I pick up the picture. “You were serious about the whole marriage thing.”
“Yep, we’re married.”
“Can we get an annulment?” I look at him.
His expression falls like someone who bet their last dollar at the slots and spun garbage. “Well, clearly we got married on a whim.”
Okay, so he does have some reservations about this whole thing. Good.
“Yeah, I can’t imagine you’re happy about this.”
He shrugs.
What’s with the mixed signals?
“I don’t really believe in marriage,” I confess. I raise my hand as if I’m at an AA meeting. “Daddy issues.”
“You don’t believe in marriage?” He says it as though every girl dreams of marrying her soul mate someday. And maybe that’s true—until you find your dad cheating on your mom.
“No offense, but just looking at you, I’d say you’re not exactly the poster boy for marriage.”
His expression dims for a split second before he grins. “Don’t let the exterior fool you. I have a beating heart inside my chest and everything.”
I shake my head. This has got to be a dream. Tell me this is a dream. I want to pinch myself, but I’ve already embarrassed myself enough what with the peeing, throwing up, and using his toothbrush, and now I’m standing here in his underwear and T-shirt.
He’s still shirtless and sitting on the edge of the bed, his towel inching open farther and farther as his thighs part. Pretty soon I’ll see his package, but what does that matter? I’m sure we had sex to consummate our marriage last night.
He laughs as though he can hear the hamster wheel in my head.
I bury my head in my hands and groan.
“It’s all good,” he says.
“It’s all good?” I clench my fists at my sides. “I don’t marry strangers. I sure as hell don’t marry people who think it’s fun to beat the crap out of people for a living.”
“I don’t think we should discuss my profession at this point.”
He’s so calm, I want to scream and see if that grabs his attention.
“You must have people who handle these things?”
He tilts his head. “People?”
“Someone who can manage us ending this.”
“You’re serious? Don’t you think there’s a reason why you married me?”
“I think the reason is tequila. That, and you looking the way you do. I probably thought you just wanted to have a good time.”
He finally stands and, Jesus, that towel is barely hanging on.
“I mean, we’re strangers,” I add. “We got drunk and got married. It’s ridiculous and we need to end it.”
Based on his expression, I offended him in some kind of way. How can he not be on the same page as me? Surely he has more to lose than I do. He has a high-profile career, his reputation, and his money.
He says, “I need to go down and see my manager. He wants to talk about this marriage thing. Do you wanna come?”
We clearly have different views on what needs to happen next. I need to get him out of this room so I can leave, meet up with Molly, and we can head back home to Alaska. Hopefully this will all just go away like waking up from a nightmare.
“No, I think I’m gonna shower and get ready.” I try to keep my voice even and not give my thoughts away.
“I’ll bring you back some coffee. How do you like your coffee, by the way? I should know this, given that you’re my wife, but I promise you’ll only have to tell me once and I’ll remember forever.” He grins at me, and oh yeah. I see exactly why I might’ve thought getting married on a whim to this good guy was a good idea.
“Black and one sugar.”
“Great. I’ll be back soon.”
He puts on a pair of low-slung jeans, a T-shirt, slides, and a sweatshirt. I could’ve married much worse. The man is an Adonis. He doesn’t bother styling his hair that’s blonder at the tips or shaving.
He walks toward me as if he’s actually going to kiss me goodbye, but he stops short—probably from the look of shock and horror on my face. “I’m gonna give you some time to let this all sink in. I’ll be back with some coffee and pastries and we’ll talk some more.”
“All right.”
“Don’t go anywhere.” He cracks a smile. It’s a great smile for a guy who’s probably had his teeth knocked out more than once.
“I won’t go anywhere.” I cross my fingers behind my back.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a little bit.” He’s out the door, and I finally release the breath it feels as if I’ve been holding the entire morning.
I sink into a chair, my limbs weak, as panic really sets in.
I married a complete stranger. Well, maybe not a complete stranger. Molly probably knows every fact and statistic there is to know about his fights. And my brothers were super excited when we told them we were going to the fight, so they probably know about him too. But to me, Logan Stone is a stranger. I don’t know anything about him except for one small thing—he’s my husband.
Chapter Two
“Did you see the pictures?”
Logan
Leaving my new bride in my hotel room isn’t ideal, but Vince wasn’t exactly understanding when I told him I had to shower before I’d meet him downstairs in the café, but my hangover necessitated a shower first. Making him wait any longer while I tried to convince Nikki to join us wasn’t gonna fly.
Vince has managed my career forever, and he’s done a bang-up job. He’s a big reason why I’m at where I’m at in my career. The reason I can stay in penthouse suites and invite pretty girls like Nikki to join me after fights. I don’t do it that much anymore but there was something about Nikki and her disinterest in the spectacle taking place after I won that intrigued me and I couldn’t resist.
When I was young, stupid, and new to success, I’d invite them all to party after a big fight, but now the appeal is lost on me. I’m a professional MMA fighter. The best in my field. Success as a fighter has allowed me to support myself, get my mom out of working three jobs, and that’s enough for me. Besides, those women I used to take back to my hotel room weren’t looking for love—at least not real love.
My mom says I’m an old soul. Not sure what that has to do with choosing not to hook up with random girls, but she insists it does.
The party girls just want to say they had me in their bed and gossip about what I was like. Or worse, snap a picture of me. They want everything that comes with stardom without anything that has to do with real feelings.
But Nikki was different last night. Maybe that’s why I feel in my gut like there’s a reason we got married. That’s the reason I want to pursue this. Vince will surely have a coronary when I tell him I’m not gonna try to get out of this. He’s gonna think I’m crazy—just like Nikki did. But I gotta say, I don’t think I’m prepared to let her go so quick.
Vince is already at the café, his knee bouncing so fast you’d think he just took a loan from a loan shark and lost it all. His fingers tap on the table while he waits. He’s probably on his fourth espresso of the day.