And Dean noticed. His grip on my hips tightened. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay,” I agreed without hesitating.
CHAPTER6
Dean
Istood several feet away, watching as Jillian hugged her friends goodbye, insanely curious as to what she was currently telling them. Whatever she whispered, it caused Paige to grin from ear to ear and give me a cheesy thumbs up, which I decided to take as a promising sign.
Fiona’s expression, by comparison, was less friendly and more thoughtful. I had the feeling that she was less than thrilled with me, or at least less than thrilled with certain things happening between me and Jillian. I didn’t think she had any issue with me personally, as we’d never even spoken, but rather the messy situation with my brother. Which was understandable, honestly. I didn’t particularly like it either.
I did appreciate how protective she was of her friend, however.
In response, I shot Fiona what was hopefully a reassuring smile, not wanting to incur her wrath when the night was suddenly looking way up. My future with Jillian might very well hinge on what happened tonight, making it my last shot to make my case. Which I did want to make, despite my earlier mental declaration. That dance had erased any doubts I might have harbored. I couldn’t pass up the way she made me feel. I had my work cut out for me for sure, though. And if it did end up being the last hurrah of our short-lived time together, I didn’t want to waste any of it.
As Jillian disentangled herself from the girls and returned to my side, I nodded towards Zack. I’d made a snap decision after getting Jillian’s text earlier. I hadn’t felt up for continuing to hide things from him, so I had explained everything—sans our spontaneous nuptials. And he’d been shocked that the two of us had hooked up, but not judgmental. He had, however, insisted on coming along to see us together. Whatever he saw, he approved.
He returned my nod, and that was the entirety of our interaction. No need for conversation. He knew where I was going, and I was confident that he’d leave when he felt like it and find his way back to his room without a problem. Although, he seemed content enough with Paige and Fiona for the time being. On a different night I might have cared enough to investigate that intriguing development, but my attention was squarely on one woman.
My wife.
And it was officially time to find how much longer I would be able to call her that.
Gently grabbing her hand, I led Jillian out of the deafening club and into a cab conveniently waiting at the curb. I knew without asking that we would make our way back to my room eventually, as I had it to all to myself and we would need the privacy one way or the other.
What was going to happen after that point I was less sure of. Things had gotten hot and heavy there for a second, and obviously Jillian was remembering more and more about last night. Enough that she seemed interested in exploring the explosive attraction between us. I was hoping that we’d get to continue those feelings back in my room, obviously, but I was open to whatever would convince Jillian to stay married to me for a few more days. I just needed more time with her.
Yet, throughout the quiet trip back to the hotel and up through the labyrinthine hallways of the casino, the intoxicating effects of the club and their mixed drinks slowly wore off. We were both able to think clearly again, which also meant we talked less while the space between us gradually widened.
The comfortable flirtation faded bit by bit, and it was feeling more and more like our awkward ‘morning after’ experience all over again. Not the direction I had been hoping for when we left the dance floor. I was starting to think that we should have just stayed there. I could have lived with a little public indecency. I couldn’t live with the girl of my dreams asking for an annulment and walking out of my life.
As we entered the hallway that housed my room, I searched for something to say to get the conversation going again. I aimed for something light and funny. Instead, I spit out the question I’d been trying desperately to hold in all evening.
“By the way, what did you tell your friends about us? About…last night?”
When I had met up with her in the club, I had immediately noticed that she wasn’t wearing her ring. Not that I blamed her, I had removed mine as well. Knowing we had gotten married was one thing, but wearing a ring was still too strange. But had she removed it before returning to her room, or after? Did her friends just think we had a drunken one-night stand, or did they know how far we’d ventured into the depths of insanity?
I wasn’t sure which answer was preferable. Telling them might mean she wasn’t as embarrassed about it as she seemed. On the other hand, hiding it might mean she was conflicted about it.
Jillian laughed lightly. “I told them that we, uhh, spent the night together. Me not coming back to the room until this morning made that fairly obvious. I didn’t tell them about the other part, though. How about you? Did you tell anyone?”
“No. Same. I told them that I was with you, well, a woman anyway, although now Zack knows it was you specifically. But they all know Eric, at least casually, so I decided not to risk it.”
“Oh. I didn’t even think of that.” Jillian sucked in a loud, ragged breath. “Not that it matters, I guess. I don’t care what he thinks about me anymore,” she added quickly. And mostly convincingly.
“Good to hear. Otherwise, this situation could have been awkward.”
Luckily, Jillian laughed at my joke. A real laugh this time, which was even better. My shoulders eased as she smiled back at me. It was moments like that one that reminded me how recent her breakup was. I kept telling myself that by cheating on her, Eric had effectively killed all feelings she had for him in an instant. I knew it wasn’t that easy though. As much as I hated it, she was still dealing with the fallout, and it was further complicating our situation. It would have better if this weekend had occurred even a few weeks later, but here we were.
Appropriately, we reached my room a moment later, and I opened the door to let her in.
Jillian stepped inside, and then swiveled back around to face me. “By the way, I remember enough to think that I may have rambled about him, and all of that, for way too long last night. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to drag you into any of our drama. He’s your brother, you probably didn’t need to hear me calling him an asshole for an hour. Even if it is true.”
“It’s totally okay. Hewasan asshole.” I told her. “Besides. I willingly walked right into your drama, didn’t I? And that was after the rambling. Which was kind of cute, honestly. And clearly not a deterrent in the least.”
She groaned at the memory of her behavior but didn’t respond. Instead, she kicked off her heels and sank onto the edge of the bed. I liked how easily she made herself at home in my room. I tried not read too much into her comfort in my space. I also tried really hard to focus on her face, and not imagine what we had done on that bed. Repeatedly.
While I unabashedly stared and shook off some excellent memories, she frowned. “Did you know what he had done? Before I told you, I mean.”