Bryce turned quickly. “I… I didn’t hear the shower turn off.”
She ignored his comment. “No judge will refuse us. Once we explain, it’ll be over. I’ll probably tell my parents, but no one else needs to know. Whether or not you tell your girlfriend is up to you.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Beth paused. “Oh. I thought Crystal said you guys were moving in together.”
Bryce let out a humorless laugh.Of course Crystal would say that.Crystal was a nurse from the hospital, another hookup who’d convinced herself she could turn a one-night stand into something more.
“No,” he said, with more than a little annoyance. “Crystal was nothing more than a hookup. She knows I have a ‘no strings attached’ policy and refuses to accept it.”
“Oh.”
Tears welled in Beth’s eyes as the truth settled in. She’d married a man who had a ‘no strings attached’ policy.
Bryce flinched, the weight of his own words hitting too late.
Beth almost veered off course, but the words she’d rehearsed in the shower nudged her forward.
“At any rate… once we get this annulled, I don’t see why we can’t keep working together. As long as we don’t talk about, well, about last night, it shouldn’t be an issue. Now, um, well,” she crossed her arms tightly, her voice stiff and her body cold, “we, well, we’ll have to see what Eric remembers.
Hopefully the… um… the… uh… wedding happened after we split up, or maybe, maybe, he was too drunk to remember too. And then once we’re home, we’ll just… well, we will just move on. And as long as nothing changes in how we act towards each other… um I don’t think that, well I don’t think it’ll be a big deal… I mean I should be fine, it’ll be fine, and I’ll treat you normal, like, because well, I… I don’t remember too much. Really anything at all after the bar. So yeah… I don’t think I’ll treat you any differently—”
“What if you’re pregnant?”
The sentence cut clean through her.
Beth blinked. “What?”
Bryce’s tone was measured. Too measured. “I’m just saying… I’m guessing you’re not on the pill. And there’s no sign we used protection.”
She didn’t speak. She sat down hard on the edge of the bed. The color drained from her face. Her arms fell to her lap. Her mouth opened once, and closed. Then again. Nothing came out.
“No. I can’t be.” She shook her head once, twice—like she could rattle the thought loose. “Do you… do you really think that’s possible?”
“Well,” Bryce said quietly, “I’m not saying you are, but yeah. It’s possible. And it’s something we have to consider before we rush into anything else. That’s how we got here in the first place.”
He attempted a smile—half-flirty, half-apologetic. “That… and a lot of tequila.”
Beth stared at the carpet like it held answers.
“What would I do? What do I do if I’m pregnant?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Bryce’s voice softened. “And I mean we. You’re not in this alone, Beth. I know you’re thinking about your witness. About your future. But whatever this turns into—we’ll face it together.”
He wrapped his arms around her with careful hesitation, hoping the small gesture would be enough to steady her, if only for a moment.
CHAPTER2
The Las Vegas airport buzzed with movement as the sounds of slot machines mingled with the noise of the crowd—a fitting backdrop to the chaos still swirling in Beth’s mind. She tugged her carry-on behind her, trailing just a few steps behind Bryce and their co-worker, Dr. Eric Sheppard, as they made their way through security.
The medical conference had been informative—at least, the parts she attended. It was supposed to be a quick professional getaway: she would learn a few things, earn some continuing education credits, and maybe enjoy a few dinners out. But clearly, Vegas had other plans.
Only two nurses from Penrose Hospital had been selectedto attend, which left more than a few people disappointed—and at least one person outright furious. Crystal had taken the exclusion personally. Her passive-aggressive jabs during shift changes had been impossible to miss.
Beth had quietly dreaded the idea that Bryce and Crystal might be a thing. He seemed… decent beneath the cocky exterior. Crystal, on the other hand, could be outright mean when things didn’t go her way.
Finding out there wasn’t anything real between them shouldn’t have mattered—but it did.
