Once Upon a Marriage

She didn’t know what took her attention from the couple standing in front of the minister. Didn’t know why she turned and looked to the back of the room where Elliott stood, in full wedding garb minus a boutonniere, his hands crossed at his midsection.

He overshadowed the room. Not because of his size. But because he was there. More than her mother or Gabi, more than Liam, she was glad Elliott was there.

Which made no sense.

And perfect sense.

He was there to guard Liam, but he was staring at Marie. She could feel him. As though he were holding her hand. Telling her that she was going to be fine.

That good things were in store for her, too.

The ache in her heart eased. Excitement filled the gaps.

He didn’t smile.

Neither did she.

They just...looked. Giving and taking.

It wasn’t until she heard the music start that she realized the minister had just told the groom he could kiss his bride.

The wedding was over.

And she’d spent the majority of it with Elliott.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

HE’D BEEN TO Vegas before. But it had been a while. He’d forgotten the peculiar energy that buzzed up and down the Strip like a virus infecting everyone. Boundaries evaporated in Las Vegas. Partially because so did some laws. Many things that were illegal in other places were not only legal but openly accepted on the Las Vegas Strip.

The old saying about what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas might not necessarily be true, but the perception that it was true clearly filled the veins of people who were probably straitlaced and responsible any other place on earth.

Not only did anything happen, but it happened twenty-four hours a day. Loudly. Boldly.

Las Vegas was one place where more people than he’d ever seen were capable of letting their hair down. It brought out the wildness in people—even those with only a tiny bit of wildness inside them. If it was there, Vegas would find it.

He had a wild side. Or he had had. It had been a long time since he checked in with it. Maybe he’d grown out of it. The point was, it didn’t matter if it was there or not. It wasn’t his to set free that weekend.

He had a job to do, and he was going to do it.

He accompanied the wedding party to the private brunch in the bridal suite, intending to stand back, to be the observer he was being paid to be—not a participant.

But when Liam insisted he come forward, and Barbara watched him without looking as though she was anything more than curious about him, he knew he was going to lose the battle.

Truth was, he’d been about to lose it anyway. He’d seen the chairs set around the square glass table in front of a wall of windows looking out over the mountains behind the strip. Eight chairs. The bride and groom sat together. Bruce’s brother and his wife pulled out chairs that were side by side. Which left four chairs and Gabrielle, Liam and Marie.

Elliott couldn’t let her sit alone. Even a guy who was just a friend wouldn’t do that to her. Not on this day.

And the suite they were in was private. It wasn’t as if he had to be on guard duty.

Seven people talked. About the wedding. The honeymoon. The food. Las Vegas. Their plans for the afternoon.

Elliott sat next to Marie. He ate. And when she smiled at him, he smiled back.

When she leaned over and asked him in a whisper if he liked his food, he nodded.

And when the meal was complete and everyone was having coffee, he leaned back, stretched his long body and was careful not to touch her as his hands fell to his lap.

Her rose scent had been filtering over to him the entire meal. And that dress...