Page 5 of Hot Blooded

“Yeah, I suppose you can look at it like that but there’s a whole lot of other things that are worse.”

Now both of her dark eyebrows lift as she glares at me. “I don’t know exactly what could be worse than this. I mean, my dad is going to have a shit fit when he hears about this.”

“I don’t think we need to tell him.”

Her muffled snort makes me smile. “Trust me. You know my dad will absolutely find out. The man can sniff out a lie miles away. And he’s got this weird way of finding things out from people even though he doesn’t know anyone who’s in Vegas. He’ll still find someone who will somehow manage to spill the beans and then all hell will break loose.”

Sighing, I shove my hand through my hair as we reach the register. “I’m sure we can get this taken care of. Don’t worry about it. He’ll never know.”

Rolling her eyes, she pats me on the shoulder as I pay for our buffet. “It’s cute that you think that.”

“Let’s go, Reva,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Faster we get breakfast, the faster we can hunt down this place and check on what our options are.”

“Maybe they haven’t even filed the paperwork. It is a weekend. And it’s first thing in the morning.”

“I would like to believe that, but I’m just not sure. Seems like we’ve had nothing but bad luck so far. I can’t help but think that we’re going to get some horrifyingly bad news as soon as we get there.”

She grimaces and her lush coral lips purse, my mind immediately wandering back to what I’d like to do to her when I can finally get her alone.

“Try to think positive, Tom.”

My head snaps up and my heart races over something as stupid as hearing her say my name. It feels like warm water pouring over me, washing me, purifying me somehow.

And yet, dirty. How the hell is that possible?

She seems to notice the shock that goes through me and her full lips quirk in a naughty smile. “I’m sorry, do you think that I shouldn’t have said your name? It is your name, isn’t it? Or did I get it wrong?” Her little snicker makes me want to pull her over my lap and smack that round ass. “After all, you are my husband. I should be able to call you by your first name.”

“You know perfectly well that’s my name. I’ve just never heard you say it like that. It was always Uncle Tom.”

She smirks. “You’re not my uncle.”

“I know that but I always found it cute when you called me that.”

“Please. I’m a grown woman not a little child.”

“I’m aware of that. If you weren’t a grown woman we wouldn’t have this problem,” I growl.

“Alright. Let’s stop this right now before we say something unpleasant.”

The rest of breakfast is completed in a strange silence, charged with unspoken issues and words that shouldn’t be said. Desires that I need to get tamped down before I do something I regret. Or don’t regret.

I help her out of the little booth when we’re done and we stride quickly out of the hotel. Then we follow directions to get to the Happy Chapel and stand, staring at the chaos.

“What the hell is going on?” I say, my eyes locked on the charred mess, clueless and shocked.

Reva’s face is a study in beauty locked underneath an appalled expression that makes my chest hollow out.

“I think it might be harder than we first thought to get this straightened out and I’m supposed to leave today.” She sighs and pushes her hair back behind her ears. We both see a man who’s disconsolately staring at the mass of rubble and moodily kicking at the dirt.

Reva stomps over to him, both of us unnerved, which apparently makes Reva a little surly. I really shouldn’t find it as cute as I do.

“Hello,” she calls out and the man turns with a glare. Apparently he’s a little surly too.

“What?” he snarls, still kicking at the mess.

“Do you know what happened here?”

“Yeah. The place burned down last night.”