Last Name - Dr. Rebecca Sharp Page 0,34

staying steady on anything except what my newly-found husband said.

She tucked her hair behind her ears. “James bought this hotel to save our wedding.”

I blinked speechlessly at her. As she said it, a vague statement from that first dinner filtered back into my mind—something about saving the hotel—but no one said why.

“We’d planned our entire wedding here—my dream wedding—and two months ago, the previous owners contacted and said the hotel was closing. They said we couldn’t have our event here and our deposit would be refunded.”

“W-What?” I gaped. “Are you—Is that even legal?”

This coming from a woman who’d married a man in a drive-through.

“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Probably not, but there was no way a court battle was going to be won in two months. Anyway… Lars mentioned it to James, and a week later, he was in negotiations with the owner to buy it… to save it… for us. That’s when we learned the owners were going bankrupt. But James didn’t want that getting out either. So he bought it for us and told everyone it was a good investment.”

The butterflies I’d been forced to sedate inside my stomach burst to life, fluttering and spinning around my stomach.

Of course, he’d saved it… just like he’d saved me.

“I didn’t realize,” I said lamely.

“Oh, I know,” she said. “But that’s James, always saving the day. Always putting everyone else first.” She stood. “So, as much as I wish he could come tomorrow, I can’t be too upset.”

I stared at her, feeling the words thick on my tongue like weights against a weak wall—a wall that cracked when she gave me that warm, kind smile that could melt even the most hardened heart.

“I’ll go tomorrow, Suz,” I told her, watching her face light up.

“Really?” she squeaked with a beaming smile.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll make it work.”

I hated to make it look like I was only going now that I knew James wouldn’t be there, but what could I do?

I was trying to protect myself and my heart from the same kind of situation… the same kind of damage… I’d fled from. Uprooting my whole life and moving out here, it was the kind of thing I couldn’t do again—at least not anytime soon.

“Oh, I’m so happy!” She clapped, and I rose and followed her to the door. “Thank you.”

Her hug took me by surprise—but only for a second before I returned it.

“I’d say this would be the perfect opportunity to bribe James into coming with the group, but I can’t bring myself to do that to him.” She sighed dramatically.

I tried my best to make my nervous laugh sound natural before we said our goodbyes and she disappeared down the hall.

I looked over my shoulder, seeing the swimsuits, the coffee, the stack of chips, and knowing there was a matching stack of photos piled in my desk drawer where no one but me would see them.

They all said one thing… he could be bribed to see me.

So, it was a good thing no one was going to tell him.

My hand remained frozen on my door. I should go back to my desk and finish up my work for the day. Instead, my feet itched to continue out into the hall and up two floors to the corner office that housed my husband—James.

The man I physically ached to know more about.

That was the problem with this whole situation. Even though I didn’t know the reason he’d bought the hotel, I wasn’t surprised when I heard Suz say it. I wasn’t surprised because that was the kind of man I knew James to be… the kind of man I knew, yet wanted to know more about.

Before I could stop them, I found my steps leading toward the stairs.

I had a million reasons—I wanted to ask about the hotel. I wanted to ask about our annulment. I wanted to tell him to stop with the gifts—and I stacked them like chips on a gaming table, pushing them forward with the confidence of an inexperienced gambler whose hope of winning rested on false foundations.

When I walked into the room, once more taken aback by the generous, handsome man I was tied to in ways that had nothing to do with a drunkenly-signed piece of paper, I realized I continued to bet all my reasons on a losing hand.

But I couldn’t stop because if he won, losing my last name would be the least of my concerns.

“Carrie.” His low hoarse greeting carried over his