Page 60 of Bound To Be Mine

“Ready?” Briggs asked.

“Maybe not.” I laughed.

“Too late. You got me here.”

I was truly second-guessing my life choices but there was no backing out now.

19

BRIGGS

Ipulled out my wallet and handed Gary a hundred-dollar bill. “Thank you for everything. And for not calling the police on us.”

Gary waved me off. “Keep your money, son. You already paid me enough to last a while.”

“Take it anyway,” I said, pressing it into his hand. “For putting up with us twice.”

He pocketed it with a grin. “You two take care of each other, you hear? And maybe lay off the tequila for a while.”

“That’s the plan,” Mandy said.

We watched Gary drive off, the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves fading into the Vegas night. I turned to look at the roller coaster snaking above us, all twisted metal and flashing lights.

“We’re not really going to ride that thing right now, are we?” I asked.

Mandy looked at me like I’d just suggested we go home early. “Why not? We’re here.”

“Because it’s a roller coaster. At night. In Vegas.”

“So?”

“I don’t ride roller coasters.”

“You did two nights ago,” she pointed out. “And I, for one, am enjoying piecing together what happened that night. Maybe the fear will trigger a memory.”

I looked up at the coaster again. A car full of screaming people plunged down a steep drop. I felt my stomach clench just watching it.

“This is a terrible idea,” I said.

“We survived it once.” She was already walking toward the entrance. “Come on, Husband. Live a little.”

I followed her because apparently that’s what I did now. I followed Mandy Carter-Blackwell into situations that made no logical sense.

“Wait, did you take my name?” I asked.

“What?”

“I was just thinking, are you Mandy Blackwell now?”

She looked thoughtful. “No. I’m not going through the hassle of changing my name for a three-month marriage. I’m Mandy Carter.”

“If we stayed married, like if we were really married, would you be a Blackwell?”

Another pause. “I think I would want to be a Blackwell in our personal life, but I wouldn’t for my professional life. I wouldn’t want to glom onto the Blackwell name.”

I laughed. I knew exactly what she was hinting at. I wasn’t going to apologize again. I had said what I said. And now I was married to her. That was one hell of a consequence.

“Good to know,” I said. “Let’s do this.”