Chapter 6
Chase recognized the place as soon as they entered, even before his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting inside. He’d been there before.
“Welcome to the Wedding Chapel.” The proprietor’s gaze zeroed in on the rings they wore. “You look like a happy couple. Are you looking to renew your vows? We offer a discount package for vow renewals.”
“No, thank you,” Alana said.
“Buenos días, Senor.” Chase held out his hand. “Were you working here last night?”
“No, senor, that would be mi hermano, Julio.”
Alana smiled at the man. “Do you have a registry that lists the couples who’ve been married in this chapel?”
“Sí, senora. We do.” He led them to a large white book on a table near the rear of the chapel.
Chase knew what they’d find. He remembered being there.
He remembered standing at the altar, facing Alana in her red dress and a borrowed white veil.
That memory came back to him with all the force of a freight train.
He’d bought rings, married her, kissed her and signed the papers all in the matter of a few minutes.
Alana bent over the book and dragged her finger down the page to the bottom. For a long moment, she stared at the two signatures on the line. “We really did it.”
“Yes, we did.” He didn’t tell her he remembered.
Nor did he tell her how he’d felt at the moment he’d said I do, because he felt it all over again.
That feeling of rightness. That this was a woman he could trust with his heart, and who would never leave him for another man because she was lonely and insecure. She was the one.
All those thoughts raced through his head as he stared down at his signature on the page.
And Alana wanted to have their union annulled.
That knowledge made a hole in his chest where his heart should have been.
“What were we thinking?” Alana stared at their signatures, shaking her head.
“Blame it on the tequila,” Chase murmured.
He took her hand and led her toward the exit.
On the wall beside the door leading out to the beach were photos of some of the couples who’d been married in the little chapel.
Dead center was an instant photo of Alana and Chase, just like the one they’d found in his hotel room.
Alana wore the red dress and a funny little white veil.
He wore black trousers and the white polo shirt he’d worn on the flight from California to Cabo.
They’d smiled for the camera, appearing like all the other couples posted on the wall—happy.
Why had they woken up completely devoid of these memories?
Well, at least he could remember the wedding ceremony and kissing the bride.
With her hand in his, he wanted to pull her into his arms and test that kiss again.
If he did, would he recapture the feeling of rightness?
Would she feel the same? And would it trigger her memory?
Alana paused to study the photos. Chase knew the exact moment she spotted theirs.
She stiffened, and a small gasp escaped her lips.
“Just like the one in your room,” she whispered.
“It wasn’t a prank.” By now, the reality of their marriage was etched in stone.
The rings, the marriage certificate, signatures in the chapel registry and the photos would have been too much of a coincidence.
“Julio said that a couple came in last night with a mile-long conga line.” The proprietor chuckled. “He prides himself on judging whether or not a couple’s marriage will stand the test of time. Those two were completely head-over-heels for each other. They’ll be together until death do they part.”
Alana’s fingers tightened around Chase’s hand, but she didn’t pull free. “We should be going. Thank you for letting us in.”
“My pleasure. And remember, if you want to renew your vows, it’s half the cost of a wedding package.”
Alana’s cheeks reddened, and she ducked her head.
The proprietor opened his arms wide. “We are here to help give a jumpstart to every couple’s dreams of marriage and happiness by taking the work out of wedding planning.”
Alana slipped through the door and out onto the sand, still holding onto Chase’s hand. “We’re almost to La Casa Loca,” she said unnecessarily.
Chase could clearly see the structure.
“Do you think it’s safe to enter?” she asked, her expression impossible to read behind the big, round sunglasses.
He studied the building ahead. Tourists sat on the outdoor patio, drinking, eating and smiling happily.
On the beach around the establishment, young people lounged in everything from Speedos to bikinis and one-piece swimsuits.
Mothers chased children into the waves, and families gathered around beach umbrellas to share sandwiches or to apply sunscreen.
“I think it’ll be fairly safe during the light of day.
But I would prefer you to stay outside in case my guy is inside, determined to take me down. ”
Even before he finished his statement, Alana was shaking her head.
“We’ve been over this before. I’m just as much a target as you are, and you need someone watching your back.
Besides, they won’t recognize us in these ridiculous disguises.
The guy who married us sure didn’t connect us to the couple in the photograph.
” She gave him a fake smile. “See? We’re just a couple of tourists, going into an establishment for a drink. ”
Chase brushed a finger across her cheek. “You know, you’re pretty special.” Then he bent and touched his lips to hers in a feather-soft kiss. “I’m beginning to see why I married you so quickly.”
Alana raised her hand to her lips. “Why did you do that?”
He grinned. “Do what? Do this?” Chase dropped another kiss on her lips. But it wasn’t enough. Before he could think through his actions, he pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss. Oh, yeah. His lips couldn’t forget the sensation of her mouth against his.
Alana stood still, her hands resting against Chase’s chest. When he started to pull away, she curled her fingers into his polo shirt and dragged him closer.
Chase obliged, happy to kiss this woman and hoping she would remember at least part of the night before.
He swept his tongue across the seam of her lips.
Alana opened her mouth on a sigh, giving Chase the opportunity to dart in and caress her tongue in a long, sensuous kiss.
For a long moment, they stood in the sand, frozen in time, kissing like long-lost lovers.
When at last Chase raised his head to take a breath, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I remember this.”
Alana stared at his chest, the sunglasses shielding her eyes.
Finally, she shook her head. “I don’t remember any of this.
” Then she stepped backward, out of Chase’s embrace.
“We need to move on if we’re going to discover what happened before your midnight rendezvous.
” She set out across the sand at a brisk pace.
Chase hurried to catch up. When he reached for her hand, she brushed his aside and kept walking. What the hell? He could not have been mistaken by her earlier response. Alana had returned the kiss with as much fervor as he’d given. What had he done wrong to deserve the cold shoulder now?
Alana charged ahead, determined to get to the bar, learn what they could and get the hell out of the mess they’d landed in.
She couldn’t believe she’d married a stranger within hours of meeting him.
Not only would her father go ballistic, but he’d also likely hire a hit man to take out the man who’d dared marry his daughter so quickly.
He’d be convinced the man was after one thing only—Daddy’s money.
She’d have to remind her father that money alone didn’t ensure a marriage. Vance was proof of that. When it had come to the actual wedding ceremony, he’d skipped out with someone else rather than marry her.
Alana frowned. Or had her father paid him off? Had he paid Vance to skip out on her wedding and go off with the wedding planner? The moment the thought came to her, it left. No. Her father had approved of Vance. He’d pushed for the marriage as much as she had.
Her father would disapprove of Chase immediately upon meeting him.
The fact he hadn’t had a hand in selecting him for his daughter would play a huge part in that disapproval.
Dwayne Neal, a multimillionaire, liked to control every aspect of his daughter’s life.
Perhaps that was why Alana liked Gina so much.
Her father hadn’t chosen Gina to be her friend.
They’d been friends since they’d met at a party in Honolulu.
Gina had come as a guest of a guest. It galled her father that he didn’t know Gina and couldn’t find enough dirt on her to keep her out of Alana’s life.
Thank God, Gina had been there when her wedding day fell apart.
Gina and her other friend, Kimo, had helped Alana out of her dress and into the red one, grabbed her suitcase and bundled her and Gina into a taxi before her father had arrived to berate her for letting Vance slip away.
He would have found a way to make it her fault that her fiancé had eloped with the wedding planner.
He never understood when people didn’t do what he expected of them.
Alana didn’t go to great lengths to displease her father, but she found a bit of backbone and a rebellious streak running through her veins when her father cinched the reins too tightly. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she’d gravitated toward the handsome SEAL.
Her father wouldn’t have liked her hanging out with a man trained in combat. A man he hadn’t met and couldn’t control. Yeah, Daddy would be livid when he discovered she’d married someone other than Vanishing Vance.
As they neared La Casa Loca, Chase hooked his arm through Alana’s and slowed her down. “We’re not in a race,” he reminded her. “We’re tourists coming in for a drink at the bar.”