Holly looks dumbfounded. “He’s been sort of asking you for months. And you’ve been giving him shit about it. Now you’re ready?”
Becca smiles, and suddenly she doesn’t look quite so drunk. “He was asking for the wrong reasons and he hasn’t proposed in at least a month. He knows I’m not going anywhere now. He’s settled down. And I want to keep him, so we should get married. Plus, I need to keep him on his fucking toes. When he thinks I’m going to zig, I’ll zag like a motherfucker.”
She smirks, then sticks her tongue out, searching for her straw as her hand waves. None of us mention it when she accidentally sticks the straw up her nose. She puts her drink down on the sidewalk next to her and watches the world go by, that smile never leaving her face.
Well alright then,” Holly says with a roll of her eyes. The body painter works fast, and soon enough, the guys are striding over to us, proudly showing off their paint.
“Kade,” Becca says, looking up at him. “Let’s get married. Right now.”
His mouth drops open. He searches her face. “You’re fucking with me?”
“Nope. I’m serious. There’s a chapel right over there,” she says, pointing at one of the hotels across from us.
“Are you sure?” His throat is bobbing.
She reaches up, pulling him down to her. He drops to his knees, pressing between her thighs, smearing the brown body paint along his sides. “I love you. That’s never changed. And I want a future with you. So yes, I’m sure. I’m not interested in the dress, or flowers, or any of the planning that comes with a big wedding. I just want to be married to you. So will you marry me? Now? With all our friends around us?”
“Fuck yeah!” he yells, planting a deep kiss on her, then hopping up and running around to all his brothers. “I’m getting married fuckers. Let’s go, right the fuck now.”
And that’s how Becca, slightly sloshed, clutching her drink like it’s a bouquet, marries Kade, painted like a gorilla, contoured chest and all. In the audience are a lion, a rhino, and a unicorn. And don’t try convincing Mia that a unicorn isn’t a real animal. I try and end up ninety-nine percent sure that they actually are. That kid is going to be dangerous as a teenager.
Kade’s gazing down at Becca, love shining from his face. “You’re the best fucking thing to ever happen to me. Thank fuck you didn’t let me fuck it up. I promise I will love you, cherish you, and give you whatever the fuck you want for the rest of our lives.”
We’re all laughing. The man has no problem throwing F-bombs in his wedding vows. I’ve never met anyone who curses as much as he does.
Becca laughs with us. She knows him. Knows everything about him and clearly loves it all. “All I want is you. I promise to call you on your shit. I promise to wear that little outfit you bought me at least once a week, and I promise to stick it out and fight with you. I won’t give up on you. Ever.”
I try to hide my wet eyes, but when I look around the room and realize nobody else is, I give up. A smiling Micah is holding a sobbing Holly. Becca finally turns to her, exasperated, “Get a fucking grip, woman.”
I really do like these people.
Smiling, I listen to them make a few more racy vows. And when Declan steps beside me, casually brushing his fingers over the back of my hand, it takes everything in me to resist leaning into him. My need to keep this private competes with my need to feel connected to him. So I memorize his small touch. It has to be enough for now.
When it’s over, a laughing Becca turns to us, chucking her thankfully empty plastic glass at us in lieu of a bouquet. Her aim is shit, so she banks it off the wall before sending it straight into Zach’s hands. He scowls at her and drops it into the trashcan on the way out.
We spill out of the chapel into the casino, beelining for the slots. Well, except for Ransom, Nick, and Jonas. They head to the poker tables, convinced slots are for suckers, which of course, they are. But it’s a lot of fun pulling those little arms. The push-button ones aren’t nearly as satisfying. We’re riding a love high, Kade and Becca in the center, spending more time making out than gambling, but other than a couple of side eyes, no one pays them much attention. Clearly, they’re not the worst Vegas has seen.
Declan, Zach, and I settle at a row of machines, waving goodbye to Colton and Evie with their very sleepy Mia. We’re definitely getting some looks. Zach’s unicorn paint is sparkling, thanks to the flashing lights of the slots, and Declan’s the most built lion I’ve ever seen. I can’t even count how many women are sneaking glances. The older ones don’t even bother pretending they’re not staring. The guys don’t seem to care, so I ignore it, along with the waves of heat I feel coming from Declan, and just play.
Turns out gambling is a lot more fun when you’re doing it with someone else’s money. Ransom pressed a black card into my hand before he disappeared further into the casino. When I saw the balance available, I almost swallowed my tongue. The business owner in me wants to cash out and use this money to invest in a new bar, but vacation me has decided to say fuck it.
We don’t notice them at first. We’re too busy laughing and whooping when we get tiny payouts. But gradually, the smell of baby powder and muscle relaxant cream invades our senses. As a unit, Declan, Zach, and I turn to look behind us. The sea of seniors standing there suddenly scatters, trying to look busy. One old man with the gnarliest nose I’ve ever seen in real life just looks straight up to the ceiling, clutching his walker. Like if he doesn’t make eye contact, we won’t be able to see him.
“What the fuck is happening?” I hiss, spinning back to my machine. Declan and Zach are both grim-faced, shoulders tight.
“Fucking lurkers,” Declan mutters.
“We’re not moving,” Zach shouts, looking back over his shoulder. “Not again fuckers.”
“Wait, what? What am I missing?”
“They’re lurkers. They’re going to wait, and when we leave our machines, they’ll swoop in and steal the payout. No way. Not this time.”
“This has happened before?”
“Last time we were in Vegas,” Zach mumbles, yanking the handle down aggressively. “We left for a few minutes, and the ladies that took our machines walked away with a couple of grand. It’s not happening this time.”
“Damn right it’s not,” Declan vows.