Sweet Texas Fire by Nicole Flockton Page A

again. He should’ve insisted on picking Charlotte up. For goodness’ sake, they lived less than four blocks apart from each other, but she insisted on making her own way to the airport. Or he should’ve suggested they take his personal jet instead of a flight on a domestic carrier. He’d been reluctant to mention to her that he had his own jet. He didn’t want to seem too arrogant. Now he kind of wished he had.
    As the time ticked away, he began to wonder whether she had developed cold feet and decided not to marry him after all. His phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket. Maybe it was a text message from Charlotte, canceling. Nope. Just a text from the surveyor saying he’d received the measurements he’d sent and would arrange the survey when Gage told him to.
    “I’m so sorry I’m late. The security line was a nightmare.”
    Gage jumped and shoved the phone in his pocket. In a whirlwind of motion, so unlike the organized Charlotte he knew, she sat down in the seat next to him. Her sweet, flowery perfume enveloped him, and he took a deep breath.
    “It’s okay. I wasn’t worried.”
    “Liar.” She rolled her eyes. “I saw you glancing at your watch and fiddling with your phone. Your leg was bouncing up and down. You thought I had second thoughts, didn’t you?”
    If she could tell when her brothers were lying, Gage knew there would be no point in trying to evade the truth.
    “Fine, yes. The thought crossed my mind that you were having second thoughts. Can you blame me? You’re cutting it a bit close.”
    “Hey, I’m not the one who changed our plans twice. At the last minute, too, I might add. I should be asking
you
if you’re having second thoughts.”
    Shit, how did he handle this? He wasn’t having second thoughts. Why would he? In twelve months’ time he was going to get everything he wanted. He needed to make plans, and the people he wanted to speak to had been away. He could’ve waited until after the wedding, of course, but he wanted his plans sorted out before he and Charlotte tied the knot. And one of those had just been confirmed with the text message.
    “No second thoughts here. I had some issues at work I needed to sort out.”
    “Is everything okay?”
    He was saved from answering when the boarding call for their flight to Vegas sounded over the loudspeaker.
    He heard the sharp intake of breath and looked over at her. Charlotte was clutching her bag, her fingers white around the straps. “Are you sure you want to go to Vegas to do this? We could just stay here and go to the registry office. I’m sure Gavin and Macy would be more than happy to act as our witnesses,” he asked.
    She shook her head and put her hand on his arm. Immediately his body flared to life, like solar flares shooting out from the sun. “I’ve never admitted this to anyone. But I kind of dig the idea of getting married in Vegas. It just seems so much fun.”
    “Well, then,” he said, standing and holding out his hand. “Let’s go.”
    • • •
    The car pulled to a stop at the front of the Hotel Bellagio. The fountains danced merrily in an exuberant greeting.
    “Whoa, this is amazing,” Charlotte said as she got out of the car. She had to pinch herself to believe she actually stood in the driveway of a Vegas hotel.
    “It really is a sight to behold at night. I’ll make sure you get to see the full show, but first we’ve got a chapel to get to.”
    Butterflies scurried to life in her belly. She had no idea why she felt so nervous. She could understand if this was a wedding she’d spent months planning. But it had been just a couple of weeks since Gage proposed the idea of marriage. Now here they were, about to embark on a new journey together.
    God, could she sound any cheesier? They weren’t embarking on anything but a business deal.
    “Okay, I’ll hold you to that. Let’s go.”
    Gage steered her toward the lobby, which was as opulent as she expected a Vegas hotel foyer to be. She