She just got cheated on by her boyfriend and then wakes up to find herself married to her childhood friend? Jonas said that Vegas had a way of stirring up trouble, but even I couldn’t have imagined this.
She turns toward the sound of the door opening and gives a hesitant smile. “She called me Mrs. Beck.”
I flinch. “I heard.”
“My parents are going to be thrilled,” she says at the same time I announce, “We can get an annulment.”
Her eyes go wide as I suck in a breath. We stare at each other for a moment. Then another.
Finally, she speaks. “You want to get an annulment?”
My heart starts to hammer in my chest. “I just thought with everything going on between you and Jace—” I blurt out, before landing on, “You don’t?”
“You know about Jace?” She seems surprised.
“You told me when you were drinking mai tais by the pool. You called him a dirty, rotten cheater. Do you not remember?”
She covers her face with her hands. “No. Obviously. God, this is so embarrassing. I’m never drinking again,” she groans, plopping onto the bed. She’s wearing a pair of tight yoga pants and a sweatshirt. I wish I could say it made me want her less, but it doesn’t.
She’s gorgeous in everything.
I really need to get a grip on this attraction I have for her, especially now that we’re fucking married.
“I second that—the drinking thing, I mean. My head is killing me,” I say, moving toward the breakfast tray. I go straight for the coffee, pour two cups, and hand her one. “I know you’re particular about how you like it.”
“I am,” she agrees, but seems taken aback by the observation. It doesn’t stop her from reaching for the cream and three packets of sugar. Then she looks over the food offerings and grabs a plain bagel and returns to her spot on the bed.
I stick to black coffee, but take a seat at the desk across from her.
“Tell me what you want to do, Pres.”
Those baby blues meet mine. “Go back in time and make better choices?”
Ouch.
She must see me flinch at her choice of words because she instantly starts to backpedal. “I’m sorry, Hollis. I didn’t mean you. I don’t know what led us here, but getting drunk and married to you isn’t half as dumb as dating Jace Vaughn. My family has been telling me what a skeevy piece of shit he is for months, and all I ever did was stick up for him and now…”
Her words falter, and now I feel like a piece of shit. I should be supportive and understanding like any good friend, but instead, all I feel is jealousy. She might be married to me, but her heart still belongs to the man who cheated on her.
I swallow down all those emotions and try to focus. “I doubt they’ll hold that against you. Your family loves you and has always supported you.”
She snorts and rolls her eyes. “You’ve been gone a long time, Beck. A lot has changed.”
My brow furrows as I take a sip of my coffee. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m surrounded by a bunch of overachieving siblings. Cash is set to take over the entire Creed empire from Dad. Hendrix is a literal fucking rock star now. Mercury is like this evil genius when it comes to music production, and then there’s Myles, who I swear is just one role away from being the next Chris Hemsworth.”
I tilt my head. “Chris Hemsworth? Really? From the pic you showed me, I was thinking he looked more like that guy from that Viking movie.”
“The blond guy?” I nod, and she seems to ponder it before saying, “He would make a pretty excellent Viking.”
I give her an amused grin. “I know all about your siblings, Pres. Between what you’ve told me and the hour-long phone call with your mom during that family dinner, I’m all caught up on the many achievements of the various Creed children. What I don’t know is what that has to do with you.”
She tosses a hand in the air, clearly frustrated. The other clutches her precious cup of coffee. “Can’t you see? I’m the family fuckup. I dropped out of community college. I don’t have any special talents. I’m not good at anything. I’m an embarrassment.” She lets out a ragged breath. “And once they find out about what happened with Jace, it will only confirm that.”
“First of all, not true. Have you ever heard yourself sing? Fucking angels, Pres.”
She snorts out a laugh. God, I forgot how good it feels to make her laugh. I used to crack the stupidest jokes during our late-night walks just so I could hear it. “I knew you used to stand outside my door and listen to me. Stalker.”
