Page 58 of It Happened in Vegas

A car droppedus off at the airport hangar where the Buchanan’s private jet stood ready and waiting for us to board. Then I noticed another jet nearby as we took our luggage to the plane.

“Hey look at that. It’s the West Games logo on the tail of that jet. Can’t mistake the king and queen chess pieces on it. Do you play chess?” I asked my newwife—a word that was becoming easier to let roll off my tongue—but she’d frozen in place, staring at the aircraft with an odd look on her face. “Soph?”

“Oh, uh, no. No chess for me.”

“I could teach you. Vivian and I grew up on classic West Games likeTower TroubleandStrategy Summit,among others,” I offered.

“I don’t like board games, remember? Whew, it’s so hot. Let’s get inside.” She rushed ahead.

“Oh. Kay.” I’d have to get to the bottom of that soon, but right now it served as a reminder that we were just beginning this situation. There were probably plenty of things we’d yet to discover about each other, what we both liked, tastes we shared, and some we differed on. It’d make for exciting months ahead.

Once we settled in, with the falsified marriage certificate glaring from the table in front of us, we called Richard fromthe plane before it took off. Sophie insisted on it before he saw the news of our wedding blasted all over TV and social media. Melanie and her team worked fast, already spreading the teasers for tonight’s show—in which it hinted at a surprise bride and groom, while quickly panning over our faces.

As we sat in the luxurious seats inside the Buchanan jet, I looked back on how, just a few days prior, we flew on this thing heading to Las Vegas with only the intention of dating for the weekend.

Now we were leaving bound by fake vows.

Richard answered on the first ring. I put it on speaker.

“What the hell’s going on? I just got a notification that something’s trending with your name and Sophie’s, too. People allover the internet speculateyouare the bride and groom on tonight’s show?” He sounded far from pleased.

Sophie and I exchanged glances. We had decided to let Richard in on the deal with the studio since he was just as invested in the success of my business as I was. Because of the NDA, though, he would not know our vows were faked.

She cleared her throat. “Hi, Richard. We wanted to tell you first, before the show airs. We... got married.”

There was a long pause. I could hear the gears turning in his sharp business brain.

“You what?”

“Let’s just say the entire reality show weekend was a mess, and an opportunity arose. Sophie and I leveraged it to our advantage,” I supplied, keeping my tone even and business-like, which I figured would appease the billionaire. “The studio made an offer, and we accepted.”

Sophie continued from there. “There are more interviews coming, showing our life in Holly Creek, and a big payoff too, and of course we’ll feature the brand and brewery, boosting business.”

“Why does this sound like a marketing gimmick and not an actual marriage?”

“Like Keaton said, the opportunity was there, and we took it.”

In my head I picture his eyebrow lifted, the one he used in order to glare directly into someone’s eyes and call bullshit, which probably gained him many favorable negotiations in the past.

“So this is a business arrangement, not love?”

“Well…” Sophie hesitated, eyeing me like she needed some kind of sign.

“Working together like we have, we’ve become really good friends over the summer, then one thing led to another this weekend,” I quickly explained. “Maybe it was the Vegas heat or the excitement of the deal, but we decided to take a chance on love. What better way to find out if we’re suited for each other than to try the real thing? We got married and we’ll see where this thing leads.”

He huffed at that. “Jesus. Being married isn’t a game like craps. You can’t roll the dice and hope it lands on a winner. Not that I don’t think you two can’t make it, but if it’s one thing I’ve realized is marriage takes work and commitment.”

“We’re both ready to take that leap,” I assured him, lacing my fingers with hers.

“Sounds to me like you’ve already jumped ten spaces ahead.” Then he rushed. “Hold on, Vivian and the kids just got home from a play date.”

I could hear the shifting of the phone and kids’ noises in the background. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what my sister would think.

“Keaton? My phone is blowing up. Did you and Sophie get married in Vegas?” Vivian’s voice strained, high pitched.

“Uh, yeah. We did. Surprise,” I replied with a nervous chuckle.

“Surprise indeed. At least when Richard and I married out of the blue in Denmark, I had the decency to call you first before we said our vows.” She stabbed me with that. Although I liked Richard, the news he was about to marry my sister in a foreign country had hit me hard. I didn’t have a current passport then, so I couldn’t jet off to attend their nuptials in the tiny hamlet in Denmark. But no matter. The two of them made sense. Their kids were the light of my life as their uncle, and it all worked out for them.

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