Page 2 of Axe-identally Married
So after I blew on the dice, I looked up at his dark eyes and said, “You’re on, Hebert. Snake eyes, and we tie the knot.”
He took a slow sip of his drink, attention locked on me the whole time, and then offered me the glass.
I knocked it back, relishing the way it burned down my throat.
The noise level increased as he theatrically shook them with one hand and splayed the other wide across my ass.
My heart pounded against my chest. I wasn’t good-girl Dr. Savard here. Nope, I was Willa the wild child, cleavage on display, making myself comfortable with the hot guy getting handsy, and actually winning at craps.
I wasn’t just drunk on tequila. It was the dress, his hands, and the crowd that had assembled and cheered us on.
Tonight, I wasn’t just Willa.
I was the woman I’d been striving for, the one who’d always been a little out of reach. Who did what she wanted and took what she deserved.
So when I clutched his shirt and kissed him hard as the crowd roared, I felt like I was flying.
“Let’s do it.”
I should have known that all casino games are rigged.
I was a good girl.
Polite and hard-working. I always put away my grocery cart and gave my loose change to the Salvation Army bell ringer during the holidays. I promptly returned my library books and never made a fuss.
I even flossed daily.
I did not go to Vegas and randomly marry my best friend’s ex.
Before tonight, I would have bet my life that I was the last woman on earth who would stand up in front of an Elvis impersonator and say “I do.”
But maybe I wasn’t such a good girl after all…
Chapter One
Willa
36 Hours Earlier….
With a long breath out, I surveyed the decadent pool. Lila and Magnolia were stretched out under one of the exclusive cabanas, drinks already in hand. Everywhere I looked, there were fountains, marble columns, gauzy curtains and uniformed staff scurrying around to meet the needs of the guests, all of whom were clearly having a better time than I was.
“Get your sexy ass over here,” Magnolia yelled as she hopped up and waved at me.
When I begrudgingly approached, she planted a smacking kiss on my cheek and threw her arm around my shoulders. “Smile, Doc. You’re on vacation. Now sit and drink this shit. It’s expensive.”
Leave it to Magnolia to make sure no luxury was spared this weekend.
Vegas had never been at the top of my list of dream destinations, but right now, I’d have taken a weekend inCleveland. I needed a break. I was in way over my head and flailing. So Sin City would have to do.
Magnolia had flown in from New York yesterday, and naturally, she had booked the nicest suite this place offered.
I’d arrived today. All I wanted to do was collapse for a few hours. Then I’d try to pretend to be human.
All my life, I’d had a toxic relationship with sleep, and lately, it had been wearing on me. I was only thirty, but some days I woke up feeling one hundred. It was the same story every year. After college, I’d take better care of myself. Then after med school. After my internship. After residency. Yet even now, after a year of fellowship and becoming a full-fledged board-certified physician, I was still pushing and grinding all day, every day.
Since I was a little girl, this had been my dream. To follow in my father’s footsteps, to make my parents proud, and to carry on the family legacy.
Dr. Walters had agreed to cover for me this weekend, though only after a lot of grumbling and several rambling anecdotes about how back in his day, there was no such thing as work/life balance and we younger generations couldn’t keep up.
