Page 23 of Billionaire's Accidental Marriage
Then, out of nowhere, a band started playing.
“What the—who is that?” I asked.
Maggie came jogging up to me. “Oh, that was a last-minute addition I added to tonight’s events. I thought a nice corner-sitting band to play some music might really give it an overall family sort of feel.”
I sighed. “You’re remarkable, and I know you’re going to deal with your father’s bullshit just fine.”
She giggled. “Thank you. I feel remarkable today.”
“As you should.”
The second the sun began to set, the fairy lights we had strung up earlier this morning clicked on automatically. They twinkled and came alive, adding a soft, warm glow to the entire town I had created out of thin air. And as people walked around us, munching on everything from corn dogs to homemade hamburgers to red solo cups filled with fresh kinds of pasta and sauces, I took a second to relish in what I had accomplished.
Hell, what Maggie and I had accomplished.
“You know,” she said with a sigh, “my boutiques would make a killing if I could draw a crowd like this.”
A lightbulb went off in my brain. “Then, let’s get some of them on the schedule for the next small-town gathering.”
She looked up at me. “You mean that?”
I peeked down at her. “Of course. Once we can get them back up and running in proper working order, we’ll get them slated.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
I looked back down the road at the crowd gathering around the corner-sitting band. “Don’t thank me. If this is any indication of what you can really do when you put your mind to it, you won’t have any issues earning that spot all on your own.”
As quickly as they had all trickled in, dinner time rolled around. And the money these people were slinging around and donating shocked even me. It was truly a sight to behold. Kids were running in and out of the town hall, waving around their glittery creations for everyone to see. People were talking and laughing and dancing, even going back for seconds and trying out different shops. So, with all of the excitement percolating in my veins, I decided to finally get in on the action.
“Hello, there! I’m Michael Gainsley. I was wondering if I could pick your brain for a second on what you like and don’t like about this event.”
“Hi! Yes! Can I help you with anything?”
“Alice, what do you need? I can make a run for it.”
“Oh, my goodness, your creation is beautiful. Is that pink and silver glitter? I love the combination.”
I meandered throughout the town, introducing myself and asking for feedback so I could make our next one even better. People were smiling and speaking freely with globs of food in their mouths, and I never thought someone talking with their mouth full would be such a relief. And yet, here we were.
However, after walking into the town hall and visiting with the kids for a while, I walked back out to find Maggie. It was already eight-thirty in the evening, and we needed to start coming up with a plan to slowly shut everything down. The signs advertised that we’d be shut down by eleven tonight, and we had a lot to break down and preserve so we could open right back up tomorrow.
But, when I found her, I saw her standing in the one place I never expected her to be. She was by the wedding chapel we both thought would be funny to have in town since it’s Vegas, after all. And I couldn’t help but walk up the cobblestone aisle to stand with her beneath the archway made of greenery and twinkling pink fairy lights.
7
Maggie
Igiggled while the magistrate spoke with me. “I’m telling you, people don’t use the chapels in Vegas as much as people like to think. Not for actual marriages, anyway. Usually, it’s the odd sort of couple that wants some silly pictures or a dare by drunken frat boys or something like that.”
I snorted. “Two drunken frat boys getting married? That, I want to see.”
“Trust me, two overgrown boys stumbling around in veils and tiaras is a great way to make money.”
I threw my head back in laughter. “Now I want pictures.”
He pulled out his phone. “Why do you think we make people sign release forms for the pictures we take?”
I gasped as I looked up from my checklist. The magistrate who had agreed to donate his time to our little last-minute Las Vegas Chapel in the small town Michael had created pulled out his cell phone and started scrolling through pictures. And as the pink fairy lights twinkled overhead, I watched as he flipped through some of the most hilarious images I’d ever seen in my life.
