Page 5 of It's Holy Matrimony, Baby

CHAPTER TWO

Marriage is a compromise.

One person pretends that their drunk wedding never happened, and everyone is happy.

Until they come across the other in a bar.

Oh shit! Here we go again.

Beck

Of all the hotels in all the world why did we had to end up in this one? I’ve only just sat down opposite Liv at one of the tables when I spot the man at the bar. Cold sweat breaks out across my brow, and the nape of my neck. Even my pits get in on the action. I press my palm to my chest. My heart palpitates. Although it’s been almost two years since I’ve seen him and though I can’t recall everything from that night in Vegas, I can’t forget his face with its neat brown scruff and that perfect messy hair. It’s branded on my brain. “Oh God, we need to leave.”

“What?” Liv glances up, closing her Mac and popping it into her bag. “We just got here.”

“I know, but—”

“And after looking at the numbers, I need a drink. Or three.” She props an elbow on the table. This small boutique hotel is her latest acquisition. The last in a long list of hotels she’s added to her chain these past five years. “Reverence might not be big city, but there’s so much potential here. The last owner obviously had no idea how to run a business. They barely turned a profit in the last fiscal year.” She already has a cocktail on the table, but she raises her arm to grab the bartender’s attention. “It’s going to take me at least three months to make sure everything is running exactly the way I want it. To train the staff. A place like this—”

Lunging across the table, I grab her hand and pull it back to the wooden surface. “Don’t.”

“What’s gotten into you, Beck? You’re acting neurotic.” Her perfectly styled eyebrows draw together, making her forehead furrow. “I thought you wanted to come here too. Didn’t you want to do a piece on that old studio where Sophie Valentine started out for the blog?”

“Yes, but that was before I realized…” I clamp my mouth shut and peek over her shoulder. The guy still hasn’t noticed us. He’s too busy talking to the man beside him. We can probably get out of here without my bad decisions coming to a head.

“Realized what, Beck?” Liv asks. Her jaw sets with impatience.

Crap. She’s not going to let this go without an answer. “There’s a guy.”

“Oh, stop.” She shakes her head, smiling as she does. “That won’t wash with me. Since when has a guy ever fazed you?”

I take a deep breath. There’s only one thing for it. I plunge in. “He’smyhusband.”

“What? I didn’t quite catch that.”

I take another breath and try again. Slower. “He’s my husband.”

“Hold up.” She stares at me. “For a second I thought you said husband, but I know I must be imagining it because you would never—”

“He’s my husband,” I admit, hanging my head.

“Wait? You’re serious?” Liv bows over the table. “You have a husband?”

“Yes,” I whisper, leaning in too. I have the urge to close her mouth. I bet there’d be an audible snap when her lips meet.

“Hold on. That would mean you’re married, and I know that can’t be, because I would have known. I’m your best friend. There’s no way you would have gotten...”

“Married,” I squeak.

“Right. You would have told me if you were getting married. I would have been in your bridal party. This is a joke? You’re not actually married, right?”

“Well.” I cringe.

“Oh my God,” she exclaims. “How could you not tell me this? I don’t even... I can’t even... and he’s here?” She wriggles in her seat, scanning the face of every guy in this hotel bar. “Oh. Is it that one?” She points at the dark haired, friendly faced guy working the bar.

“No, it’s not the bartender. He’s a little young, isn’t he?” Trust Liv to search out the guy most likely to be her type.

“He’s hot,” she responds, taking her time to ogle him before moving on. “How about that one? Ooooh.” She lets out a low whistle. “I know which one.”

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