“You’ll never understand, Sever. You’ve never been shattered by a woman because they all fall at your feet. Mark my words, one day a woman will come along, she will own you and then she will leave you. You will be a broken man and then you will come to me and apologize before you look for comfort anywhere you can find it.” Bryant took a long a sip of his beer before standing and walking over to where Vance and Griffin had been sitting talking shop since we came out here.
Justin sat down next to me chuckling. I heard him mutter under his breath, “That’ll be the day.”
“What? You don’t think you’ll ever have your heart broken?” I asked.
“No, I’m quite sure that’s possible. I’ll just never apologize to that fucker,” he said affectionately and we both laughed.
“I hope he didn’t chew your ear off too much with his desperate attempt to gain your sympathy. He gets his heart broken at least twice a month. We’re all used to it. If there’s a female in residence, he immediately seeks her out and looks to get on her good side using his current tale of woe. It’s his angle. He’s always seeking an “in” with the next chick he meets. He’s really the biggest dog of us all. A player in a weenie’s disguise.”
I laughed and waved a hand as if dismissing the apology. “Don’t worry. Vance warned me all about him before we got here. I was well prepared for all of you.”
He grinned. “Good man, that Vance. You got yourself the best of the bunch. I know he and Griffin are the closest of all of us, they lived next door to each other growing up. I’d lay down my life for any of these guys. But Vance…Vance I’d do time for him if he was in trouble.”
I looked at him quizzically, knowing there was a story there, but also knowing instinctively it wasn’t one Justin would share. Somehow, I didn’t think Vance would, either. I was content to let this secret be theirs, even though I have already mentioned how I felt about secrets.
“So, how did you two meet?” Justin asked. I had the feeling that I was at last being truly checked for worthiness by Justin. It was more a joke from the other guys, the premise for this dinner party. They just wanted to see their friend and knew chances were they weren’t going to be able to peel him from my side so they just invited us as a package deal. Justin however, really wanted to make sure I was worthy of his buddy’s affection.
I explained the whole story of how we met, going so far as to explain our trip to Atlantic City and our mishap with security. He was howling by the time I’d finished.
“I’d have given money to see Vance being ushered off by hotel security. I don’t think he’s been in that kind of trouble a day in his life.” He laughed, shaking his head.
He asked some more questions, about my life, my job, and my friends. I asked some about him too, and he was surprisingly open. He’d always liked to draw as a kid and had a real talent for it, but when he became a teenager, he’d become fascinated by computers. It was only natural that he combine his two passions and become a graphic artist. He worked freelance because it afforded him the opportunity to make his own hours, which he really enjoyed. He liked to travel, so it gave him the opportunity to schedule himself enough time off to ride off to parts unknown whenever he felt like it.
We spent what felt like hours talking. We were eventually interrupted by Vance, who came over to join us, sitting on my other side and pulling me close into the curve of his arm.
“You trying to move in on my woman, Sever?” Vance teased.
“Well initially I saved her from Lewis, but after sitting here talking to her for a while, I might just kidnap her when we get to Vegas and marry her,” he joked.
“What is it with you guys wanting to marry me? Wait, what do you mean when we get to Vegas?” I sputtered.
Vance just laughed. “One, you’re just too good to not want to keep forever. Two, the guys all want to make a weekend of it and hit the road. What better destination than Vegas?” He and Justin shared a look that struck me as odd, but I pushed the thought away.
“Haven’t we learned our lesson with impromptu trips to gambling towns?” I asked with one raised brow.
Vance laughed, “But baby, we came home eighteen thousand dollars richer! Besides, I thought we’d keep a lower profile this time. You know, eat some good food, and see some shows. The guys and I plan to do some golfing tomorrow morning. I thought you could spend time at the spa.”
Justin snorted softly next to us, and I shot him a look, but his just raised his hands, palms out, as if to say he was innocent.
“Alright. No good reason not to go, I guess. A day at the spa does sound good. But you’re paying,” I said pointing my finger at his chest.
Vance clapped and rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Great! Let’s go home and pack. Griffin is taking care of the arrangements.”
Justin gave me a slow, but very sincere smile. I smiled back feeling as if what Vance said before we left was true. I had just made a friend for life.
Chapter Eight
We arrived in Las Vegas late that night, near midnight. We all checked into our rooms at the MGM Grand and planned to meet for breakfast the following morning at seven. It was far too early by my standards, given the time we rolled in, but the boys wanted to get on the green as soon as possible. I would get to go back to bed, as Griffin booked me for an appointment at the spa at ten. I would spend most of the day there, not getting back to the room until about five, since I was getting the works: an hour and half massage, a facial, a full body scrub and a manicure and pedicure. I was even having my hair trimmed and styled.
After a decent night’s sleep (even if it was a little short) and a hearty breakfast for us all, we each went our separate ways. I never made it back to bed. I opted for a carafe of coffee from room service and simply lounged in the room watching a movie until it was time to head to the spa. I added a full waxing service to my treatment in lieu of the body scrub. My skin seemed soft enough to me, but I was due for a little attention in the body hair department, and by now, it was obvious how I felt about that little issue. I decided to be daring and go for a Brazilian wax to surprise Vance. He’d never said one way or another whether he liked bare skin down there or not, but all the romance book heroes seemed to go nuts for it, so I figured I’d give it a try. It’d always grow back (much to my continued consternation) if he preferred the little strip I normally had.
My day of pampering went by at a leisurely pace and with the exception of an eye opening and painful waxing session, the day was an exercise in bliss. I floated back to the room on a cloud of relaxation to find Vance already showered and dressed for the evening.
“Hey sweetheart,” he said. “Did you enjoy your day?”
“Mmhmm.” I could barely form words I was so relaxed. “I did. How was golf?”
“I had a great game, but as usual, Griffin won. He always does. He plays for business almost every weekend, so he gets more practice in than the rest of us. Justin almost never plays. He just comes along to drink beer and drive the golf cart.”
“I’m with him,” I said. “To me, that’s the only part of the game that sounds fun. Say, aren’t you dressed to go out a little early?”
“I got tickets to see Cirque du Soleil at eight, so I thought we could have dinner early. I thought with you being at the spa all day, you either had a very light lunch or none at all.”
He was right, I’d only had a garden salad so it was probably for the best that we ate early or I would be gnawing on his arm by the time the show was over.
“Just let me get dressed and put some make-up on and I’ll be ready to go.”
Vance took me to a restaurant at the top of one of the casinos for dinner. We were seated at a table next to one of the windows, and the view was breathtaking. We ordered a seven course tasting menu, and all of it was like a mini-orgasm on a plate. I was moaning over the chocolate soufflé at the end of the meal when Vance ordered a bottle of champagne. I thought it odd that he would order a bottle just then, when our meal was practically over.
I wasn’t any kind of expert, but I thought that was something that was normally ordered at the beginning of a meal. I shrugged it off. The man could order whatever he liked as long as he didn’t come between me and that little ramekin of chocolate nirvana.
I was contemplating graphic oral ministrations with the remnants of the dessert on my spoon when the champagne arrived. The waiter made to open the bottle, but Vance waved him away. Puzzled by Vance’s odd behavior, I quickly forgot the spoon and I looked at him closely as he pulled out his phone. Was he calling the boys to come join us? I was even more confused when “Marry Me” started playing from my clutch purse on the table. I looked at my purse, then at him. He had a very serious, but slightly unsure look on his face. I looked at my purse again, just as the music stopped. Vance swiped his finger across the screen of his phone, and the music began to play again. Finally, I understood. My eyes went wide, as I reached into my purse with a shaking hand. I didn’t say anything, I just tapped the answer call button and held the phone to my ear, my gaze riveted to Vance’s.
For a moment, Vance didn’t say anything, either. Then, he cleared his throat and whispered huskily, “Will you, Mimi? Will you jump off that cliff again? Because I already have and I’m waiting here at the bottom to catch you.”
Tears filled my eyes because I knew this time, it was not one of his playful proposals. It wasn’t one of his little jokes meant to make me smile. This time he was deadly serious. He really wanted to me to be his wife. Here, in this gorgeous restaurant, after a marvelous meal, he didn’t get down on one knee, or hide a ring inside my dessert (which was a good thing because with the way I devoured that soufflé, I probably wouldn’t have noticed). No, Vance asked me in a way that made perfect sense to us. Somewhat silly, but very sweet. Just like every day I had spent with him. Just like I knew our life together would be, forever. Maybe we had only been together a short time in the grand scheme of things, but I was never more certain of anything than I was of the fact that we were made for each other.
I tried to respond, but the tears that threated earlier were dripping down my face and my throat had closed up. All I could do was simply nod and give him a trembling smile. His face lit up and he whispered “Epic,” into the phone before ending the call and placing his phone back into his pants pocket.
I half sobbed, half laughed as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a ring box and rounded the table to kneel beside me. He went the traditional route after all.
“Thank you, Mimi. I have one more question to ask. Will you marry me here? This weekend? I don’t want to wait a minute longer than I have I to without you as my wife.”
I giggled. “This was your real reason for coming here this weekend, wasn’t it? It wasn’t the guys’ idea at all.”
Vance winced slightly. “Well, I might have been the one to introduce the idea…”
“You were that sure I’d say yes?” I asked skeptically.
He shook his head vigorously. “Not in the slightest. I was hoping really hard, but if you’d said no, I thought there was a better than average chance that we’d still find a way to have a good time in a great city. Now, I don’t want to be a complainer or anything, since I’m still very grateful you said yes, but would you mind taking a look at the ring and maybe putting it on? This is not the most comfortable position to be in.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle the laugh that bubbled up from my throat. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” I took the ring and handed it to him. He slipped it onto my finger with the most amazing smile I had ever seen on his face. I tore my gaze away from the sight, to admire the ring. It was a gorgeous princess cut diamond, probably about a carat and a half, flanked by little round diamonds and set in platinum. It was exactly what I would have chosen for myself. I put my hands on his shoulders pulled him towards me for a long sweet kiss. I heard the faint sound of clapping around us, startling me from the little bubble that had formed around us ever since my phone had started ringing.
I pulled back, slightly embarrassed and whispered, “I suppose I should let you off your knees now.”
“I would be ever so grateful,” he returned.
Vance stood and grinned at the patrons who were enjoying our show, wiped his brow and then fist pumped at them. There were a few titters of laughter, some hoots and whistles and a couple of “way to go, bro’s” before everyone turned back to their meals. Vance sat and finally uncorked the champagne. Just as we were getting ready to toast our engagement, I looked at him seriously.
“One thing. If we are seriously going to do this, there’s something you’re going to have to do for me.”
Vance looked surprised at first, but looked back at me just as soberly and said, “Of course, Mimi. What do you need?”
“You really have to retire the fist pump thing,” I said.
“Wha- wait, what?”
“Seriously. You look like such a dork when you do it.” I shook my head slightly.
“But I thought you liked that I was dorky,” he sputtered.
“I did. Well, I do, but we’re going to be married. It’s time to present a much more adult image to the world. We’re not children anymore.”
Vance responded by throwing his napkin in my face while I giggled.
Later, as we were walking down the strip, arms wrapped around each other, looking at the lights and generally enjoying the giddiness of the moment, Vance pinched my side as he cleared his throat. “You never did answer me, you know. Will you marry me this weekend?”
“I’ll marry you tonight, if you want,” I said.
“Do you really mean that? I thought you’d want to look for a dress, get your hair done, call your girls and see if they can make a last minute road trip or something. Your mom?”
“Nope. The dress I’m wearing is just fine. I had my hair done at the spa today. We can have a party with everyone when we get back to celebrate. We haven’t even met each other’s mother yet. They can wait a little while longer. For the ceremony, I want it to be just you and me. Is that okay with you?”
“That is absolutely one hundred percent fine with me.” His dazzling smile returned. “What are we waiting for?”
I looked up at him with a high wattage smile of my own. “I guess Cirque du Soleil will have to wait for another night.”
Fortunately, the county clerk’s office in Las Vegas was open almost all hours. We had no difficulty getting our marriage license. Deciding where to actually have the nuptials performed was a little more challenging. The hotel wedding chapels were booked well in advance, so we spent a good portion of the early night driving to various places on the strip to see if anyone could accommodate us. We finally ended up at a tiny little chapel at the end of the strip around ten p.m.. They just happened to have a time slot available at one fifteen in the morning, so we grabbed it. With some spare time on our hands, I insisted we go find a ring for Vance. There was no way I was letting him get married without one.
Fortunately, in a city like Vegas, it wasn’t hard to find a jewelry store that was open at such a late hour. In fact, it wasn’t hard to find about twenty of them. We entered the first and walked right back out. It was a gothic themed store, and everything was a little too… gothic. The next store had a better selection, but we just didn’t find anything we liked. It went the same way at the next two. At the fifth store, we found a platinum band with a vine like pattern hand-carved through the center. It was very unique, and suited Vance’s style perfectly. It was three thousand dollars, which Vance made a fuss about paying for, but I refused to let him pay for his own ring. After several minutes of bickering, I threatened not to consummate the marriage that night and for the foreseeable future, to which he grumblingly but smartly conceded.
We arrived at the chapel just ahead of the appointed time and I purchased a small bouquet of red roses from the chapel florist. I was actually wearing a short, baby pink dress with spaghetti straps and matching sling back pumps. It was a very simple look, and my hair was long and straight, l
aying loose about my shoulders. I had diamond studs in my ears, but other than my new engagement ring, I had no other jewelry to speak of. One could probably say I looked elegant more than anything, if not a little plain.
Vance looked handsome in the same suit he wore on our first date, although he was wearing a charcoal patterned tie, with tiny red threads running through it. Fortunately, we didn’t clash too badly.
The entire ceremony took about ten minutes. It seemed odd to me that you could bind your life to someone else’s for eternity in short a short span of time, but in a town like Vegas, where fortunes turn in an instant, I supposed I really shouldn’t be too surprised. Even as the odd notion occurred to me, I was deliriously happy to be joined to this amazing man. I didn’t know how we would go about blending our lives, when we’d never seriously discussed doing this. In fact, I realized with a start, we’d never even told each other that we loved each other. I guess we just took it as fact by the way we always treated each other, and in all the many other things we said to each other.
We were walking back down the aisle arm in arm as the realization dawned on me. I was about to bring him to a stop, but thought better of it. I wanted to find the perfect time to tell him, like he did with my proposal. If he were to tell me first, I wouldn’t be able to hold back from saying it to him, but I hoped I could find a romantic and memorable way to tell him.
Outside in the car, Vance turned to me looking like a little kid. “Do you mind if I call the guys now? They’re going to be pissed that I didn’t tell them beforehand, but I can’t wait to tell them the good news now. They’ll be even more pissed if we don’t let them celebrate with us, at least for a little while.”
“You mean to tell me you don’t immediately want to whisk me away to bed?” I said, slightly disappointed. I thought we’d immediately get down to the X-rated portion of the festivities.
Shattered Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 1) Page 12
