Marry Me
The chapel Rome had picked was in a secluded part of town, if there was such a thing as a secluded part of Vegas. With their certificate in hand, Rome and Ella approached the chapel. Her heart was pounding in her chest because she was so excited. It was still unbelievable that she was getting married, but she’d never been more sure about anything in her life that this is what she wanted to do.
The woman at the desk greeted them and said it would be just a moment, that the pastor was still with the couple before them. She had a friendly smile, and it seemed as if she recognized Rome’s name on the form, but she didn’t say anything.
Once the other couple came out, along with a few of their friends, the pastor stepped into the foyer. He didn’t look like any preacher Ella had ever seen before, but she was okay with that. He was tall, bald by choice, she imagined, and very muscular. “Welcome, welcome!” he said to them, offering his hand. “I’m Lawrence Fry. I’ll be marrying you today--to each other, not to myself.” He laughed, and Ella did so, too, just to be polite. Something told her he made that joke often. She imagined the laughter that Rome produced was also fake. “Are we waiting on anyone else?”
“No, it’s just us,” Rome replied. “And… we have on disguises that we’d like to take off before we get married, but we’d rather no one knew it was us who was getting married, if that’s possible.”
“Of course,” Pastor Fry said with a nod. “We are always very discreet. Right this way.”
He ushered them into the little chapel, and Rome pulled off his hat and wig. When he pulled off his mustache, it stung a little. He gasped, and Ella rubbed his upper lip. She then removed her wig and the big glasses she’d been wearing.
The two of them walked to the end of the aisle, and Lawrence Fry led them through the ceremony, telling them what to say, making things as easy on them as possible. It was all a blur to Ella, but when Rome pulled out the rings, she couldn’t help but gasp. He’d gotten her both an engagement ring and a wedding ring, and they were both gorgeous. The diamond wasn’t huge, but she wouldn’t have wanted it to be. It was a crystal clear, brilliant, princess cut diamond on a gold band, and the other ring had diamonds on either side with a cut-out that the engagement ring slid into. “They’re beautiful,” she said, tears glistening in her eyes.
“Glad you like them,” Rome said, tears in his eyes as well. She slid a gold band on his finger and prayed he’d never take it off.
When Pastor Lawrence Fry pronounced them man and wife, Rome kissed her more deeply than he ever had, at least it seemed that way, as Ella felt herself floating away.
They turned and walked down the aisle, and the pastor followed. “Have you ordered your picture package already?” he asked.
“Yes,” Rome replied, over his shoulder.
“Perfect. We’ll email the pictures from the ceremony. If you want to step into this room over here, we have a second photographer who can take more pictures, if you’d like.”
That sounded fun to Ella, so she nodded. They gathered up their disguises and stepped out. Another couple was waiting there for their ceremony. “Oh, my God!” the woman proclaimed. “You’re Rome Verona!”
“I get that a lot,” Rome said. “But I’m not.”
“Yes, you are! I’d recognize you anywhere!”
She had her phone in her hand, but before she could snap a picture, Lawrence Fry stepped between them, reminding the couple that it was their turn to get married. Ella hurriedly stepped into the next room, but she could still hear the girl going on about who she’d seen.
“That could be a problem,” she whispered to Rome.
“It’ll be fine,” he said, but she could see in his eyes he wasn’t certain.
The photographer greeted them, and they laid their disguises down on a chair, hurrying over to pose in front of different stations the chapel had for photos. They had fun being silly, serious, and everything in between in front of Las Vegas landmarks and world famous sites. Eventually, they got to the end, and the photographer made sure he had Rome’s email address correct so he could send the photos. Then, the couple put their disguises back on, made sure their Uber was there, and headed out of the photographer’s room.
Thankfully, the woman who’d recognized him was either gone or inside of a different photo room. Rome seemed relieved to see that she was gone.
Until he opened the door and stepped outside.
A thousand camera flashes went off as the couple hurried down the stairs toward their waiting car. The bride had to have called someone who alerted the paparazzi that Rome was there. He had Ella’s hand and they both put their heads down, hustling to the vehicle. The driver was kind enough to get out and open the door.
Ella felt her shoe slip off as she was running, but she didn’t stop to pick it up, no matter how much she loved those shoes. She couldn’t stop. Everyone was yelling Rome’s name, asking who she was. If someone recognized her or got a picture of her that showed her face… it would be a huge problem.
Rome waited for her to dive into the car and slide over, and then he got in, too. The Uber driver flung the door closed, running around to drive them away.
Once again, Ella’s heart was beating out of her chest, but this time for a different reason than the excitement of getting married to the man she loved. “Are you all right?” Rome asked.
Looking back, she could still see a barrage of flashes coming from outside the chapel. She nodded her head, but something told her this was going to end up being a bad situation for them.
“Where’s your shoe?” Rome asked, glancing down at the floorboards.
“I lost it.”
“We’ll get you another pair if you’d like,” he volunteered.
Ella smiled, but she didn’t want another one. They weren’t the right size. Besides, someone might try to trace the shoe she’d lost back to Rome. There shouldn’t be any way to trace it to her, but she wasn’t sure, and that made her stomach tie up in knots as surely as she’d just tied the knot herself.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
