He pointed toward the bed then asked in a hesitant voice, “Do you remember anything that happened here afterward?”
Lydia felt heat rush into her cheeks. Bits and pieces of the time she’d been in his arms were steadily coming back to her. There were gaps, but the longer she was awake, the more she remembered. Thank God. She would likely have never gotten over forgetting her first time with Jacob. “Not all of it,” she admitted. “But . . . I know you, um, were on top, then I was, and then your mouth . . . Any other times that I’m missing?”
Sounding strained, he said gruffly, “No, baby, I think that about covers it. Thank fuck.” He ran an unsteady hand through his thick, dark hair. “Last night was . . . special to me. And it was going to suck if you didn’t have any recollection of it.”
She put a hand over his and squeezed. “I know how it felt, Jacob. I was really confused when I woke up this morning. I’m guessing both from the alcohol and a lack of sleep. But things are starting to come back to me.” Her eyes darted down as she added, “You made me feel cherished. You held me as if I was someone that you cared about. I haven’t had that in a long time. With the chemo and his illness, Brett was unable to—you know, so . . .”
“I understand,” he said softly. He shifted to the side. Lydia was mourning the loss of their body contact when he rolled her into his arms.
She snuggled against him, loving the musky, masculine smell of his body. “What now?” She hoped he didn’t detect the hint of misery in her voice. They were strangers who had married in a moment of temporary madness. The only thing to do was to have the marriage dissolved and move on.
The sad thing was, they had been together for less than a day, but she knew that she’d miss him dreadfully when he was gone. But since he’d done what he thought she needed last night, now she would be strong and return the favor by giving him his freedom without any hassle. “Can we get an annulment since we’ve—you know, slept together? Does a drunk Elvis wedding really count as a legal marriage?”
Jacob’s chest rumbled under her ear as he laughed. She felt something press against the top of her head, but surely he wouldn’t have kissed her, would he? That would be a gesture of affection, and they barely knew each other. “I don’t know the particulars of a Vegas wedding, sweetheart, but it’s nothing we need to worry about right now. No need to rush into anything without thinking it through.”
She rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “I think the ship has already sailed on the whole rushing into things, wouldn’t you say?”
“Sure,” he agreed easily. “Maybe what I should have said was that we don’t have to make any decisions right now. We will figure things out once we get home and the dust has settled. Today, we’ll fly home together and go from there.”
“But I’m supposed to travel back with the girls at nine.” She flipped over to look at the bedside clock then shrieked quite loudly in Jacob’s ear. “Dammit! It’s past that time now! Why didn’t they call or come by my room? I can’t believe they would just leave me here.”
She was on the verge of a full freak-out when Jacob calmly announced, “You’re flying home with me on Mark’s plane. He and Crystal are staying an extra day, so we’ll go back today and then I’ll send the jet back for them. We’re leaving at noon, so we have plenty of time to dress and have breakfast before the car picks us up.”
I’m lying with a scantily clad Jacob Hay calmly discussing cars and jets. Someone needed to pinch her and bring her back to reality. Even as Lydia pondered how bizarre the morning had been, she couldn’t help but marvel at how well she was handling it all.
It’s not as if something like this had ever happened to her before. So why wasn’t she having some kind of panic attack? Delayed reaction? Possibly some kind of trauma-induced shock? She thought it was more likely that she simply didn’t want the dream to end. Heck, just a few days ago, she would have bet money that she’d never even enjoy a first date with Jacob. Now she was cuddled in his strong arms and it felt almost natural—as if she belonged there, which was absolutely nuts. She shifted slightly, moving her hand, and froze. Oh God, the ring. How could she have forgotten about that? Was it real? It certainly looked as if it was. And it was easily two carats, maybe more, and there were more diamonds in the matching wedding band. Extending her arm, she wiggled her finger and asked, “Where did this come from?”
He gave a lazy laugh before putting his hand next to hers. A wide silver band adorned his finger. She gasped in surprise. “It came from the same jewelry store that this one came from.”
Clearing her throat, she asked, “Was it expensive? How much does a sterling silver ring cost? Can we return it all?”
“You’re pretty cute when you ramble.” He chuckled. “Our rings are platinum, not silver, so no, they weren’t exactly cheap. As I said earlier, I don’t think we should concern ourselves with anything major right now, so let’s not rush out and pawn anything, okay?”
Stunned, Lydia asked, “But why would you buy something so expensive when you knew it wasn’t a real wedding?”
He looked uncomfortable as she stared down at him. Finally, he shrugged and said, “We’ve both acknowledged that we had a bit too much to drink last night. I’m sure neither of us was thinking clearly. It obviously seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”
She opened her mouth to question him further when a nearby phone began ringing. He shifted their weight until he could look at the screen on the nearby bedside table. She thought she saw him wince before he said, “I’ve got to take this. Why don’t you go shower and dress?”
You’ve been dismissed.
Before she could move, he answered the call with a, “Just a second,” then appeared to be waiting for her to move. She scrambled off his chest and out of the bed with all the grace of a dancing elephant. “I’ll, um—just be in the bathroom.”