by Piper Rayne
“Thank you,” Logan says and shakes her hand.
“Can I snap a picture? My grandsons are going to go crazy when I show them.” Dori hands me her cell phone. “Get in, Ethel.”
As I’m positioning Dori’s phone to take the picture, Ethel looks at Logan. “I’m your grandma, by the way.”
He smiles at her. “Lucky me.”
They all turn to me and I snap the picture before handing the phone back to Dori. But the picture taking has grabbed a few Sunrise Bayers’ attention and the whispering continues around us.
“Come on, let’s go celebrate,” Dori says, sliding her arm through Logan’s and turning him back toward the brewery.
“Logan and I aren’t done talking,” I say to their retreating backs.
Ethel puts her arm around me. “Relax. Have some fun. Though last I heard, you might’ve had a little too much fun recently.” She looks ahead of us. “Great ass.”
“Ethel!” I screech.
She laughs. “Don’t make me crush a Xanax in your drink to get you to loosen up.”
“Nice. You’re talking about drugging me? How grandmotherly of you.”
“Technically, I’m your step-grandma, so I’m more fun.” She winks.
We walk into the brewery, where Dori has Logan at my family table already. He glances over his shoulder, and Molly comes up next to me once Ethel makes her rounds of hellos.
“So?” Molly asks.
“I don’t know why he’s here. We didn’t get that far before we were accosted by Thelma and Louise there.” I motion toward the two grandmas commanding most of the attention at the table.
“Oh, everyone knows why he’s here. He’s here for you.”
I look at my best friend. “There’s no way.”
“Why not? Admit it, Nik, a hot MMA fighter tracked you down because he wants to give it a go with you. It’s romantic if you ask me.”
Jed comes up next to us. “Congratulations, sis. At least you picked a good one.”
I scoff. “News sure travels fast.”
“Welcome to Karmaville,” Cade murmurs as he passes by with a plate of quesadillas for one of the tables.
I want to scream and punch and pout like a toddler, but I catch Logan’s sparkling blue eyes on me, and what Molly said sinks in. He came all this way for me. For me. I can’t say it doesn’t feel good, but I don’t know anything about my husband.
“Go over there and save the poor guy,” Jed says, nudging me.
I slowly walk across the room. Logan’s gaze never leaves mine while he dodges questions from my family.
“Tell us about the wedding,” Posey says, and I’d like to kick her in the shin as I sink into a chair next to Logan.
Logan swings his arm around the back of my chair. “Nikki was a beautiful bride.”
I shake my head. “No need to bullshit them.” I roll my eyes. “It was a Vegas wedding. We were drunk and neither of us remembers it. There, you all know now.”
Adam outright laughs and Lucy elbows him in the ribs, so he feigns injury. Some of my family looks shocked, though most of the guys are still so enamored over the fact that Logan is sitting at the table with them, I’m not sure they even heard what I said.
“So tell me about my wife.” Logan leans forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the table while Jed brings him a beer.
I slide my finger across my neck to tell my family to shut up and give them the death glare. But none of them can wait for the other to go first, so they all start talking at once. Aren’t big families grand?
Chapter Six
“This seems like you’re buying me off.”
Logan
“Logan should probably be going now,” Nikki says, pinching my thigh under the table.
“Nah, I’m good.”
She eyes me impatiently. “You must be tired.”
I shrug. “Slept on the plane.”
She groans.
“Do you have a private plane?” her brother or stepbrother, I’ve yet to keep them all straight, asks. I need a cheat sheet if I don’t want to embarrass myself.
“I don’t own my own, but I did fly on a private jet.”
“Must’ve been nice. When we flew back, this guy brought a six-course meal on the plane with him. He sat across the aisle from us, and the main course was fish.” The bartender drops a few pitchers on the tables. “Can I get you something?” She sticks her hand out in front of me. “You probably don’t remember me, but—”
“Molly, right?”
Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
I point at her name tag. “It’s on your name tag.”
Molly laughs and so does the rest of the table, which only seems to displease Nikki even more.
“Give me your most popular beer,” I tell Molly.
“How about a Lucy Takes Flight? That way you can sample a bunch?” she says.
“That’d be great.” I glance at Nikki, who’s slouched in her chair with her head buried in her phone. “I don’t usually drink beer, but I have three months before my next fight.”
Nikki nods, disinterested. I might be in over my head here with her. Is it really worth fighting for her if she wants nothing to do with me?
“So, Logan,” her mom, Marla, pipes up. “Can you give us any insight on the marriage thing since Nikki’s decided to leave everyone in the dark?”
Nikki sits up straight. “Mom!”
“Well, you won’t tell us anything and I want the details of my daughter’s wedding.”
“I told you we don’t remember. We were drunk and the marriage will soon be annulled.”
“Is that why you’re here, Logan?” Marla asks me.
Nikki puts up her hand. “You don’t have to worry about his answer because I’m answering for us.”
“Actually, Mrs. Greene,” I say, “I’m here to try to convince Nikki not to annul the marriage.”
A smile creases Marla’s lips. “Please call me Marla and do tell me more.” She rests her chin in her palm.
“Okay, enough of this. This is our business, not any of yours.” Nikki stands and glares at me. “Let’s go talk then.”
Finally! It’s the reason I came here. Although her family seems great, I’d rather the two of us be on the same page in regard to this marriage sooner than later.
I stand, and Nikki stomps around me.
“This is the part where you follow her,” the sister with red hair says. “And if you need a place to stay, come by the SunBay Inn. I own it.”
I hadn’t really thought about where I would stay for the time being, so I nod in appreciation. “Thanks. Good to meet you all.”
Outside, Nikki allows me to walk alongside her, and we end up by the bay I have to assume this place is named after. A few people are around, but for the most part, we’re secluded and no one can overhear us. She walks to the water’s edge and picks up a few rocks.
“You can stop the Romeo act now,” she mutters.
“Romeo act?”
“You just pranced in here on your white horse, ready to save me.”
“I think those are two different love stories,” I say, earning a glare that could make a serial killer run for his life. “I’m just saying.”
“Listen…” She releases a breath and holds up her hand. “I appreciate you wanting to continue this, or even see what this could be. It’s a real stand-up move.” I open my mouth, but she doesn’t allow me to speak before continuing. “But I could never be with someone like you.”
Okay, that isn’t what I thought she would say.
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean?”
She tosses a rock into the water. “If we stay married and pursue this, what exactly do you think that would look like? You live in Vegas, and I live here.”
“I don’t live in Vegas.”
She turns to me. “You don’t?”
“No, I have a few houses, but none of them are in Vegas. Hence the suite in the casino.”
She nods. “So where will you
go after here?”
“You assume I’m leaving?” I smile, but it doesn’t seem to improve her mood. I pick up my own rock and throw it into the water. “Probably Florida. That’s where my mom is.”
“Then you expect me to move to Florida? There’s no MMA fighting stuff around here.”
I look back at the small town. It’s so different from anything I’ve ever experienced, but I like that there’s no press up here. And although on the way here I didn’t think much about how our distance would work, an idea sprouts in my head.
“I can train here for my fight.”
“What?” Her head whips around. She clearly didn’t expect that, and the fact that I surprised her makes my stomach stir with excitement.
“I have a fight in ninety days, like I said, and there’s no reason I can’t do that here. It’s not that complicated. I’m sure I could find a space to put some gym equipment and everything else I need. That way you and I can get to know one another better and see if this is something we want to pursue.”
“I already told you it isn’t something I want to pursue.” She chucks a rock into the water.
The entire trip up here, I contemplated how I would get her to agree to give me some time. Only one thing popped into my head. I don’t want to bribe her to stay my wife, but if it buys me enough time to see if this could really be something between us, then maybe it’s worth trying.
“What if we made a deal?”
She eyes me.
“You want to get that podcast up and running, right?”
Her face flushes pink and I’m guessing she forgot about telling me that. “What about it?” Her posture is still defensive, but I can tell she’s intrigued.
“I’ll gladly do it, and I can get you a few other guests too.”
“In exchange for what?” She crosses her arms over her ample chest.
Suddenly a memory of what it felt like to squeeze said chest in my hand surfaces and I have to shift my position to make room for the chub in my pants. “In exchange for giving this a chance while I train for my next fight.”
“This seems like you’re buying me off.” She walks away from the water’s edge and along the path that circles the bay.
I jog to catch up and fall in line with her. “I’m not buying you. I’m making a deal. You want to forget we ever got married and I want to see where this could go.”
She stops and stares at me. “Give me one reason why you want to see where this goes. You know nothing about me. You were drunk when we got married too.”
I shrug. “I’m letting my gut lead me here.”
She laughs condescendingly. “Your gut? Your gut made you fly thousands of miles to a small town in Alaska, chasing some girl you haven’t even known for twenty-four hours?”
“I also don’t want the press on my back. They already reported that we got married. If it comes out that we’ve filed for an annulment or divorce, I’ll have them hounding my every move and I need to prepare for the fight.”
“So you want to pretend, you mean?” Her tone isn’t one of complete distaste anymore.
I figure although it’s not the complete truth, I might as well just go with it now if it gets her to agree. “Yeah.”
It is part of the truth. I can’t focus when the press is all over me. If I hide up here and we do an interview that says we’re happily married, then they’ll grow disinterested when there’s no juicy gossip.
She’s quiet while she practically speed walks around the bend. “And you’d arrange for some other big names to do my podcast?”
“Yep, and I have a connection to a satellite radio guy.”
She sighs and stops, heading over to a hill and sitting. “You’re making it hard to pass up.”
“That was my intention.” I sit down next to her, propping my knees up.
She looks at me. “Only you and I would know about our deal?”
“I can see that you’re close to your family. But the more people who know, the higher the chance that it gets out. I’ve seen the press do some pretty shady things to get people to talk, so I think it would be better if you and I were the only ones who know about our arrangement. It’s better if everyone thinks we’re a happy couple.”
“True. I hate deceiving my family though.” She lowers her head between her knees.
And I hate deceiving her. But clearly the whole “wearing my heart on my sleeve” thing isn’t going to work with her. She doesn’t believe in gut feelings and intuition. Hopefully I’ll find out why someday because she’ll trust me enough to tell me. Until then, I’ll just keep crossing my fingers behind my back.
“But you’ll finally get that podcast up and running.”
She tilts her head and rests her cheek on her knees. I want to tuck a strand of her blond hair behind her ear, but she’d probably find it creepy.
“Okay,” she says in a soft tone. “But it stays between us.”
“Between us,” I say.
“And you’re going to stay up here and train?”
“Yeah, but first things first, you have to do one interview in Vegas with me to get the press off our backs.”
She nods. “Okay.”
We don’t shake hands or seal it with a kiss, but the deal is made. I have three months to prove to her that there’s a reason we got married in Vegas. Wish me luck. I’ll need all of it I can get.
Chapter Seven
“One last thing.”
Nikki
I’m delusional. That’s got to be the reason I’ve agreed to continue this sham of a marriage with Logan.
When I walk into the radio station office, the administrative staff all peer up at me from their computers. A few say hello, but I beeline into the recording studio to get my segment over with. I have to tell my listeners about my marriage so that they’ll continue to trust me. After this, I’m flying down to Vegas with Logan to do an interview where we’ll say we’re happily married. Such an interview is necessary according to Logan.
“Hey, Chip,” I say, sliding into my seat in front of the microphone.
“I have a whole list of questions that won’t stop coming in about you and a certain MMA fighter?” my older co-host says with a laugh.
Chip used to run the segment I do now, but he’s happy co-hosting with me—probably because I take the brunt of the feedback when Sunrise Bayers are upset at something we’ve reported.
“And I’ll answer them.”
“What about him? Is he coming in?” The only reason Chip is asking is because I’m sure he wants an autograph.
“No. I’m handling this on my own.”
I ignore his pout while he stands to refill his coffee mug. My gut has been clenching so hard, I’ve yet to finish my morning smoothie.
Chip returns a minute later, and our producer, Matty, tells us we’re on air in two minutes. I gear up, hoping to satisfy the town with my openness about the situation, even though I’m lying through my teeth.
Matty counts us down behind the window and points at us.
I reposition my headphones and straighten in my chair. “Hello, Sunrise Bayers! It’s Nikki Greene and I’m here with Chip.”
Chip says hello in his faux grumpy voice.
“Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” I say, my stomach churning. “I think when MMA fighter Logan Stone came to town, everyone was on the edge of their seats. I know for a fact my brothers were drooling over the man.”
“So were your sisters,” Chip adds.
I laugh and shake my head. “Rumors are flying, and here at ‘Scandals of Sunrise Bay,’ I like to report the truth, as you all know. The truth is that I married Logan Stone in Las Vegas this past weekend.”
Chip presses a button and wedding bells ring.
“Thank you, Chip. It was unexpected and a hasty decision, but we’ve decided to see where it goes.” I can’t believe I’ve lied to my listeners for the first time ever.
“Did you know him before?” Chip asks. I give him a scathing look and he holds up a que
stion card. “One of our listeners wants to know.”
Truth, Nikki. Tell as much as you can.
“No. As most of you know, my best friend, Molly, is a fanatic about MMA fighting, so when we booked our girls’ weekend away, she bought front row tickets to the fight. One thing led to another, and by morning, I was married. That’s the truth, Sunrise Bayers, and that’s about all I’m willing to let you in on right now.”
Chip holds up a stack of paper. “We have a few more questions.”
“Are they asking about my marriage?”
“Someone wants to know if you’re registered somewhere?”
I laugh. “Oh, we’re perfectly fine. Please do not buy us anything.”
“Another one wants to know where you’re going to live?” Chip keeps asking questions even with me slicing my finger along my throat.
“What do you mean?”
He raises his hands. Then it dawns on me that I have no idea where we’re going to live. Surely Logan doesn’t think we’re going to live together.
Matty sends in a call and Chip answers it. Damn him.
“Looks like I get to spread the word for once here,” Chip says. “We have a caller who just reported that Logan Stone has signed a lease for the old Linville house on the bay.”
I’m silent because the old Linville house is gorgeous. It needs some rehab, but the wraparound porch that looks out over the bay is its best feature. It’s usually rented out for tourist season well in advance, so I have no idea how Logan swindled the deal.
“My guess is you’re moving into the Linville house now, Nikki. Movin’ on up,” Chip says with a laugh.
I’d like Chip to go back to his grumpy self who doesn’t add a ton to my segment.
“Details to be reported another time. In other news…” I begin the next segment because I’m over talking about myself at this point.
When Chip and I end our segment, I catch sight of Logan in the booth with Matty. What the hell?
“And that’s all for today, Sunrise Bayers. See you tomorrow.” I click the “off the air” button before Matty allows Logan to come in.