Page 1 of Yours, Forever

Chapter 1

Eva

The hangover that wokeme up that morning was so fierce, I was certain that my skull would explode into a hundred jagged fragments. It seemed that my goal of a spontaneous, wild night in Vegas had been achieved with flying colors.

A pained groan erupted from deep within my throat. This was how it must feel to have an ax lodged in your forehead.

I had never had so much alcohol in my life, and now I was paying the price. Drinking wasn't my thing, in part because this always happened. Whatever I'd been up to would trickle into my awareness over time, broken images and sensations that wouldn't make sense anyway. Never the full picture.

Me dancing with someone. Drinking with him. Feeling happy with him.

Oof. That was something, but the memories were foggy and jarring and no more than orphaned puzzle pieces in my mind. Better to take a quick shower and make sure to catch my flight.

Except someone was already in the bathroom. I had not returned to my hotel room alone.

I sat on the bed as if on a spring trigger. Through squinting eyes, I surveyed the room. Sunlight shone on every surface, the curtains fully up like we'd forgotten to close them. The light intensified the headache but I ignored it. I needed clues.

The room seemed to mostly be in order, including the bed. Two people had clearly slept on it, but the sheets weren't drawn next to me—like he'd slept under the blanket but on top of the sheets. My carry-on remained open on the luggage rack, and knickknacks and shopping bags lined the desk. A suit jacket lay folded over the back of the armchair; it seemed to be the only clear indication of his presence, other than the shower running in the bathroom.

I pulled back the covers and put my feet on the ground. The same dress I'd worn the night before wrapped my body, a knee length, cream-colored beauty that draped my neck and hugged my plush hips. Even though I chose leggings and flannel almost every day, the dress was elegant and sexy in a way that made me feel like I could also turn heads if I wanted.

Seeing the garment still on me confirmed what I knew; we hadn't had sex.

A sigh of relief left my chest. Even if evidence suggested the guy in the bathroom had not taken advantage, it didn't mean I wanted to stick around and find out if he was decent when sober as well.

Liquid courage.

The hazy memory came out of nowhere, but I wasn’t sure what I had needed courage for. Maybe to bring this guy back to my hotel room?

Shit. A random guy was taking a shower in my hotel room, and I didn't really know what we'd gotten up to the night before.

One thing was for me to have a wild night where I forgot all about my predictable, small town life; a break from running a business teetering on the brink of failure. I had to leave before he came out of the bathroom and made it awkward. Before he had a chance to leaveme.

My head still threatened to crack and shatter, and my thirst and body aches reminded me I wasn't twenty anymore. Didn’t matter. The possibility of having to confront Random Guy drove me to speed. I moved like a ballerina, collecting my things from around the room and packing them in my carry-on. All my toiletries were in the bathroom, but fuck it. Sorry, airplane seat neighbor. I probably smelled like I'd drunk all the alcohol on the Strip, but I would not suffer the shame of stepping into the bathroom only to save their nose.

I straightened. The shower wasn't running anymore.

"Fuck," I muttered.

I was in the middle of closing my carry-on luggage when the bathroom door opened, and a blurry image of a light brown torso and a white bathroom towel around his hips made an appearance.

I cringed, eyes closed and face fully twisted. The vision of him imprinted in my mind, but I didn't want to look at Random Guy.

"Good morning." His voice was somewhere between mid-range and deep, and even in just two words I could hear an intonation that sounded almost posh. "From the look on your face, I'm going to guess you weren't expecting me, at least not like this."

The rest of his statement solidified my first impression. The guy sounded classy, like a modern interpretation of an old Hollywood actor.

The hazy memory of a great smile replaced that thought. If the grin in my mind belonged to the same person standing in my room, I didn't need to stare to know he was striking. That was probably why I'd brought him back in the first place. Maybe thinking we'd do something in the morning, when we were sober again. It didn't mean I liked what my drunk self had thought.

"Don't mind me." I opened my eyes but stared at the ceiling. "I'm on my way out."

"We didn't have sex."

That got me to gaze in his direction. Hewashandsome, his hair wet and loosely combed back like he'd quickly run his fingers through it. His chest, wide shoulders, and biceps were defined yet on the thinner side. I did not miss the bulkiness of more developed muscles; the long lines of his limbs had a grace to them you didn't get from brute strength. Like a dancer, who might surprise you with the power behind their moves if they only put their will into it.

Not that it mattered. Random Guy put his hands on his hips, a concerned look on his face.

"I woke up sleeping on top of the covers, still wearing most of my suit." He pursed his lips. "But I get why you'd be spooked."