Chapter 4 Krista
KRISTA
Groaning, I rolled over in bed, punching my pillow as the doorbell incessantly rang. Didn’t people know that I was tired and needed my sleep?
Of course not. Why would anyone take into account that I didn’t want to be disturbed? That would be insane.
The doorbell rang on repeat, and I already knew what that meant.
Lizzy was at the door, and she wasn’t leaving until I answered.
Tossing the pillow in the general direction of the hallway, I rolled off the bed and slid my feet into my slippers, knowing the floor was going to be too frigid to tolerate.
The cold had already seeped into the house, but that wasn’t surprising since I had been running the thermostat lower than usual. Bills tended to make one more frugal, and this winter was already harsher than usual.
Through the pane of glass on the front door, I watched as my very pregnant sister hopped from one foot to the other, shivering in the cold. I was tempted to leave her out there, but she probably had to pee.
Unlocking the door, I barely had it open when she pushed past me, rushing to the bathroom as she flung her gloves and hat aside.
“Gotta pee!”
Rolling my eyes, I slammed the door, then scurried into the open living room, snatching a blanket off the back of the couch to wrap around my shoulders.
Vaulted ceilings seemed like such a good idea when I wanted this house built.
Now, as all the heat rose to the ceiling, where it was completely useless, I was regretting that decision.
Sinking down on my oversized couch, I curled up in a ball, pulling another blanket on top of me, along with all the clothes that were piled on top. Not that I cared. I was too exhausted to worry about any of it.
“You couldn’t have opened the door any faster?” Lizzy asked as she waddled her way down the hall, pulling her jacket tighter around her. “Why is it so freaking cold in here?”
“Because money is required to pay bills, and I’m a little short on that at the moment,” I grumbled.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have taken that trip out to Vegas,” she snarked, sitting down across from me in my favorite oversized chair.
“I’ll never get out of this thing,” she murmured as she sank back into the depths. “Don’t you know this is bad for pregnant women? I’ll be stuck here, and I’ll have to deliver right here in this chair.”
“Go for it.”
“Wow, you are super cheery this morning. I take it things didn’t go well with the hubby.”
My brows pinched together as I digested her words. “Huh?”
“Well, he’s not here. That is, unless you have him locked up in your bedroom.”
Sitting up, I shoved the hair from my face as my heart rate kicked up a notch. “Say that again?”
“Well, it’s not totally unheard of. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve left a man in your bed while you—”
“Not that,” I snapped. “What did you mean, my hubby?”
Snorting, she shifted in her chair. “Right. Pretend you don’t know.”
I didn’t. That was the problem. Jumping up from the couch, I tripped over my blanket as it tangled around my feet, and fell flat on my face.
“Graceful,” she laughed.
I popped up, shoving my hair back once again. “Lizzy, this is serious. What did you mean?”
Her smile slowly dimmed as she took in my distressed state. “Krista—”
“You said hubby. That was a joke, right? You didn’t mean that I actually got married. You just meant…”
A rushing storm of something that felt like a train running me over filled my head as surprise and pity filled her face. This was no joke. She was serious.
“You don’t remember?”
I slowly shook my head, sinking to my knees as the reality of my situation washed over me. I was married, but I didn’t even remember it.
“Tell me what happened.”
“Uh…” She huffed out a laugh. “I was going to ask you the same thing. All I know is that you showed up in town last night, drunk as a skunk, and you had your husband with you.”
I glanced down at my hand, but it was empty. “There’s no ring. Maybe it’s not real.”
She nodded along with me, but I had a feeling she was just trying to make me feel better. “Yeah, I mean, it’s not like you showed me a marriage certificate.”
I couldn’t believe this. None of this was real. It couldn’t be. “Wait, so I showed up and…and what?”
“Well, you got into town. You came to The Beaver and Boot and announced with your husband that you got married. I’m sure you can guess how quickly the news spread.” She winced. “I would avoid Mom and Dad for as long as possible.”
“But they know.”
Again, she nodded. “I saw them this morning.”
“And? How did they take it?”
“Well, Mom was pretty calm, actually. But she looked like she wasn’t feeling well, so maybe it’s a delayed reaction. And Dad…well, let’s just say he hasn’t hit the roof yet, but I think that’s only because he’s waiting for a miracle.”
Groaning, I flopped down on the floor, burying my face in the rug. This couldn’t be happening. How had I managed to get married and not remember it?
“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” she whispered, rubbing my back.
“Is it? Really? Do you have any idea what I’ve done? I’m married!” I shouted.
The incredulous look on her face was hilarious as she pointed to her stomach. “Um…hello? Unwed mother, here. If I can handle the talk about this thing, you can handle the fact that you brought home a deliciously sexy man as your husband.”
“Oh, God, this makes what happened this morning so much worse!”
“Why? What happened this morning?”
Her eyes were wide with curiosity. How could I blame her? She was about to pop with no man in sight to lean on. The poor woman needed this more than I wanted to admit.
“I may have attacked him this morning—”
“You what?”
“Hey! In my defense, he was in my house and wearing my coat!”
“The teal one?”
“Yes! I mean, what kind of man does that?”
Her brows furrowed as she chewed her lower lip. “Did you get pictures?”
“No, but that would have been so amazing! Sadly, I was too concerned about the stranger in my house!”
“Well, he’s your husband, so technically not a stranger.”
“I don’t know him. By definition, he’s a stranger.” I sighed, slumping back on my ass. “And then I slept with him.”
Lizzy stared at me for a solid thirty seconds, then tossed her head back and laughed uproariously at my situation. I waited patiently for her to finish, but it was never going to end. She was having too much fun with my predicament.
“I’m sorry,” she cried, wiping the tears from her face. “I really am. I mean, it’s not funny. Not really.”
Sighing, I shoved off the ground and headed into the kitchen, rounding the island for the counter where my coffeemaker was currently sitting empty. If I was going to make it through the day, I would need something much stronger, but drinking at noon was not something most respectable women did.
“Is a marriage legal if no one knows about it?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you have to get it annulled.”
The thought of getting a marriage annulled sounded just ridiculous. I didn’t even know for sure if I was married. What was I going to do? Call around to courtrooms to find out if they had my name registered anywhere? How did one find out if they were truly married?
“Maybe it doesn’t matter.”
“How do you figure?” she asked, trying to push herself out of the chair. When it was clear she couldn’t get out on her own, I strode over and tugged her up.
“Well, I don’t know that I’m actually married. I mean, all you have to go on is what we said. For all I know, we could have pretended to get married.” I held out my hand to her. “Look, no ring. Maybe this is all just a really big misunderstanding.”
“So…you’re not going to look into it?”
“What’s the point?” I asked, heading back to the kitchen. “I mean, he’s already gone.”
Her eyes popped wide. “What do you mean he’s gone?”
“He had to leave. It’s not like he lives here. He didn’t even know where he was.”
“Wait, so you just let him leave without finding out more details?” she asked, waddling behind me.
“I thought he was a one-night stand. What more details would I need?”
“But you have a way to contact him, right?”
I winced, thinking about his lost phone. “I have his boss’s number.”
“Oh, well, that’ll do you good. You can call him and tell him that you need to find your potential husband. That won’t be weird at all.”
Grabbing the coffee grounds, I started scooping them into the coffeemaker. “I don’t know why this is such a big deal. I mean, as of right now, this is all just a bad dream.”
She frowned, looking into the coffeemaker. “How many cups are you making?”
I shoved the scoop back in the container and dumped in another large scoop, then went back for more. “For all I know, we’re not even married. This isn’t even worth worrying about.”
“Uh…Krista, I think you have enough coffee grounds.”
But I kept scooping, too busy thinking about my supposed husband. “And he’s out there right now, not even bothered by the fact that he might have a wife. I mean, really, can you say abandonment?”
“Maybe he doesn’t know either. Seriously, can you stop adding coffee?”
Slamming the container on the counter, I huffed in irritation. “How can he be so selfish? I mean, this is just like a man to get a woman hitched and then leave her high and dry. Just like you.”
She stared at the massive amount of coffee spilling out of the top of the coffeemaker. “Yeah, what he did is totally the same as a man knocking me up.”
“You know what I mean. We haven’t even been married a week, and he’s already gone.”
She nodded at me like I was a crazy person, her eyes wide as she stared at me.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just…a little weird.”
“I know! Just like a man.”
“Actually, I meant that you’re so upset that he’s left when you didn’t even know you were married. That’s the weird part.”
Groaning, I dropped my head to the counter, feeling like I was unraveling in front of everyone, even though Lizzy was the only one here. “It’s because of the sex.”
“That good?”
I nodded, my head never leaving the counter. “Really amazing. God, and I just let him walk out.”
“Well, you know what they say, if you love them, you have to let them go.”
My head popped up as I shot a glare at my sister. “That is not helpful.”
“Well, it sort of is. You let him go, and he’s gone. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “That’s exactly what I wanted.
I don’t need this. I don’t need to be married when I don’t even have enough money to pay for actual heating.
” Huffing out a laugh, I jabbed a finger against the button, turning on the coffeemaker.
“You’re right. I’m getting all worked up over nothing.
I don’t need him. I don’t want him or his amazing dick.
In fact, it’s best he’s out of my life.”
“Right.”
“Exactly,” I nodded. “This is really for the best.”
“Yep. I mean, until you want to actually get married and realize you have to go through divorce proceedings because you were married for too many years to get an annulment, but sure. This is all for the best.”