Everything else—the organ played by Sally, the bouquet wilting at the edges thrust into her hand, signing the wedding certificate—happened in a blur of cheap champagne and I do’s.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said. “You may kiss the bride.”
Unlike the fast wedding, the kiss was as clear as the rest of her day with Mike. Full of passion and desire, it was over way too soon. Before they knew it their chaplain had clapped his hands and dismissed them, already on to the next couple.
Amber’s heart pounded hard in her chest as the reality of what they’d done settled around her. “Did we really just get married?” Amber asked, laughing as they walked out of the chapel, license and photograph in hand.
“I believe we did…Mrs. Corwin.” It was almost impossible to comprehend, Mike thought.
He normally wasn’t impulsive. As a cop he couldn’t afford to be. Day to day, he relied on training and instinct. When a quick decision was called for, it was always founded in a combination of both.
Now he was married.
The initial impulse had been just that, yet somehow he knew the decision had been rooted in his connection with Amber, one he knew he couldn’t lose. Even now that the deed was done, he didn’t regret a thing. In some odd way, getting hitched to Amber made sense.
For a Corwin man.
He and Amber weren’t in love.
No love, no curse.
Although for Amber, Mike sensed he’d be willing to tempt fate. For the first time, Mike thought he understood his cousin Derek’s recent marriage to his high-school sweetheart, the woman he’d once pushed away to avoid setting the curse in motion. Amber was addictive and Mike discovered he liked being hooked. Enough to want to keep her by his side.
“What do you say we head back to my room and consummate this marriage?” he asked his bride, pushing thoughts of fate and the curse far from his mind.
She smiled at him, her blue eyes dancing with energy and excitement. “I like the sound of that.”
So did Mike.
MIKE WAS MARRIED and he liked it, he realized as Amber snuggled close in the cab ride back to his hotel. With her hanging on to his arm, he headed straight to the large bank of elevators that led to his room. While the Bellagio suites had an opulence that had made him uncomfortable when he’d checked in, the thought of taking Amber up there now and undressing her surrounded by all that elegance pleased Mike and made the extravagant price he’d paid worth-while.
He shoved his hand into his back pants pocket to make sure he had his key and a coin fell onto the floor.
“What’s this?” Amber asked, bending to retrieve it. “A token for the slots?” She studied it on both sides.
He nodded. “Everyone in the wedding party got one.”
“You should use it,” she said, handing it back to him. “It looks like it’s worth ten dollars. You can win big with one of those.”
He raised an eyebrow. “The slots are as rigged as the arcade.” He’d blown over one hundred dollars before that guy had handed the ring over for another five. “Not that I minded, but the guy could have given us the ring anytime he wanted.”
“But what fun would it have been?” she asked, nudging him. “Come on. Don’t be such a skeptic. I’ve lived here long enough to know it’s a crapshoot. But someone has to win every once in a while.” She took his hand and led him back through the casino to the higher-end machines. “Pick one,” she urged.
She obviously wasn’t going to give up until he lost the token. “You choose,” he said.
She shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m just along for the ride. This is all yours. Come on. What are you going to do with the token anyway? Take it back to Boston as a memento?”
“I already have a memento,” he said, stroking his hand down her cheek.
“Are you referring to the photograph? Or me?” she asked, laughing. “Come on. Get it over with.”
He shook his head at her persistence. “Did anyone ever tell you that you can be a little pushy?” he asked, teasing her.
“Many people, many times. Now choose.” She splayed her arms wide.
“Fine. This one,” he said, indicating a machine that promised a million-dollar payout. “But if the impossible happens and I win, half is yours.” He walked over, stuck the token into the slot machine and pushed the spin button. “Satisfied?” he asked, turning away just as bells, lights and whistles went off around them.
“You won!” Amber tugged on his arm and glanc