Sure, it would require effort and nurturing down the line. But each moment shouldn’t feel like being a salmon swimming upstream to spawn. He watched her every bit as much as he did the singers, sneaking glances at the performers now and then, because it was more fun to see her smile, to watch her eyes light up at something happening onstage.

When the show ended, he collected their bags as Leanne linked her arm through his with a content-sounding sigh. “This was fantastic. We’ll have such a great story to tell when we get back.”

He missed a step, nearly stumbling, and she helped him stay on his feet. That’s not what this is all about, right? It’s not only a ruse, keeping up a front for her political aspirations. But maybe it was? Grimly, he reminded himself that he’d agreed to help her craft a certain image, one more marketable to voters, and to keep Junie from moving in.

Don’t push past what’s been asked. You’re already getting a lot out of this.

Mumbling a noncommittal response, he ordered a ride for them. Awesome thing about Vegas, there were drivers nearby, usually four or five minutes away, pretty much all the time. Not like St. Claire. Their driver this time was an older man who reminded Trev a bit of Howard Carruthers, who drove to keep busy. Their driver was also a talker, preventing them from making any private conversation on the way back to the hotel.

When they got to the room, he hung up his wedding clothes with reverent hands. While it was Leanne’s third run, this was his first time, and truthfully, it probably wouldn’t happen again for Trev. He stood for a moment, admiring the gray pinstriped suit and the charcoal-and-white wing tips. To his surprise, Leanne came up and hugged him from behind, resting her head between his shoulder blades.

“What a long, awesome day it’s been.”

Trev savored her warmth for a moment then loosed her hold on him and turned so he could cuddle her in return. “I hope you don’t think this is weird, but…I’d like to hold off on sex stuff until tomorrow.”

She smiled and kissed his jaw lightly. “So we can have an actual wedding night. You’re secretly a romantic.”

He felt heat bloom in his cheeks. “It’s not really a secret. More that there was nobody interested in finding out.”

“I am,” she said. “Interested, that is. And it’s no problem, I’ll keep my thirst in check. Tonight we spoon, but it would be knife if we fork tomorrow.” Leanne caught his gaze and winked at him, utterly shameless about that pun.

“Why are you so cute, even when your jokes are this bad?” he demanded.