Janice Lynn - Winter Wedding In Vegas

Besides, they’d used a condom the first time. It had been their subsequent trips to heaven that had been without one. He’d only had the one condom in his wallet and they’d still been high under the Las Vegas night air—or whatever foolishness had lowered their inhibitions.

“Do you?” she asked, sounding somewhere between terrified and hopeful his answer would be the right one.

“I haven’t specifically gone for testing recently.” There hadn’t been a need. He had never had sex without protection before her and didn’t engage in any other high-risk behaviors. “It’s been a year or so since my last checkup, but I do donate blood routinely and have always checked normal.”

His answer didn’t appease her and she eyed him suspiciously. “When was the last time you donated?”

“About two months ago.”

Relief washed over her face. “No letter telling you about any abnormal findings?”

He shook his head. “No such letter. What about you?”

Her gaze didn’t quite meet his. “I’ve only been with one man and that was years ago during medical school. I’ve been checked a couple of times since then. I’m clean.”

As unreasonable as it was since he was no saint and they were going to end their marriage as soon as possible, the thought of Taylor being with anyone else irked him. A surge of jealousy had his fingers flexing and his brain going on hiatus.

“He didn’t have to marry you to have sex with you?”

CHAPTER TWO

SLADE INSTANTLY REGRETTED his sarcastic question, especially when, with a pale face and watery eyes, Taylor glanced down at the plain gold band he’d put on her hand the night before.

“No, Kyle didn’t marry me, but I did believe he was going to spend the rest of his life loving me. Silly me.”

The fact that she’d been heartbroken by the jerk rankled Slade. Good thing she didn’t want this marriage any more than he did. He’d hate to think he’d hurt her like that fool had. Regardless of what the future held for them, he didn’t want to cause Taylor any pain. That much he knew. “What happened?”

She shrugged and the sheet slipped off one shoulder to drape mid-upper-arm. “He didn’t marry me or spend the rest of his life loving me. End of story.”

Hardly, but he wouldn’t push. Such sorrow laced her words that his chest squeezed tighter. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” Masking her emotions behind an indifferent expression he suspected she’d perfected over the years since her breakup with the guy, Taylor picked up a spoon and scooped up a mouthful of eggs. “He was an arrogant jerk.”

Her lips were wrapped around the spoon and another jolt of jealousy hit him as she slowly pulled the utensil from her mouth.

She picked up a strawberry and bit into the juicy fruit. “Mmm. That’s good.”

“Speaking of good...” He watched her pop the rest of the berry into her mouth and lick the juice from her fingers, and struggled with the desire to do some licking of his own. “Last night really was spectacular, apart from the whole getting-married thing.”

She met his gaze, nodded, then deflated. “Oh, Slade, what have we done?”

Hearing her say his name caused flashbacks from the night before. Until then, he’d never heard her say his first name. He liked the sound. “We got married, but we can correct that. We will correct that. As soon as legally possible.”

“It’s crazy that we got married. Why did we do that? We aren’t in love, barely know each other and I don’t even like you.”

He gave a wry grin. “All this time I just thought you were waiting on me to win you over to my way of thinking.”

“Professionally maybe, but not romantically.”

“Professionally, I’m a good oncologist.”

“You are.” She winced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“Just that I always thought you were a flirt and didn’t take life seriously.”

“I take my job very seriously.” His work was the most important thing in his life and always would be. “I care a great deal for my patients and like to think I provide them the best care possible.”

“You do. It’s just that...” Her voice trailed off.

“It’s just what?”

“I guess I let your personal life influence how I viewed you professionally.”

“What do you know of my personal life?”

Her face reddened. “Not much. Just gossip really.”

“Not that you should believe gossip, but what do the gossips say?”

“That you date a lot of different women.”

“You think I shouldn’t?”

She sighed and looked somewhere between disgusted and desperate. “What I think about your personal life doesn’t matter. We’ll get a divorce and no one ever need know about any of this.”

Thankful that she was so practical about the whole thing, Slade nodded. “Agreed. We’ll figure the legalities out on Monday and end this as painlessly as possible.”

She eyed him, then gave a hopeful half smile. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and there’s some kind of ‘just kidding, I’ve changed my mind because I was stupid in Vegas clause.’”

* * *

Thank goodness Slade felt the same as she did. They’d made a horrible mistake, knew it and would make the best of a bad situation.

Not that she could believe he’d married her.

The man was gorgeous, amazing in bed, could have any woman he wanted and usually did, according to her female coworkers who loved to discuss the handsome oncologist’s love life latest. Why would he have married her? Taylor was admittedly a stick-in-the-mud, boring homebody. Her idea of fun was a good book while soaking in a bubble bath or playing with Gracie. Her ideal life would bore him to tears. No confetti and blow horns anywhere in her reality or her ideal future.

From what she knew about Slade, they couldn’t be more opposite.

Opposites attract .

She winced at the inner voice in her head playing devil’s advocate. Okay, so she’d admit she wanted to rip Slade’s towel off and have that encore performance. Not that she did anything more than wrap the sheet around her, grab the cup of coffee from the tray, and, head held high, strut into the bathroom to take her shower.

Of course, that only reminded her that his naked body had been under this hot stream earlier and had she wakened in time she could have joined him. Her husband.

What a joke.

But right now she had to get her act together, because they were presenting to a group of oncologists, pharmacists, marketing representatives and others on the benefits of a new cancer-fighting drug they’d been researching.

At some point today she should probably tell Slade that not only had he become a husband the night before, he’d also become the stepfather of a precious six-year-old little girl.

She winced.

Yeah, that might shock Slade enough to have him scrambling around in hopes of finding a twenty-four-hour Vegas divorce court.

Although she had a photo of Gracie on her desk at work, she doubted Slade had ever been inside the room, that he’d ever had reason to be in her personal office. Yes, they worked in the same multifloor cancer clinic. But prior to their being chosen to go to this conference to discuss the research being done at their facility, they’d not really interacted except when he’d sent her running by asking her out.

Because she avoided men like Slade.

Had for years.

The last time she hadn’t, she’d ended up pregnant and alone.

Nausea hit her. After their first time she and Slade hadn’t used birth control. He’d only had the one condom, and they’d been too delirious to acknowledge the ramifications of unprotected sex.

How stupid was she? Was he?

The timing in her menstrual cycle wasn’t right for pregnancy, but she wasn’t so foolish as to think it wasn’t possible.

Her hand went to her bare belly. Was she? Had she and Slade made a baby? Dampness covered her skin that had nothing to do with the shower water. She loved Gracie with all her heart, would do anything for her precious daughter, but she’d never planned to have more children. Not without finding a man who met all her criteria for Mr. Right, which included what kind of father he’d be to Gracie.

Then again, she’d never planned to get married to a man she barely knew either, and she’d done that.

Her parents would be so proud. Ha. Not. Her actions this weekend would just once again affirm their disappointment in her.

She finished rinsing her body, then stepped out of the shower and eyed the half-empty cup of coffee.

She picked up the cup and, with great sadness, poured the lukewarm liquid down the sink drain.

No more coffee or anything else that wasn’t healthy for a pregnant woman until she knew for sure one way or the other that she and Slade hadn’t created a new little life.

* * *

Slade leaned back in his chair and watched the impressive woman woo the crowd with her smiles and witty sense of humor.

Taylor went through the slide presentation she’d put together on the data their oncology clinic, Nashville Cancer Care, had collected on Interallon, a new experimental cancer-fighting drug they’d been successfully administering as part of a larger nationwide research trial. Remission rates of metastatic breast cancer had increased by 40 percent in patients who’d received the trial medication over current treatment modalities. They were hopeful FDA approval would be soon so the medication could be administered more widely.

Taylor pushed back a stray strand of pale blond hair behind her ear and pointed a laser at the current slide, referring to a particular set of data.

He’d slid his fingers through that soft, long hair last night. Not that you could tell just how long or lush her hair was with the way she had it harshly swept up. Neither could you tell how gorgeous her big green eyes were behind those ridiculous black-rimmed glasses she wore. Definitely you couldn’t tell how hot and passionate her body was beneath her prim and proper gray pantsuit and blazer.

She epitomized a professional businesswoman presenting data to a crowd of health-care professionals who couldn’t possibly appreciate how amazing she was.

Slade scanned the crowd, noticing several of the men watching her with a gleam in their eyes. Well, maybe some of them did see just how amazing she was, but he pitied them. She was his. His wife.

He couldn’t believe he’d gone that far.

He usually had no problems with women, but Taylor had always been different. For months he’d not been able to convince her to give him the time of day and he had tried. Repeatedly, he’d struck up conversations only to have her end them and avoid him.

She made a comment, misspoke a word and poked fun at herself, getting a laugh from their audience. Slade skimmed the crowd, noticing several of the men seemed to be further enchanted by the woman on stage.

Green slushed through his veins, clogging the oxygen flow to his brain. Had to be since he sure wasn’t thinking straight because his brain—or was it just his male ego?—was screaming, Mine. Mine. Mine.

“Now...” She flashed another smile at the crowd, pulling them further under her spell. “I’ll turn the podium over to Dr. Slade Sain to present specific case studies and then we’ll field any questions together.”

They walked past each other as he took the podium and she returned to sit in the seat next to his at a table that had been set up at the front of the auditorium. He tried to meet her gaze, to smile at her and tell her what a great job she’d done, but she kept her gaze averted, purposely not looking at him.