Married in Vegas: In His Arms

As I heard the water run in the bathroom, I thought about how easy it would be for me to grab my dress, put it halfway on and leave. It was a huge hotel and my room wasn’t in this wing. Cam wouldn’t be able to find me. Before I acted on those thoughts, he was there standing in the doorway of the bathroom staring at me.

“You wanted to run?”

I shrugged, unable to deny the feeling was there. Disappointment found residence on his handsome features, and I hated I’d put it there.

“Cam,” I started.

He held up a hand to stop me. “I’m just glad you didn’t leave.” He used the cloth to loving clean us up after our vigorous love making. Love. I couldn’t think that way, not ever again.

As much as I’d pushed him away after prom all those years ago, I still ended up broken hearted. I didn’t blame him, but I couldn’t do that again.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

The question elicited a growl from my belly. I glanced over at the clock and realized it was well past noon. So much for checking out and catching an earlier flight.

“Yeah.”

He handed me the room service menu and I settled on a burger. Who could mess that up? After he placed our orders, he turned to me.

“I was thinking—” he began.

I pressed my fingers to his lips this time. “Don’t say it.” I scrammed off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

“You’re not running are you?”

I braced my forearm on the doorframe and shook my head. “I’m going to take a shower,” I said and shook my head again when he made a move to follow me. “Alone.”

I’d walked over bowlegged wondering if I’d ever recover from sex with the most eligible bachelor in America or so People magazine reported in their headline.

“You look like you rode a horse,” he teased.

I turned around just before closing the door and gave him my best retort. “What? Is that some reference to you being hung like one?” I gave him a second to soak in the what I said, before I castrated him with my next words. “Because it was more like I was on a lame pony ride.”

I fought laughter as his smirk turned into a frown. I bit my lip and closed the door between us, locking it for good measures. He would pay me back and I wasn’t sure if I wouldn’t be comatose if I came again. Because no matter what I’d said, Cam had been the best I’d ever had…ever.

I’d thought that that sentiment was from my school girl crush dreamy-eyed after my first time. But he’d just proven that wasn’t a fluke so many times over. No wonder women put up with his shit and came back for more. I couldn’t blame them. I just wouldn’t be adding to their numbers.

The water turned tepid as I stood under the spray trying to rein back the idea that Cam really wanted something more than a fling from me. He’d sounded so sincere, but I couldn’t trust the rose color that frosted my eyes every time he was in a room. It could never work between us. That was a fact I would never forget.

“Are you coming out anytime soon? The food’s getting cold,” he called from the other side of the door.

How long had I been in the bathroom? My phone was out there with him, so I had no idea.

I toweled off and wrapped it around me, leaving the room.

The food turned out to be delicious, then again, paper had sounded appealing for how long it had been since I’d eaten.

“I see you haven’t lost your appetite,” he teased.

His words hit true against my most vulnerable insecurity. I was never that skinny girl like the string of models he’d dated. Victoria’s Secret whispered to me not to even think about it.

“No, I haven’t. I’m sure it’s a change to see a woman actually eat without throwing up after. How’s Claudia by the way.”

What I’d said was mean and immediately I wanted to take it back. But the damage was done. His eyes had gone cold and flat.

“Let’s leave her out of this.” He tossed his napkin down on the plate. “I’m going to take a shower.”

He’d closed the door a little too hard before I could apologize. It wasn’t my business what he’d did. We hadn’t been together. He wasn’t married. So anything we’d done was between two consenting adults. Or so I tried to tell myself.

I went to the bathroom door prepared to go in or at least knock, but stopped and looked at the drawer. Like a thief, I opened it. There unopened sat the black bag. The one side was solid. The other had the gold foil stamp of a high end jewelry store.