Chapter 12
Riggs
My head pounds when I try to sit up. The alarm I set last night blares from across the room, but when I move to get out of bed, my stomach lurches. I have to take several deep breaths to keep from puking. How did I let myself get so drunk? I can’t remember anything after dancing with Zoe at the nightclub at the Cosmopolitan. Anger surges through me as I think about how I had one night with Zoe and got so drunk that I can’t remember a damn thing.
“Make it stop,” Zoe grumbles from under the covers, holding her head with both hands.
I finally feel settled enough to stand. I look down and discover I’m buck naked. “Shit,” I hiss, wanting to punch myself. I’m such a bastard.
Zoe sits up with a groan. “What?” The covers slip off her, revealing she’s still wearing her dress from last night. She blushes when she sees me. “Why are you naked?”
“Why aren’t you?” What the hell happened last night?
She frowns, pulling the covers up under her chin.
“I don’t mean it like that. I’m just. . . We didn’t have sex, did we?”
My alarm continues to go off, seemingly getting louder with each trill. The noise makes my skull throb.
She rubs her head as if she can feel the alarm bouncing around in her skull, same as me. “Turn that off,” she hisses.
I fumble with my phone before I finally silence the damn thing. “Did we. . ?” Please tell me I didn’t take her virginity when we were both too drunk to remember. I’ll never forgive myself. I pick up my crumpled clothes from the floor, overcome by the smell of them. My shirt and pants have dried vomit splashed down the back of them. A vague memory of carrying Zoe to the room hits. “You threw up on me.”
She smacks her lips. “That explains why my mouth tastes like I was drinking from a toilet.” Then, what I said seems to register with her. “Oh, god!” She covers her face in obvious mortification.
At least we didn’t have sex. Now I don’t have to feel guilty on top of this killer hangover. I look at the clock on the nightstand. “Shit. We have to meet your mom and Stone in an hour.”
She groans, sitting up. “Why does my side hurt?” She places her hand on her ribs, rubbing them through her dress.
I drop my clothes, and she gasps, pointing to my side. “Um. . . Riggs? What the hell is that?”
I look down and see Zoe in beautiful script on my ribcage. “I got a tattoo,” I say, stating the obvious. Shit! I got a tattoo, and it’s her name. What the hell?
“That’s my handwriting,” Zoe tells me.
I don’t know what to say. While I’m not the same reckless guy I was back in my racing days, getting a random tattoo while drunk doesn’t upset me too much. It’s not like I don’t have a few others that I got after nights out.
“Oh, god. Please tell me I didn’t get one too. My mom will kill me.” She rips her dress over her head and flings it on the floor. I don’t even have time to enjoy her lacy lingerie, because my name on her ribs is the only thing I see. “Oh, no!” Her eyes widen as she hyperventilates.
“Don’t panic,” I caution because everyone knows telling someone not to panic fixes everything. What the fuck is wrong with me?
“Can you put some clothes on?” she hisses, rushing to the bathroom, holding a hand over her mouth. I almost puke when I hear her vomit splash against the water inside the toilet bowl. Judging from the mess she left on my clothes, I’m surprised she has anything left in her stomach.
Trying not to hear her retching, I slip into a pair of jeans. I don’t even have time to button them before there’s a knock on the door. “What now?” I fling open the door and see the woman from the jewelry store downstairs, standing there, holding a red bag. “Um, hello?” What is she doing here?
“Congratulations on your nuptials, Mr. Malone.” She hands me the bag. “The rings are engraved the way you and Mrs. Malone wanted. Again, I’m so sorry we weren’t able to accommodate your request last night, and you had to wait.”
I take the bag from her, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “Um, okay, thanks.” I shut the door, not caring if I come across as rude. What the hell did we get ourselves into?
Zoe emerges from the bathroom wrapped in a towel with her wet hair hanging around her shoulders. “Who was that?”
I clear my throat. “Remember when I told you not to panic?”
She pales, gripping the towel. “What now?”
“Well, it seems that, on top of the tattoos, we may have gotten married last night. At the very least, we bought wedding rings.” I hold up the bag, giving her a cautious smile.
“Shit! My mom is going to be here soon. She’s going to freak. We can’t let her find out.” Zoe’s panic far eclipses my own, making me realize I have to stay calm. At least one of us needs to keep a level head.
I look at my phone. There are sixty-three text messages and almost as many missed calls. “Fuck,” I groan.
I open the one from my daughter first.
Calla
You got married???
Followed by…
Calla
Dad, call me!
There are also texts from DJ and Kenny. They’re heading back to Dallas today, so at least I don’t have to worry about them. They obviously haven’t heard the news yet. Still, if Calla knows, that means our marriage isn’t a secret.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.” As a public figure, my personal life often makes it into the gossip columns. I’m just surprised it’s happening so quickly.
My phone buzzes in my hand, and I almost drop it as I fumble to answer. “Hey, Rick.” Somehow I manage to keep my voice even, so I sound calm.
“Riggs!” His voice booms in my ears. “What the hell is this about you marrying a girl Calla’s age? Titan is splashed all over the tabloids. We do not need a controversy. Especially not one this scandalous,” he hisses.
“Zoe is an adult. She and I have been quietly dating for months now.” Okay, so, maybe that’s not the truth, but we have known each other for a while. I’m only slightly bending things to fit a more palatable narrative. Rick should appreciate that.
“Riggs!” Zoe hisses.
I shake my head no. “I understand. Trust me, this will not be an issue. You can tell Amy to calm down. Zoe and I are very happy in love. People will see that, and it won’t be long before they accept us as a couple.”
I listen as he lists all the ways this could blow our acquisition deal with Rev Sports. His anger hasn’t ever been directed at me, and I’m surprised by how intimidating this usually mild-mannered man can be.
“I’ve set up a meeting with Dan from Rev Sports and his assistant for a week from Tuesday. I expect you to be in attendance.”
“I’ll be there.” I end the call and give Zoe a weak smile. “So, it seems the paparazzi got a picture of us leaving the chapel last night.”
“Riggs! What have we done? I’m not even twenty-one. My mom is going to be so upset with me.”
I grimace, hating how anxious she is. “Your mom will be fine. If you want to end things we can, but not until Titan has acquired Rev Sports. Their CEO is cagey about the sale after seeing the headlines. We have to convince them we married out of love and to quote Rick, that I’m not some ‘pedophile in a midlife crisis.’” Rick’s words sting as I repeat them. He’s known me for years, and this is how he sees me. What the hell?
Tears fill her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I’ve messed up everything for you.”
“Baby, you didn’t do this alone. We both got drunk and decided to get hitched.” I pull the ring boxes out of the bag and open them. They’re simple gold bands. Yesterday’s date and the word ‘forever’ are engraved on the inside of the bands. I hand the smaller one to Zoe.
She takes it with her thumb and forefinger, holding it as if she’s afraid it may bite.
I take it from her and drop to one knee before sliding it onto her left ring finger. I pull her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckle above the wedding band. “I know this isn’t how you imagined getting married, but I promise to be a good husband until we can get everything sorted out. I’ll take care of you,” I vow, meaning every word. Hell, I’m a lot fonder of Zoe than I ever was of Gretchen, and we managed to make that work for eleven years.
“What are we going to tell my mom?” She sniffles, swiping at her watering eyes.
“The truth.” Her eyes widen and mouth drops open, so I rush to finish. “Well, a version of it. We met at Sin & Ink, and there was an instant attraction. I tried to stay away, but we kept running into each other. It was like fate kept pushing us together. You came out here for the weekend, and everything fell into place. We realized we couldn’t fight fate any longer and decided to get married. See? It’s really not that bad when you hear it like that.”
“My mom’s going to think this is me rebelling.”
“Then we’ll have to show her otherwise.”
She frowns, telling me she doesn’t think this plan will work.
“Baby, I know this isn’t ideal, but there is an attraction between us. Not to mention the friendship we’ve built.”
“We’re practically strangers,” she counters.
“No, we’re not. You know me better than anyone. We’ve spent time getting to know each other through texts and phone calls. So, maybe we didn’t plan on getting married, but you’re stuck with me. At least for now.” I add that last part because I’m not sure she wants to stay married.
“And then what? Are you just going to leave me?” I hate the way her voice breaks at that question.
I pull her into a hug. “Only if you want me to.” And I mean it. You don’t have as many near-death experiences as I have and question fate. Now that the world knows I’m with Zoe, I’m going to do what I wanted from the first moment we met.
It’s time I stop fighting and start enjoying.