Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
NATASHA
“W e have to try this place,” Ella said, turning her phone to face me as our charter flight circled into the pattern over the Las Vegas airport. “They have pancakes as big as my head!”
“That’s fine.” I looked out the window, wishing we had time to do the touristy shit Vegas was famous for. I’d never seen the Grand Canyon, and the closest I was likely to get to Hoover Dam was a flyover of Lake Mead. Although I traveled frequently to take out my marks, I’d never gone on a vacation.
“There is a tapas bar down the street from our hotel,” Cristian replied as he scanned his phone. “It appears they serve brunch.”
I tuned them out. My stomach was in too many knots to enjoy a meal, and Ella’s constant chatter was exhausting.
Even the sumptuous private jet, complete with cream leather upholstery and a full bar, couldn’t stop my second thoughts.
Was remarrying Lachlan the only option open to me?
He wouldn’t hurt me again; first because I truly didn’t believe he wanted to, and secondly because I could stop him if he tried to be an asshole again.
Maybe I was overthinking things. The quickie Vegas wedding was my idea in the first place, and I’d been more than clear about what would happen to Lachlan if he acted up.
“You look lovely,” Lachlan murmured, his breath fanning over the sensitive skin under my ear. “But quite pensive. Are Ella’s choices of restaurants not to your liking?”
“I’m fine. Just not hungry.” The bump under the fuselage as the landing gear dropped matched the turmoil in my stomach. “I just want to get this over with.”
“Natasha, we don’t have to remarry.” He touched my cheek and gently turned me until I was looking at him. “If Ronan asks, I’ll simply tell him I haven’t bothered.”
“You’re probably right, but I don’t want to give him any reason to question us.” I sighed and let my head rest against the comfortable cushion. “Don’t worry about getting stuck with me though. I divorced you once, and I can do it again.”
“Of course.” His jaw tightened, and after a moment, he nodded. “I’d still like to hear what you would have wanted if this wedding was intended to be forever.”
“As long as it’s legal, I honestly don’t care. We just need to share a room for one night, then we can go back to Italy.”
Thankfully, he fell silent. I didn’t want to risk opening my mouth and having my wish for a real husband fall out. I wanted a do-over on my wedding night too, where I wouldn’t be the only one thinking I’d get a happy-ever-after.
“So…” Ella said, interrupting my thoughts. “I booked us an appointment with a stylist for a dress fitting. Do you know what you want to wear, Natasha?”
“Jeans and a T-shirt.” When she opened her mouth to protest, I held up my hand. “No dresses, no flowers, and no bullshit. We’re putting on a show, remember? It just has to be legal.”
“A show would require a couture dress and?—”
“If jeans and a T-shirt is what Natasha wants, then she will have it,” Lachlan said, interrupting Ella’s objections. “Our wedding will be what she desires.”
I shot a glance his way, wondering if he’d been replaced by a changeling. In what world did Lachlan O’Donnell care about my wishes?
Ella pouted, then huffed irritably. “What do you think about that drive-through chapel on Las Vegas Boulevard? We could do the Elvis and pink Cadillac package.”
“That’s more bullshit, not less,” I retorted as my lips curled into a wry smile. “But fine. We’ll do the Elvis thing.”
After a quick pitstop for Ella’s pancakes, during which Lachlan forced me to choke down eggs and avocado toast, we got our marriage license and checked into our hotel, then went straight to the chapel.
The celebrant had the Elvis impersonation down pat.
The ceremony started with me in the passenger seat, Ella and Cristian in the back with Lelia’s carrier tucked between them, and Lachlan behind the wheel of a virulently pink Cadillac.
Although I answered when prompted, I zoned out, lulled by the sounds of the city and the desert heat, until Lachlan spoke.
“I have vows I want to read.” When the celebrant nodded, Lachlan brought my hand to his lips and kissed it, then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.
“What are you doing?” I stage-whispered.
“This will be the second time Natasha has turned my life upside down.” Still holding my hand, he kissed my cheek. “She won’t believe me, but she’s made me a better person.”
“Lachlan…” I blinked to chase away a few tears. This wasn’t real. We were putting on a show for the audience, but part of me still wanted it to be true.
“She made me question everything I once believed and forced me to see the destructive path I’d chosen for what it was.” His touch on my cheek was like gossamer. Soft, barely there, and fucking heartbreaking. “She made me want to be better for her, but also for myself.”
He slid a ring onto my finger, then kissed my forehead. I glanced down to see a platinum band encrusted with channel-set diamonds. “Like my wife, this ring is elegant and timelessly beautiful. It’s the ring she should have had all along, and to her, I vow to be the man she deserves.”
“Lovely,” the celebrant said. “Natasha, do you have a ring for your husband?”
Since when were we exchanging rings? For that matter, how had he arranged mine in so little time? “I?—”
“Right here,” Ella pressed a black velvet box into my hand. “The matron of honor always holds the groom’s ring.”
I opened it to reveal a thick wedding band resting on a cushion of white silk. Its only adornment was a tiny spider picked out in diamond chips. Was it Ella’s idea, or Lachlan’s?
“Mine,” Lachlan murmured, letting me know I’d asked the question out loud. “I thought it fitting.”
My fingers shaking, I slid the ring onto Lachlan’s left ring finger, then looked up into his compelling blue eyes. I wasn’t sure what I expected to find when I studied his face, but the kind smile filled with hope wasn’t it.
Fuck me. Had he convinced himself this was real?
“By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Lachlan, you may kiss your bride.”
* * *
LACHLAN
Unwilling to give Natasha the kiss she deserved in front of an audience, I brushed my lips over hers, praying I communicated the hopes I had for our future. She might not believe our wedding was real, but I did.
Life didn’t offer second chances very often. This time, I wanted it to be forever.
I got out of the Cadillac and jogged around the expansive hood to open Natasha’s door and help her out. “Do you want supper before we go to the hotel?”
“Yes, please! I’m starving!” Ella said.
Cristian shushed her and extricated baby Lelia’s carrier from the back seat of the Cadillac. “We’ll leave you to enjoy your evening. I’ve arranged a separate car for you, and we’ll meet at the airport at nine tomorrow morning.”
Natasha looked down at the ring decorating her left hand, then straightened her shoulders. “Yeah, that works. I guess.”
Was she regretting her demand that we share a room? Despite her insistence that we needed to continue with the charade, I wouldn’t force her. In an effort to relieve her palpable tension, I cupped her elbow and escorted her to the waiting town car.
“We could stop somewhere if you’re hungry,” I said.
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” Her spine rigid, she climbed into the back seat and scooted over before I could get in. “Let’s just go.”
“Liar.”
“Excuse me?” Ignoring our driver, she pinned me with an angry glare. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re not fine.” I took her hand and stroked her newly callused palm. “Even I know better than to believe a woman when she says that.”
“I’ll be fine once Ronan is dead,” she retorted. “Nothing else matters.”
“I beg to differ.” I hesitated for a moment, then said, “You matter. Your happiness matters.”
“To whom?” She snorted out a bitter laugh. “You?”
I saw our hotel in the distance, and knowing I had a single chance to soften her, I said, “Yes. You matter to me. Let us have the wedding night you should have had the first time.”
She shook her head but chuckled softly. “Actually, that night was pretty decent.”
“Only decent?”
“Don’t push your luck. And don’t expect me to cook breakfast.” She sighed heavily, then added, “Why do you even care, Lachlan? I don’t understand your game.”
“Is it so hard to believe the vow I spoke?”
“You promised me forever last time,” she shot back. “We both know how that turned out, so why do you think I’d believe you now?”
“A day will never pass that I don’t regret what I did to you, and I still hate myself for it.” I brushed a kiss over the callus on the side of her thumb, but didn’t ask where it came from. “I know I don’t have the right to ask, but I want a second chance.”
“Lachlan, I…” She closed her eyes and rested her head against the seat. “Yeah, that’s a lot to ask.”
“You deserve better than decent, and I hope you’ll let me give it to you.”
She pressed her lips together and turned away. Knowing I had just a scant window of opportunity, I added, “Please. Let me regain your trust I should have never thrown away.”
A faint, ghostly smile illuminated her gorgeous face. “Okay, fine. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”
I let out a surprised laugh. “I didn’t take you for a Princess Bride fan. You’re a bit young for it.”
“Who isn’t?” Our car stopped in front of the valet stand, and when the door opened, she accepted a hand to help her out. “That movie is as old as dirt, just like you.”
Still laughing, I followed her out, then wrapped her hand around my elbow to escort her to our suite.
Once we were locked inside, I led her into the bedroom and cupped her cheeks, then gave her the kiss I’d wanted to give her after our wedding.
Her squeak of surprise turned into a whimper as I plundered her mouth, and her hands tightened on my shoulders.
She relaxed into my embrace, her body pressing against mine. My cock thickened against her taut belly, but I didn’t dare push too fast, no matter how much I wanted to be inside her.
Pulling away, she blinked at me, her swollen lips parted. “You never kissed me like that.”
“Like what?” Hoping to gentle her, I stroked her back, once again feeling the knobs of her spine.
“Like you actually meant it.” Natasha took a step back, still looking at me as if I was a mystery to be unraveled. “I don’t know. It’s different.”
“We can stop right now,” I said, although I kicked myself for every word. “I’ll sleep on the couch, and you can have the bed.”
“No.” Slowly, she eased her T-shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor. “Make me understand.”