Unexpected Marriage

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

MARRIAGE REUNITED FIRST LOOK

FIRST LOOK MORELLO’S VIRGIN WIFE

FIRST LOOK RED ROCK SHIFTERS

The world was ending!

That was the only explanation for the day from hell that Kaycee Samuels seemed to be having.

It had all started this morning when instead of the romantic proposal over breakfast that she had been expecting, her boyfriend Rob had dumped her and then left her to pay the bill. Expecting her stepsister to be sympathetic to her first breakup Kaycee had driven straight over to her father's house barely able to hold it together. But she had managed right up until now when her stepsister had brought her world crashing down around her ears.

"Could you please repeat that?" Kaycee asked unable to believe that she was hearing right.

"I said I'm getting married!" Sarah told her excitedly barely able to contain her little dance which under normal circumstances Kaycee would have found amusing and would probably have been joining in with.

"And after that? You said?" she prompted and Sarah's smile faded slightly.

"I said that I was getting married to Rob!" she repeated and Kaycee frowned with a forced laugh.

"You know, it's funny but I don't recall meeting a Rob before. Other than my Rob of course but I know that you wouldn't be marrying my Rob!" Kaycee said and Sarah looked uncomfortable suddenly.

"I know it's sudden and completely out of the blue but Rob loves me and I love him. Can't you just be happy for us?" Sarah asked pleading with those baby blues of hers that had always gotten her everything she wanted.

"Can I be happy for you? Are you kidding me? Until an hour ago I thought I would be marrying Rob and you think that you can steal him off me and just carry on as though nothing happened?" Kaycee demanded unable to believe that the girl she had counted as a sister for so long could do this to her.

"I think it's very selfish of you not to be happy for Sarah!" her stepmother said as she appeared in the large lounge that was filled with expensive furniture and paintings. It reflected her family perfectly.

For as long as she could remember Kaycee had come second to Sarah. Their parents married when they were too young to remember and had always lavished their attention on Sarah who had been the cutest child ever with her chubby cheeks, blonde curls and baby blues. Kaycee had been invisible in the background with her plain looks, dark, dull hair and green eyes. As they grew older Sarah had grown in both confidence and looks. She had started high school with straight blonde hair, a slim body and breasts that actually filled out a bra. Unlike Kaycee who had remained with the same dull hair, a curvy body and a flat chest that had taken several years to fill out at all. So while Sarah had spent high school as one of the most popular girls who had a different boyfriend every week, Kaycee had not been as lucky. She had very few friends and became very withdrawn. Rob was the only boyfriend she had ever had and they had been dating for six years, ever since her eighteenth birthday.

It had never really been a surprise to Kaycee that their parents were prouder of Sarah the blonde model but what had been surprising was how little they really cared about her. At school Kaycee had killed herself studying so she could get good grades and make her parents proud of her. All she had gotten for her efforts was a pat on the back. Sarah had spent her school years partying and had cried so much when she had failed her exams that their parents had bought her a car to cheer her up. Even now they didn't much care that Kaycee had a job to support herself and had moved out years ago. No, they were just proud that Sarah had been given one modeling job in one crappy magazine years ago.

None of this had ever bothered Kaycee. She had always seen herself as one of those people who liked to fade in to the background and had allowed Sarah to have all the limelight. Until now!

"You know what? I think it's selfish of you to even stand here before me and tell me this. I think it is selfish of you to steal my boyfriend and I think it is especially selfish of you to think for one second that I will ever forgive you!" Kaycee informed her stunned stepsister who had never heard her talk this way before. Then before she had chance to rethink her actions Kaycee stormed from the room determined that she would do something she had never done before. She would go out and have fun with her real friends!

Jake frowned at the letter he held wondering if there had been some mistake but his father soon put him right on that score.

"No mistake my boy!"

It didn't make any sense. He had worked his ass of for his father's company and had turned the failing hotels in to a prosperous chain that had become one of the best in the world. So how was he about to be fired?

"I don't understand," he told his father who gave a husky chuckle.

"It's quite simple. I am tired of these shenanigans of yours and I want you to settle down!" his father explained making Jake wince as he risked a glance at the newspaper that described the supposed shenanigan.

A photo of him and his married assistant stared back at him, both half clothed and looking like they were doing something more than working late. Damn the bloody press! He didn't even know how they had got this picture when it had all been completely innocent but try telling that to his family.

"It's not how it looks!" he informed his father once again and the old man laughed.

"That letter should explain it all. Unless you find a wife in the next few weeks and prove that you can settle down and be a responsible family man then you forfeit your rights and your job at the company." His father said making Jake wince once again.

"I am hardly going to find a wife that soon," he offered trying to find some way to extend the deadline but his father would not be fooled by that.

"Madeleine would be happy to marry you!" his father pointed out and Jake shuddered at the thought of the young woman who had been nothing but a pain since she revealed her crush on him. The fact that she was the daughter of his father's partner only made the relationship seem like more of a winner to his father.

"And if I refuse?" he asked determined not to do what his father wanted.

"This isn't like when you were a kid, Jake. You refuse? You lose!" his father said and then he hung up leaving Jake staring at the telephone in shock.

Jake had never obeyed a rule in his life. He was the ultimate playboy and had been since he could remember and his father had never once put his foot down and threatened to cut him off. But now it seemed like he was about to lose everything. And where did one go when they were about to lose their whole life?

"Vegas?"

Kaycee stared around the strip in wonder while her two best friends laughed with excitement.

"It's the ultimate place to forget your troubles!" Hannah explained as she gave a giggle and grabbed Kaycee's hand dragging her the short distance to their hotel.

When Kaycee had rung and told them she needed help, she'd had no idea that this was where she would end up and truth be told it had never really been her sort of scene. This was exactly the sort of place where Sarah would have been most at home though.

"Stop thinking about them!" her other friend Vicky instructed firmly once they had checked in.

"I can't exactly help it. I mean this is a great idea and all but I'm not sure this place is really me!" Kaycee said with a shrug that made her friends exchange exasperated glances.

"Exactly!" Hannah told her firmly.

"You wanted to get away from your life for a while. What better way than by being someone else?" Vicky said while Kaycee frowned.

"I can't just be someone else!"

"Why not? This is Vegas nobody here is real. It's the perfect place to change and be someone else even if it's just for the night." Hannah said firmly and Kaycee chewed nervously at her lower lip.

Maybe they were right, maybe Vegas was the perfect place to lose herself and become someone completely new.

Oh dear god!

What did he look like? It had to be the worst outfit ever.

Every year he took a trip to Vegas with his friends and every year they took a bet on whether he could pick up a girl in the outfit they chose for him and every year he succeeded but this outfit was beyond a joke.

"I look like a nerdy cowboy!" he said with a grimace while his friends cracked up.

His normally sexy, muscular body was covered by an ugly pink shirt and a pair of ripped up jeans that were way too big for him and were only held up by an ugly leather belt with the biggest silver buckle he had ever seen. His normally dazzling cool grey eyes were covered by a pair of spectacles and his dark hair that normally stuck out at all angles was slicked back and covered by a white Stetson. Combined with the white cowboy boots he looked like the nerdiest cowboy alive and definitely not any girl's idea of the dream man.

"Good luck winning the bet!" his best friend Sam said with a grin and Jake sighed. He had never had a problem winning before and he was certain that he wouldn't tonight but this could well be the last time he got to have this kind of fun for a while. This time next month he would either be married or cut off. Either way he was determined to enjoy this while it lasted which was why he sent the boys an evil smile.

"I play to win!" he informed them and they laughed as they set off for the most popular casino on the strip.

Incredible!

Kaycee could hardly believe her eyes as she stared at the mirror image of herself. In just a few short hours she had gone from being a plain Jane to a gorgeous woman that she didn't even recognize as being herself. All it had taken was for Hannah, the hairdresser in training to cut her hair in to a feathered style and dye it to a dark purple that blended in to her hair well. Vicky had gone shopping and had come back with a gorgeous black dress that barely covered anything and had insisted that Kaycee wear it. Add that to the matching underwear and shoes that they had bought and she certainly looked like someone else. All it had taken then was for her to do her makeup and there she was in the mirror looking more beautiful than she had ever expected she could be.

"I look amazing!" she said stunned and her friends smiled at their achievement.

"We told you that you were beautiful but would you listen?" Hannah said with a laugh and Kaycee laughed too.

"And now we're going to have the best night ever. We are going to drink and dance and gamble and find the most perfect man ever to take your mind off that cheating bastard who never deserved you!" Vicky informed her.

Who could have guessed that after tonight her life would change forever?

Kaycee awoke slowly, her head pounding in protest as she tried to force one eye open only to close it as the small glint of sunlight made her sensitive eyes water.

“Ugh!” she groaned groggily lifting one weak hand to brush some hair out of her face only to freeze at the realization that something was wrong.

It took a moment for her to realize that if she had one hand holding her aching head and one trapped beneath her body then how was there an arm draped across her holding her breast? And now that she thought about it what was that heavy weight across her leg?

Holding her breath Kaycee forced her eyes open ignoring the pain that caused and turned her head slowly to see a sleeping man huddled against her, a naked man if she wasn’t mistaken.

“Oh my god!” she whispered wondering what the hell had happened last night. She racked her brain furiously even as her skull felt like it was being hammered from the inside.

She remembered going out on the strip with her friends and then Hannah had suggested they go in to the casino. Even though it wasn’t her sort of place she remembered that she had been determined to enjoy herself and when they had been approached by a group of men she hadn’t ducked out like she normally would have. She remembered there being a cowboy in the group who had introduced himself as…. as…

“Dammit!” she muttered furiously as it took a few moments for her brain to kick in. What was his bloody name? Greg? Jack?

“Jake!” she said a bit too loudly and she grimaced as she waited for the naked man to stir but he stayed silent and she breathed a small sigh of relief as she glanced at him once more to determine that he was the cowboy only to frown as she realized he didn’t look much like him.

The cowboy, Jake she reminded herself, had been quite nerdy looking which was what had endeared her to him. He reminded her of herself and she had felt sorry for him thinking maybe he had as hard a time as her talking to girls.

They had been talking and drinking and gambling and there had been more drinking and then… Nothing! It was blank. She had no idea how she had gotten from the casino and no idea how she had ended up here.

“Shit!” she muttered to herself as she tried to figure out a way to leave the bed and this room, that was clearly not hers, without waking naked boy.

Okay, so she just needed to move his arm a little bit and slide her leg that way, and then she would be free.

Unless he responded by pulling her further against him!

“Shit!” she hissed. Never one for patience Kaycee decided to give up on this tactic and instead pulled her elbow back sharply in to the hard planes of his stomach, which had him sitting up abruptly and releasing her.

“Ugh!” he groaned and Kaycee rolled her eyes as she slipped from the bed, relieved to discover that she was at least wearing her underwear, and retrieved her clothes noticing as she did so that there were two cowboy boots discarded by the bed and a Stetson abandoned near the door.

A sudden image of the two of them kissing and her removing his hat so she could run her fingers through his hair had Kaycee blushing and she bolted for the bathroom before he could say a word.

Pulling the dress on as quickly as she could Kaycee tried unsuccessfully to get rid of the blush that was slowly stealing across her face. She had never been the type of girl to have one-night stands, if truth be told she had never actually slept with anyone. And the thought that she had thrown her virginity away on a drunken fling that she couldn’t even remember made her want to be swallowed by the floor.

She waited a few moments to see if the ground would comply and when it failed to swallow her whole Kaycee took a deep breath and readied herself for the inevitable.

Opening the bathroom door she walked out almost crashing in to him in the process. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously wondering if he had been waiting for her to come out or if he just happened to be stood there when she had decided to come out.

“We should talk!” he said running a hand through his hair as she glanced around searching for her bag.

“What about?” she asked still searching for the missing bag and he frowned at her.

“Well, about last night,” he suggested and she shrugged as she became distracted by his near nakedness, he was wearing his underpants now but nothing else and just the sight of him was making her mouth go dry.

“Um, could you maybe put some clothes on first?” Kaycee asked hesitantly and he sighed before collecting some fresh clothes and heading to the bathroom.

“We’ll have that talk though,” he reminded her and Kaycee nodded slowly only waiting until he was safely in the bathroom before she bolted for the door. She had no idea where her bag was but everything in it was replaceable and she was happy to give it up if it meant getting away from this awkward situation as quickly as possible.

Jake dressed quickly, his mind more on the girl outside who had looked so young and fragile. He couldn’t remember much from last night but he could remember enough to know that they were in serious trouble.

He remembered noticing her across the bar looking nervous which struck him as odd considering how gorgeous she looked. He had been drooling from where he stood and when he had gone over she had been more than willing to give a nerdy cowboy a chance, something his friends could barely believe.

It hadn’t taken much alcohol before she seemed drunk and he wasn’t far behind her. He had tried to do the gentlemanly thing and suggested she go back to her room but she had been determined to stay out and enjoy herself.

“Be better than Sarah!” she had muttered several times, whatever that meant.

He remembered passing a jewelry store and one of them coming up with the bright idea of buying a ring but then his mind went blank and he couldn’t remember what they had done, until he had woken up next to her.

Normally he woke up next to a woman feeling satisfied and with an itching feeling that he needed to get rid of her but this time he woke up feeling strange and protective towards her. He also had the feeling that they had done something they really shouldn’t have and trying to remember was giving him a migraine.

He dressed in record time and exited the bathroom only to realize the room was empty and the girl was gone.

“Dammit!” he cursed furiously as he ran a hand through his hair that was still sticky from the gel.

It was an unusual occurrence for a girl to leave him. Normally he was the one sneaking out of their room or kicking them out of his. Never before had someone walked out on him after spending the night and it irritated the hell out of him that she had ignored his request and left.

With a sigh he shoved his hands in to his pocket wandering how he was going to find her now since the only thing he knew was that her name was Kaycee. He frowned as his hands came in to contact with a piece of paper and pulling it out he paled considerably at the words written there.

Marriage Certificate

“Shit!” he swore as he sank on to the bed in shock. He had known they had done something stupid but to go this far. Marriage? He was married?

And then it hit him. This was the perfect solution, just what he had needed. He had needed a wife and now he had one. All he had to do was track her down and convince her that maybe this wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened. Yeah, because that would be easy.

It was as he rested his head in his hands that he noticed something sticking out from under the bed and realized she had left her bag behind. Picking it up gingerly he hesitated. A woman’s bag was private, something his mother had drilled in to him at a young age, and yet it might hold a clue as to where Kaycee was.