IN BED WITH MY EX-HUSBAND’S UNCLE

Chapter 2

Evie woke up slowly, her eyelids feeling really heavy. Something was pounding behind her temples, a steady drumbeat that seemed to get louder each time she tried to open her eyes properly.

She reached up to rub her forehead and her fingers sank into a pillow. A soft one. Plush in a way her own pillows had never been.

Wait.

She sat up too fast and the unfamiliar room hit her like a cold shock. White walls. Blackout curtains with a thin ray of daylight leaking through the gap. A glass desk by the window. This wasn’t her bedroom. It was a hotel room.

A sharp spike of panic shot straight through her chest. She grabbed the edge of the duvet and lifted it slightly to check beneath -and froze.

She was completely naked.

A choked gasp escaped her mouth. Her heart picked pace instantly.

“No, no, no.” She whispered, running a hand through her messy hair.

She dragged the bedsheet up to her chest and tucked it under her arms, holding it so tight her knuckles ached.

She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately forcing her foggy mind to go back to last night. The pieces were scattered and blurry.

She remembered the devastating image of Julian and the woman on the sofa in Room 1402. The way he took her from behind. His moans. The way he had said there’s no comparison.

She remembered the cab, and the VIP lounge, and crying on the sidewalk outside before she called Chloe. She remembered the bar, the dark scotch she drank, and then a man on the next stool with a voice that gave her butterflies. Riven. He had caught her when she slipped, one hand firm at her waist, and she remembered thinking he smelled like bergamot and mint.

After that, the rest of her memories from last night came in pieces. The cold air on her face when she threw up outside the lounge. The way Riven had crouched in front of her and asked her to get on his broad back. The way she got on his back and grabbed his hair while cursing men.

Then nothing. Just a blank gap where the memories of the rest of the night should be.

A cold sweat broke out across her skin. Did I sleep with him? Her stomach churned. She had gone to that bar wanting to be reckless, wanting to do one thing Julian would never believe she was capable of. But wanting to be reckless and not remembering it were two very different things, and the second one made her feel sick.

The lock on the hotel door beeped.

Evie nearly jumped out of her skin. The door swung open and Riven walked in, a paper bag in one hand and a cardboard tray in the other.

He was in a white shirt with the top buttons undone and the sleeves pushed to his elbows, dark trousers, a day’s worth of stubble along his jaw. Evie let her eyes trail over him and wondered why a man should look so striking. He has the kind of face that should come with a warning label.

“Good morning,” he said, as if everything was completely normal. He set the bag and tray on the glass desk.

“What time is it?” Her voice came out hoarse.

“Just past eleven.”

“Eleven?” She stared at him, hoping that he would hurry up and explain why she was lying naked in a hotel room.

“You were out cold. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “I brought clothes. Breakfast. Something for the hangover. I had to guess your size, but it wasn’t hard to…” He glanced at the sheet wrapped around her, “Let’s say I have a good eye.”

Evie’s face went hot. She swallowed. “Did I… did we…” She couldn’t make her mouth say it. “Did I do something stupid last night?”

Riven tilted his head. “Depends what you count as stupid.”

“Riven”

The panic in her voice made him crack. He laughed and held up his hands. “Hey, I’m sorry, that was a bad joke. Relax, Nothing happened. I promise you.”

Her shoulders dropped a little. “Then, why don’t I have any clothes on?”

“Oh, you threw up all over your dress outside the bar.” He leaned against the bedpost, and his voice stayed gentle. “I couldn’t put you in bed like that. So I got you up here, rinsed you off in the bathtub, and put you under the covers. I looked at the ceiling the entire time, for what it’s worth.”

Evie stared at him.

“The shops were already closed” he went on, “so a new outfit had to wait until today.”

A man had carried her through a hotel lobby at one in the morning, washed vomit off her, and kept his eyes on the ceiling. She didn’t know what to do with that information. After last night, she had stopped expecting men to be decent.

He took her phone from his pocket and handed it over to her. “That’s been going off since last night.”

The screen showed several missed calls from Julian and Chloe and a stack of messages from Chloe.

[Evie where are you??]

[I’m at the lounge and you’re NOT HERE]

[Call me right now or I’m calling the police]

Guilt hit her hard. She had told Chloe to come and then vanished. “I need to call her,” she said. “And I need to get dressed.”

“Bag’s right there. Take your time.”

She gathered the sheet around herself like a wrapper, shuffled to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Inside the bag she found a cream knit sweater and dark jeans, with everything else she needed folded neatly underneath. She held the sweater up. The tag said her size. She hadn’t told him her size, and she wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or alarmed.

She washed her face with cold water and finger-combed her hair into something that wasn’t a bird’s nest. The clothes fit like they were made for her. When she finally came out, Riven was at the window with his back to her, looking down at the city.

He turned.

His eyes moved over her, slow, from the sweater to her collarbone to her face, and for a second his easy expression slipped. He looked at her like a man who had forgotten what he was about to say. Then his calm half-smile was back, but Evie had seen it, and her pulse had noticed too.

“It suits you,” he said quietly.

“Thank you. For the clothes.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “And for not being a creep.”

“Low bar, but I’ll take it.” He picked up a small brown bottle from the tray, twisted the cap off, and held it out. “Drink this. It tastes like lawn, but your head will thank you in twenty minutes.”

Their fingers brushed when she took it. It was nothing, barely a second, but she felt it all the way up her arm. She drank it in three swallows, frowned at the bitter green taste, and handed back the empty bottle.

“Told you,” he said.

“You did not exaggerate.” She laughed, and it surprised her. It was the first time she’d laughed since yesterday morning, with roses on her bed.

The laugh faded, and something heavier settled in. She picked up her handbag, found her low kitten heels by the closet, and stepped into them. She turned toward the door, ready to face the grim reality of her life including Chloe's panicked questions.

She would have given a great deal to stay in this quiet room a little longer.

“Thank you, Riven,” she said, and she meant every word. “For everything last night. You didn’t have to.”

She reached for the door handle.

“Hey”

She froze.

“Happy belated birthday. Just remember you’re more than enough”

Her heart skipped, then raced. She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing and gently closed the door behind her instead.