8. Dia

EIGHT

We walkinto the courthouse and head straight to the front desk. The receptionist is an older woman with gray hair pulled up into what looks a lot like a beehive. She's adorable and actually pulls it off pretty well. Her glasses are slightly crooked, and she has some lipstick on her teeth, but still, she's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Hello, pretend grandma. I saw grandpa back in the hotel elevator. He says he loves you.

"Can I help you?" she says, pushing her red, thick-rimmed glasses up her nose. I look to Dalton, but he's refusing to be a part of this interaction, standing with his hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face.

I turn back to her. "Yes, we'd like to file for an annulment," I say.

"Pam!" she yells, much louder than someone her size should be able to. "Got another annulment for you!"

A middle-aged woman, presumably Pam, pops her head up from her cubicle, waving us back. "You're in luck!" she says. "My eleven-thirty canceled. Come have a seat." I walk over with Dalton dragging his feet behind me like a child. "So, you need an annulment."

"Yes," I reply, sitting down. "We got married last night and we'd like to be," I search for the words, "not married."

"Okay," she says as she begins tapping on her keyboard. "I'll just need both of your driver's licenses."

I take mine out of my wallet and slide it across the desk, looking over to Dalton, who hasn't moved an inch. I look at him, widening my eyes as if to say hurry up before he finally reaches into his pocket and tosses his wallet into my lap.

This motherfucker is about to catch these hands.

I smile at Pam while I take out his license, placing it next to mine. She picks them up, putting some information into her computer before turning back to us. "Okay," she begins. "Were either of you under the influence or of unsound mind at the time of the marriage?"

"No," I answer.

"Were either of you forced or tricked into entering the marriage?" she asks.

"No," I answer again.

"Okay," she says, looking back at her computer. "And you're both over eighteen. Are either of you married to someone who may or may not be dead?"

I look at Dalton, hoping he'll participate, but he doesn't. "Ummm…no," I reply.

"You related?" she asks, raising a suspicious brow.

"No," I answer, getting annoyed.

Her eyes go wide. "Are either of you," she looks around before whispering her next words, "physically unable to consummate the marriage?"

My husband chooses that moment to enter the exchange. "Oh, we definitely did that," he says with a cocky grin. "Several times." I swear, my head turns to him like the fucking Exorcist, giving him a death glare as I grip onto the armrests of my chair, so I don't launch myself out of it and strangle him until he expires right here on this courthouse floor. I'd go to jail, but it would be worth it.

"Hmmm," Pam says. "Unfortunately, your marriage doesn't qualify for an annulment."

"What?" I reply before looking back to Dalton, who gingerly reaches forward and grabs his driver's license before turning to me with a smile.

She explains further. "In Nevada, there are certain criteria a marriage needs to meet in order to be annulled. People come in here every day thinking it's just like the movies, but it's not that easy. You can still get a divorce. If it's uncontested, you can have it done in as little as two weeks."

"Two weeks!?" I shout, standing from my chair. "I need it today! Please, Pam!" I beg.

She gives me a sympathetic look. "My hands are tied. I'm sorry. Your best bet is to go back to your home state and file there."

Holy fuck. I thought for sure I'd be walking out of here a single woman. Now I have to be married to Dalton for two more weeks. I don't know if I can go that long without Mads finding out. And we're supposed to go back to our home state? Where is my home state? I can't go back to Illinois. There's nothing there for me. And I don't want to be there. I really do want to be in Boston. But I certainly didn't want to go as Mrs. Dalton Davis.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"You're getting a bad Yelp review, too," I say to Pam before turning on my heel and stomping out of the building with Dalton hot on my heels.

Fuck.Yes.

Somehow fate is on my side as we walk out of the courthouse as a still-married couple.

"Dia, slow down," I say, trying to catch up with my wife, who I had no idea was a professional speed-walker. When I finally reach her, I grab her arm, spinning her to me. "Wifey, it's fine," I say.

Her eyes go wide. "Don't fucking call me that," she spits. "This is all your fault. Throwing me over your shoulder like a caveman and bringing me into that stupid chapel. ‘The full Vegas experience,'" she says, trying to mimic my voice. It's actually fucking hilarious, but I like my balls being attached to my body, so I hold back my smile. "Now look at us! Married!" Her face falls and tears of frustration fill her eyes.

Goddamn it. I don't want her to cry. If she wants this divorce, I'm not going to make it any harder on her than it already is.

"Hey," I say softly. "It's going to be fine. We'll go back to Boston, file for the divorce, and focus on getting you a new place to stay. The two weeks will be up before you know it." I reach for her, pulling her in and wrapping my arms around her tightly. I hate seeing her upset.

"Yeah," she sighs into my chest. "Okay."

I give her a soft smile as I pull her to a bench and sit down. She plops down next to me, sitting quietly while I arrange for a car to take us to the other hotel so I can get my luggage, then to the airport for our flight home.

I officially have two weeks to make my wife fall in love with me.

Six hours later, we've boarded our plane to Boston. The East Coast got hit with an ice storm earlier today, so we were stuck in Vegas a little longer than expected. But everything is back on track now as Dia and I make our way to our first-class seats.

"Good evening," says the flight attendant. She's a younger girl, maybe in her early twenties, with red hair and bright green eyes. She's okay, but definitely nowhere near the absolute smoke show sitting next to me. "Can I get you something to drink?" She flutters her lashes and gives me what I think is supposed to be a coy smile. I"m pretty used to this sort of thing happening when I"m in public, but all of a sudden, it"s like I can"t see any of the other women that exist in this world.

"Oh, no than?—"

I'm cut off when a small hand with a very flashy diamond resting on it wraps around my bicep. I look over to see Dia glaring at the girl while digging her nails into my skin like I'm the one doing something wrong. Ouch.

"Actually," she says, "I'll take a glass of champagne. We're celebrating. We just got married."

This woman makes my head spin. And my dick hard.

The flight attendant pastes on a fake smile. "Oh. Congratulations!" she says, ducking her head as if she's embarrassed at the fact that she was openly flirting with a married man while his wife sat right next to him. "I'll be right back with your drink."

As she walks away, I slowly turn my head, flashing Dia a shit-eating grin. "What was that?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes. "Nothing. I was just saving you from some thirsty bitch hitting on you the whole flight. You could thank me, you know."

I shouldn't poke the bear, but I can't help myself. "What if I wanted her to flirt with me? Ever think of that?"

She scoffs. "You don't." She nonchalantly scans the cabin, looking around at the people who are just now boarding. Suddenly, her eyes go wide and her jaw drops, causing me to direct my attention to where she's looking.

Godfuckingdamnit.

"Oh my God," she whispers. "That's Cam Hardy."

"Who?" I ask, pretending like I don't know him at all. With any luck, she'll drop it.

"Cam Hardy," she repeats his name, never taking her eyes off the handsome motherfucker as he reaches up, putting his carry-on into the overhead bin above his seat. And why wouldn't his shirt ride up, giving her an indecent peek at his bare obliques? "He's only the hottest player on the Bruins roster. Like, ever."

I look over at him, shrugging. "He's alright, I guess. If you're into that sort of thing."

"Oh, I can assure you that I am into that sort of thing," she says. There's drool. She's drooling now. "I'm going to go say hi."

"Dia, he's married. With children. You can't just go over there and—" Before I can stop her, she's out of her seat and moving toward him. Fuck. Hopping up, I follow behind her like the little puppy I am. By the time I get there, she's already introduced herself and they're shaking hands.

"I just had to come say hello," she says to him, giggling like a fucking schoolgirl with a crush. "I'm a huge fan." Oh, okay. So, she had absolutely no idea who I was when she met me, but she's this guy's biggest fan? *thumbs up*

"It's very nice to meet you," he says with a smile. Just then, he sees me looming over her shoulder. "Oh, hey, Davis! What's up, man?" He gives me a high-five. "Haven't seen you since the Children's Hospital fundraiser. Congrats on the big win!"

"Yeah, thanks," I reply. "I see you've met my wife."

His eyes go wide as he flashes a genuine smile. "Oh, wow. I didn't know you were married!"

Dia gasps, looking over her shoulder at me with a scowl before returning to him. "We're not. He's kidding. We're just friends."

Like fuck, we are. "That's not what you were saying last night when my tongue was in your—" She slaps a hand over my mouth, silencing me as she drags me back toward our seats, growling in frustration. I wave to Cam as he chuckles before sitting back down.

She lets out an exaggerated huff as she throws herself in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest like a petulant child. "Thanks for ruining that for me," she sasses.

"You're welcome," I reply. I grip her face, turning it toward me as I move my lips to her ear. "And if you ever refer to me as your friend to another man again, I'll put you over my knee and show him how very unfriendly I am when it comes to you."

Her shaky sigh as I press a barely there kiss on her lips before turning away lets me know that my message was heard, loud and fucking clear.