Marriage by Mistake E-Book

Jessica F.

• Herausgeber: Jessica F.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Vegas was supposed to be a quick escape—cards, drinks, and my buddy’s bachelor party.
Then I saw her. Blonde, blue-eyed, and drowning in a sadness I couldn’t ignore.
One night of too much whiskey and her rare, fleeting smile turned into a ring on my finger.
Waking up married to a stranger? My worst nightmare.
She’s got nothing but a broken past, and I’ve got millions to protect.
I want out—she wants to cash in. But the way she looks at me stirs something I can’t shake.
Now there’s a secret growing between us, and walking away might cost me more than my fortune.

Keywords: Guaranteed HEA, no cliffhangers, happily ever after. billionaire, bad boy, office romance, steamy romance, contemporary romance, love books, love stories, new adult, alpha male, romance, action, adventure, steamy romance, small-town secrets, hot, alpha hero. free book, free novels, romantic novels, and sexually romantic books.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

MARRIAGE BY MISTAKE

Copyright

Blurb

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Epilogue

Sneak Peek – Chapter One

Brynn

Other books in this series!

MARRIAGE BY MISTAKE

AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS SECRET BABY ROMANCE

ACCIDENTAL LOVE

Jessica F.

©Copyright 2023 by Jessica F. - All rights Reserved

In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format.

Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited, and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher.

All rights are reserved.

Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

Blurb

“Where the hell am I and what is this ring doing on my finger?”

This is NOT the way I thought I’d be waking up after my first night in Vegas.

Naked. Pounding headache. Strange bed. 

And an even stranger woman lying asleep next to me.

I’ll admit, she’s smokin’ hot though…

I’m supposed to be here to party for my buddy’s engagement.

Not to get married myself…

Something crazy definitely went down last night.

She’s wearing the same gold band I am.

I’m definitely starting to panic now, trying to remember yesterday’s details:

Trip down on the private jet - check.

Meeting the rest of the bachelor party guys at the hotel - check.

Afternoon drinks - check.

Dinner and drinks.

Blackjack and drinks.

Dancing and drinks.

Shots with a deliciously curvy blonde… and then it’s all a blur.

F.M.L.

I need to get myself out of this mess ASAP.

Judging from the morning so far, last night was full of terrible decisions.

And I’m dreading what other surprises might be in store for me…

Chapter One

Maxim

“Thanks for stopping by in San Francisco to pick me up,” I say to my old college buddy. “Taking a private plane to Las Vegas is way cooler than showing up in a regular airplane.” I grabbed my bag, walking out of the plane behind my friend, who’d done pretty damn good for himself.

“No problem at all. Brownsville, Texas to San Francisco is just a hop, skip, and jump for me. Plus, the ride gave us some much-needed time to catch up on each other’s lives.” Callan tossed his bag over his shoulder, leading me to the limo waiting for us on the tarmac. “I had no idea you’d become such a tech wiz since our college days. A millionaire at only thirty years old — impressive.”

“I ain’t got nothing on you, Callan. A billionaire before you turned thirty.” Callan’s success was beyond phenomenal.

“That came with loads of help from my generous family. I wouldn’t be close to being what I now am if it wasn’t for them. But you — man, you built that entire tech company all on your own. I’m proud to say I went to school with you. And proud to call you one of my best friends. Even if it has been ages since we’ve actually seen each other.”

“Talking on the phone is okay. But getting to see you in person is way better.” Clapping him on the back as he tossed his bag into the car, I wore a smile that wouldn’t fade away. “This weekend is going to be the bomb.”

“You bet your ass it is. We’re gonna party like it’s nineteen ninety-nine. Granted, we were around eight years old in nineteen ninety-nine. But we can still party like it’s back in the day.” He hopped into the car, taking the seat behind the driver and facing me as I sat next to him.

It was still hard to believe that my old pal Callan Duran had gotten married and had two kids already. “It was damn cool of your wife to let you attend something like this.”

“She went to a bachelorette party a few months ago in Cancun for the weekend. How could she balk when I told her about Tanner’s bachelor party and that it would be a weekend-long deal? Plus, I promised not to get wild and to call her each night.”

“Cool.” I needed a sort of sober person to keep an eye on me. “I’m not a big drinker. And by that, I mean that I haven’t had a drink of alcohol since our college days. It just isn’t my thing. It messes with my mind too much, you know? And my mind is my money-maker, so I take pretty good care of it. Burning brain cells in any way, shape, or form is pretty much a big no-no to me.”

“You know that you don’t have to drink if you don’t want to, Maxim. This isn’t college, and you don’t have to give in to peer pressure. And the guys might not be as bad at pressuring you as they used to be — we’re all adults now.”

I wasn’t as sure of that as he was. “Tanner alone can be relentless. Don’t you remember his motto? ‘Come on, dude, be halfway cool for like a second.’” And that was just one of the guys who we would be joining at the hotel and casino on the strip. “And Noah, Eli, and Tyler have those looks that say, ‘Come on, join us.’”

“That’s not the worst peer pressure ever, Maxim.” Callan laughed as we headed down the strip. “Look at all the people walking around with drinks in their hands.” He pointed out one woman in particular. “She’s got a giant fishbowl in her hands, carrying it around like it’s a trophy of some kind.”

“See, I don’t want that to become me.” I knew I was far too easily pressured into drinking, but I wanted to live a little too. “I want to do some drinking. I’ve had a lot of stress on me the last few years with my company. Granted, I put the stress on myself — any tech founder could probably say the same — but it’s been stressful, nonetheless. And lonely, too. No time for female company, if you know what I mean.”

“So, have a few drinks and get to know a few girls while we’re here.” Callan had always found it easy to just flow with things.

I wasn’t that talented. “I don’t need a few women. But one would be nice. Just for the weekend, though. I don’t have time for anything serious. My company is doing good right now, but I want it to become better than good. I want it to become great.”

“And it will.” He gestured to the hotel we’d stopped in front of. “But for now, forget about work and go back in time before we all had jobs. Go back to when we had no cares and were just starting college. Go to the day we all ended up in line to join the best club on campus.”

“Yeah, the Rock and Roll Club had everything our group wanted. Music, weed, alcohol, and brotherhood. No girls allowed. I liked that the best. The girls had their own club, so we could relax and be ourselves.”

“And we got to know each other on a level that most guys never get to. We shared our ideas on life — our ideas about love and the future. And we all ended up making something out of ourselves. I like to think that sharing so much with other guys like ourselves made that happen for us. You know — gave us the support system we needed to succeed in business.”

“Man, I have the best memories from those days.” Looking out of the window and at the sidewalk and the rivers of people walking up and down it, I knew that this weekend would help me unwind. And I needed that more desperately than any of my friends even knew.

“Me too, man. Me too.”

Life had gotten away from me. My personal life, that is. My business life had taken over completely. I needed to live carefree for the next couple of days. But I didn’t want to get shitfaced and ruin it. “Callan, just don’t let me get wasted and make an ass out of myself. Promise me that you will drag my ass up to my room before I can let that happen.”

“I can promise you that, Maxim. I won’t let you make a fool out of yourself. Now, come on. Let’s get out of this car and join our friends inside. Noah just texted me that we’re the only ones who haven’t shown up yet, and they’re waiting on us to take the first shot of our party weekend.”

“Already — it’s starting.” I had to smile, though. “Leave it to the Rock and Roll Club Rebels to get the party started.”

“I brought my club leather jacket. I hope you packed yours too. You know, Tanner’s gonna want us to take a group photo in them.”

“Yeah, I brought mine. Even though it’s like a zillion degrees in Las Vegas. I read the email ten times to be sure I brought everything Tanner asked us to. Not sure what the shaving cream is for, but I brought a can of it. Do you think he plans to make us shave our beards?” I ran my hand over the one I’d been growing for three years. It went all the way down to my belly button.

Callan, who always had the clean-shaven look, nodded. “His fiancé, Beth, said no scruffy faces in the wedding photos. And we’re all expected to be in them. Get what I’m saying?”

“No way.” I held tight to my beard. “I can’t do it, Callan. I just can’t. I’ve been growing this since I got serious about my company.”

“It will grow back. Just keep telling yourself that.”

I was about to protest again when the chauffeur opened the door. “We have arrived. The bellboy will take your bags to your suites. Have a pleasant stay in Vegas. And good luck, gentlemen.”

I got out first, then put my bag onto the little carrier the young bellboy had waiting for us. “Name’s on the tag.”

He nodded. “Yes, Mr. Cambridge. I’ll get your bags to your suites. No worries.”

Callan put his bag on the carrier too. “Duran. Callan Duran.”

“You sound like James Bond,” I said with a chuckle as we headed inside.

“I like to put on an air of mystery sometimes.” Laughing, we headed inside. The sounds of the bustling crowd filled the air. In the background, there was the faraway sound of people playing slot machines, the bells and whistles going off as people won money. “How much are you going to gamble, Maxim?”

“I brought only five hundred for that purpose.” I knew the others would out-gamble me. They always had. “No high-stakes poker this time. I lost my favorite pair of sneakers in the last one we had.”

“I lost my only issue of Playboy magazine that I’d stolen from my oldest brother. That was high stakes, man.”

The sound of a group of men laughing met my ears, and I looked around to find our friends standing around a tall table where six shots were lined up, waiting for us to arrive.

Tanner looked up and saw us first. “There they are!”

Hugs ensued, and laughter was about all I heard. “It has been way too long,” Noah said as he patted me on the back. “Maxim — heard about your success. Congrats, man.”

“And I heard about you gaining your doctorate in sports medicine. Congratulations on that. If I need some medical advice, can I call you?”

“You better call me.”

“And call me when you’re ready to start investing some of that tech fortune you’ve accumulated, Maxim,” Eli said. “I’m working on Wall Street now. But how long that’s going to last, I’m not sure. As soon as I have enough of my own funds, I’m thinking about investing in foreign markets.”

Tyler nodded. “Soon, we’ll have to put the old Rock and Roll Club to the side and open a new club for wealthy men. At least, you guys will. I’m satisfied with running my dad’s diner in Philadelphia and being a thousandaire.”

“Save up some money, and I’ll turn it into more money for you, Tyler,” Eli told him.

“Hey,” Tanner shouted. “No talking about work. Right after I say this. I got the promotion I was up for. You’re looking at the youngest district manager of Champion Hotels. We are global, so you can expect to see me in various countries on my social media posts from now on.”

Tyler picked up the first shot glass and held it up high. “And that should be our first toast, I think.”

Tanner shook his head as he handed me a glass then picked one up for himself. “No. I’ve got the first toast of this bachelor party that you guys have graciously thrown for me. Hold your glasses way up high. This toast is to rock and roll and how it brought the six of us together in a way that I have never connected with any other guys. To rock and roll and all that it entails!”

I had a gut feeling that we’d be spending the weekend like we were rock gods from another era. A much cooler era. Part of me loved the idea of going back to those easier times. The other part of me was afraid Tanner’s plans included copious amounts of alcohol, weed, and lots of fast girls. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. That had been the thing back then.

But that wasn’t me anymore. I was the nerdy tech guy who hadn’t shaved his beard in years and wore khaki pants and red Polo shirts along with comfortable sneakers. In other words, I didn’t look like a typical millionaire. Callan looked the part of a billionaire. He had on the most expensive clothes I’d ever seen.

“To rock and roll and all that it entails!” we all said together before downing the shots of what I found out was tequila. The bowl of limes on the table made perfect sense now. I grabbed a wedge and bit down on it to lessen the breathtaking effect of the alcohol.

Scanning the area, I found a clothing shop inside the hotel lobby. I bumped my shoulder against Callan’s. “Hey, think you and I can go into some of the shops around here, and you can help me dress more like I should be dressing?”

“I would love to help you out, Maxim. It’s not hard at all. You just let the personal shopper take your measurements, and they will do all the hard work. That’s what’s worked for me — with the occasional suggestion from my wife, of course.”

“Good.” I knew hanging out with the guys I’d come of age with would be good for me. “I lack fashion sense.” I ran my hand over my khakis that I’d bought years ago at Walmart. “As you can see.”

“I’ll make sure you get straightened out. Once you shave that beard off, see a hairstylist to crop some of those dark curls you’ve got going on, and put on some fine clothing, you’ll see a whole new you.”

“No longer a computer geek?” I liked that idea. “I was dreading the idea of having to shave my beard, but now I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

Callan put his arm around my shoulders. “Maxim and I need to get some things before we start tonight’s activities. Please, don’t get polluted without us. What we have to do is rather important.”

It was to me, anyway. And to Tanner’s soon-to-be bride’s expectations for her wedding photos as well. It was time to put nerdy Maxim to rest — once and for all.

“Thanks, Callan. You really are the best.”

Tanner stopped us just before we walked away. “Hey. I want to say this before you two leave us to go do whatever your secret stuff is. At the end of this bachelor party weekend, I will pick my best man. So, keep that in mind when you’re doing whatever it is you two are doing.”

“It’s nothing for you, Tanner,” Callan said with a chuckle. “But we will keep that in mind for when we do have something for you. Right now, our buddy is looking for a makeover and needs some stylish clothes to go with it.”

Blinking, I couldn’t believe I was about to change the look of the man I’d been seeing in the mirror for years and years.

It was about time.

Chapter Two

Adele

It had been a long time since I’d been dazzled by something. Tonight, though, the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip were doing a number on me. “Wow. You were right, Coco. Seeing Vegas at night is really trippy.”

“How does that make you feel, Adele?” She pulled up to the casino and hotel we were going to stay at.

“Seriously, you’re going to try to analyze me right now?” My best friend was a therapist. I’d known her before she became one, though, so it sort of annoyed me when she morphed from my best friend into my therapist — which she was not. I didn’t need a therapist. What was happening to me was purely natural.

“I’m just asking if you feel happy when you see the pretty lights, Adele.”

The valet opened the door for me. “Welcome to Las Vegas. Are you staying with us or just here to play in our fantastic casino, where you can win an incredible Jaguar if you try our super snazzy slots?”

Coco was already out and had come around to my side of her car. “We’re guests here at the hotel.” She reached in and grabbed my hand. “Come on, let’s get inside. I’m starving.”

We had driven a little over nine hours to get to our weekend getaway. The trip was Coco’s idea; she wanted us to have a fun weekend to help get me out of the funk I had been in for a year. “I haven’t stepped foot out of this car for the last four hours — give me a second to adjust to standing up.”

“Oh, for Heaven’s sakes,” she huffed as she pulled me out. “Sometimes, you act like you’re a hundred years old, Adele. Honestly.”

Sometimes I felt like I was that old. Missing someone you’re not sure you will ever see again can do that to a person.

Looking up at the sign that blinked above the entrance to the hotel and casino, I thought of him, and out came the words Coco had told me were off-limits this weekend, “Jacob would’ve loved this.”

“Nope.” Still holding my hand, she pulled me close to her side then wrapped her arm around me tightly. “No talking about a person you cannot build a life with. He was a great guy. And he is missed every single day by more people than just you. But he’s gone, Adele. It’s been a year. It’s time to move on. So, to help you stop talking about him, I’m going to make you take a shot of my choosing every time you say his name.”

“Harsh,” I whined.

“I agree, it is harsh. But nothing else I’ve tried has gotten you to stop living in the past with a man who is no longer available. Let’s go up to our room, shower and change, and then come back down ready to party. I’m going to do your hair and makeup too.”

“You know I don’t like to wear makeup.” It was hard to look in the mirror when all I could see was the girl from our engagement pictures staring back at me. I preferred not to resemble the woman I was when I was with him.

“Or fix your hair.” She flipped my ponytail to make her point. “But you are going to let me do all that for you tonight. It’s time, Adele.”

“You don’t have to keep saying that.” I wished she didn’t put a limit on grief. “It’s only been a year.”

“You’re not saying that right. You should be saying, it has been a year. A whole year. A long time to grieve. A long time to stop living life. You haven’t worked in a year, Adele. You haven’t gone out to eat. You haven’t watched a movie at the theater. You haven’t done much at all — other than survive, somehow.”

While Coco checked us in, the lady at the front desk filled two glasses with champagne. “Here you go, ladies. Please enjoy this complimentary drink to help you get started on unwinding so you can have fun. You’ve booked a gorgeous suite that overlooks the strip.” She pushed a couple of rubber bracelets toward Coco. “These are for the free buffets that you purchased as part of your weekend package. Plus, those will get you into the pool area. And here are your loyalty cards. Be sure to put them into the machines you play to add up points. With points, you can get lots of freebies. And who doesn’t love freebies?”

Sipping the champagne, I wrinkled my nose at the not-so-fantastic flavor. “Not what I expected.” I had no idea why people acted like champagne tasted so great. I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol since I received the news that my fiancé would not be coming home from Afghanistan. It didn’t seem right to me to have fun when Jacob could no longer even take a breath of air.

Coco handed one of the black bracelets to me. “Put this on. I don’t want you to lose it, so just leave it on at all times.”

“Okay, Mom.” I put the thing on, snapping it a few times against my wrist.

“And don’t play with it. You might break it,” she said as we found the bank of elevators leading up to our suite.

When she opened the door to our room, I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Oh, my gosh, Coco! This place is so beautiful.”

“It sure is. I want to surround you with excitement and beauty this weekend. I want you to feel the spark of life. I want you to hold onto that spark and never lose it again.”

I pasted a smile on my face for her. I did love the suite, but there was no way that a couple of days of fun and excitement would fix what was so badly broken inside of me. And that was okay with me.

Jacob and I had been soulmates. We’d known it from the moment we locked eyes at a Mariah Carey concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco. When one soul dies, the other does too, at least a little. Coco didn’t understand that about me. She’d never truly fallen in love with anyone before, so how could she understand how I felt about losing Jacob, my love, my fiancé, my reason for living?

I went to the window and looked down at the busy street below. “This is exciting,” I had to admit.

Coco’s reflection on the glass moved, and she wrapped her arms around me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder. “I love you, you know.”

Running my hand over her cheek, I sighed. I knew Coco just wanted her old friend back. “I do know that. And I love you too.” She’d spent a ton of money on this trip. I couldn’t let her down. So, I turned to face her. “Hey, I’m going to try — really try — this weekend.”

“That’s all I ask.” Her genuine smile told me she meant that.

The truth was, trying wasn’t something I had done at all before. I was okay with being less of the person I was before Jacob died. When Coco had come up with this crazy idea of taking me to Vegas to bring the light back into me, I’d told her no way. But she wouldn’t let up on me. Somehow, she’d talked me into it. And since I was there, after she’d spent so much money on trying to make me happy, I was going to at least try to have a great time — for her sake, not mine.

I was a lost cause. Coco couldn’t see that, though. To her, I was someone she desperately wanted to fix. I had to hand it to her; she never got frustrated enough with me to just leave me alone. Even when that was all I wanted — to be left alone.

An hour later, I looked in the mirror after she’d done my hair and makeup. I saw the face that I had not allowed myself to see in a solid year. Coco’s smile told me she was extremely pleased with herself for finding me again. “There she is. That’s my best friend.”

It wasn’t like she’d caked on the makeup. Just a bit of foundation, some light blush, barely-there eye shadow, and some mascara and lipstick. But after having nothing on my face for a year, it was a drastic change in my appearance. My hair hung in long curls, since I hadn’t bothered to get it cut either. I hadn’t done anything to myself since the day I heard the horrible news.

She took my hands and looked at my unpolished nails, which were cut short. “Tomorrow, we get manicures and pedicures.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t going to go against her. She was being so nice to me. How could I be ungrateful?

“Why don’t you look happy, Adele? You look gorgeous. You look the way you used to look. A smile is all that’s missing from your pretty face.”

“I know I look the way I used to. You did a great job. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen myself like this. It’s a huge reminder of who I used to be, that’s all.”

“You are still the same person.” With her hands on my shoulders, she looked me in the eyes. “Adele, you’re still here even though he’s not. You must admit that Jacob wouldn’t have wanted you to just stop living because he died. He would hate what you’ve done to yourself. The isolation. The lack of drive. I mean, you quit your job as a reporter. You went to four years of college to get your degree in journalism. You worked hard to get that job. You deserved it, and you were great at it. Jacob was so proud of you for all your accomplishments, and it would upset him to no end to find out that you quit your job. That you quit your life.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t want to talk about this at all. “So, it’s your turn to get yourself fixed up. I’ll just watch some television while you get ready.”

“I won’t take long. I’m just gonna shower, throw on a little makeup, and put my hair in a ponytail. Go look in the closet. I bought something for you to wear tonight. It’s in the garment bag labeled ‘First Night.’ Get dressed, and, soon, we’ll get outside and you can begin soaking up some of that great energy that’s going on out there.”

“You didn’t have to buy me clothes, Coco.” Her generosity began to overwhelm me. “I brought stuff to wear.”

“I know. Don’t think about it. Just go get dressed. I have the money to spend. There’s a small matching purse in the bag too. It’s got that strap that you can hang across your body, so you don’t have to carry it around. I’ve put some money in it for you to gamble with. And the other bag, the one labeled, ‘Last Night,’ has another bomb outfit and another purse with your gambling money in it. I’ve got you this trip.”

“Coco, this is too much.” I couldn’t take all she was giving me. “I don’t want to gamble with your money. It’s not right.”

Laying a hand on my shoulder, she said, “Hey, look at it this way. When you get back to being you, then you can repay the favor someday. I mean — I could take a weekend in wine country, if you get what I’m saying.”

There was no way one weekend was going to bring me all the way back. But I couldn’t let her down right now. “Deal.”

As she got ready, I went to check out bag number one, and what I found made my jaw drop. A little black dress with spaghetti straps that fit me like a glove with matching pumps and a designer purse had me looking like someone I hadn’t been in what seemed like forever.

“Who are you?” I turned to check out my butt in the full-length mirror. “So, you’re still there, bouncy butt. I’ve been hiding you in sweatpants, so I wasn’t sure you still existed.” I looked at the swell of my boobs as they peeked out of the top of the dress. “Cleavage, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you guys like that. Staying up there, aren’t ya?”

My mind may have shut down, but at least my body has kept up appearances.

Inside the purse, I found ten one-hundred-dollar bills, a set of silver hoop earrings, and a matching silver choker-type necklace. I went to get the things I always carried with me from my purse — a set of rings.

The wedding rings my grandfather gave me when Jacob and I went to the nursing home to tell him that we were getting married. Grandpa had given me the simple gold wedding bands he and my late grandmother had worn. I kept them in a small red velvet pouch that fit neatly into my purse. It was sort of my way of keeping a part of Jacob with me all the time, even though neither he nor I had ever put the rings on. We’d been waiting for our wedding ceremony to do that.

I stashed the pouch in the small purse then put on the jewelry Coco had put in there. Just as I finished, Coco stepped out of the bathroom, looking glamorous and smiling at me. “Wow. I knew you would look smoking hot in that outfit. You like it, right?”

Shaking my head, I tried to hide the fact that I really hated seeing myself like this. I didn’t want to let her down. “I love it!”

After Coco had put on a dress and shoes that matched mine — except that they were red and looked great with her dark hair and green eyes — she put on gold jewelry similar to the ones she’d bought for me. “Twins, but not identical,” she said with a laugh as we left the room to head down to the fun that was waiting for us.

When we were kids, we would often dress in the same colors or get our moms to buy us matching outfits in contrasting colors. We were about the same height and weight, but she had dark hair and green eyes while I had blonde hair and blue eyes. Coco was the sister I had never had.

I had no siblings, and she didn’t either. We’d met in third grade and had been best friends right from the start. That’s how the most important relationships in my life had gone. It was always love at first sight. It was like I had this sixth sense that told me when I would mesh with someone or when I would not get along with them.

With our arms looped, we went to the buffet first to get something to eat before the drinking began. “We have to pace ourselves, or we’ll end up getting so drunk that we puke. And puking is a no-go. Got it, Adele?”

“I agree. No puking.” I heard men laughing and turned to see who was having so much fun.

Standing around a blackjack table, I saw some guys looking like they were having the time of their lives. One of them patted this one guy on the back as he said, “Let’s see if you can do that again, Maxim.”

All I could see of the man who was playing the game was his back. But then he seemingly won another hand of blackjack and turned around to face his buddies, who hooted and hollered.

His dark hair was cut short, with a defined part along the right side. A clean-shaven face, dark eyes, and expensive suit that covered what looked like a muscular physique made him look like he was put together very well.

My God, he’s hot!

My hand shook, and I nearly dropped the plate I’d just picked up, completely shocked by the thought.

Chapter Three

Maxim

Slowly sipping on the drink Tanner got for me — something called an Incredible Hulk — I scanned the area around us and found a couple of girls watching us. They stood out in the crowd because they were wearing the same exact dresses and shoes, only one was wearing it in black and the other in red.

Cute blonde.

Music filled the air, along with the sounds of noisy slot machines and people celebrating their wins. The alcohol was doing its job — mellowing me out.

Watching the girls, who seemed to be unsure of what game to play first, I waited until they got closer before trying to say anything to them. “Looking for a good time?”

The blonde diverted her gaze while the brunette looked right at me. “Yeah.”

“We’re about to get in on that roulette table right there. You should join us.” Putting the straw to my lips, I took a little bit of a longer drink this time, hoping it would make me act cool and not like the dork I really was.

“What is that you’re drinking?” the dark-haired girl asked as she eyed my drink, which had come in an enormous whale-bone glass.

“An Incredible Hulk.”

Her brows rose up high. “That’s a hell of a lot of Hennessy and Hypnotic.”

“Yeah. It is strong. Thinking this will take me all the way through the night.” I noticed that neither one of them had drinks in their hands, so I raised my hand so our waitress would come to us. We’d already tipped her well, so she was always close.

“What can I get for you, Maxim?” I was impressed that she had remembered my name.

“Ladies, would you allow me to buy you two something to drink?”

The blonde whispered something to her friend before continuing to look away. Her friend answered, “A couple of apple martinis would be nice. Thank you. She said your name is Maxim?”

“It is Maxim. Yep.” I hated how uncool I could be. “And you two have names, I would guess. Care to share them with me?” I am such a nerd. “Or not. I mean, it’s not like you have to tell me what your names are just because I’m buying you drinks. I’m not that guy.”

“What guy?” the dark-haired girl asked.

“You know. That guy who thinks that just because he buys some drinks, he gets to harass women. That is not me. Not at all. I’m just wondering what your names are, is all. Like, what should I call you two?”

“I’m Coco, and this is my best friend, Adele.” She touched her friend on the shoulder. “Say hi, Adele.”

With a fleeting meeting of her eyes to mine, she quickly dropped them to look at the floor. “Hello.”

“Hey there. Those are some pretty unique names you’ve got there. I mean, my name is sort of out there too.” I wanted to kick myself. I really couldn’t come up with anything better than semi-insulting their names? “I mean that in a good way. Unique is cool. You’re cool. I guess.” Putting the straw in my mouth to shut myself up, I tried not to feel like a complete dork, but it wasn’t easy.

The waitress brought them their drinks, and each took a sip as they looked at each other. Then the one named Coco said, “Yeah, Adele, these are good. Great choice.”

The distinctly shaped martini glasses looked so much more elegant in their hands than the whale-bone glass looked in mine. “Those make you look sophisticated, while mine makes me look like a caveman.”

Adele finally looked at me, running her eyes up and down my body, making me feel hot and uncomfortable in the best way ever. “It’s kind of hard to imagine why you ordered that drink when your style says that would never happen in a million years.” Her eyes stopped on mine, but then she quickly averted them.

“Oh, well, that’s because my friend ordered this for me. He’s a real funny guy.” I pointed my thumb over my shoulder at my group. “We’re here for the weekend for that guy’s bachelor party. Tanner’s mission is to get me drunk for some reason.”

Coco smiled as she looked at Adele. “Funny, that’s my mission for this one too.”

Adele’s pink cheeks turned red. “Coco!”