Rush and Restraint

Chapter Three

At ten-forty-six that evening, Vivienne Anne Cartwright became Mrs. Vivienne Anne Yates.

I practiced saying that name for years, adamant that it would one day come, but it still felt new and exciting as it rolled off my tongue. It was real this time, not just some young girl's romantic rambling.

The moment we decided to get married right away, I wasted no time. I slipped into the short, white pearl-beaded dress that I'd packed with me—a dainty but flirty, feminine piece that came the closest to a white wedding gown—and Oliver threw on his black sports coat.

One of the hotel cars drove us to the courthouse where we filled out the applications and paid the fee. Once our license was issued, we went to the Little Church of the West, a quaint, historical chapel iconic for many Vegas weddings.

We waited at the gazebo for half an hour while the couple ahead of us finished their ceremony. While waiting, Oliver pulled me to a more private corner and presented me a breathtaking ring that featured a simple pillow-cut blue diamond set on a narrow platinum band, encrusted with small, clear diamonds.

"I was going to give this to you for your birthday," he said as he slipped it on my left hand's ring finger. "It wasn't intended to be an engagement ring but I thought you'd like it because it's your favorite shade of blue. The sapphires are too dark and the blue topaz is too light. I thought this was perfect—kind of ice blue."

I smiled, drawing in a deep breath to calm my fast-beating heart as I held up my hand to gaze at the ring as it caught the fluorescent light. "It is perfect. It's the exact match of your eyes."

He looked surprised, the silly man. I grinned and stood on my toes to kiss him. "Why do you think I love this color, Oliver? Because they remind me of your eyes. That's all."

His arms tightened around my waist as he deepened the kiss, his mouth lush and sweet.

Suddenly distracted, I pulled back and searched his face. "I'm not bankrupting you with this ring, am I?"

I didn't miss the automatic grimace on Oliver's face but it was too late to take back a question I probably shouldn't have asked, no matter my intentions. He was a proud man but I didn't want to burden him at a time like this when he was staking whatever he had for a bigger pay out that may or may not happen. I wasn't worried because I had money and as much as I loved the ring, I didn't really need it, but I knew that Oliver would pay whatever price my happiness cost. I didn't want it to cost him everything.

"I can comfortably afford it, Viv," he assured me gently. "Don't worry."

Before we could discuss it further, we were summoned inside the chapel where the minister waited. Having opted for the simplest, most basic package with the least amount of hassle such as the Elvis wedding singer, we were out of there in under half an hour, newly married and each sporting a plain, white gold wedding band on our ring fingers. Our limo driver, counted among our witnesses, drove us straight back to the hotel where Oliver made a big show of scooping me up in his arms from the front steps of the hotel all the way to the room, never once putting me down even in the elevator. People looked at us a little strangely but we didn't really care. I certainly didn't.