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He’s the groom.
I’ve slept with Hannah Cartwright’s fiancé.
This makes my nerves this morning before work seem ridiculous. A whole four hours ago, I was blissfully unaware that I had hot, dirty sex with the groom in the first wedding I would be working on at my dream internship in New York City.Oh God. This can’t be happening.
That feeling from this morning is back with a vengeance. The feeling like someone is wringing out my stomach like a dirty dish rag. I fight it back, praying that I can keep it together long enough to alert Johnathan to this discovery.
“Hannah.” Johnathan speaks up from beside me. “It’s great to finally meet you.” They exchange a quick hug and air kisses. “This is Sophie, she’s interning at MAE this summer and will be assisting me.”
“Sophie, it’s wonderful to meet you.” Hannah beams. I might look like a maniacal clown, but I think I’m smiling.
“You, too,” is all I can manage.
“I’m so excited to chat about my ideas. This is going to be so much fun!”
Hannah seems lovely, like a breath of fresh air, which I desperately need right now. My skin flushes like I’ve just finished a five-miler. Every gland in my body is sending out the alert to release the inferno of heat that is building inside me.
Poor, innocent Hannah doesn’t know that it will not be wonderful to meet me when she finds out that her dirt bag of a fiancé cheated on her in Las Vegas. The dread I initially felt turns to anger just thinking about ruining this delightfully pleasant and down-to-earth woman’s life.
I think I’ve fought back the wave of nausea, but when Hannah leans in for an air kiss, a whiff of her perfume is like a punch to the stomach.
“This is Hunter—” Hannah starts to announce, but that’s when I bolt. I already know who he is and the last thing I need is to throw up all over the restaurant. All over Hannah and her expensive clothes. I refuse to dothaton my first day.
“Excuse me.” I interrupt her introduction, quickly rushing toward the restroom sign at the back of the restaurant. It feels like it takes me years to get there, but when I’m finally in the safety of a stall, I dry heave until there’s nothing left. Which doesn’t take long since I haven’t eaten anything since the last time I threw up. Jesus. I need to get a grip and possibly a Pedialyte to rehydrate.
It’s bizarre. I barely know Hunter. We spent one night together, yet somewhere in the back of my brain, the part that’s attached to your gut that reads what kind of person someone is, tells me that he’s not that kind of guy. It’s ridiculous really. The evidence is right in front of my face. And it’s not like I know him at all. We had passionate, dirty sex, not a heart to heart.
Maybe this explains his reason for leaving the cash on the nightstand. It doesn’t make it right, but maybe paying for sex in some fucked up way is justified to him as less like cheating than having chemistry with someone that you meet in a club and take to your hotel room to fuck their brains out.
My perfect night in Vegas is ruined. The memories and additional fantasies I created in my head must be wiped out. I can’t be thinking about what I did with another woman’s fiancé. Wishing I could see him again. I have no right to those thoughts anymore. And, I have no idea how I’m going to help plan their wedding. This is a fucking nightmare.
I flush the toilet, then wash my hands. Using a paper towel, I pat the back of my neck and the edge of my hairline where my skin is clammy, then I wipe the mascara smudges out from under my eyes. I’m thankful it’s a nice restaurant with paper cups and mouthwash by the sink. After I swish, I take a breath, then reach for the restroom door.
Throwing up drained me, the adrenaline from earlier is gone, but when I find Hunter waiting in the hallway, hands in his pants pockets and his ‘fuck me’ hair falling over his forehead, the anger rises in me again.
“Sophie, we need to talk.” He pushes off the wall, one hand extended to reach for my elbow, but I shake him off and keep walking.
“Don’t touch me,” I bite out.
“Sophie,” he calls again, hot on my heels. “Wait.”
I already made my decision in the restroom. When I was staring down into the toilet bowl, the horror of what we did evidenced by the revolting stomach acid being squeezed out of me, I knew I must tell Hannah. I have to let her know what we did. What Hunter did. While it takes two to tango, I was completely unaware that he was attached and therefore will lay most of the blame at Hunter’s feet.
There’s an alarm bell going off in my head. It’s been triggered by the girl who has just started a highly coveted internship and is wondering what admitting to this fling with Hunter could do to my career. Johnathan did say how important this account is for him and the company. But I can’t stand by and plan a wedding for this cheating asshole.
“You are such an asshole,” I turn to whisper-hiss at Hunter behind me.
“It was a shitty thing to do,” he admits. Disappointment seizes my chest. Until this moment, I thought maybe it could be a mistake, a misunderstanding, that he didn’t claim my body with his while another woman was wearing his ring. “I regret it.”
Although it stings a little to have someone tell you they regret having sex with you, under these circumstances, I’m glad he’s regretful.
“You think?” This guy is unbelievable. And he smells delicious, which makes me hate him even more.
After weaving through the dining room, I make it back to our table with Hunter on my heels.
“Hannah,” I say breathlessly, interrupting her and Johnathan’s conversation.
She smiles up at me brightly. “Yes?”
