Page 27 of The Hero + Vegas = No Regrets

Ghostbar ison the 55thfloor of the Ivory Tower, with sweeping views of the Strip. It feels like we’re overlooking a fireworks display, bursting with color and light.

Worth has bought a bottle of tequila that looks like it cost more than I earn in a year and tastes even better. I’m two shots in, and with Worth by my side, it feels like everything other thanright nowis ten thousand miles away. I don’t need to worry about any of it.

“It feels like we’re flying above the city up here,” I say. “It’s so much brighter than New York.”

“Flashier,” Worth says.

“Yeah, but there’s more energy, like it’s a dream version of New York where you can create your own reality.”

“Where you can get married to a perfect stranger?” he asks.

“Exactly,” I say. “I totally get why people get married here on a whim.”

“You wanna try it?” he asks me, fixing me with a look that tells me he’s totally serious.

“Do I wanna try what?” I tease. I know what he’s suggesting, but I want to hear him say the words.

“Wanna marry me?”

It’s ridiculous, but the question pulls at me, like my instincts are all reaching toward Worth and the promise of more.

“I think I do!” I say. I bite down on my lip, knowing how crazy that sounds.

“You said you would never get married.”

“Not in my real life, but this is Vegas.”

I bend, pour us two more shots, and hand one to Worth.

“What about when we get back to New York?” he asks.

I shrug and throw back my shot. “Let’s worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.” I’m sure twenty percent of the Vegas economy is based around undoing the bad decisions of the night before. Right now, I just want to prolong this feeling of freedom—freedom based on truth and not lies.

“I’ve made a lot of money by making sure I take opportunities when they’re presented to me.” He tips back his shot.

He pulls out his wallet and puts a lot of money on the table, not bothering to count how much. He picks up the tequila bottle, scoops up my hand, and stalks toward the exit.

The driver doesn’t even bat an eye when Worth asks him to take us to the wedding license bureau.

“Didn’t we drive past there this morning?” I ask Worth. “You think our driver knew we’d be coming back?”

“Maybe,” Worth replies. “Maybe JJ can see this thing between us.”

“Thisthing?”

“The thing we feel. You feel it, just like I do,” he says. “Like we’ve known each other for decades, like I can see what you’re thinking before you say it. Like I can feel when you enter the room without even looking around.”

I close my eyes in a long blink as my heart expands in my chest. It isn’t just me. He feels it too.

“Maybe you didn’t get it right away at that brunch. I did. The moment I laid eyes on you, I just…” He shakes his head. “I can’t explain it other than to say that I knew I’d know you a long time. Maybe for forever.”

My breath hitches in my throat. He’s so earnest and open. I want to climb him like a tree and kiss him… everywhere.

“I felt it here in Vegas,” I admit. “And I was disappointed you weren’t on the plane. I thought you weren’t coming. So I guess I did get it at the brunch.”

“I didn’t travel on the plane because I thought it would be obvious to everyone how much I felt for you. And you and Fisher…”

“Had no connection whatsoever,” I finish the sentence for him.

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