Griff hated suits. Not that he had too much experience in one beyond his dress blues. The one the clerk at the rental place had pushed on him felt overly fancy. Then again, the only one he’d ever owned had come from a mail-order catalog, so he didn’t exactly have a well-informed perspective on the matter.
But the moment Sam caught sight of him, he took back every negative thought about it. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes went dark. She mimed fanning herself as he approached.
“Damn.” Her gaze took him in from head to toe. “Just damn.”
“You’re looking pretty bombshell yourself.”
Her long, glossy brown hair had been done up in some intricate half-up, half-down style that showed off shiny chandelier earrings. The makeup made her eyes deep, liquid pools he wanted to fall into. And the dress… Well he’d heard women complain about the hideousness of bridesmaid dresses and thought maybe Chloe deserved a medal of honor and a huge thank you. He didn’t know what any of the details were called other than the color—champagne, she’d told him last night—but she looked gorgeous. He pulled her to him for a light kiss he hoped wouldn’t ruin her lipstick.
She relaxed at the contact, and only then did he realize she’d been holding herself stiff as a board. Had she been worried about where they stood after last night? Maybe so.
He hadn’t taken her to bed. At least not the way she’d been hoping. Despite clear signals she was up for more, he’d kept things PG, citing the fact that she needed to be up early for wedding festivities. But he had relented enough to get rid of the Great Wall of Pillows so they could fall asleep wrapped up together. Well, she’d slept. He’d lain awake thinking long after her breathing had slowed.
Wanting to soothe and needing to touch her, Griff skimmed a hand down her spine. “You’re beautiful.”
“So are you.” She smoothed his lapels. “Very GQ. You might even outshine the groom. Don’t tell Cody I said that.”
This woman made him smile so easily. “My lips are sealed.”
Someone began to clap. “Okay people, everyone is here. Let’s take our places, please.”
“That’s my cue. See you on the other side.” Sam rose to her toes and kissed him again. Her eyes searched his face for a moment before she squeezed his arm and disappeared through a door with the wedding planner.
Griff went to find a seat. The little chapel was half-full of guests who’d apparently come in for the wedding itself. He slid into a chair about halfway up the bride’s side. Not a moment too soon. Music spilled out of hidden speakers and the bridesmaids processed in, dance-party style. Because of course they did. Sam was second out of the gate. Her face fairly glowed with joy as she be-bopped down the aisle.
Damn, she’d make a beautiful bride.
The idea struck Griff hard enough to steal his breath. He’d never given much consideration to marriage. It was a Someday sort of concept, with a nameless, faceless woman. But as the “Bridal March” began—apparently one of Chloe’s few concessions to tradition—it was Sam he imagined walking down the aisle to meet him at the altar. The thought didn’t rattle him nearly as much as it should. That in itself was terrifying.
But as the bride and groom recited their vows, he caught Sam’s eye and held it, his heart beating thick in his chest.
In a very real way, this woman had saved his life. Not out of an expectation of getting anything in return but because she honestly wanted the best for him. Other than his foster family with Joan, so many of the relationships in his life had been transactional, with balance sheets kept, debts incurred and hoarded, with payback extracted at the highest cost. It was how he’d gotten dragged in as getaway driver for what had turned out to be so much worse than the beer heist he’d been recruited for.
He’d thought about that late into the night, well after the warm weight of her body relaxed against his.
She’d been gone when he woke, off to do all the girly hair and makeup stuff before the wedding, so he’d had yet more time to think and wonder how he could be the man she’d said he could be. He wanted her to know that he took the charge seriously. And, he realized, that he was serious about her. Life-changing kind of serious.
Was this crazy? Without a doubt.
Did that make it wrong? Not necessarily.
“I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Cody Lipscomb. You may kiss the bride.”
The assembled guests cheered as Cody dipped his bride into a deep kiss. Then they were hot footing it out of the chapel with cries of, “See you after the honeymoon!”
Griff stayed put as the other guests exited. He needed a minute to catch his breath and figure out whether he was going to act on the crazy. He’d been working to control his impulsiveness all these years he’d been in the military. But not every impulse had been bad. A great many had led to some of his very best memories. How could he not let her be one of them?
“Well, that’s that. The wedding is done and our duties are officially discharged,” Sam announced draping an arm along his shoulders.
He pulled her into his lap, loving how she cuddled into him. “So now what?”
Her expression turned hesitant as she straightened to look into his eyes. “I suppose that’s up to you. Your promise was kept. You’re free to do whatever you want now.”
“I want to enjoy the rest of Vegas with you.” And, you know, maybe the rest of our lives. But he didn’t say that.
“Do you? I wasn’t sure after last night.”
Hating her uncertainty, he brushed a tendril of hair back from her face. “I’m sorry about that. It had nothing to do with not wanting you. I just needed to think.”
She held herself very still, wariness in those beautiful brown eyes. “What conclusion did you come to?”
“That you’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”
The bloom of surprise and joy on her face made him feel about ten feet tall. “Really?”
“Yeah. You’re good for me, Samantha. I don’t know yet if I’ll be good for you, but I’d like the chance to try.”
Her smile turned wicked. “I have no doubt you’ll be good.”
Well didn’t that just send a blast of heat straight through him? “Not what I meant. Although, yes, that’s a foregone conclusion.” He couldn’t walk away from her tonight.
“Naturally.”
“I don’t remember you having this naughty streak back in high school.”
“There’s a lot you didn’t know about me in high school. But either way, I grew up. And I’ve got a lot more confidence than I did back then.”
“It’s sexy as hell.”
She leaned forward, brushing the shell of his ear with her lips. “So are you.”
“Minx.” With a warning squeeze, he slid her off his lap. “We’ll get there.” That, too, was a foregone conclusion at this point. “But we’re going to take in everything Vegas has to offer. Or as much of it as we can cram into the next twenty-four hours.”
Sam held out her hand. “Then let’s go enjoy the city.”
“Do you want to go back to the hotel to change?”
Sam considered the question. From a purely practical standpoint, that made the most sense. These heels weren’t meant for walking, and likely they’d be more comfortable pursuing adventure in street clothes. But given the chemistry sizzling between them, chances were, they wouldn’t actually make it back out to see the city. She’d been in a hurry to get to that part of the program, driven by some internal clock, counting down to the end of their time together. But then he’d gone and changed things.
I don’t know yet if I’ll be good for you, but I’d like the chance to try.
That wasn’t the kind of thing you said if you expected things to be over tomorrow. It sounded like he wanted more than the weekend. Like he wanted a shot at a real relationship. A thousand questions jostled in her mind as her need for certainty about that warred with just wanting to enjoy the moment. What was next for him? Would he look for jobs in North Carolina near her? Did he really, truly mean this how it felt?
But she didn’t ask. Both because she knew he didn’t have it all figured out yet and didn’t want to pressure him, and because she was terrified the answer would be no and she’d lose even this limited time with him. Asking about the future beyond tomorrow felt as if it would violate the rules of this place. Like it would break the spell. She wanted the fantasy too much to risk it. So she’d take the discomfort of the shoes and the anticipatory torture of all the extra hours seeing Griff in that suit, dreaming about peeling him out of it. As he’d said, they’d get there. She just had to trust him.
Smoothing her fingers down his lapels, she shook her head. “I think we should roll with the finery and let people make up stories about who we are.”
“Stories, huh? Like what?”
“Like, I don’t know… an heiress and her bodyguard. Or a couple of actors they figure they must know from something. Or a pair of spies on a mission to infiltrate… well, I don’t know. Something.”
His lips twitched. “Spies, huh?”
“I mean, it seems like they’re always well dressed in movies or books. It could happen. They don’t know. The point is, we make this—” She gestured between the two of them. “—look good.”
“So we do.”
“Besides, you should totally get your money’s worth out of that suit rental.”
“Fair point. Then let’s away, my lady. I have plans for you.”
The possibilities had her body flushing hot.
His plans apparently included the High Roller, the world’s tallest Ferris wheel. Because he was a prince among men, Griff flagged down a taxi to take them. Or maybe it was because he could kiss her the whole way there. Sam wasn’t inclined to complain either way. If the rest of the day was foreplay, the night was going to be fantastic.
At the High Roller, Griff paid the bored looking driver and helped her out of the car, swinging an arm comfortably around her shoulders. She lifted a hand to lace with his fingers, enjoying the connection and the closeness.
“You know, I never imagined you being this kind of affectionate. It doesn’t fit with the whole bad boy jock persona you had back in high school.”
“It’s different being away from everybody’s expectations. I can just be myself. And I want to be myself with you.”
That he was comfortable enough for that meant a lot to her. Pausing to turn into him, she smiled. “For what it’s worth, I like what I see a whole hell of a lot.”
“Likewise, Professor.”
They were both grinning as he dipped his head toward hers.
“Griff! Yoo-hoo! Griff!”
His head lifted, those sharp eyes searching the crowd. Amusement softened his expression as a trio of older women shuffled their way.
What the hell?
“I told you we’d run into you while you were here!” The one in the lead sported a purple sequin fanny pack and oversized rhinestone sunglasses.
“So you did. It’s good to see you again, ladies. Have you had a good trip?”
“Oh my, yes! So many fabulous shows. And Delia here had a fantastic run at the poker tables.”
The birdlike woman with the dyed-red hair smirked. “You can always count on those idiots to underestimate an old woman.”
Griff chuckled. “Their loss.”
“Who’s your friend, sonny?” Fanny Pack asked.
His arm tightened possessively around her shoulders. “This is my girlfriend, Samantha. Sam, these were my seatmates on my flight. Miss Betty, Miss Delia, and Miss Maudie Bell.”
“Hello, dear!”
“Lovely to meet you.”
“Oh, you did good with this one.”
It was all Sam could do to hold in the squee as she offered a hello. He’d called her his girlfriend. That made it official, right? The faking it was over. He had no reason to lie to these women.
“What’s with the fancy duds?” Miss Delia asked.
“Wedding,” Griff explained.
Miss Betty clapped her hands in glee. “Oh, I love a good Vegas wedding. Congratulations!”
“We should document with before ceremony pictures,” Miss Maudie Bell insisted.
Sam tried to open her mouth to clarify, but the women were already spilling out suggestions of the best wedding chapels in the area and instructing them to pose as they held up cell phones. Griff was playing along, though she could feel his body shaking with held in laughter.
When in Vegas…
They took a series of pictures before everyone got in line to buy tickets for the High Roller. The trio of women stuck with them, continuing to offer enthusiastic advice about the best way to get married in Vegas. It was part bickering, part debate, all overwhelming. Sam couldn’t help but appreciate their enthusiastic romanticism.
“You two kids have fun!”
“May you have a long and happy life together!”
“Happy honeymooning!”
As the doors to their car finally closed behind them, Sam blew out a breath. “Well that was interesting.”
“You did say let people make up stories about us.”
“So I did.” What did it say that the idea of a Vegas wedding didn’t feel as insane now as it would have yesterday? Probably just that Chloe’s enthusiasm had rubbed off on her.
Sam moved to the rail, pleased when Griff took up position behind her, caging her in with his body. The wheel began its slow, steady rotation, and all of the city spread out below them. They were quiet, easy in each other’s company, and maybe both lost in their own thoughts.
“It feels like being on top of the world.” His voice was a low murmur at her ear.
“Makes me want to see the world. Travel is one of those things I’ve always wanted to do but never had the money for.”
“Same. The parts of the world I saw with the Marines weren’t exactly tourist destinations.”
“Yeah. Mom and I try hard not to think about where Jonah’s being sent with the SEALs. It makes us worry too much about the path he’s chosen.” And her brother was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. As she took in the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower against the sunset sky, she leaned back against Griff’s chest and let herself dream.
“Maybe we can do it now,” he murmured.
“See the world after Vegas?”
“That would be amazing. But I was thinking maybe we could do a mini tour right here. They’ve got Paris covered over there. And several other countries represented in attractions. It might be the only shot we get for a long time. What do you say?”
She spun around, combing her fingers through his hair. “There’s no one I’d rather take a world tour with right now than you. Let’s do it.”