Marriage: Impossible (Voretti Family Book 1) Read Free

card out of her wallet and held it out to him.
    “Not that license, Madame. Your marriage license.”
    “No. See, we’re not really getting married. This is only for fun.”
    Footsteps again. Crap .
    She signed the credit card slip with one hand, gaze focused on the door that led back to the hall.
    “Very well. Shall we go back?” Powder-Blue Tux motioned toward the double doors he’d come through.
    Wherever they led, it was the opposite direction from security, which made her decision easy. “Absolutely.”
    Somehow, Sean made it upright on his own power. He lurched through the double doors Powder-Blue Tux was holding open, only to stop abruptly.
    Keri reached for his arm, but he hadn’t lost his balance. He was staring at the red-carpeted aisle that ran down the center of the room, dividing the theater-style seating into two sections. A stage at the front held a canopy weighed down by the entire state’s crop of fake flowers. But the really impressive part was the mood lighting. Each of the sconces set into the wall had a different color light, but they shared the same garish glow. It was a whorehouse rainbow.
    “What colors were you considering?” Powder-Blue Tux asked.
    “What…?”
    “We turn off all the lights except your favorites, so that you can process down the aisle to your signature colors.”
    “Oh, no. That won’t be necessary. We only wanted to, uh...soak in the atmosphere.”
    “But the deluxe package includes chapel rental, a bouquet, two rings, a bottle of champagne, and two nights in our honeymoon suite.”
    Her stomach dropped toward the hot-pink paisley carpet. How much had she paid? She should have looked at the total before signing the receipt. Add the last-minute plane ticket to Reno, and this trip was going to wipe out a huge portion of the savings she’d earmarked for her last three years of med school. “We only needed a place to…. We’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”
    As if to contradict her, Sean dropped into the closest chair. His eyes closed.
    “I’m afraid I can’t give you a refund,” Powder-Blue Tux said.
    “I wasn’t asking for one.” No matter how much I might like to .
    “But I can give you these.” He unlocked a cabinet mounted to the back wall and pulled out two silver bands that looked suspiciously like wedding rings.
    “We really don’t need—”
    “I insist. You did pay for it.”
    Keri took a firm step back, but she’d misjudged. Powder-Blue Tux wasn’t going for her. He was mincing toward Sean.
    “No!” She hurled herself forward. “Wait!” If Sean threw the little man across the room, security would bust them for sure.
    Too late. Powder-Blue Tux grabbed Sean’s hand.
    Keri tensed, but Sean just watched, squinting like he couldn’t focus, as the little man shoved the band onto his ring finger.
    “There.” Powder-Blue Tux turned toward her, panting. “Madame? If you would allow me?”
    She grabbed the ring before he could shove it on her finger. She needed to get Sean out of here before Powder-Blue Tux forged a marriage certificate and pronounced them man and wife. “Thanks. But I’m afraid we have to be going.”
    “Huh?” Sean’s head jerked up like she’d woken him from a deep sleep.
    “We’re leaving.” She had no idea how she was going to lift a one-hundred-and-eighty-pound SEAL, but once he processed the fact that she wanted him on his feet, he somehow made it happen. His steps were slower than normal, but he navigated a relatively straight line.
    “Where’re we goin’?”
    “One moment, Madame. Don’t forget this.” Powder-Blue Tux waved a key card in her face. “Your key to the honeymoon suite.”
    “Oh. Thank you.” Her hand closed around the card. The edges dug into her palm, and she got the strangest feeling, like that simple act had somehow changed the course of her life.
    Powder-Blue Tux’s smile looked almost genuine this time. “Sleep well.”

CHAPTER 2

    K ERI WAS HAVING the best dream of her life.