Chapter 1
CHAPTER
ONE
Brogan
My body aches, my head is pounding, and I’m burning up. Why is it so hot? I reach for the covers and freeze when I feel an arm. At least, I think it’s an arm. My mind starts racing, and my heart matches its rhythm. Fear grips at my throat, making it hard to swallow. I force myself to take a deep breath and evaluate my current situation.
Not again.
Please, God. Not again.
I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I need to get myself together and get out of this bed. I don’t even know where I am. How could I let this happen? Squeezing my eyes closed, I try to remember how I ended up here and who I’m with, all the while trying to keep my panic at bay.
Yesterday, my little sister, yes, little… I was born two minutes earlier. It’s just facts. Anyway, my little sister married the man of her dreams. A man who has shown my sister and her daughters so much love and patience, it makes my heart happy. Forrest Huntley is one of the good ones.
They got married, we all celebrated, and when the newlyweds went up to their room, Roman and Emerson took the girls to play with Lilly. Maggie and I hung out with Maddox and Lachlan, and that’s where things start to get fuzzy.
Opening my eyes again, I peer down at the arm wrapped around me, and instantly, I recognize the ink, and my body relaxes.
Maddox.
Oh shit! Maddox.
I mean, he’s better than a stranger, but this will complicate things. Mostly the crush I’ve had on him since the day we first met. I’ve made sure to keep my feelings locked in the vault, because what if we get together and it doesn’t work out? My sister is married to his best friend and business partner. My nieces call him Uncle Maddox, for goodness’ sake. So, yeah, no matter how sexy he is, or how I’ve imagined waking up just like this, I know it can’t happen.
It shouldn’t have happened.
I move to try to get out of bed, but the arm tightens around my waist. “Go back to sleep. Too early.”
That voice, even laced with sleep and I’m assuming hungover—if the way I feel is any indication—definitely belongs to Maddox.
I don’t know what to do. I can’t just stay here, wrapped up in his arms. I shouldn’t be here. I drank too much and was irresponsible. The last time I let something like this happen—I push those thoughts out of my mind. I’m fully dressed, so that means we just slept next to each other, right? I would know if we did more. At least, I think I would.
I need to get up.
I move again, and he stops me.
“Stay.”
“I have to pee.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the only reason I’m trying to flee this bed and his arms either.
“Fine,” he grumbles. “But come back to bed,” he says, as he releases his hold on me.
I don’t reply as I scramble out from under the covers and place my feet on the floor. The room spins, and I groan and take a few deep breaths. Getting up that quick was not a good plan. When I can finally gain some balance, I move toward the bathroom and lock myself inside.
I don’t bother looking in the mirror. Not yet anyway. I’m certain that whatever greets me is going to be a scary sight. My mouth tastes like ass, or what I assume ass to taste like, mixed with cotton.
After relieving my bladder and sitting on the toilet for far too long, I move to the sink to wash my hands. A quick glance in the mirror and I cringe. Ugh, I do not want him to see me this way. Reaching for the water, I keep staring at the hot mess that I am. After I run my hands beneath the stream, I splash water on my face. That’s when I feel it.
Slowly, I open my eyes and stare at my left hand that’s suspended in the air. My ring finger —that ring finger—is adorned with a white gold diamond band.
What. The. Fuck?
I shake my head, close my eyes, take a deep breath, and open them again slowly. The ring is still there. Both hands shake as I reach over with my right and twirl the diamond band. It’s a perfect fit. As if it were made just for me.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I’m sure it was just a ring that I saw and liked. That’s all it is. It’s not because I’m in Vegas with my sister, who married the love of her life, with a man who has no idea how I long to be with him. The same man I just woke up next to in bed beside me, with a ring on my finger.
In Vegas.
I’ve never shied away from my problems, and I’m not going to start now. Grabbing the hand towel, I dry my face and quickly brush my teeth before tying my hair back in a knot. Nothing is going to help the hot mess that is my hair except for a shower, and right now, I need to see Maddox. More specifically, I need to see his left hand.
“It’s just a ring,” I whisper to myself as I pull open the bathroom door and pad my way back to the bed. Maddox is awake, and his eyes trail me with each step I take.
“How you feeling?” he asks. His voice is raspy and thick from sleep, and it’s sexy, just like the man, but I push that thought aside. I have more important things to talk to him about.
“Can I see your hand?”
He furrows his brow. “My hand?”
I nod and fight the urge to groan. That was not good for my headache. “Your left hand.”
He lifts his hand, and my breath stalls in my lungs. He’s wearing a wedding band. It’s black and similar to the one I watched my sister slide onto Forrest’s hand yesterday.
“What is that?” I ask, pointing at the ring.
His mouth falls open, and then his eyes snap to my hand. I raise it up and wiggle my fingers. “We’re married?” he asks.
There’s something in his tone of voice. He doesn’t seem angry. If anything, he seems… awed. How is that possible? “I think so,” I finally answer. “That’s the only explanation I can come up with. I was hoping I just bought a ring I loved, but no way would you do the same.”
He closes his eyes, and I think my eyes are deceiving me because I swear, there is a small lift of his lips as if he’s smiling. “Maddox?” His eyes pop open at the sound of my voice. “Do you remember anything?”
“No.” He swallows hard. “Do you?”
“Not much. I remember us leaving with Maggie and Lachlan, and then it gets fuzzy from there.”
“Yeah,” he agrees.
I turn my head, glancing around the room, looking for anything that might help me remember, when I spot papers lying on the table. My legs shake as they carry me to them. I don’t need to pick them up to see what they are. The words Marriage Certificate are in big, bold letters at the top.
“Shit.”
“What is it?”
I startle at his voice being so close, and I can’t stop the shiver that races through me when he gently places his hands on my hips as he looks over my shoulder.
“Marriage certificate.”
“So, you’re my wife?” he asks. Again, he doesn’t sound mad about this or even irritated.
“Looks like it. At least until we can get this annulled.”
“What?”
I turn to face him, and we’re now chest to chest with his hands gripping my hips. I look up at him. His big blue eyes study me as if I’m a puzzle he can’t figure out. “Annulled,” I repeat.
“Let’s just take a step back. We should shower. We’re supposed to meet everyone for breakfast at ten.” He glances back toward the bed at the alarm clock. “We’ve got thirty minutes.”
I sigh. “I guess you’re right. It’s Sunday, so there isn’t going to be an attorney open to deal with this until tomorrow, anyway.”
“Go shower.”
He leans in and presses his lips to my forehead. He’s never done that before, and the act has my heart fluttering around like a swarm of butterflies inside my chest. “What about you?” I see my luggage, and all of my toiletries were in the bathroom, so I know we’re in my room.
“My stuff is here too.” He nods to the opposite side of the room, and sure enough, there’s his luggage. “I guess we decided we were moving in together.” He smirks. “I mean, that’s what married people do, right? They live together?”
“We’re not really married, Maddox,” I remind him.
“That piece of paper says otherwise, Mrs. Lanigan.” The smile he gives me, it’s not a teasing smile, but it’s gone before I can put a name to it. “Go shower. You can get ready while I take my turn. That is, unless you want to shower together. That’s better for the environment. Saving water and all that.”
“Nope.” I pull out of his arms, needing some space.
“Lock the door.”
“Are you leaving?” I ask. Sadness washes over me. I know we can’t stay married, but being with him, having his attention, it’s something I don’t really want to let go of just yet. What happens in Vegas and all that.
“No, baby, I’m not leaving.” He reaches up and presses his palm against my cheek. “It’s to keep me out of the bathroom. My wife will be naked and wet. I need all the barriers I can get to keep me away.”
Oh.
He smirks. “Go. Lock the door,” he says again, before dropping his hand and making his way back to the bed.
Quickly, I grab a change of clothes and disappear into the bathroom, and I lock the door just like he told me to. However, the entire time I’m showering, all I can think about is Maddox busting down that door and joining me.
Thirty minutes later, we’re both dressed and ready to head to meet everyone for breakfast. Maddox has his hand on the small of my back, leading me toward the door, when I freeze.
“I forgot to take off my ring.” My right hand reaches for my left.
“Don’t.”
I freeze and turn to look at him. “What?”
“Don’t take it off.”
“So, we’re just going to tell them what we did?”
He gives me a stiff nod. “This is my one and only wedding. Let me enjoy having a wife while I still can.”
“We’re not really married, Mad,” I whisper.
“We are. Our names and signatures are on that marriage certificate. It’s legal and binding. You are my wife, and I’m not hiding that.”
“But it was a drunken mistake,” I counter. He bows his head, his chin falling to his chest as he grips the back of my shirt. “Right?” I ask him.
When he finally looks up, his blue eyes are liquid fire. “You are my wife.” He repeats the same four words he said just moments before.
“On paper.”
“Give me this. We’ll get through breakfast. Besides, you’re not going to hide this from your sister, and I’m not going to hide this from my brothers.”
My shoulders fall. “You’re right. Not to mention Maggie and Lachlan were probably there. Maybe they can fill in some of the gaps.”
“Maybe,” he says, pressing his lips to my temple. “Let’s get you some breakfast.”
No more words are spoken as he leads me out of the room and to the elevators. There’s an older man and woman already on board, and they smile at us.
“Newlyweds?” the woman asks.
Maddox pulls me closer to his chest. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Young love.” She grins. “We just celebrated our fortieth anniversary.”
“That’s incredible,” Maddox replies.
“Congratulations,” I say, finally finding my voice.
“Enjoy it. Marriage is work, but having one special person to spend all the good days, and the bad days with, makes it worth it.” The door chimes, and they step out first, and we follow along behind them.
My steps become slower as we reach the hotel restaurant and even slower when I see our group.
“I’m right here, Brogan. You’re not alone in this.”
“I can’t believe we let this happen.”
“Come on, wife, let’s get you fed,” he says, ignoring my statement.
With a heavy sigh, I follow him to the table. He pulls out a chair for me and waits for me to sit before taking the one right next to me.
“Aunt Brogan, you almost missed breakfast!” River exclaims, shoving a bite of pancake into her mouth.
“We said ten, right?” Maddox asks.
“We did,” Roman answers. “The girls were hungry, so we came down a little early.” He gives Maddox a look, one that only they understand.
“What did the two of you end up getting into last night?” Lachlan asks.
“You were with us,” I answer.
“We were until Maggie started feeling sick. I took her back to her room and stayed with her to make sure she didn’t need anything. We left the two of you at the casino. Mad was up ten grand when we left.”
Maddox looks over at me and shrugs. “It’s all a bit fuzzy,” he confesses.
My mouth is still like cotton. I reach for the glass of water in front of me and hear a gasp.
“Aunt Brogan, you have a ring like Mommy. Did Forty give you a ring too?” Rayne asks.
I close my eyes, waiting for the floor to open up and swallow me. It’s not until Maddox bails me out that I open them again to find everyone watching us.
“We got married last night,” Maddox says as if his words are not life-changing.
The girls gasp, which makes Lilly do the same, mimicking them.
“You’re married?” the twins ask at the same time.
“We are. That means, in the eyes of the law, I’m your uncle now.”
River tilts her head to the side. “I thought you were already my uncle?”
“I was, but this just makes it official. Just like Forty when he married your mom. That makes it all official,” Maddox tries to explain as I elbow him in the ribs. He turns to give me his full attention.
“What are you doing?”
“Explaining to our nieces.”
“This is not real,” I whisper hiss.
He leans close, his lips next to my ear, his words only for me. “Maybe it should be.”
“Brogan?” Briar says my name, and there is so much she’s saying with just her tone of voice.
Slowly, I turn to face my sister. “Briar.”
Her eyes are shimmering with tears. “You’re married.” Her smile could light up Vegas.
“We were under the influence, and we’re going to take care of it first thing tomorrow.”
“Or not,” Maddox says. This time, he doesn’t lower his voice, and lets everyone at the table hear him.
“Maddox.” I sigh. If he only knew what his words did to my heart. If he only knew that I’ve wanted him for so long, and knowing that he’s mine, even temporarily, that I have to give him up, well, that’s just pure torture. But I know how this ends. Maddox doesn’t date. He’s not a playboy, but I’ve never heard him say a single word about settling down. Unlike Forrest, who was all-in the day he laid eyes on my sister and my nieces.
His hand slides beneath the table and lands on my thigh. “We’ll talk. Let’s just enjoy breakfast.”
I nod, because what else am I supposed to do? I’m married to the man I’ve wanted for months, and it kinda feels like he wants us to stay that way. We settle in for breakfast. I waver on the cinnamon rolls, and a fruit bowl, and decide to be good and get the bowl.
“I’ll have the big breakfast platter, and add a cinnamon roll for my wife,” Maddox tells our waiter.
I turn to look at him. “How did you know I was thinking about getting the cinnamon roll?” I ask him.
He leans in and presses his lips to my temple. “It’s my job to know my wife.” He flashes me a grin. “I saw you wavering, and I know you love them.” He shrugs as if it’s that simple.
“Maddox.” I sigh again.
“We’re enjoying breakfast. We’ll talk when we get back to our room.”
Our room.
We definitely need to talk. This isn’t real. We’re not real. I ignore the flutter in my chest. I don’t deserve happily ever after. Not after what I let happen to my sister. I’m so happy she and the girls have found Forrest. She was always meant for great love. Me, on the other hand? I messed up, and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her.
Maddox deserves better.