He heard familiar voices around them and became aware that they were no longer invisible among the other revelers as the square dancing troupe surrounded them, cheering and smiling at what they saw as a young couple’s antics.
Payton seemed to realize it, too, as their lips broke contact and her eyes slowly opened. But remained locked with his.
He held his breath, waiting to hear her reaction. Her gasp and realization that they’d made a mistake. For her to pull away. But she didn’t. Her lips only turned in a smile of what could be described as wonderment.
“I think we should work on that,” was all she said and he couldn’t help but laugh.
But he wasn’t ready to let Payton leave his grasp and instead grabbed both hands and swept her out at arms’ length and twirled her back in that familiar dance his mama had made sure he knew. She looked even more surprised. “You dance too?”
He grinned back. “There’s a lot of things I can do. And one thing you should know about me: I don’t just ‘do’ them. I excel at them.”
Her hand tightened in his. “I hope that’s a promise.”
Hell and damn.
Because it certainly was.
Chapter Ten
Bright, blinding light seared into Payton’s eyeballs no matter how tight she squeezed them shut against the unwelcome intrusion.
Why does my head feel like it’s being smacked against a wall?
Tentatively, she opened one eye, trying to get her bearings.
Crap. She felt like she was going to die.
The sudden twisting in her belly immediately became her most pressing concern as she jerked upright in bed and swung her legs to the floor. She raced to the bathroom, making it just in time.
Oh. Crap.
Exactly how much tequila did I drink last night?
The tiles under her knees were cold and welcoming as she laid her head on her arm, waiting for the next spasm to start.
Another minute passed, though, and nothing came, but her stomach ached. She breathed slowly, hoping she’d rid the worst of the contents from her belly. What on earth had possessed her to drink so much last night? Even more importantly…
Why am I completely naked?
Wait. She was in that hotel room in Tequila. A room she’d shared with—
An image of a naked torso moving above her, of dark eyes staring into her own as they shared the closest intimacy two people could have.
Oh. My. Gosh..
She raised her head. She needed to clear this fog clouding her brain. Because there was no way she’d do something so idiotic just days after breaking it off with her fiancé.
Although…for some reason, the faintest blurry memory of last night didn’t seem like something to be ashamed of. No, the memory seemed to bring her a feeling not just of obvious pleasure but something more.
Of happiness. Excitement. Tenderness.
Coming to her feet, she turned the faucet on and let the water trickle into her hands before patting some on her face. She scooped the water, ready to bring it to her mouth when she remembered where she was. No, she couldn’t risk getting a parasite. She already felt like she was dying. What she needed was some bottled water. The bottled water from her purse outside the bathroom.
Was he out there?
In her rush to get out of bed, Payton hadn’t processed if she was alone in the bed or if someone else had been next to her.
Sneaking to the bathroom door, something she’d somehow found the will to shut before kissing the porcelain throne, she pulled it open far enough to look out.
The bed was empty. No. The whole room was empty.
Maybe it had all been a dream. Something she’d thought about one too many times in her waking hours that took over in her drunken stupor.
Although it didn’t quite explain her nakedness now.
Where was he then?
Grabbing a towel in case he returned, she wrapped herself in it and scurried across the room to grab the water before barricading herself back in the bathroom.
She turned the bathroom light on and for the first time got a glimpse of herself in the mirror and gasped in horror. Her hair was ratted in the back and fell limply around her green-tinged face. Dark raccoon-like rings appeared around her eyes, a combination of mascara, dehydration, and too little rest.
Lord. She was a mess.
What she needed was a shower. A long, hot shower to wash away all the stink and then maybe she’d be able to remember things more clearly.
And it wouldn’t hurt to look human again.
She started the water and tested it before climbing in. Her stomach roiled at the steamy moisture, and she turned it down before letting the water sink into her skin and hair. Giving herself the freedom to pick at her memories. To try and remember how she’d landed herself naked in that bed out there.
The tour of the agave fields and the distillery. That she remembered. A shot of tequila. Dinner down in the cavern beneath the distillery. A second shot of tequila. Candlelight. Conversation. More tequila. Later, dancing with Cruz under the stars. Tequila. The hypnotic gleam in those dark eyes of his, and—
A kiss.
A kiss like she’d never had before, one that made her toes curl and her insides turn hot and squishy. A kiss that had made her hunger for more.
More images started coming to her.
Of Bev and Lenny and Pat and the rest, smiling and teasing them as they caught their kiss. Another shot as they toasted the happy couple. A late night tour of the old church in the town-square. Of several couples making their vows to God and each other before the crowds and a slightly inebriated priest. Of—
She froze. No. Not possible.
But the memory of standing face to face with Cruz, her hands in his as she stared into those dark eyes that promised so much. Seeing him smile, something she’d been determined then and there he would do each and every day as they said the words. Familiar words. Promising loyalty and fidelity. Love. Of promising to take care of each other…
All the days of their lives.
She let out a strangled cry and ripped the shower curtain away and stumbled back out of the tub. Trailing water she slipped her way across the floor and into the bedroom where she studied every surface of the room. She stopped as her gaze fell on a piece of paper tossed carelessly on the nightstand.
Her legs trembled as she walked to the stand, praying it wasn’t true. Her wet fingers lifted the paper and she took a breath before processing the words.
It was in Spanish, but it wasn’t hard to miss her signature below. And Cruz’s. And a few others.
Not even able to understand the words on the document, she knew without out a doubt what it said.
She and Cruz were married. They were husband and wife.
Cruz busied himself filling two cups with coffee at the hotel lobby. He didn’t know how Payton took her coffee, so he grabbed a handful of sugar and sweeteners and creamers and stuffed them in his pocket.
She was going to need the sharp hit of caffeine when she remembered everything from the previous night.
Memories that were still sweeping over him.
He couldn’t believe he’d done something so foolhardy. So spontaneous. So…stupid. Because how else would you qualify marrying someone you barely knew while both people were heavily intoxicated?
See. This was exactly why he went with the expected.
When he awoke this morning, the insides of his skull pounding about, he’d been more than a little stunned to find Payton draped across his chest. It had taken three point four seconds for it all to come back to him.