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I quickly run through the events of the night and give my friend the most relevant details. I end my story, telling her that I haven’t heard a word from Harry since it all went down.
“My brand new hubby is ghosting me. Seriously? How much worse can my dating track record get?!” I faux-sob into my hands.
Sera gently shakes my shoulders, willing me to stand upright. “The man is running scared, Nadia. That’s what it is.”
“Scared of what exactly?” I question, my eyes prickling, my fake sobs threatening to turn to real tears and come streaking down my face.
Crying at the office? My god. What is happening to me?
“My bet is that he doesn’t want you to ask him for an annulment,” Sera says wisely. “That’s why he’s avoiding you.”
“But we need one,” I state firmly. “We need to annul this marriage as soon as possible. Before the situation escalates. Before everyone finds out.” That’s the only thing that’s reasonable to me.
“Nadia, this guy likes you. He really, really likes you. I could see it all over his face when you two were together.” She shakes her head. “I remember when Jace and I were going through the same thing. Trust me—he pulled away from me, he tried all kinds of avoidance tactics, he had me doubting if he even liked me as a friend. When the whole time, he was just trying to evade having to deal with the situation head-on. He didn’t want to face the possibility of me wanting to end the marriage.”
“Really?” I say quietly.
“Really,” she assures me.
Maybe Harry does want us to stay married. But I could never go along with that. Obviously! It would be crazy and irresponsible and…and…crazy!
I feel like I’m losing my mind. I’mdefinitelylosing my mind.
“How did you feel after you accidentally married Jace? Were you as big a mess as me?”
Sera laughs. “I was terrified shitless at first. But I quickly realized that Jace is the man for me. Nobody makes me happier than he does. Nobody has ever taken care of me like he does. I feel safe with him, physicallyandemotionally. He’s the other half of me.”
I grin somberly. “You two are pretty special together,” I say, and I mean it, too. They seem perfect for each other. So in love.
But Harry and me? We’re different. We don’t have the same kind of history Sera and Jace have. They were friends for years before they took the plunge and woke up married to each other one morning. They have history.
Harry is practically a stranger.
I ignore the little tingle in my chest that says that history or not, being around Harry makes me happy, too. Happier than anyone else ever has.
The conversations we’ve had. The way we laugh together. And the kissing, the touching, the—
It doesn’t matter! None of it matters. Wecan’tstay married.
“I really hate asking this, but can you keep this between us until I’ve figured out how to handle everything?” I don’t want to put Sera in an awkward position but I don’t want this getting back to Liam.
She nods without hesitation. “Of course. My lips are sealed.”
“Thank you.” I smile gratefully.
I excuse myself, telling my friend that I need to get back to work, when we both know that’s not true. I might as well just write off the whole day now. I won’t be getting anything productive done today.
My only comfort is knowing that there’s a legal process to address this. A concrete way to untie this knot quickly and painlessly.
Because of the popularity of impulsive weddings in Sin Valley, an exceptional rule was implemented a few years back. By law, marriages performed within county limits can easily be dissolved within sixty days following the solemnization. I know all the ins and outs of this law. I can get this annulment—and quick—I just need to get Harry on-board with it.
Then it’ll be like this accidental marriage never even happened.
Harry will be able to just scrub our late-night mistake from his memory. He’ll be able to continue his quest to finding the perfect woman and the perfect marriage. Like he always dreamed of.
I get back to my desk and pull out my cell phone. More determined than ever, I stab the screen’s buttons, calling his number and willing his stubborn butt to answer.
I sigh when he doesn’t pick up. Again.
