, Dad.” I take the ring from him, feeling its weight in my fingers before handing it to Dex. “One ring problem solved, but I still don’t have a ring for you.”
“We’ll figure it out. Your ring is more important. Thank you, Mr. Thomsen.” His eyes are a little red too, which pulls more tears from me.
The rest of my family arrives, and Archie herds us all to the waiting Escalades outside.
Before I can ask Archie where we’re going, I’m crowded into one vehicle with my dad and brothers. I’m just as surprised as everyone else when the SUV stops to let us out on a wide walkway between two hotels. The cement path is lined on both sides with restaurants and other businesses catering to tourists. At the end of the walkway, there’s a giant Ferris wheel with enclosed carriages.
As we wind our way through crowds of people, I don’t see anything that looks like a wedding venue, and there are fewer businesses the closer we get to the Ferris Wheel thing with the blinking neonHigh Rollersign.
“Archie?” I pick up my dress and quick step up to him. “Is that where we’re getting married?” I point to the slow-spinning wheel of death, my heart pounding.
Archie nods, pleased with himself. “Yeah. At sunset. It will be beautiful.”
Against my better judgement, I let my eyes travel to the top of the Ferris wheel. The carriages sway back and forth, and I feel the blood drain from my face.
“What’s wrong?” Dex’s fingers brush the bare skin of my back.
I lean over with my hands on my knees. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
“You’ve changed your mind?” Dex’s question is laced with disappointment, but all I can do is shake my head.
“Britta doesn’t like heights,” Stella answers for me. “She’s never flown before or been on a regular-sized Ferris Wheel, let alone one that’s five hundred and fifty feet tall, so it’s kind of big day for her.”
I groan. Wherever she found those numbers, the information isnothelpful.
“I’m sorry, Britta. I didn’t think to ask.” Archie’s apology is sincere. He sounds as wrecked as I feel. “We can go back to the Mansion and have the ceremony there.”
I take a deep breath and stand taller. I don’t like heights, and, yeah, I’m a little afraid of them. But if I’m not afraid to marry a world-famous surfer who I’ve only known a few weeks in order to buy a coffee shop in a city ten thousand times bigger than the one where I’ve spent most of my life, then I can push past being afraid to say myI do’sat the top of a giant Ferris wheel with a view of the sunset in Las Vegas.
“You okay?” Dex asks.
“I think so.”
He moves in front of me. With the heels I’m wearing, we’re nearly eye-to-eye. “Remember what you told me before my first heat at the Finals?”
I shake my head. The only thing I can think about right now is getting myself on that Ferris wheel without passing out.
“You told me to make it a dance. That’s what kept me from panicking while I was waiting for the right wave.” Dex’s words are slow, calm, and confident. “That’s why I won that heat. Your words.”
My breathing slows. The pounding in my ears quiets.
“If you don’t want to get married here, we won’t,” he continues. “But if you’re okay with it, I’ll hold your hand the whole time. I won’t let anything happen to you. If you’ll trust me right now—the way I trusted you on that wave—I’ll keep you safe.”
Dex’s words flow over me, a soft breeze in the blazing heat, and my body cools.
“Let’s get married,” I say and put my shaking hand in his.
Chapter twenty-six
