Jacked Up (Fast Track #6)(56)
Author: Erin McCarthy

The rubbing and his words accomplished what she’d been staving off for half an hour. Eve leaned over and threw up on the bed, a nice dry heave that sounded like an adult male lion burping to impress his peers.

She was officially the least sexy newlywed on the planet.

Oh, and today was actually her birthday.

Thirty-three. And not so fabulous.

Eve closed her eyes and wished she had fainted in the shower. At least she wouldn’t be conscious for any of this.

“Wow,” Nolan told Eve, fairly amazed that she had managed to create that kind of sound with her vomiting. If she didn’t look so miserable, he would have laughed.

But he noted for future reference that she didn’t seem to be able to hold her liquor. Nor was she happy about it. When he tried to adjust her towel, she smacked at his hand.

Now what? If he tried to call Evan, she would snarl at him. But she didn’t look like she was moving anytime soon. He decided to jump in the shower himself. Her breathing had slowed, like she was falling asleep.

As he shampooed his hair, Nolan whistled. This wasn’t at all how he had envisioned their first day married, but he wasn’t going to let it destroy his good mood. Eve would sleep it off, then they would go out for a nice dinner, tell all their friends and family, and have another night of smoking hot sex.

As a married couple.

He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that they were actually married. It was mind-boggling but in a good way.

His mother was not going to be happy. He was going to get an earful from her. At least half of his sisters would follow suit. But that would just be a speed bump. They would get to know Eve and love her like he did. Hopefully Evan wouldn’t have an issue with it. Nolan did not want to lose his job. He loved it. Plus the thought of his bank account, which was sporting a balance of about twenty bucks until payday, was enough to give him a pang or two. He hadn’t thought about the possibility of being fired when he’d gone down on one knee in front of Eve.

Hell, he hadn’t thought about anything.

He certainly hadn’t thought about the logistics of living together or working in the same business. Having kids together.

But it would work out.

He was almost sure of it.

* * *

EVE got out of the taxi, squinting against the bright sunlight, pulling her cardigan tighter around her. She was cold. Tired. Hungover.

Nolan had left her to sleep for a couple of hours in the hotel room, heading over to the track. He’d left her a note explaining, along with a room service tray, two aspirin, and a hand-drawn heart with her name in it. It was so freaking considerate it was disgusting. For at least the tenth time she asked herself why he couldn’t just be a total jerk like every other man she’d dated. It was going to make it really difficult to explain to him that getting married had been a serious mistake. That they couldn’t live together. That normal intelligent people knew you couldn’t make a marriage work on two weeks of infatuation.

She knew that. Accepted. Hated it. A tiny part of her that she was choosing to ignore doubted that logic. That part of her wanted to believe that you could fall in love that quickly, that you could sustain the sense of fun and passion into a long-term deal. She wanted to buy into the romance of it all.

But that was stupid. Romance didn’t exist outside of books and movies.

Then again . . . Nolan’s note had been pretty damn romantic.

She sighed as she flashed her credentials to the security guard and headed into the garage behind pit road. Never in her whole life had she been so confused. It was like she was turning into Sybil, the chick with multiple personalities. The Eve she knew wanted to just retreat from all of this, slamming the door on her emotions and telling Nolan it wasn’t going to work. Cupcake, on the other hand, wanted to plan a honeymoon with him and find him room in her closet.

Which officially made her insane. Aging had caused her to crack. First the demolition derby, now a marriage in Vegas. What was next? A drive-thru nose job? A shanty in the Australian outback where she raised alpaca?

Even through her sunglasses she could see her brother was walking toward her. Damn. She’d been hoping he was on the track. He was suited up but he didn’t have his helmet.

“Hey, you feeling better?” he asked her.

“No,” she told him accurately.

“I didn’t think so. You look like shit. And you’re dressed like Grandma Monroe.”

Eve was wearing a turtleneck with a cardigan. Not something she would usually layer together but she was cold, the aftereffects of the alcohol. “I skipped the brooch and the white Keds, so I don’t think this qualifies me for granny status.”

“I have to say Nolan looks a hell of a lot better than you do today. He’s been whistling and bouncing around happy as a clam. A well-fucked clam.” Evan clapped her on the arm, almost knocking her over. “I’m impressed, big sis. I guess you don’t suck in bed.”

She could not handle his teasing. Normally she would give it right back, but she wasn’t capable of doing anything other than standing upright and breathing. “Can you please stop talking? Permanently?”

“Oh, come on, it’s your birthday. Perk up. You just need a little hair of the dog, that’s all. Though maybe stop at one drink instead of eight.”

“I didn’t really drink that much. I’m not sure why I’m so hungover.”

“Did you and Nolan go out after the party?”

Eve felt her cheeks start to burn. “Yes.”

“Did you drink?”

“Yes.”

“Then you drank enough to be hungover. Where did you guys go?”

“A bar. A nightclub.” Then because she was going to have to admit it sooner or later, she murmured, “A wedding chapel.”

“Come again?”

Blushing furiously, she darted her gaze around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. “We might have gotten married last night.”

Evan stared at her blankly for a second, then he burst out laughing. “Are you shitting me?”

“I wish I was.”

His laughter revved up until he was snorting. “Oh my God, that’s the best thing I’ve heard in a long time. You of all people . . . damn, that’s funny.”

She glared at her brother. “I’m glad you find it so amusing. But notice I’m not laughing?”

It obviously took some effort, but Evan reined in his glee. “So, um, congratulations?” he said.

Eve took her sunglasses off and crammed them onto her head, tired of trying to see her brother through the dark lenses. “No. No congratulations. We obviously can’t stay married.”