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His contact rings until it goes to voicemail. I frown.
“Can you call Tyler?” I ask Annie.
She does, and on the third ring, he answers.
“Hey, where are you?” Her golden eyes widen. “No. Stay there. We’ll come to you.”
* * *
When we reach the Bellagio, I’m out of breath and so is Barney. At least one of us seems to be feeling better. He trots alongside as we run past the elegant fountains toward the main entrance of the hotel and casino.
He insisted he needed his wedding ring.
Broke down in the desert.
Paramedics just finished with him.
The words Annie panted on the way over echo in my head. I push aside images of the worst. We run inside, and I point us toward the jewelry store.
Tyler, Beck, and Ash are at the door, along with security.
The guard is blocking my path, arguing with a woman. “He’s swaying all over the place. You’re telling me he’s not intoxicated?”
“I’ll bite your leg, then we’ll see how well you walk.”
“Leni!”
The blond-gray pixie swivels, leveling her shrewd gaze on me. “You had to keep this man out of trouble for one more day.” She hitches a thumb over her shoulder with a grin. “Lucky I found his ass on my drive from LA. Evidently, they had a run-in with some desert wildlife.”
Leni waves at me to run along, and I duck past her into the store.
Harrison’s bent over the jewelry case, speaking to a sales associate.
At least he’s standing.
“We’ve been talking about going hiking all year, and you take the guys?” I demand.
Harrison turns to face me. His handsome face is paler than normal, but his mouth quirks up at the corner. “Evidently bark scorpions can be dangerous, although not usually deadly unless you have an allergic reaction.”
“Asshole refused to go the hospital,” Leni interjects.
My throat is still tight. “Tell me you didn’t drive off into the desert because of a stupid ring.”
His gaze slides to a small box on the glass case.
There’s my answer.
I cross to him and slam the heels of my fists against his chest. “You’re insane. Do you know that?” Again, hard enough he huffs out a breath as dust flies up from the fabric of his shirt. “And uncompromising.” This time he catches my fists and draws them together, pulling me with them. “And you scared the shit out of me,” I finish, embarrassed by the burning in my eyes.
One rogue tear spills over my cheek. Harrison brushes it away with his thumb.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a photo of him with his beaming parents and little brother. “Toro found this. It’s one of the last photos of us as a family before my parents died. I’ve been thinking about it all week.”
My chest tightens. “Is this why you’ve been pushing so hard for this wedding?”
“That and I saw Jax with his children and grandchildren, and it hit me how life is short and I don’t want to wait. I want everything now, and I want it with you. Except I realized I already have it with you. We’re living the best life I can imagine. The perfect wedding won’t change anything. My dreams have already come true.”
His expression clouds with love and regret. “I’m sorry I’ve been a prick. We’ve both had so many hardships, and I’ve been trying to make up for that.” He drops his lips to my forehead. “Patience isn’t my strong suit, but if you don’t want to marry tomorrow, I’ll wait. A week, a month, forever.”
