16. What Happens In Vegas Stays A Reckless Nightmare
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS A RECKLESS NIGHTMARE
PAIGE
I startled awake to the sound of my phone buzzing incessantly on the side table. My head was pounding and my mouth was so dry it felt like I swallowed sandpaper.
What the fuck happened last night?
I sat up and tied my hair above my head before reaching for my phone. I had fifteen unread texts and seven missed calls from my sister.
Fuck.
I peered around, rubbing my eyes when I noticed a foot sticking out from the blanket next to me.
My eyes shot open as I took in the shirtless and muscular back of a man in the bed, the blankets tangled around his waist. I screamed at the top of my lungs and sprung out of bed, looking down at my body that was covered in a man’s white shirt.
“Why are you screaming?” Cash croaked, popping his head up and squinting into the light.
I sighed a breath of relief and placed my hand on my heart. Thank god I didn’t fall into bed with a stranger when I was black out drunk.
I picked up a pillow and heaved it at Cash, causing him to groan and sit up.
“Where the fuck are we? What happened last night?”
“Stop yelling at me. Jesus,” he groaned as he gripped his head.
“No, Cash, I won’t stop yelling at you. We’re in an unknown hotel room in Vegas. Together,” I emphasized.
I frantically waved my hands around the room when something caught my eye. I glanced down at my left hand and noticed a marquise diamond ring on a simple gold band stacked on top of a ring of diamonds.
I screamed again.
Cash’s eyes went wide at my stunned expression. I knew then that his memories came flooding back at the same time mine did.
We were at Bootleggers spilling all of our secrets and drowning in tequila.
Cash asked me to dance and we spun around the dance floor until we were breathless.
Cash said I would look beautiful with a diamond on my finger like I’d always dreamed of, so we walked to a jeweler and he bought me a ring.
I suggested we go to a chapel just for fun, and things got hazy from there.
It was just a joke. It was a funny bit to make me feel better. It wasn’t real.
“No.” I looked around frantically for my purse. “No. No. No. No. No.”
I found my purse and ripped it open. Tucked inside was the paper I was hoping wouldn’t be there.
I screamed again.
Cash stood and stalked over to me. “That can’t be real.”
“Oh, it’s real,” I barked.
“It can’t be.” He started pacing and running his hands through his hair.
“We got married last night, Cash.” I held the paper up in front of his face.
“We can fix this,” he mumbled as he kept pacing.
“How the fuck do we fix this?”
“Easy. We get divorced.” He smiled at me, as if he solved the world’s problems.
“Oh.” I slapped my forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that? Sure. Let’s hire a lawyer. Except the only lawyer I know is my father’s.”
“We can hire another lawyer.”
“You have the money for that?”
Cash froze.
He didn’t. We both knew he didn’t. We also both knew that there was no way to hide this divorce from my family.
I started pacing. “My brothers are going to kill you. Lottie is going to be heart broken. My father is going to disown me. Fuck, how did this even happen?”
“We can keep it on the down-low for a while and figure it out. I promise, we’ll figure this out. One mistake won’t ruin our lives.”
I was hungover and fragile, but something about Cash calling me a mistake made the pressure behind my eyes build. This was not ideal, I knew that. But it still hurt.
Maybe I was being dramatic, but I needed water and pain killers before I could fathom a rational thought.
I tore off his shirt, not caring that Cash got a full view of my bra and thong.
He swallowed harshly, keeping his eyes up. Slipping my dress on, I grabbed my purse and shoes, and moved to the door.
“Baby. Baby, stop,” Cash said, catching my arm, but I tore it away.
“No. This was reckless and I heard you loud and clear. I’m a mistake. We’ll get through the week and keep this to ourselves. Once we get home, we’ll figure it out.”
I took the rings off my finger and slammed them onto the desk before running out the door. Once I was in the hallway, the tears fell.
How could I be so stupid? How could I think Cash might want me when he wasn’t under the guise of tequila? Did I want to be married to Cash Leonard? No. Of course not, but that doesn’t mean a girl wanted to hear about how much of a mistake she was. Especially not when you’re hungover and emotional.
Dark hallways and nights we barely remembered. That was all I was worth.
That was all we would ever truly be.
Last night, Cash told me all about what my father said to him when he was first hired. How he couldn’t touch me or he’d be fired. I didn’t want to be the reason Cash lost his livelihood, but my heart still ached at what could have been.
Luckily, in our drunken state we had the common sense to book a room in the same hotel we were already staying in.
I took the elevator up to the penthouse and let myself into the girls’ suite.
As soon as the door clicked behind me, I heard the screams. Lottie, Taylor, and Micah came running up to me.
“Where the fuck did you go?”
“Are you okay?”
“Are you hurt?”
I held my hands up and took a deep breath. My head was spinning and I needed to sit down.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry for dropping off the grid. I met a guy and we ended up having a really fun night.”
Lottie eyed me like she could tell I’d been crying, but I smiled through it as the girls instantly started the interrogation about my mystery man.
They swooned over my fake—but somewhat real—story about how this man learned I was from Montana so he took me to Bootleggers.
How we had too much tequila and got a room.
They seemed content with my fun Vegas story, and I was sent upstairs to change for brunch before our spa day.
I had to get through four more days with these girls while keeping the biggest secret I’d ever had in my life. I just hoped that Cash had the decent sense to keep his big mouth shut so we could get home and figure out how to deal with this situation privately.