It feels like I’ve swallowed a bunch of nasty fur balls, and my head is killing me.

I slowly open my eyes, and it feels like I’m rising from the dead. But then my mind clicks into gear, and I realize I’m only waking up to another day in the life of a small town girl. Except, this morning, my small town is under siege from a rapacious company that’s about to tear Norfolk and all its families limb from limb, and I’m going back home to face that reality.

But I’m not in Norfolk right now. I’m in Vegas at my BFF’s bachelorette party.

At least I was…

Holy shit, where am I now?

My opulent surroundings register in my brain: a huge room with a king-sized bed I’m lying in with sheets that feel expensive against my skin…a carved dark-wooded headboard and golden lamps…thick, fancy curtains blocking out most of the sun…leather sofa near a desk…flowers in big, fancy vases…

I am not in the room I’m sharing with my friends over at Harrahs. So where am I?

I quickly sit up, and the covers fall down to expose my lacy bra and panties. Then, through my groggy haze, I see a shirtless man next to me sprawled on his stomach on top of the bedspread with his face turned away from me.

I gasp. Shit—did I have sex with someone?

Oh, dear God, did I get that drunk?

Panic envelopes me, but then I calm down when I see that the guy is still wearing trousers and one of his fancy Italian leather shoes.

Phew. Double phew! Because I remember him. His name is Jaden, and obviously things didn’t go too far with us if he still has his pants on. Thank God.

My hopping pulse starts to recover, but as I keep looking at Jaden, tingles fly through me, settling between my legs until I shift. His broad back is corded with muscles, and his black hair is boyishly tousled. I remember it was much neater than this last night, but the memory is cloudy, especially as I check out his wide shoulders and rocked arms right now. Every time he takes a breath, his muscles flex, and my fingers itch to trace the lines of him.

But…jeez, Everly. Really? Shouldn’t I be figuring out how I even got into this situation with someone I barely know?

Just as I start to get out of bed, it all rushes back to me in a series of strobe-like flashes: the nightclub…the scavenger hunt…me going to Jaden’s veiled table to ask him about blowjobs…me and him making out like we were magnetized and couldn’t stay off of each other…me and him talking and drinking and hopping into a limo and drinking some more as we drove downtown to some building and filled out a form on a computer and then…

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

FUCKFUCKFUCK!

It’s true that I didn’t have sex with Jaden, but I might’ve done something way more stupid and irresponsible…

Oh, dear God, there’s a quick way to find out if my suspicions are true, and as I slowly lift my hand, hoping that I’m not going to see what I think I’m going to see, I hold my breath…

Only to have it tangle in my lungs when I catch the sparkle of a diamond ring on my finger.