Unexpectedly Mated

19

Letty handed Nic a bottle of water. “Jake said to give you this.”

“Thanks.” She took the bottle and set it on a shelf next to her.

Letty grinned. “Have you looked at your face? I saw that makeup last night. Looked much better then.”

“Ha-ha, real funny. We both know I went to bed without taking it off. One thing I did let go for the night was my use of common sense it seems.”

Letty placed a white towel on the edge of the tub and sat down. She must be on the clock. “I leave you alone due to an emergency and you go and get hitched?”

Nic dropped her head in her hands and groaned. “My head is going to kill me. But if it doesn’t my own stupidity will.”

Letty laughed. “Stop being so dramatic. I heard you wanted the world to know you were finally getting ‘that wolf to commit’.”

“Don’t even joke.” She leaned back, placing her head on the towel by her neck.

Letty’s lips twisted in a wry grin. “I wish I could say it’s a joke, but we have it on video. In fact, I think Kel put it up on the internet as ‘Wild Bride Rides Her Groom to The Altar’. From what I heard, you’re trending.”

“What!” She sat up and almost wet Letty with the sloshing water. “Tell me you’re lying. Please.”

“Sorry, Sis.” Letty stood just in time to stop herself from getting soaked. “Hey, stop pouting. I’m not the one who yelled it to the world. You did. Would have been nice if you could have waited ‘til I could stand as your maid of honor. Why did you have to run off to The Wedding Chapel O’ Love and not say anything to me? I believe Jordan and Ellie are pretty pissed that you went and got hitched and didn’t bother to tell them to come join the party either.”

Waves of embarrassment rolled through her. “I don’t remember any of it.”

Letty gasped. “None? Not even proposing?”

Oh, good God. She’d done that in public too? “Nothing. My last memory was when I was sitting at the table, drinking with Barbara and she encouraged me to try some strange liquor combo I never heard of before. House specialty or something.” She gulped back the acid rising up her throat. “I had a lot of shots.”

Letty tskd, shoving a strand of golden brown hair behind her ear. “Wow. You sure know how to party. What are you going to do?”

She couldn’t wrap her head around what her sister was saying. Nic was married. To Jake. Jake Wolfe. The only man she’d wanted in forever. The hottest, sexiest most unbelievably fine hunk-a-licious man she’d ever been with. So why was she ready to cry?

“I don’t know. I don’t really know Jake that well.” She gulped, pushing back the flashes of insecurity and panic. She didn’t do panic. Nicole did lots of talking back but no panic.

Letty sat down on the edge of the tub again, her arms folded over her chest. “Well, there has to be something you like about him. You’ve never been a person to rush into anything. You’re super cautious. Even around Mom and Dad. You try to watch what you say so you don’t hurt feelings, but since you can’t help yourself, you try to stay away.”

She glanced at her sister as if seeing her for the first time. “You noticed that?”

Letty winked. “You’re my big sister, my idol. I notice everything you do. And even though I hadn’t met Jake before, I knew he was special. You haven’t stopped talking about him since you met him.” She waggled her brows. “In a very sexy way, I might add.”

“Jake’s a womanizer.” The words left her lips before she had a chance to think them through. It was her defense mechanism. She didn’t really know if he was a true womanizer. All she knew was the he owned a strip club.

“Do I need to slap you upside the head with that big ass mirror over there?” Letty snapped. “Is this the same guy who called me down at the lobby because you were so freaked out it worried him?”

He had? This was all so new to her. Nic just didn’t know what to do. “Jake called you?”

“Mm-hm. He didn’t just call me,” Letty said. “He ordered me to get my ass up here because his ‘mate’ was upset and he didn’t know how to make you feel better.”

That just wasn’t like Jake. He was so laid back. So...chilled. Like nothing ever bothered him. From what she’d seen of him since she woke up it was like a whole new person. A much more controlled man with the s*x drive of a God. He was such a dirty-talker. All she had to do was remember some of the things he’d said and her skin heated.

“I guess you’re thinking of something good about him.” Letty raised a brow. “You got that whole ga-ga look on your face.”

Nic inhaled sharply. “Look. I get that I got drunk and propositioned Jake—”

“Married. You married Jake,” Letty drawled slowly.

“Fine!” she growled. “I married Jake. We’re both adults. I’m sure we can figure this out without anyone having to lose a limb over pissing the other off.”

Letty stood. She straightened her jacket and grinned. “Good luck with that one. While you try not to kill your new husband and become a widow in a single day, I heard the Alpha from the Vegas Pack hit on you last night.”

“Oh, hell.”

Letty headed for the bathroom entrance, stopped and turned to face Nic again. “Try to keep your new husband from bloodying the lobby. It takes forever to get that cleaned up.” She smiled. “So think about what it is you want. Oh, and remember you and I still have a date to visit the evil parents this evening.”

“Like I’d forget,” Nic mumbled.

Letty twisted her lips. “I sure as hell tried to, but mom called. Repeatedly. There’s no ignoring her.”

Nic nodded. She wiggled her toes in the cool water. Her feet didn’t look like giant hams anymore. “It’s fine. I’ll be ready by the time you get off.”