Free The Things I Do for You (The Alexanders) by M. Malone Page B

gaze. As sweet as it was that he was worried about her welfare, she wasn’t here to rest or relax. They were here to get married so he would get her pregnant. Anything else was veering dangerously close to the kind of emotional territory that she was determined to avoid.  
    “Actually, no. I just want to find the closest Elvis impersonator who can marry us. Then I want you to take me back to the hotel and make love to me.”  
    Nick’s mouth fell open. Raina leaned up and kissed him softly on the cheek, strangely satisfied with his reaction.  
    “Sound good, baby?”
    Then she turned and walked outside to see about getting a cab.

    *   *   *   *   *

    “OKAY, WHAT HAVE we got? There are three chapels near us. The Wedding Bell, Little Love Chapel and Chapel O’ Love.”
    They’d decided to stop by the hotel first after all when Nick pointed out they’d have to lug their bags up and down the Strip and she’d have to do it in heels. Nick had booked a suite at the Aria, which was gorgeous and large enough to house a small family.
    After checking in and dumping their bags, Raina had changed from her strappy high-heeled sandals into the pair of rainbow-colored flip-flops she’d purchased just for the weekend. Now they were standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, searching for the nearest wedding chapel.
    Raina shrugged. “Let’s just pick whichever is closest.”
    “Chapel O’ Love it is.” Nick grabbed her hand and they made their way down the Strip. Raina was surprised at how busy it was. It was a Thursday afternoon and the Strip was packed already.  
    “Wow. This is so great. Ooh, look, a mime!” Raina stopped to watch a man dressed in all black with the traditional face paint of a mime as he went through the standard repertoire.
    “Not that I don’t appreciate the talent it takes to do this, but his routine is pretty weak,” Nick whispered. “I’m pretty sure Jackson did the exact same thing in summer camp when he was eight.”
    “Sshhh, be quiet. I want to see the rest.” Raina swatted Nick on the arm and turned back to the performance. She watched for a few more minutes until she became suddenly aware that some of the things he was acting out were a little… suggestive. Just when he was starting to mimic stroking himself, Nick took her arm and pulled her away.  
    “Damn pervert,” Nick grumbled.
    Raina giggled. “Don’t be such a prude. He probably heard your comment that his performance was boring and was trying to liven things up a bit.”
    They walked farther down the Strip, passing the famous Bellagio hotel. “Ooh, Nick I want to watch the water show later. Can we come back?”
    “Of course. That’ll be part of our honeymoon.”  
    Raina instantly sobered. How could she have forgotten so quickly why they were here? She was about to sign her freedom away and she was planning her sightseeing like she was on vacation.  
    “Hey, I didn’t say that to make you sad. It’s all going to work out, you’ll see.” Nick pulled her closer.  
    “Hey, pretty mama. Here you go.” A man passing by pressed a small square of paper in her hand.  
    “What’s this?” She held it up to read what it said.
    “Oh, you might not want to read that.” Nick took the paper from her hand but not before she saw the half-naked girl on it.  
    “I’m not an idiot, Nick. I know there are hooker services in Vegas. I watch TV. Hell, I probably know some of them. I heard a few of the girls I used to model with ended up as escorts. I’m hardly going to swoon because I see a dirty flyer.”
    “Well, good, because I’m sure that’s not the worst thing you’ll see before we get back to our hotel.” He consulted his phone and then stopped. “Here we are. This is the closest wedding chapel.”  
    He held open the door for her and she walked into the cool interior of the shop. It was incredibly quiet compared to the bustle and chaos of the Strip. Too quiet, actually. Was it even open? She was