I was either head over heels in love with this man, or I was fucking nuts. Quite honestly, it was probably a little of both. We had gotten on a plane in the middle of the night and landed at around seven the next evening. Alex seemed to be bouncing with energy the way he sat on the literal edge of his seat, tapping his fingers on the armrest while I finished getting dressed. It had taken one scathing look from me for him to back down on saying we didn’t need to shower or anything first.
“You look beautiful, perfect even, and we really need to get a move on because I don’t want to miss our reservations at the chapel—”
“Alex.”
“I’m just saying…”
I huffed and turned my back to him while I finished pulling up my stocking’s. The white cocktail dress I had bought wasn’t supposed to double as a wedding gown, but I was more than happy to settle for it last minute. Besides, one thing we had talked about on the plane was doing an actual ceremony with family and friends when we got home – this one was just for us.
“Alright,” I said, pulling my hair over my shoulder. “I think I’m about ready.” As I was going to be anyway.
Alex jumped out of his chair and turned me around, holding me at arm’s length while he gave me a once over. “I thought only virgins wore white?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.
“Well, I was a virgin,” I teased, pressing myself against him. “In fact I think the guy I’m supposed to be getting married to helped change that situation.”
“Did he?” Alex mused. He ran his fingers down my arm, trailing little jolts of electricity with his touch that made me shiver with anticipation. “He sounds like a real piece of work.”
I laughed and shoved him towards the door before I lost my nerve. My insides were a quaking Jell-O at this point. What was I going to tell my parents? Or Lena? Or Peter? I couldn’t even imagine how this was going to blow up in our faces. It’s too soon, my conscience warned, way way too soon. But looking at Alex’s hand hold mine as we made our way to the lobby didn’t make this feel like it was too soon, it felt right and perfect and like I was marrying the man I always wanted, even if I hadn’t admitted that to myself.
I stood next to him while we waited for the elevator to reach the penthouse, bouncing on the balls of my feet as I watched the numbers on the digital display climb the closer it got.
“What about a pre-nup?” I asked suddenly. Holy shit, what if he wanted a pre-nup? Did I need a lawyer for that?
“It’s a little late for that now,” he said with a nervous laugh and shoving his hands into his pockets. “We could talk about a post-nup if you want, but we’ll need to get some lawyers to draft it and everything.”
A post-nup? I’d never heard of it before but leave it to Alex to know exactly what all his options were. “How about later?” I offered. “So we can just chill for a bit, like we were supposed to.”
He looked to me and smiled, reaching for my hand and squeezing it in his. A second later and the elevator dinged as it opened. This was it, I had nowhere else to go now. Alex followed me in and I caught the slight shift in his demeanour just as the doors shut behind him; in a flash he had me pinned to the wall with his fingers knotting in my hair and keeping me from moving away. I moaned against his mouth and grabbed at the back of his neck while pulling myself up against him.
He took the hint and lifted me; letting my legs wrap around his hips while he kissed me hungrily. His hands grabbed my ass, not caring about being gentle and just letting himself have me without restraint. I felt his fingers move closer to my slit, caressing the flimsy material of my thong.
“There are cameras,” I gasped out around sloppy kisses.
“I know.”
He didn’t care and it made my heart race. His hips kept grinding against mine, forcing me to feel his cock, tempting me to push it further to see just what I could do before the elevator reached the ground floor. I had a hold of his belt when the elevator dinged again and Alex dropped me on my feet like I had just burnt him. My hands trembled as I rushed to smooth out my skirt and try to check my makeup with my phone.
The doors in front of us opened and we waited for someone to come in and accuse us of something wrong. Maybe my dress was askew, or they’d notice his shirt was unbuttoned in one spot. I held my breath for several beats, waiting for something to happen, but it never did. The doors shut again and the elevator continued its descent. I was stunned into silence watching it happen but after a minute and I realized what had just happened, I burst out laughing.
Alex groaned and rubbed his face with both hands. “What am I going to do with you?” he asked defeatedly.
I just laughed harder. “With me? You’re the one that couldn’t keep his hands to himself!”
“Please, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I rolled my eyes and nudged him playfully. Alex looped his arm through mine and pulled me closer to his side, resting his head on mine until the elevator finally opened again. This area of the hotel wasn’t as loud as the entrance to the casino, but I still marvelled at the hallway looking like it came from a mall, complete with different stores and displays. The Vegas Strip was unlike anywhere I had ever been; Rome had its ancient beauty, Greece and Athens specifically had this blend of new and old looking out onto gorgeous bright blue waters, but Vegas was all new. Lights were everywhere, advertisements for gambling and magic shows lined the walls, entertainment ruled this city, I was almost overwhelmed as I gawked at everything.
“Before or after?”
What? I followed Alex’s line of sight to the Tiffany’s and my heart skipped a beat. “For wedding bands?”
“I think an engagement ring comes first,” he offered with warm smile.
Yes! I clapped my hands over my mouth and giggled excitedly as we made our way to the store. The ringing in my ears from the chatter of other guests had faded and now all I could hear was the soft crooning of a jazz singer over the speakers. The store was mostly empty except for a couple looking in one display case with an associate. Alex stopped and held up his hand for me to wait while he spoke to a woman off to the side wearing a well-tailored navy suit.
I stood off next to the doors, glancing in the display case and feeling like I was about to make either the biggest mistake or the best decision of my life, it wasn’t clear to me as I watched him either. The woman he was speaking to nodded along to whatever he was telling her and my eyes began to wander over the cases again the longer they stood there; there were poker cards with Ace pairs next to heart shaped diamonds and bejeweled money clips. It was a little tacky, but it certainly went with the Vegas Strip theme.
“Chloe.”
I jumped at the sound of my name and turned to Alex beckoning at me; I quickly went to his side and he pulled me along behind the woman to the large doors further back. I kept thinking that someone would turn their nose up at me or give me a pitying look, because I knew damn well that I looked like a gold-digger, but no one did.
The room that the apparent manager had led us to was dark blue with a glittering chandelier that hung low over the desk. She took the spot on the other side and Alex slid out a leather-bound chair for me before taking his own.
“Water, Ms.?” a man asked chipperly. “Or champagne to celebrate?”
“Champagne would be great,” I said without pausing to think about it.
He smiled and left the three of us alone while the woman retrieved several boxes and velvet ring displays. I noticed that he didn’t ask me for my ID and my excitement started to mount; no one questioned me when I was with Alex, I really felt like I could do anything I wanted. Alex’s hand squeezed mine under the table and I blushed, letting myself finally look up at him and realizing that he had been watching me already.
“These are our sets,” the woman said, drawing our attention. “We can make any changes you’d like, but that will mean having to wait for custom pieces.”
“No,” Alex said immediately. “We want to leave with them if possible, so I’d prefer to see just what we can take today, right now.”
She nodded and made a gesture to another man who had been pulling more pieces from a cabinet. “That’s not a problem, let’s get some sizes and see what we can do.”
My hands held surprisingly still while they tested out ring sizes to find the perfect fit, a size six-and-a-half, and cleared away any that I couldn’t wear out of the store. A minute later and I had a glass of pink champagne placed beside me as well, I fought the urge to moan when I took a sip and the rose fizzed against my tongue. I was totally a princess getting waited on, there was no other way to describe it.
“These are the most traditional,” she explained, holding out a slim band ring with a solitaire diamond. “And the most popular.”
It looked too much like the one Peter gave me and I just hummed noncommittally before reaching out to touch a ring with heart shaped stone. It was beautiful; an encrusted band with the small heart surrounded by smaller stones to emphasize the shape.
“Do you like that one?” Alex murmured, leaning in while his thumb rubbed over my knuckles.
I bit my lip as I turned the ring over in my hand. “It’s really beautiful…”
“That’s part of our Soleste collection, the heart shaped halo engagement ring – it’s perfect for stacking with the wedding band.”
Alex let go of my hand and brushed my hair back over my shoulder before leaning in to whisper in my ear, “Would it help if I put it on you?”
I think my heart stopped, I know my breathing stopped. Which hand? Fuck me, why didn’t I already know this? I’d already worn an engagement ring but for the life of me I just didn’t know which hand it was ever supposed to be on. I gazed at Alex pleadingly, not wanting to do something stupid in front of so many people as I handed him the ring. He took the lead immediately and picked up my right hand, sliding the ring down until it was perfectly seated.
“American’s wear it on the left,” he said quietly. “We wear it on the right.”
“That is just stunning. Now, other similar pieces may interest you since I see you’re wearing a necklace from our Victoriacollection; we have a matching engagement ring with a gorgeous pearl centre.”
She held out the matching ring and I reached for it tentatively; it had the same pear-shaped diamonds in an X or butterfly formation flanking each side of the flawless pearl. I noticed she also had the earrings to complete the set but bit my tongue on my thought that they were going to try and get us to leave with whatever they could.
“That is gorgeous,” Alex agreed, admiring the ring. “Freshwater pearls?”
“Yes, the entire set is.”
He nodded gazed at me, looking for my input. “I love the pearls,” I admitted, reaching for the earrings. “They’re really beautiful, but I like the heart shape more for an engagement ring.”
Alex chuckled and took my hand back in his, turning it in the light and letting the jewels sparkle. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He turned his attention back to the woman. “Do you have any matching band sets for this? Or something similar?”
“Not strictly matching but I do have pieces that would go with it.” She began asking us more questions about the metals we wanted, did we want stones as well, and so on.
I just nodded along while they discussed it, taking the time to enjoy my drink and admire the ring some more. There was a special feeling when Peter had gotten down on one knee, the second time mind you, but that time with a ring; the feeling of seeing the box and the thrill of knowing that he had picked it out just for me, waiting to see what he thought would symbolize our commitment. I didn’t have that same thrill now, but I did get the joy of knowing Alex cared what I thought; he wanted my opinion to matter and wanted me to be an active participant in making these types of decisions, it went a long way to making me feel equal to him.
We sorted through different matching sets, it was important to me that they were matching just for that sense of ‘togetherness’ and Alex seemed happy enough about it, not getting annoyed or tired at all with my pickiness. In the end, we agreed on two slim platinum bands with no gemstones or anything fancy – it was in sharp contrast to the band I was already wearing but it just felt right. They boxed the rings up for us and we made small talk while Alex paid, I downed the rest of my third or so drink and he held out his hand.
“Well?” he asked with a smirk. “Are we ready to go?”
My eyes slid over the table to the drop pearl earrings that they still had out. “Definitely,” I said, hiding the fact that I would totally more shopping given the opportunity.
The woman and her two assistants thanked us and wished us a good-evening as we made our way out of the store, I waved to them as we went and looped my arm through Alex’s. He patted my hand and I smiled to myself, leaning against his shoulder.
“This is your last chance to run,” I whispered when we stepped outside, seeing the limo waiting for us. “Then you’re stuck with me for good.”
He snickered and opened up the car door for me. Just as I brushed past him he seized my upper arm for a fraction of a second to whisper in my ear, “Why would I let you go? I haven’t gotten to give you a pearl necklace yet.”
My face heated and I quickly got into the car, waiting for him so I could swat his arm the minute he sat down next to me. “You pervert!”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him laugh so hard in my life as he did right then. “You said you liked the pearls, I was just saying—”
“Oh no, no, no, no – you’re a perv, don’t even try to play innocent.”
He pulled me across the leather seat and I yelped in surprise, reaching out for something to steady me. “And do you still love me?”
“More than anyone else,” I answered immediately.
He teased me more on the way to the chapel, goading me into looking out the window and describing the fountains as pulsating and erupting with desire. I squirmed in my seat at the way the words sounded coming from him, because they were so cheesy and awful but he managed to say it in this tone that had me clenching my thighs together. This man was going to kill me with embarrassment one day, I just knew it.
The chapel that Alex and I picked was a famous in Vegas for it’s spur of the moment weddings. All we had to do was apply for a license online with them, and it was ready when we arrived. Since Alex and I had already been travelling internationally, we had all of our documents too. My nerves really kicked into high gear as I stood next to him in the lobby, waiting for the woman to come back after retrieving our paper work.
“Alrighty, Mr. and Mrs. Hatzi—uh, Hatzistephanies?”
“Hatzistefanis, close though,” he corrected with a dismissive wave.
“You can’t get them all,” she said with a lilting laugh. “Are we ready then? Do you need flowers or tux?”
Alex and I looked at each other and shrugged. “I think we’re ready,” I answered.
“Perfect, follow me this way to the Crystal Chapel.”
The Crystal Chapel didn’t really live up to its name; it was almost entirely red from the floor to the crushed-velvet curtains, with one white archway in the centre. A chandelier hung above us, but that was the only thing that really went with the name. The Chapel was very cozy though, it didn’t feel like we were standing in an empty room, it felt like it was just us together against the world.
I fidgeted with my hair nervously, toying with the ends of it and not letting myself look at him because I was afraid that I would either start to cry or nervous laugh through this entire thing. My breathing was becoming erratic and despite my best attempts to slow it, I felt like I was running out of air.
“Glykia mou,” Alex whispered, entwining his fingers with mine. “Take a deep breath with me, slowly now.”
I followed his instructions until the room finally stopped feeling like it was trying to choke me out. When I glanced up at him, it was like I had stepped back in time; the faint lines around his eyes were gone, the few threads of silver in his hair had disappeared, his dark eyes were a brighter, warmer shade of golden brown, and he was grinning ear to ear like a little boy on Christmas. I’ll never have as much time with you as I want, but we can have what’s left of it.
There were so many things I’d never experienced that Alex had done over and over again; he’d lived an entire life before I was even born including raising his own family, there were words I couldn’t even spell right on the first try without a dictionary and this man knew multiple languages, he’d built an empire worth millions and I was a college dropout turned sugar-baby. I had no idea what he saw in me, what drew him to me, but I knew his experience is what made me want him. He was interesting and worldly and he had never once made me feel like I knew less or was less compared to what he had seen in life.
“Are you two lovebirds ready to begin?”
We gazed at each other and I knew this was the right place to be, right now, no matter what. “We are.”