Page 13 of Grasp The Moment

“Oh my God…”

The ring of my dreams sits gracefully in the ornate goldbox. It’s an emerald-cut green-and-gold ring. The band of the ring is decorated with vines embedded with tiny diamonds.

My jaw drops as Derek and I lock eyes.

“We got married…” we speak at the same time.

“How?! You and I couldn’t have?—”

“Well, we sure as hell didn’t have sex last night and look at our clothes!” I cry out, horror riddled in my voice as I take the ring, sliding it onto my finger.

Perfect fit.

“Fuck,” Derek curses, storming out of the room.

Seconds later, the sound of him retching from the bathroom echoes in the hotel room.

Cursing under my breath, I gather all of the papers and put them where the dog can’t reach, then head inside the bathroom.

He’s already up and rinsing his mouth out when I get there. I lean against the doorframe, crossing my arms. He looks at me through the mirror, his back muscles on full display.

“How do we fix this?” he asks, voice gruff from exertion.

“Look, maybe it’s not real. We were drunk off our asses last night. Maybe we just dressed up and took some pictures. The heart on the Polaroid has a logo on it… We can head there and ask them what happened last night. Everything will be fine, and no one will have to know what happened,” I say, taking a step forward.

Derek doesn’t shy away from my proximity; instead, he relaxes into me as I rub his back.

“It’s going to be okay?”

“Yeah… we just need our phones. Where is my phone, actually? I’ve only seen yours.” I frown, tugging my bottom lip into my mouth as his phone rings.

Great…

We head out of the bathroom, and he picks up the call.

I watch silently as his jaw goes slack, and he curses under his breath. What could possibly have him looking at me like that?

“Check for your wallet, Blondie,” he commands flatly.

Like a soldier, I follow through and come up short. My entire purse is missing.

“That’s what I thought. Okay, we’ll be there shortly. Put the dog up; we’re hitting the club.”

6.Derek

If you had toldme five months ago that I’d be walking the streets of Vegas wearing mismatched clothes with Georgia Adams at six a.m., I’d have thought you lost your damn mind.

Glancing down at her, I sigh. Her pale skin is red from the cool December air and lack of proper clothing. I’m glad the dog had a small crate left with her; she’d be cold as hell if she were out here with us. I shrug off my hoodie and stop walking to put it on Georgia. When her head pokes from the hole of the hoodie, her green eyes are bright and amused.

“It’s not that cold…” She rolls her eyes, a small smile tugging at her plump lips.

Raising a brow, I continue silently helping her into the oversized clothing.

My hoodie drowns her. She looks like a munchkin fromThe Wizard of Ozwith her tattered dress and oversized hoodie. Georgia’s a fairly tall woman, standing at about five-foot-ten, but that’s nothing considering I’m edging closer to six-foot-six.I chuckle lightly as she walks in front of me, the ponytail on the top of her head causing her to look like Patrick Star.

“Laugh all you want, Mama Bear, but now I’m warm, and you’re not,” she sassily teases, turning back to stick her tongue out at me.

The smile that breaks on my face is easy and light.