Page 19 of Hitched to my Boss

"I want to not throw away the best opportunity I've ever had because we made one drunk decision." I pause, studyingher face. "And honestly? Last night, before we got completely hammered... there was something real happening between us."

A flush creeps up her neck. "We were drunk."

"We were drunk when we got married. But before that? When I told that asshole to back off, when we were talking over champagne, when you admitted that our fake relationship didn't feel fake?" I lean closer, noting how her breath catches. "That was real, Natalia. The alcohol just gave us an excuse to act on it."

"This is insane."

"Maybe. But we're already married." I gesture to the rings on our hands. "We can panic and get it annulled, go our separate ways, and both wonder what might have been. Or we can see if the same chemistry that got us into this situation can actually make it work."

"For how long?"

"I don't know. Long enough to see if this feeling is real or just Vegas magic. Long enough to secure the Hartwell contract and figure out what we actually want." I reach for her hand, the one wearing my ring. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't ask that question in Vegas," she says, but she doesn't pull her hand away. "The universe takes it as a challenge."

My phone rings, interrupting the moment. Hartwell's name appears on the screen.

"Answer it," Natalia says, decision crystallizing in her eyes. "Tell him we'll meet him for breakfast. As a married couple."

Relief floods through me, mixed with anticipation and terror in equal measure. "Are you sure?"

"No. But you're right about one thing." She leans closer, her lips just inches from mine. "There was something real happening between us last night. And maybe the only way to figure out what that is, is to stop fighting it and see where it leads."

I answer the phone on the fourth ring. "Marcus, good morning."

"Jason! Congratulations, son. I have to say, I wasn't expecting wedding news when I saw you in Vegas, but I couldn't be more pleased." Hartwell's voice is warm with genuine happiness. "A man who knows how to commit to the right woman is exactly the kind of partner I want for my ranch."

"Thank you," I manage, watching Natalia's face as she listens to the conversation. "We're both very happy."

"I'll bet you are. Listen, why don't you and the new Mrs. Wallace join me for breakfast? We can celebrate your marriage and discuss the contract details. I'm thinking this partnership is going to be even better than I originally hoped."

"We'll be there," I say, making eye contact with Natalia. "Looking forward to it."

After I hang up, we sit in silence for a moment, the magnitude of what we've just agreed to settling over us.

"Mrs. Wallace," Natalia says finally, testing the name. "That's going to take some getting used to."

"You could keep your maiden name professionally."

"I could. Or I could start thinking of this as the most unconventional business expansion strategy in PR history." She stands, taking the sheet with her, and heads toward the bathroom. "I need a shower and coffee before I face Marcus Hartwell as your wife."

"Natalia?" I call as she reaches the bathroom door.

"Yeah?"

"For what it's worth, I'm glad it was you. If I had to accidentally marry someone in Vegas, I'm glad it was someone I actually..." I pause, not quite ready to voice what I'm feeling. "Someone I care about."

Her smile is soft and uncertain, but real. "Ask me what I feel in a few hours if you still feel that way."

After she disappears into the bathroom, I lie back against the pillows, staring at the wedding certificate on the nightstand. Married. To Natalia Santos. The woman who's challenged everything I thought I knew about myself, who's made me want things I didn't know I was missing.

The smart thing would be to get this annulled immediately, chalk it up to a Vegas mistake, and go back to our separate lives. But watching Natalia handle last night's networking event, seeing how naturally she anticipated my needs and provided exactly the right kind of support, it had felt like partnership in a way I'd never experienced.

And waking up with her in my arms felt like something I could get used to.

The shower starts running, and I close my eyes, trying not to think about Natalia naked under the spray of water. We have a breakfast meeting to get through, a contract to negotiate, and a marriage to figure out how to navigate.

But first, I need to figure out how I'm going to keep my hands off my wife long enough to convince Marcus Hartwell that this marriage is real without completely losing my mind in the process.

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