I made a circuit around the floor, checking things out, before I hit the bar and ordered a Mojito. Then I turned to do some people watching, only the person who came into focus wasn’t someone I necessarily wanted to see. Apparently, I wasn’t welcome either since panicked eyes flicked from me to somewhere off to the left. I followed Wes’s line of sight and found my future husband standing there entertaining two leggy brunettes by the blackjack tables.

Wesley made his way over to me rather quickly. “What are you doing here? And holy shit, what the hell are you wearing?” His eyes drifted over the expanse of leg that showed as I sat demurely on the barstool.

I just sipped my Mojito and watched him, watching me. When it was clear he was waiting for my answer, I shrugged my shoulders. “I was bored.”

He leaned in closely, “Considering I filed all the paperwork for your prenup, as well as setting up an appointment to obtain a marriage license, I know that you aren’t old enough to be in here or drinking that.”

In answer, I took another sip of my drink and nodded my head at him as if to agree. “And are you planning to narc me out or go about your business and let me go about mine?”

He leaned in even closer, caging me in by putting his hands on the bar on either side of me as he dipped his head down low enough that nothing he said would be overheard. “I don’t know what you’re trying to start here, but it needs to end,” he suggested as if I was about to listen to him. When he pulled back, he must have seen the fire in my eyes because he quickly backpedaled. “I’m just saying, it’s not exactly safe for you to be here alone, especially looking like that.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is it my safety that concerns you, or appearances?” When his lips tightened, making them look thinner than they actually were, I continued. “It seems to me, you might be more concerned with the fact that I might leave here with someone who is not my husband-to-be, thus possibly making a bad show of things.” I glanced in the direction where I’d seen my betrothed earlier, but he was no longer there. I didn’t bother searching for where he had gotten off to, instead I focused on getting Wes to leave me alone.

“Funny that I’m the one you’re worried about when you’re enabling your friend to go out and publicly fuck around. It doesn’t matter if my reputation is tarnished by a philandering future husband though, huh? So long as I don’t do anything to smudge his already filthy image.” Wes’s shoulders sagged as I spoke. His head shook back and forth too as if he was about to deny everything I was saying.

“Seriously, Wes, you’re killing me. I thought we had the brunettes for the night, and here you are trying to add a blonde. I told you no golden hair, at all.” Neither of us had seen Tucker coming, which sucked, because I would have rather avoided him and his little announcement, slurred though it was. Wes moved back, letting his arms drop to his sides, instead of where they had been leaning on the bar on either side of me, caging me in. I took a sip of my drink and watched as the reality came crashing down on my future husband.