Page 5 of Fractured Frets

Liar. I remembered every second. Dinner, drinking, dancing, his proposal, getting married, the hot sex, and feeling like everything was perfect.

Then I’d woken up.

“Oh. My. God.” She shot forward, closer to her cell phone screen. “Is that the ring he bought you? It’s gorgeous.”

“Rings.” I held up my hand, turning the oval, five-carat yellow diamond with two white baguettes cradling it on a gold band, and my wedding ring toward her. “Yep.”

Every time I looked at them, a lump lodged in my throat and an arrow rammed through the center of my chest. Ever since I’d panicked and rushed out of our penthouse suite at the Red Rock Resort Casino and Spa, I’d tried to make sense of what had happened. Nothing was clear other than I’d fucked up. And I needed to make things right.

“So if you want an annulment, why haven’t you taken the rings off?” Sutton softened her tone, probing for answers.

“Can you not start with such a hard question?”

“Okay.” She curled into her sofa. A sly smile slid across her lips. “Start from the beginning, and don’t leave out any details. How did you wind up married?”

“There was a lot of alcohol involved—like, ridiculous quantities. We’d stayed in the suite for most of the time we were away, however last night, after dinner and way too much champagne, we wanted to go out and have fun. Dance. But the moment we hit the dance floor, writhing against each other wasn’t good a good idea. We got too turned on and had to leave. As we passed some shops, he drew me to a halt, got down on one knee and proposed. In the moment, it seemed right. But in reality, it’s not.” I wasn’t reckless. I liked my fun, but I had too many demands on my time to contemplate a future with someone.

I’d been in complete control of my life before I’d met Slip. I had chased and landed a fabulous acting career. I took care of Mom. That was all I had time for. Slip was only ever supposed to be a bit of steamy fun.

But over the past eighteen months, lines had blurred. We kept falling for each other more and more. We’d gone from a one-night stand to secret lovers, to going public, to this mess. “I shouldn’t have married him. Between work and looking after Mom, I don’t have time for a married life. I can’t be his wife. I’m only home in LA for a few days, twice a month. Slip and I hardly see each other. That’s not going to change, and it’s not enough of a foundation to build a life together on.”

“It is if you want it to work.”

Did I? No . . . don’t go there. “This isn’t sane.”

Marriage was about sharing your life with someone, loving and supporting them, living in the same city, in the same house, coming home to each other every day. Living under the same roof wasn’t on the cards for us now or in the near future. If ever. I didn’t want to live like that. I didn’t come with just me.

“Slip doesn’t need to be dragged into dealing with Mom.” Taking care of her was my responsibility. It was hard managing everything from Canada or when I was home. I couldn’t give Slip my all when Mom took up most of my limited free time.

“He’s met her. He knows she’s part of the deal.”

I stared at the flickering fireplace and sucked in a deep breath to contain the ever-present fear that lurked in the depths of my veins. “Sutt...she’s getting worse. New tests and scans last week show her lungs are damaged. The doctor wants her to have surgery to drain the fluid around them, but she’s refusing to do so.”

Since Mom had been diagnosed with lupus eleven years ago when I was fourteen, she’d deteriorated quickly. She suffered from crippling joint pain, fatigue, pneumonitis, horrid flare-ups, and fevers, and she’d had a mild stroke two years ago. Her life had become an endless cycle of doctors, specialists, and physical therapy appointments. But the worst thing about her condition was she didn’t take care of herself. She ignored every piece of medical advice. The years of abusing alcohol, mixed with an abundance of strong medications and her excessive lifestyle, were now slowly destroying her organs.

“It’s my life. I’m gonna live it how I want.” That had always been Mom’s motto. But the way she was going, she wouldn’t have one for much longer. And that crushed me. I loved Mom. I’d taken care of her since Dad had taken off with her best friend when I was sixteen. My older brother, Timothy, had never gotten on with either of our parents. He’d left home the second he finished high school to travel around the world and save endangered animals. I was beyond fortunate that I could hire a nurse part-time to help care for Mom, and for a driver to chauffeur Mom everywhere she needed to go. I’d considered quitting my job, the acting role I loved, to look after Mom, but she wouldn’t hear of it. So now I went home to LA as often as I could. Once a month had turned into every two weeks.

Sutton blinked, jerking her chin back. “Why doesn’t she want surgery?”

Exhaustion seeped into my bones. “She thinks there’s nothing wrong with her. That everything will be fine.” But it wasn’t. No matter what I did for her or the treatments and meds she took, she deteriorated. The backs of my eyes stung. “Sutt. I don’t want to lose her.”

“Mads, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Thank you, but no. I’ve got everything under control.” A puff of air shot through my nose. I had to laugh, or I’d cry. “Well, I thought I did until last night.”

“Mads...be honest with me. You’ve given me the reasons why you shouldn’t have married Slip, but why did you?”

My heart shuddered. I took a long sip of my wine to drown the ache. Slip’s gorgeous brown eyes and broad smile that melted my panties flickered behind my eyelids. “He has this enrapturing way of making me believe anything is possible. That everything will be alright.”

Every time I was with Slip I felt like I’d landed in a different universe. To some degree, I did. His world of wild parties and rock music was far removed from my somewhat sedate studio life, filming a popular TV show in Vancouver.

Slip was my escape...from my work, my responsibilities, and my problems. Our hot catchups gave me something to look forward to. We’d become great friends. Loved each other. Had fun. But our moments together never lasted long.

Snippets of time couldn’t become a lifetime.

Now we’d landed in a mess. I’d married him. Being drunk was no excuse, but it was the only one I had.

Sutton topped up her glass of wine. “Isn’t believing anything is possible good?”

---