A very slim shaft of light beamed through the otherwise inky darkness, disturbing the complete undertow sleep held me down with. It was almost as if the sliver of sunshine was a raft, suddenly appearing to pull me to the surface…

To reality.

As of late, reality was entirely overrated.

I lay still for long moments, content to fool life into believing I was actually still asleep. Reality wasn’t one to be put off, however, nudging me awake regardless.

The more “alert” I grew, the more aware of my unawareness I became.

Where was I? What time was it…? And why in the world was I feeling a draft?

Goose bumps prickled my skin and chills raced across my body, leaving behind a wintry stiffness in my limbs. Defeated, my eyes sprang open, and even though it was darker in this room than it was under a sky filled with stars, it was still too bright.

Groaning, I slapped my hand over my eyes, saving them from that damned slice of daylight. The draft was still brushing over my bare skin, so I peeled my fingers away one at a time until my eyes were blinking and adjusting to the room. I gazed across the mattress. The large lump beneath a pile of blankets was clear proof I wasn’t in this bed alone.

My nose wrinkled.

Where the hell was I?

It wasn’t as strange as most might believe—you know, me waking up and being confused as to where I was. That was the life of a singer. I traveled so much, so often, that hotel rooms blurred together, and quite frankly, I was beginning to forget what the inside of my own house looked like.

I just needed a moment to shove back the heavy curtain of sleep draped over my mind. And to get another blanket! How was a girl supposed to think when she was a giant icicle?

I reached for the blankets, but all I got was a handful of a scratchy, sequined dress. Forcing my head off the pillow, I gazed down the length of my body.

Disgust shot through me. Instantly, I sat up, propping myself on one hand. No wonder there was a draft. I was half naked! Yet… also still dressed.

A dull throbbing made itself known in the back of my skull, and the idea of going back to sleep beckoned like long, bony fingers reaching up from a grave. I blinked it back because I was still trying to understand why I went to bed in my sequined mini dress, short, snug, and held up by straps barely wide enough to cover a bra. It was hardly comfortable to wear out, let alone to bed.

Currently, it was even more uncomfortable because it was bunched up around my waist completely exposing my lower half! My underwear was MIA, and I’d been sleeping on top of the blankets, not beneath them.

Strands of my hair brushed the tops of my shoulders when I turned my head to stare at the still-present lump beside me. Glancing down, I noted that my arm was completely out of one of the dress straps, while the other was still in place. The side had worked itself below one breast, the sequins rubbing rather uncomfortably against my skin and pushing up the underwire of my strapless bra.

So.

There I was in a hotel room, freezing from lack of blankets, dress bunched around my waist, bra shoved up over one boob, and a rash forming from the scratching material that looked really good in photos but pretty much felt like sandpaper. Oh, and don’t forget the headache.

And reality wondered why I tried to stay asleep?

Sliding off the mattress, I trudged like a zombie over to the wall of curtains. On the way, I passed by a mess of magazines all spread out over the table near the window. Some were open. Some lay cover facing up… All of them boasted unflattering photos and headlines of me.

Lip-Sync Disaster!

Aerie and Will Over!

Oh no she didn’t! Becky spills the tea on her feud with Aerie!

What the hell were those rags doing here? I never read that trash. Hearing about it was bad enough.

After sneering at the tabloids, I sent a few scattering off the table and continued on, stepping over them toward the heavy curtain and grasping the edge where that pesky ray of light was coming through. Bracing myself, I drew it back, recoiling from the sunshine beyond.

A very congested, very urban city stared back at me.

Vegas.

Like a floodgate had burst and water quite literally swept over everything, hazy memories from last night flooded my brain.

The ache at the base of my skull was instantly ten times worse. My eyes watered with the memories, the knowledge of what I’d done.

There was no way.

No way in hell. It must have been a dream. I was a lot of things, definitely a hot mess… but I wasn’t that far gone.

Was I?

Standing there in the window, bathed in the sunlight of a new day, I squinted as nausea rolled over my entire midsection. I didn’t even think about the fact that my dress was still around my waist, one boob literally on display as far as the eye could see.

Shoving at my tangled hair and trying to unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth, I took a breath and looked down. After one second of hesitation, I lifted my left hand, barely noticing how unsteady it was as I held it out.

Sun glinted off the slim silver band around my ring finger. Diamonds caught the light and reflected it back in a way that was most stunning.

No!

My right hand slapped against my mouth, and my head shook back and forth as if the denial could somehow erase that ring. Erase what happened last night.

What the hell had happened!?

I whirled around so fast I nearly fell onto my bare ass. Before tumbling, I gripped the heavy drapes and steadied myself. Nearly slipping on the magazines as I rushed across the room, I plunged onto the bed, scurrying to the lump still facing away from me.

“Wake up!” I said, grabbing his shoulder and shaking it. His skin was very warm to the touch. It made my nausea worse.

He made a sound, then let me pull him around so he was flat on his back and I could peer down into his face.

“Will!” I said, slapping my palm on his bare chest and giving him a shake.

His body stiffened and his eyes sprang open. “Your hand is like ice,” he complained, bucking my touch.

“Will,” I said again, undeterred. “What the hell happened last night?”

His eyes opened again, this time still sleepy but with more awareness. A smile pulled his lips upward. “Morning, Mrs. Solberg.”

There was a beat of silence. The kind of silence the likes of Las Vegas had never heard before. “What did you just call me?” I whispered, hoarse.

Will groped around until he found my hand, lifted it, and glanced at the band on my finger.

We didn’t… I didn’t.

He chuckled. “Come on now, babe. Don’t tell me you forgot the most important night of your life.”

I glanced down at the ring. The wedding ring.

“We got married?” My voice was still gravelly.

“You can finally get rid of that hick last name you’ve been saddled with your entire life.”

I barely heard what he said. There was a very loud roaring between my ears. I shook it, trying to rid myself so I could think. Will chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me down so I was sprawled over his chest.

“You can believe it, babe. It’s real. It’s you and me now. Forever.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to spill across his very warm chest.

“Your skin is like ice.” I felt rather than saw him glancing down at me. “Are you still dressed from last night?” He made a sound. “I know that’s your wedding dress and all, but, babe, you really should change. You look a mess.”

Forever. The word echoed around my brain as if it were the only word in existence. The only thought inside my head.

Oh my God. I got married last night.

What the hell had I done?