Page 45 of The Scenic Route
“To answer your question,” she said, trying to get her brain off Bennett’s pecs and back on how they’d ended up in this situation, “I’ll live. Well, unless I chop off my own head to stop the pounding.”
“Yeah, me too.” He rubbed his face with both hands, his stubble rasping against his calluses.
“Any idea how we ended up here last night?” Felicity felt her face warm, but she pushed through the embarrassment, clearedher throat, and continued. “All I remember is the stakeout and following Dino into the dive bar.” As she talked through it, more flashes of memories were returning. “We didn’t see Dino or Clint, but there was a fight? Maybe?” That part seemed hazy. “Was I in the fight?”
“No.” The line of his mouth was grim, and she had a feeling he was recalling even more than she was. “It was a distraction.”
“Distraction for…?” Even as she asked, the memory of stumbling out of the bar came to her. “Someone drugged our drinks.”
His nod was so stiff she thought his spine might shatter with the movement.
“Were Clint and Dino chasing us at one point?” she asked tentatively. The more she strained to remember details, the more they slipped out of her grasp. “And maybe…pancakes?”
His expression softened slightly. “Yes. To both.”
Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she dropped her head on her knees and breathed through a fresh wave of nausea. “Guess that explains why I feel like overcooked meat loaf.”
“Overcooked meat loaf?” The amusement in his tone made her look up, risking the movement in order to catch one of his rare smiles.
“Leave me alone,” she said, trying and failing to sound stern. “I’m in no state to come up with good metaphors. At least we ended up here, generally intact. If the only consequence to our being roofied and chased by Clint and Dino is a hangover from hell, we got pretty lucky.”
When he remained silent, she lifted her aching head and found him staring at the desk across the room.
“What is it?” she asked, unable to read his expression.
“That…” He cleared his throat. “That wasn’t theonlyconsequence.”
Her stomach dropped. “What else?”
He gestured toward a small desk, but all she saw on it was a blush rose bouquet. “What’s wrong? It’s pretty, although a little too bridal for a not-honeymoon suite…”
He flinched at the word “bridal,” and a terrible suspicion rose in her blurry mind.
“That’s not… We didn’t…” She didn’t even want to say the words out loud, as if speaking them would make them true.
Giving her a hooded look, he strode over to the desk. Ignoring the too-bridal-for-a-not-honeymoon-suite bouquet, he examined the paper lying on the desk next to it. Unable to stand the suspense for another second—while also wanting to remain in blissful ignorance for as long as possible—she got out of bed.
Bennett’s gaze immediately shot to her legs. Even though she was covered almost to her knees, she still blushed.
“This your shirt?” she asked, wanting to ignore whatever was causing that strange look on his face.
He looked at her too seriously for a question about a T-shirt and nodded solemnly. Swallowing hard, she moved closer to the desk and the answers it held. The first thing she saw was a five-by-seven photo. It was her and Bennett, and she was holding the too-bridal bouquet. Not only that, but what looked suspiciously like aveilwas draped over her hair. The most incriminating part of the photo was the way Bennett had his arm wrappedaround her, tucking her into his chest like he did when they slept together. She was cuddled up to him, carefully keeping the bouquet from getting squashed between them. They wore huge sappy smiles and huge blown-out pupils for the camera.
Felicity made a small sound, a sort of whimpering squeak, and looked at the other item on the desk. “A marriage license?” she said, as if Bennett couldn’t see that documentation right in front of both of them. “Are we… We’remarried?”
Before Bennett could answer, a happy knock sounded on the door of their suite. They both jumped, whirling around to stare at the door as if a zombie were the one asking permission to enter. The knock came again, and Bennett was the first one to move, crossing the room to look through the peephole.
He grimaced but opened the door.
“My favorite newly married couple!” Ronan greeted, his voice much too loud for Felicity’s current state. “Congratulations!”
“Um…thank you?” Felicity rubbed her forehead, wishing her headache would ease so she could absorb all this wild news that was tumbling over her like an avalanche. “You knew we got married last night?”
“Of course, my fabulous Felicity.” Ronan swept over and gave her a side hug as Bennett swung the door closed with a little too much force. “I was honored to be your witness for the ceremony.”
“Ceremony?” Her voice was a bare whisper, and she gave Bennett a frantic look. She was the one who needed to get pinched now. Everything seemed surreal, especially the fact that she now had ahusband. PI B. Green, no less.
Bennett must’ve interpreted her look as the panicked plea for help it was. Crossing the room, he side hugged her from the other direction, gently detaching her from Ronan, who smirked and relinquished his grip. Her head spinning, she leaned gratefully against Bennett, borrowing his strength and warmth for a few moments. She just needed a little time to regroup and make a plan, and then she could stand on her own two feet again.
