Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
MOLLY
I rushed off the plane. Barely taking the time to grab my carry-on luggage before dashing through the airport like the demons of hell were on my ass.
"Come on, come on, come on." I pushed through people herding to get to the luggage claim area. "Why must everyone be moving so damn slow?" I growled to no one in particular. It wasn't their fault that I was in such a hurry to get to the pickup area.
I practically sprinted when a small opening appeared in front of me. People around me looked at me funny, but I didn't care. Normally people were rushing to get into the airport to catch their plane, but I was doing the opposite. I was in desperate need of fresh air and my best friend.
When I finally made it outside, I groaned at the sheer number of cars in the area. This was a large airport, so it was no surprise that the pickup line was forever long but I needed my friend, and I needed her now. Taking my cell phone out of my pocket, I hit speed dial.
"Where are you?" I demanded as soon as the line connected. Not even waiting for Elle to say hello.
"I'm pulling up now. I can see you standing outside."
I looked to my left, and sure enough, there was Elle's car. I didn't give her time to fully stop before I was yanking the back door open and tossing my carry-on into the back seat. It was then that I noticed the base for Savannah's car seat.
"Shit, I completely forgot about Savannah when I demanded you come pick me up. Where is she?"
Elle chuckled. "Rhett's parents are in town visiting. They were more than happy to watch her while I came to get you."
I slammed the door shut before opening the passenger door and throwing myself into the seat next to my best friend.
"Uh, what's that?" Elle picked up my hand and examined the wedding ring I had yet to take off.
"That's why I begged you to come get me. Let's go. I'll explain everything on the way home." Elle's mouth dropped open as she continued to stare at the ring in shock.
Me too, friend. Me too.
The sound of a horn honking behind us was the only thing that pulled Elle out of her stupor.
"You better start talking and fast." Elle threw the car in drive and pulled away. "Starting with who the fuck did you marry."
I slammed my head back against the headrest.
"You're not going to believe me when I tell you."
"Try me."
I rolled my head to the side and stared at my best friend in the whole world. She was my ride or die. I would do anything for her and vice versa. Not a single thing happened in our lives that the other wasn't a part of. Except my marriage apparently.
"Did Rhett tell you where he was for his assignment?"
Elle briefly took her eyes off the road to look at me like I was losing my marbles.
"Of course he did. He always does even though he's not supposed to. What does this have to do with my husband?"
Then it must click. "Shit. Did you marry one of Rhett's teammates?"
"Winner, winner, chicken dinner," I sarcastically replied.
"Fuck. Which one?"
"Parker." The name was nothing more than a whisper on my lips.
"Mr. Sexy Hair?"
I whipped my gaze in her direction and stared at the side of my friend’s face.
"Does your husband know you call the man sexy?
" A pang of jealousy stabbed me in the chest, and I wondered for a moment where the hell that came from.
I wasn't the kind of woman who got jealous.
I had never cared enough about a man to have those kinds of feelings.
Elle chuckled. "I didn't call Parker sexy. Just his hair, and for your information, yes, Rhett knows I call him that. Even he can admit his friend has great hair."
Elle wasn't wrong. Parker's dark brown locks were long enough on the top to run my hands through, and I had a feeling it would be soft under my touch.
But it wasn't just his hair that drew me in. He had the kindest blue eyes I’ve ever seen on a man.
And that short-cropped beard of his made me wonder how it would feel between my legs. Would it be just as soft as his hair?
I mean, I probably did know what it felt like if the ache between my legs was any indication, but damn I couldn't remember, and that was pissing me off.
I never got blackout drunk and had sex. Let alone married someone.
And why the hell did the thought of not remembering the sex piss me off?
Oh that's right. Because the man was holy shit sexy.
Wait? Full stop. Could I really be thinking about my husband that way?
Shit, Parker was my husband. I was way in over my head.
"So how exactly did the two of you become a married couple? I didn't even know you knew each other."
"I think know each other is a very loose term. Obviously, from hanging out with you and Rhett, I know of Parker, but know him? Nope, definitely not."
"You're telling me you married a complete stranger? That's crazy. Even for you."
I wanted to take offense to that, but Elle was right. I was known to do some crazy shit. I was the wild one of the two of us. If we were getting into trouble, it was because I found it and dragged Elle with me.
"Well, he wasn't a stranger after we talked at the bar for awhile."
"Ah!" Elle snickered. "So this was one of your drunken escapades."
That was one way to put it. "I don't even remember the wedding. One minute we were downing shots, and the next, I was waking up naked in bed with him. A wedding ring on my finger."
"Does Parker remember anything?" Elle glanced my way from the driver seat. "Wait, did you say naked? Does that mean you had sex with him as well?"
I winced. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I did, and I don't know. I snuck out before he woke up and haven't talked to him since. I rushed to catch my flight and called you."
"Oh this is getting more and more interesting by the second."
Crossing my arms, I flopped farther back into the seat. "I'm glad my misery can amuse you."
"Misery? Oh come on. It was a drunken wedding in Vegas. I'm sure the damn thing can be annulled, and it would be like it never happened."
Why did the thought of that make my heart hurt? I barely knew a damn thing about Parker. Sure, we shared a lot last night but not nearly enough to start a marriage with.
"You do want to get it annulled, don't you?"
Leave it to my friend to call me out on my inner turmoil. "Of course I do."
"Are you sure because your face is saying something completely different?"
I did my best to mask my facial expression, but it was no use. Elle and I knew each other too well. My best friend could sniff out my bullshit from a mile away. I sighed. "I don't know what I want."
"Holy shit!" Elle gasped. "You actually like him." It wasn't a question.
"I mean, I don't hate him."
"Okay, but do you like him enough to stay married to him? Or maybe it's just your subconscious talking because it knows how good the sex was."
Gah!! My heart, brain, and vagina were at war.
Of course I knew staying married to a man I barely knew was ridiculous, but at the same time, my heart liked the man and wanted to see where things could go.
I was completely ignoring my vagina at the moment.
That bitch wasn't getting a say in shit, since she betrayed me while I was drunk.
"I don't have the answer to that."
We were stopped at a red light, so Elle was able to turn toward me and give me her full attention. "Well, I think you need to figure it out before Parker gets back, because I'm sure he's going to have just as many questions as I do."
Shit. I hadn't even thought about that. I was kinda living in the moment and not thinking about what future me had to deal with.
"When are they supposed to be back?"
I didn't remember Parker telling me anything about his work last night when we spoke at the bar, but that didn't mean he didn't. Obviously there was a huge gap of time that was missing from my memory.
"Today," Elle told me matter-of-factly before the light turned green, and we were once again headed toward her house.
"Seriously? They couldn't stretch the assignment out for, I don't know, another week?"
The look Elle gave me would've set fire to anyone who wasn't me. "Excuse me, but I happen to want my husband back sooner rather than later. I wasn't built for a single-mother lifestyle."
I scoffed at the notion. "Bullshit. You could do anything you want as long as you put your mind to it."
"While I appreciate the bout of confidence, I want my husband back, and I want him back now."
"Fine." I crossed my arms. "Maybe they can send Parker on his own assignment for, say, a week or maybe even a month."
"Since when do you run from a fight? What happened to my badass friend who isn't afraid to take on the world?"
"She went and got herself drunkenly married," I grumbled.
Elle's hand reached across the center console and took mine into hers. "Don't forget the sex."
I banged my head against the headrest. How could I possibly forget about the sex.
"It's going to be okay. We will figure this out one way or another."
I sure as hell hoped she was right, because despite all the foolish things I had done in my life, this was by far the worst. And damn it didn't help that my heart was warring with my brain.