Page 13 of The Wrong Husband

His eyes flickered with surprise. "What do you mean?"

I took a deep breath. Courage, my dear Emilia, come on, you can do this. Just tell the truth no matter how it shames you.

"I…look, I've had a crush on you forever. You know that. Everyone knows that."

I waited for him to respond but he didn't. Instead, he steepled his fingers and waited for me to finish my talk of shame.

"When I saw you at the bar at the Bellagio and I knew you and Bianca had broken up…again…." I dropped my face in my hands. This was so hard. I looked up and smiled uneasily. "I loved that you paid attention to me. I wasn't drunk, Damian, but I knew you were. At the chapel, I was tipsy, yes, but I should never have let it happen."

He had gone down on one knee and asked me to marry him right outside the chapel. It was silly and cute; my heart had been full, and I said yes. He then took my hand in his and off we went to do quick paperwork and tie the damned knot that was now lodged in my throat.

"It was like a dream come true," I whispered. "I'm so sorry, Damian."

"You're sorry for taking advantage of me?" he asked slowly as if the words were difficult for him to string together.

He must hate me. I didn't blame him. I hated me. If my parents and sister found out, they'd hate me too.

"Yes." I looked at him, tears in my eyes because I couldn't stop them. I felt horrible. "And when we were in your suite, I wanted us to have sex."

"You did?" His eyebrows were raised.

"Yes. I wanted you."

"How would you know for sure, Emilia? You were…are inexperienced."

Really? Did he have to say it like that? Did I not give him pleasure? Was it not good for him?

Oh my God! The best (and granted, only) sex of my life was terrible for him because I didn't know what I was doing. I just lay there and let him do all the work. I didn't suck his cock or ride him…or do any of the things women on Xhamster.com did.

"I know. I…well, there's a reason I haven't had sex and I'm sure other women are better at it and…well, I didn't know what I was doing. Obviously." I should have asked him what he wanted from me instead of letting him do all the work. Damn it!

He cleared his throat. "You think I didn't enjoy the sex we had?"

I really wanted to get off this topic, no pun intended. "Look, can we just get this annulment thingy done? I have a neighbor who's a lawyer and I talked to her about it. Obviously, I didn't mention your name or anything. She said it's just a matter of filing paperwork."

I grabbed my backpack and opened it. I pulled out the documents that I had printed at Moana's place. She was not really a lawyer—though she would be once she passed the bar. For now, she was a part-time paralegal at a firm, part-time escort and full-time, one of the very few friends I had.

I put the papers in front of him and set my backpack down at my feet.

He studied the documents and set them aside. His phone rang and when he looked at the caller, he answered.

"Yeah."

He seemed to listen for a long time. "Got it. I'll handle it."

More silence.

"When is it breaking?"

He nodded. "Okay. I'll have a statement ready. Thanks, man."

"What?" I asked because the look on his face told me that something was terribly wrong.

"The media has gotten a hold of our little Vegas tryst." He looked crushed, totally devastated.

"What part of the tryst?"

"The wedding," he explained, "they have documentation."