Page 3 of Wolf Fated
"Sure." For once, I didn’t have to worry about money. Tonight was all on my soon-to-be-husband’s tab. I dug out Stephen's silver credit card and gave it to him. Considering we were getting the wedding cheaper than we would have back home, I could be generous. "Add a thirty percent tip for yourself on there too."
"Merci, Mademoiselle." He bowed his head twice like he was surprised. "That is very generous of you."
"Won't Stephen get mad that you're splurging on his card?" Dawn frowned, biting her lip as she looked at the departing waiter.
"Nope." I shifted in my chair, trying to get comfortable, but my stomach was so full I felt like I was going to burst. If we had had a small wedding back home, it would've cost us thousands more. So, I thought of it as I was saving him money. "Oh, and maybe we can get the Tiramisu to go."
Another waiter picked up the rest of our dishes, moving them out of our way while Dawn and Mom went to the restroom. I couldn't move. I'd probably hurl if I moved out of my chair. Dawn came back first.
"Mom's talking to some old woman about the good old days and I couldn't stand it any longer." Dawn took a sip of her water. "Where're we going after this?"
"We need to check into the hotel and drop off our luggage. Maybe the slots and a few blackjack tables after I've digested some of this. God, I feel sick, but it was so good I couldn't stop eating." Hopefully, my wedding dress would still fit. Though part of me still worried about the bad luck for Stephen seeing me with my wedding dress. Did it count if I wasn’t actually wearing it?
I glanced at my watch. We were scheduled for a nine p.m. wedding, and it was already seven. I checked my phone, no messages from Stephen and he hadn't responded to mine about us eating here.
Why was it taking so long for the waiter to bring back our check for me to sign so we could get out of here? Stephen had added me to the account, so it shouldn’t be that. I wanted to play the slots a little bit before the wedding and had to get my hair fixed.
“Is everything okay?” Dawn asked, touching my arm. “You’re not having second thoughts about…you know, marrying Stephen?”
For half a second, I gawked at her, not believing she’d just asked me that on the day of my wedding. Sure, I knew she didn’t like Stephen, but why wait until now to say something to me. “No, why?”
“Nothing.” Dawn let go of my arm though she didn't look any more relaxed.
Despite my vibrato, a nagging sensation made my stomach cramp up. And no matter how many times I told myself everything was fine, everything tightened more and more.
"Miss?" our waiter said from my elbow, and I jumped. "So sorry, Madam, but your card was declined. Do you have another I could use?"
I stared at him, trying to focus on the words he was saying, but not quite grasping their meaning. Did he have me mixed up with someone else? "Declined?"
"I'm afraid so. Do you have another way you may pay for your dinners?"
"Um... sure." I pulled out my card and handed it to him. Had Stephen forgotten to add me to the account? He had told me everything was taken care of before we left for this trip.
"Wait," Dawn rummaged through her purse, "I can help pay too."
"No." I shook my head, my insides twisting at the pitiful looks everyone around us was giving from their tables and prayed there was enough on my credit limit to cover this. "You paid for all of our plane tickets. I can buy us one fancy dinner."
2
Heat flooded my face at my sister having to pay for our food because of Stephen’s card and then mine being declined. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Thankfully, by the time Mom returned to the table, the evidence of my embarrassment had been erased.
“I’ll pay you back later,” I mouthed to Dawn, but she shook her head.
God, what a horrible sister I was, making her pay for an elaborate dinner when she’d paid for so much already. I checked my phone again, still no damn answer from Stephen.
Was he even here in Las Vegas yet? What if his flight got delayed? I chewed on my lip as I walked out of the restaurant with my mom and sister.
On our way back to the hotel, we took in the sights of the bright lights, street vendors selling everything from jewelry to dancing Elvis to skincare products. Even though the sun drifted lower on the horizon, the air was still baked in heat. My shirt felt like it was stuck to me, and I was glad I was wearing shorts or even my legs would have been sweating.
Hands grabbed me from behind, spinning me around. I let out a squeak. My hands going to the person holding me and trying to break free.
“There’s my girl,” Stephen crooned and set me on my feet.
“You’re here.” I grinned and kissed him, too excited to care about bad luck. Giddiness overtook my fear, and I didn’t care who saw us kissing. My hands curled into his dark, brown hair. “I was worried when you didn’t answer my texts or phone calls.”
He pulled my hands down and stepped back. “I was setting up a game and before that, I was on the plane. You know I always turn off my phone when traveling. What’s wrong?”
I hadn’t wanted to go into this right here, right now. “It’s okay.”
