Page 61

“I did. I’m sorry I fell asleep on you, but your audiobook narrator had the most monotonous voice I’ve ever heard. How many of those have you listened to on this trip?” He sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face before reaching for his metal water bottle.

“Hell, I didn’t even count. All true crime books, so don’t change your mind about marrying me because I’ve learned a few things.” I waggled my eyebrows.

Weston laughed. “I’m sure. So, I’ve decided that if the Board votes to approve me, I’m going to run Aames Investments. My father wanted me to make Aames my own, so I’m going to. I’m going to set up a new department to manage charitable organizations’ investment portfolios. I’ve got a lot to learn, but your dad said he’d teach me everything I needed to know. I was shocked, but happy. He talked like it was a done deal. Do you know anything about it?”

“I got an email this morning that there’s a board meeting on Wednesday, so we maybe have to fly home and have the RV shipped home. That won’t give us much time in Las Vegas.” I’d been to Vegas before, and West said he’d gone with a group of friends from college that he no longer kept in touch with.

“That’s fine. Maybe we can go on a honeymoon later in the fall? Maybe go back to the Bubu Bear Jellystone Campground outside St. Charles, Missouri?” He was teasing, but I thought it was a great idea. Anywhere with him was a great idea.

“Sounds good to me. So, you’re sure about running Aames if you get the chance?” I didn’t want him to do it out of guilt. I was surprised my father had told me he’d help him out. Dad hadn’t mentioned it to me, but I was thrilled.

West smiled and nodded. “I’m sure.”

Maybe things were changing all around? I wouldn’t be opposed to having a better relationship with my parents, especially in light of our getting married. Well, after they got over being pissed about not being around for the wedding. They were at my first wedding and we all know how that turned out. The only people who needed to be there were West and me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Weston

“I do.” When Bridges said those two small words, my heart skipped a beat. Only in my wildest dreams did Bridges Eaton ask me to marry him.

We stood before the officiant wearing our “I got married in Vegas” T-shirts, jeans, and flip flops. It was supposed to be a hundred degrees that afternoon, and we’d reserved a cabana by the pool. We were flying back to New York on Tuesday morning and having the RV shipped home by the hauler we used for shipping Bridges’ bikes.

“I now pronounce you spouses. You may kiss your husband.”

For the sake of the officiant, we made it a chaste kiss. I knew when we got back to the hotel, things would get down and dirty, and I was more than ready for it.

I’d bought Bridges a silicone ring because he worked with his hands and he said anything else would get scratched. I spent the last hundred bucks in my checking account—if I didn’t count the huge check I wrote to the Rainbow Equality Alliance. I’d die if that check bounced.

I still owed Bridges the three grand he fronted me for the ride, but I was sure it was a lot more than that. At first he baulked at me paying him back, but I reminded him that I’d told Cheri Todd that nobody had given me any money for the trip. He didn’t want the claim to bite me in the ass, so he agreed to take the money after I went to work at Aames.

We signed the marriage license, and the officiant gave us a copy until we received the official one from the State of Nevada. We walked back to the hotel, holding hands and smiling like we were nuts.

“Well, husband, what would you like to do now? Play craps or roulette? Maybe Keno? Oh, we could go to a show,” Bridges teased.

“Oh, maybe we should play Keno. I’m feeling lucky.” Yeah, this marriage was going to be a blast!

Bridges picked me up around the waist and tossed me over his shoulder, carrying me through the lobby of the casino and boarding the elevator. “You can put me down now. All the blood is running to my head, you brute.”

He laughed and jostled me a bit. “Don’t worry. It’ll be flowing south at an alarming rate when we get to the room.”

I heard a giggle and glanced under his arm to see an older couple had joined us on the ride. The woman gave me a little wave before reading Bridges’ shirt. “Congratulations.”

Bridges grinned. “Thank you. My groom was too tired to walk, so I’m carrying him over the threshold.”

The couple laughed as I swatted him on his denim covered ass. “Hey, we’re in mixed company. Save a little something for later,” Bridges joked, making the couple laugh again.

We got out on our floor and went to the suite he’d rented for us, putting me down once we were in the room. I was a little dizzy, but no worse for wear.

I grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom where we consummated our marriage three times. Yes, this marriage was going to be a blast.

“How do I look?” Bridges asked as he stepped out of the closet in one of the two suits he owned.

I was fiddling with my tie, unable to make a decent knot. I glanced at him and smiled. “You look very handsome, Mr. Aames-Eaton.” We’d agree to add the other’s surname and hyphenate instead of one of us taking the others name.

“You need help with that?” He flipped up my collar and adjusted the length of the tie before he looped it into a perfect half-Windsor knot.

“I told you that you don’t have to go. I’m a big boy. I can take rejection as long as you’re waiting for me here.” I meant it.