by Dee Tenorio
“Well, son, I’ve married a lot of people in my time. Forty years in this town, you get to knowing the good eggs from the bad, if you know what I mean. And in all that time, I’ve never seen anyone as in love as the two of you. Never seen anyone as off their asses either and in Vegas, that’s saying something. But I knew you two would find your way back here eventually. If nothing else, you were gonna want your hat back.”
Kane perked up. “You have my hat?”
Delilah’s smack to his shoulder stole some of the excitement from his relief, but Kane could only grin at her.
“Hey, I love that hat. You know how hard it is to find one that really fits, no matter what?”
She rolled her eyes, elbowing him over so she could step closer to Santa, er, Norman. “What legal kinks are you talking about?”
“Oh, signatures, that kinda thing. Usually, we have everyone sign the license first, then come into the chapel they chose and handle the ceremony. It was pretty busy last night and a couple of wedding parties got into a brawl or something. She only left you for a second or two but you were in such a hurry to get this little girl hitched you just grabbed the license and hustled her over. Vera figured you’d changed your minds. I did my part, you did your I dos and then you ran like preschoolers back out the front door. It was pretty funny, actually. We got the whole thing on a DVD for you, just waiting.”
“You made a DVD?” Kane decided not to be concerned at Delilah’s slightly outraged question. It wasn’t like most people were happy to hear about incriminating evidence.
“Sure, it was part of your package. I had our guy add the security surveillance footage at the end for you, kind of as a bonus. We didn’t notice the lack of a second signature until she was processing all the paperwork for the night.”
“So…we’re not actually married?” Kane wasn’t sure how to take the squeak in Delilah’s voice. There was some comfort in the way she grabbed his hand, though.
He closed his eyes, swallowing. Damn it. If they were legally married, he thought he’d have some extra time to convince her. To show her the way they could be together. At the very least the time it took to get legally untangled. Not being married at all, though… Now she could pretend the night before was just a strange dream, a mistake.
It had been many things, but the last thing he’d ever be able to take was hearing her call it a mistake.
“Well, he’s not, but you are,” Norman answered, yanking Kane out of his mini-pity party.
Delilah blinked. First at Norman, then at Kane, then back at Norman. “Excuse me?”
“You signed the license and the certificate. He only signed the certificate. Without the license, though, it’s not legal. So I guess you’re not actually married either, in the legal sense, but that’s what you’re here to fix, right? all we’d really need is for your young man here to sign and then file it at the courthouse. Then, vwah-lah, onto your happily ever after.” Norman beamed now, no doubt thinking this was the best news since Christmas.
“Vwah-lah,” Kane repeated Norman’s mangled French duly. One signature and he could trap the woman of his dreams into a marriage she didn’t want.
Fabulous.
He looked down at Delilah, meeting her stunned gaze. This was one of the rare times when he had no idea what she was thinking. For all that he’d laid his heart out for her, she had yet to say one word about her feelings for him. If she even had any. Wanting him and loving him were two different things. Just because he was just like his grandfather didn’t mean she was a thing like his grandmother. Carrying her off until she agreed to be his wife wasn’t going to work this time. Not in this era and not with this woman. Not even seduction would make Delilah do something she didn’t want to do. Which was why it had taken Craig three years to drag her to the altar.
How did Kane think he was going to get away with it in a single weekend?
“Could you tell me something?” Delilah asked softly.
“Sure thing, Mrs. Wilkensen.”
They both started at that title, but it sounded damn good on her.
“Who chose the sky thing?”
Norman’s smile impossibly grew. “You mean Starry Night?”
“The galaxy thing, with the stars everywhere.”
Kane frowned down at her. “I thought you loved stars.” She’d gone to how many astronomy classes to see them. For a while there, he’d thought she was going to settle on the topic for serious study, but she’d finally admitted to him that she just loved looking at them.
“I do.”
“You told me you always wanted a night wedding, so you could see them.” That had baffled him about her and Craig’s wedding plans. Early afternoon hadn’t fit at all with what she’d said she wanted in several conversations they’d had over the years.
“I did.” So why was she looking at him like he was crazy?
“Your husband did the picking. Actually, it was such a great effect, we’re making “The Night Garden” an option for our predesigned packages. Usually, that sky is for the sci-fi fans who wanna get married in space. Figured it all fit you two just perfect.”
“Yeah?” Kane asked, still unable to pull his gaze from Delilah’s. “How’s that?”
“Heads in sky, feet on the ground. No way you two knew what you were doing and that’s a fact, but I let you go through with it because I have a feeling it wasn’t ever gonna happen if either of you were in your right minds. You two got the mark of folks that let petty things like responsibility and other people’s feelings get in the way of what’s right.”
They both turned to look at Norman then, incredulity a feeling Kane knew was coursing through both of them.
Norman only shrugged. “Like I said, forty years of marrying people, you see a lot of things. No matter how many people have passed through my doors and how many reasons they all did it, nothing has ever made me sadder than the people that want to, but don’t. Or think they can’t. Life is rough enough, you know? Having the right person by your side is about the only thing that makes it worthwhile. Going without that person just because there’s some obstacles in the way? Because it’s the noble thing to do? I don’t know about you, but that just plain sucks to me. Love ain’t about being noble. Love is about being whole. Trust me. Noble comes in its own time and it’s usually miserable when it gets here.”
Kane had the distinct feeling Norman was talking to him and if the knots in his gut had anything to say about it, Norman was right.
***
The ride back to the casino was silent and Delilah had the worst urge to bite her nails, a habit she’d kicked years ago. Kane hadn’t let go of her other hand, his thumb absently sliding over the bands of the rings she wore. But he hadn’t actually looked at her since they got in the limo and he hadn’t said a word since Norman had given him his hat and the certificate to sign. Brooding, as only Kane could. Of course, as a result, Kane’s last words kept reverberating through her mind like a clock striking midnight.
“Is it all right if we think about it before signing it?”
We. But he didn’t mean we. He meant I.
Wasn’t this the man who’d been declaring his claim on her since they woke up wrapped in each other? The closet romantic who thought an inebriated wedding was true and binding? Why hadn’t he jumped to sign the certificate and make this marriage as real as the one in his head?
The minutes dragged on, the quiet dragging just as slowly across her nerves. Kane’s silences had never bothered her before, but this one felt different. Full of questions and no answers and it was making her skin twitch. His hat sat low on his brow, making it hard to see what his eyes and figure out what he was thinking. He wouldn’t talk until he was ready to talk, she’d learned that a long time ago. A girl was better off pounding her head on the wall than trying to get him to open up after he’d clammed shut, because she wouldn’t get a word out of him.
Just when she couldn’t take anymore, her grip on his hand tugging before she could stop herself and draw
ing his distant gaze, the car came to a stop under the portico outside the casino.
The corner of Kane’s mouth lifted in a wan approximation of his smile. He opened the door, but instead of being relieved to escape the car, she absolutely didn’t want to budge.
“Time to go, Del.”
“No, it’s time to talk.”
“We can talk upstairs.”
“No, you’ll find some way to shut me down up there to. Tel Pete to keep driving or something, but we need to talk.”
A slow blink and a slower sigh.
Fine, they’d have to do this now. “Why didn’t you sign the paper?” she asked, her other hand wrapping around his to keep him where he was. “You could have just signed it there and let them file it.”
“Del—”
“No, tell me. You said you wanted me. You wanted to be married to me. You wanted to be with me. But you’re not signing it. I don’t get it. What happened? What am I missing?”
The expression that had him closing his eyes as if he were in pain had better not be regret. “Del—”
He never got any further than that, though. The door was suddenly pulled wide and since his other hand was still holding onto it, Kane all but fell out of the car as two very unlikely faces came into view.
“Dad?” Delilah winced as she realized her voice came out as a shrill near-scream.
Strangely, it didn’t drown out Kane’s quiet tone as he acknowledged the other man staring at them. “Craig.”
Kane turned his head to glance at her one more time, some message in his eyes she couldn’t understand, then he did the last thing she wanted and got out of the car.
Dread pooled in her bely before tightening into a solid block of jagged edges. If her father was here, that meant her mother was here, no doubt behind Craig. And there was no way her grandmother was going to miss out on this debacle, which mean Rainbow had to be somewhere nearby. There would be yelling, crying, accusations, possibly even a small heart attack. Definitely an ambulance for someone, though whether it would be her mother or Kane, Delilah couldn’t guess. The only thing sure right now was that it was going to be ugly. And loud. Very, very loud.
How much would it cost to get Pete to peel out and drive her very, very far from here?
Sadly, it didn’t matter. all the money was upstairs in the closet. Which meant she’d have to face the firing squad whether she liked it or not. Whether Kane wanted to be her husband or not. Somehow, listening to her parents freak out and facing Craig’s anger wasn’t half as scary as being left adrift without Kane.
This, she realized as she slid to the edge of the seat and put her foot on the road outside, must be what doom feels like.
She was just about to push herself out of the car when Kane’s hand reached down for hers. She looked up, her heart picking up speed when she saw the familiar reassurance in his eyes. They hadn’t settled a thing but he wasn’t going to let her face this on her own.
She swallowed the lump rising in her throat, blinking to settle the sting of tears trying to form in her eyes. Then she slid her hand into the warmth of his and let him help her to her feet. Kane quickly closed the door and signaled to Pete to go ahead. The kid probably wanted a tip, but he was smart enough to see a situation he wanted to avoid and the car just short of burned rubber out of the driveway.
Delilah looked around carefully. Her ex-fiancé and her father standing shoulder to shoulder with identical blank expressions was not a good sign. Beyond them, sitting on gold-painted benches near the matching gold doors of the casino were her mother and grandmother. Dinah, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, and Rainbow, waving as if this were the most exciting thing since the British Invasion. Behind them, his dark hair falling artfully across his face in flattened layers, stood Jesse.
She shouldn’t have been surprised, since someone had to have tracked down Craig, but still, seeing their most elusive friend with her mom took this meeting from embarrassing to surreal.
Kane cleared his throat, nodding to her father. “Colonel, sir, how about we all take this upstairs, where we can speak privately.”
At her father’s nod, Kane acknowledged the others and led the way into the hotel, not letting go of her hand the entire way.
Chapter Nine
The living room of their hotel suite, such as it was, had floor to ceiling glass on one side, complete with full length curtains that could turn the day into night if drawn.
Like nearly everything in the downstairs portion of the room, Kane was fairly sure they were controlled by the glossy tablet resting on the white lacquer table in the center of a sitting area facing it.
The huge room was mostly open, but there was a definite sense of sections. One wall boasted a large flat-screened television and closed cabinets he’d just bet held every kind of electronic device one could imagine. A dining area was tucked behind where the stairs arched, the long table likely custom made for the sunken space.
The carpet was so white and thick he wondered absently how often the hotel had to replace it.
For all its opulence and size, he also had to wonder if it was big enough to handle the tension coming off the seven people inside it.
Delilah had kept pace with him to the elevators, her grip tight in his. Once they were in the room, he led her to the couch corner and settled himself next to her on the arm. He’d gestured to all of them to choose seats of their own on the long couches, but so far, only the ladies had taken the invitation. Jesse had parked himself against the room’s double doors—in case he needed to clear out if the women got too emotional, no doubt—Craig stood near the window, looking out as if none of this had any meaning for him and the Colonel positioned himself in front of the wall with the television, automatically taking the strategic place for control of everything.
Dinah, despite all her eye dabbing, didn’t have a hair out of place or a smudge to her makeup. She watched him and Delilah like a hawk, waiting for something to pounce on, if he didn’t miss his guess. Rainbow, her graying black hair curling wildly into her face despite her efforts to pull it back with a cloth scrunchy of some kind, looked pleased as punch to be included in whatever kind of showdown this was supposed to be. She’d even dressed somewhat somberly—for her—in a black tie-dyed, rainbow-colored skirt and a matching black cotton peasant shirt with multi-colored flowers embroidered on the sleeves and neckline. Meaning she either thought this was going to be a hippy funeral or she was planning to jump into one of the pirate shows immediately after this. Or possibly both.
“So,” The Colonel began, his gaze—colored just like his daughter’s—searing into Kane’s skull, “which of you would like to explain what’s going on?”
Kane probably shouldn’t have been amused, but fact was, everyone in the room probably heard Delilah’s nervous swallow. He had no idea why she was so nervous. It had taken him all of twenty seconds after meeting Heath McGavin to see the retired Air Force Colonel was absolute mush when it came to his daughter. The older man was rational. If they simply addressed it all like adults, they’d be fine. “With all due respect, sir, I believe that’s our business.”
“Not when you’re talking about my daughter, it’s not.”
“She may be your daughter, sir, but she’s my wife.”
“You can’t possibly force her to adhere to a marriage vow she made while she was drugged!” Dinah looked to her husband, craning her neck to try to catch Craig’s eyes and failing that, pinioned Kane with a glare. “That’s just ridiculous!”
“Mom,” Delilah sighed. “Kane isn’t forcing me to do anything.”
Rainbow patted Dinah’s knee. “Of course he’s not. Look at him, Dinah. You really think a man who looks like that has to force his way anywhere? If I were Delilah, I’d have tied him up and had my way with him years ago.”
Kane decided to ignore that—even if Jesse was coughing in his corner, pretending he wasn’t laughing, the bastard—and got back to his potential father-in-law.
“We all know th
at Rainbow’s…whatever it was—”
“Help, honey. I was being helpful.”
“—had a lot to do with what happened at the wedding and we’re sorry that we left you to explain it to the guests—”
“To our families. We had to explain to two hundred members of our family and his.” The Colonel hooked a thumb toward Craig. “The three of you just walking out like that was irresponsible and disrespectful to everyone who took the time and effort to be here.”
“Heath, I know herbs aren’t really your thing,” Rainbow interrupted, oblivious to the daggers her son-in-law was staring toward her. “But you may want a hit off one of my medicinal cigarettes before that vein in your forehead blows up. Then again, popping it might mean we’ll have an easier time pulling your head out of your ass.”
“Dinah,” The Colonel growled.
“Rainbow,” Dinah sighed, stopping her mother from rifling through her fanny pack full of God only knew what, but Rainbow wasn’t having it. She slapped Dinah’s restraining hands away and kept flipping until she pulled out what could only be a dime bag of high quality marijuana. She held it up in triumph before Dinah snatched it away.
“Mother! For the love of God!”
“What?” Rainbow asked, clearly exasperated now. “You both know I slipped the kid something, but you’re still in here acting like she’s the last virgin in Vegas. She wasn’t kidnapped by some war-mongering savage. She ran off with six feet of prime, fuckable hot guy and I for one think she has excellent taste.”
At Rainbow’s smiling nod of approval her way, Delilah dropped her head in her hands. On the upside, Jesse’s choking wasn’t feigned anymore.
“I mean, she was living with that one for three years and he’s no hardship to look at either. If she’s a virgin, I’m Moby Dick!”
There was a thump near the door, accompanied by the wheeze of someone trying desperately to breathe.
Delilah leapt to her feet, hands out. “Okay, that’s enough. I think we can all safely agree that I’m not a virgin, all right? But neither is anyone else here, especially not you, Rainbow.”
