Page 4 of Sinner's Vow

Chapter Two

KENNEDY

I thinkall of my organs just evaporated. Poof. Gone.

I look into Noah’s dark eyes, and I feel little pieces of me breaking and shattering.

“Nothing?” I ask with the shake of my head. “You don’t remember any of it?”

At least he looks sorry. Noah looks like he’s going to throw up or cry or maybe just bolt. But he does look sorry. He shakes his head reluctantly. “No.”

I let out a hard sigh and sit back down on the bed. My eyes fall to my hand and my eyes widen as I take in the ring on my finger.

It’s huge. Like, ridiculously big. It’s an emerald cut and the band is gold. It’s exceptionally simple, but the rock can’t be real if it’s this big. “Holy shit, this thing is massive.”

“Does that mean you don’t remember the entire night either?” Noah asks, and his tone is slightly hopeful.

I can’t help but glare at him. “I mean, the night is a little bit fuzzy, but not that fuzzy.”

I don’t want to feel sorry for him right now, because this hurts. But I do feel sorry for him. The pained and agonized look in his eyes makes me want to put my arms around him and tell him everything is going to be okay.

But it does hurt.

“We really got married last night?” he asks, his voice hoarse.

I press my lips together and nod, swallowing once. “About eleven. I wanted an Elvis impersonator. You spent half an hour tracking down the best one.”

A smile pulls at my mouth at the memory. Noah laughed at my suggestion, but not in a cruel way. One that said he was in love. He’d made calls, we’d wandered up and down the Strip, hand in hand, looking for just the place before we found it.

And for the first time today, a hint of a smile pulls on Noah’s face. But then he sighs and shakes his head. “I…how did we even meet? When?”

Ouch. I mean, I knew we were being crazy and reckless, but still. Him forgetting how we even met, it doesn’t feel good.

I sigh. “I was out with some of my friends yesterday. We were headed down the road and just when you stepped out of the venue, some guy smashed into me.” I shake my head. “It sounds so corny now, but you helped me up, brushed me off. You asked if you could buy me a drink.”

And right here and now, I vow that I will never touch a drop of alcohol again. It leads to too many messy decisions.

Noah sinks into the chair just to the side of him and his head falls into his hands. It’s even harder not to stare in the light of day. The man obviously makes good use of hotel gyms. I mean, the muscles of his back felt amazing. I still can’t stop staring at his hands. And then there’s the tattoo on his perfect chest, stretching down his abdomen—a dragon and a snake interwoven.

My stomach tightens, both in excitement and despair.

I had the best sex of my life last night, and the man doesn’t even remember it.

“I’m so sorry, Kennedy,” Noah says as he looks up, his forearms braced on his knees. “I’ve been a fucking disaster for a year now.”

“I know,” I say softly, my eyes going back to his.

When our eyes meet, his grow a little wide, and maybe there’s a little fear in them. He doesn’t remember what he told me yesterday. So, he doesn’t remember what I confessed to him either.

“Kennedy, whatever I told you…”

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” I cut him off. My tone rises, and some of that hurt and anger leaks out into my voice. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Noah. I’m not looking to sell pictures of us, I’m not looking to talk to any international news outlets and say what it’s like to be married to a world-famous rock star for less than twenty-four hours. I don’t want anything from you.”

My voice cracks just slightly, but I suck in a deep breath and look away.

There’s my clothes laid over the chair at the desk. A deep red velvet dress. Black bra. I’m still wearing the underwear. My black heels are discarded by the door, next to Noah’s pants, where I’d ripped them off of him last night.

I never imagined I’d get married in a red, velvet dress.

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