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“You okay?” My doting husband was right in front of me when I looked up.
“Oooohhh…” I groaned. “This is bad. So very, very bad.”
“Which this are you talking about? There seem to be several really bad things going on here.”
Rather than providing clarification, I dropped into the closest chair and rested my head on my crossed arms. I likely looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but I didn’t want to get into the dynamics of my family at the moment. Honestly, if he weren’t being such a wet towel, I could really go for another shot or two.
Where’s that damn bottle?
But that thought was erased when warm arms wrapped around my shoulders. I picked up my head to find Carmen standing beside me, trying to provide some comfort.
“Stand up, baby,” he said, and his voice was deep and throaty.
“Huh?” I croaked while looking up the length of his toned body.
“I want to hold you, and it would be easier if you stood up,” he explained with way more patience than I deserved.
“I don’t need to be held. I’m fine.”
Easily, he tugged me from the seat, and I stumbled into him. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me against his body.
My brain was shouting at me to protest. Be the independent, fierce woman everyone knows you are. But my psyche and libido ganged up on my foggy gray matter and listened to his unspoken command. I sagged into his chest and gave in to the warmth of his embrace. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his waist then too, and we stood like that for long minutes.
He swayed from side to side like we were sharing a slow-motion dance, and it all felt so good.
“You smell so good,” I muttered into his shirt and then looked up to find him staring down at me.
“You know something? You’re beautiful. I mean, really, really beautiful. You have this all-natural look locked down. I like it better than if you wore a lot of makeup.”
“Is that right?” I grinned so he would know I was teasing and because it was genuinely nice to be complimented so innocently.
My four sisters and I all looked very similar. We all knew we were pretty girls. Hell, we’d been told that our whole lives. So in addition to that natural confidence, I’d always had a healthy self-esteem. It didn’t hurt that I could usually walk into a bar or club alone and not buy my own drinks all night. Typically, I didn’t have to go home alone either.
I tried to finally pull away, but he held me tighter. “Okay, thank you.” I tried to pull back again and still got nowhere. “That was lovely,” I said quietly.
“I could stand here with you in my arms for hours,” he declared and buried his nose in my hair.
I didn’t want to touch that comment with a ten-foot pole. We didn’t need to get confused with feelings. “That’s all well and good, but if we want to get a ride home in style, I need to check in with my sister. If my family already left, we’ll have to see if we can fly back with the newlyweds tomorrow.”
“I doubt my boss will leave us here to fend for ourselves. No matter how pissed he is at me.”
Finally, he released me with hesitation, and I walked back into the space with the bed. The thing was calling to me like a temptress. I turned back to find him right on my heels, so I reconsidered the minibar and chose the bed instead.
“I think I’m going to close my eyes for a bit longer. My head is really pounding.”
“I’ll get you some water. I think I have some sort of pain reliever in my travel bag. Do you want me to check?”
I answered yes a bit too eagerly, and that piqued his suspicion. I had designs on a quick chug from that bottle to really put me to sleep fast.
“Well, let’s get you tucked in, and then I’ll look,” he offered with one brow arched.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I snapped.
He added a tilt of his head to his doubtful gaze. “That’s debatable,” he muttered, but he went toward the other room for his toiletries.
There was no way I’d prove him right and drink now. But I was definitely growing tired of his bit. Already. And whether he had some stupid paper that said we were husband and wife or not, that did not make him my warden.
If that’s what married life was like—you could keep that shit.
