The Billionaire's Accidental Bride (2 page)

A small smile came to her face when a few moments later, she could feel the heat of someone standing behind her and she heard the sound of a deep, seductive voice saying, "I'll take a glass of the McAllen. Thank you."

Annaya tried not to look impressed when the barman didn't charge the stranger for the drink. She wondered if he came here often enough to have a tab, or whether he was someone more important than she'd realized. The stranger leaned with one elbow against the bar and turned to look at her with devilish eyes and a seductive smile.

"It's not often a woman intrigues me enough to take me away from a poker game. So, tell me, what's the name of the most beautiful woman in Vegas?"

Annaya let out a little laugh at the chat-up line which would have sounded so cheesy coming from anyone else, but made her heart flutter when coming from him. "Annaya."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Annaya. My name is Jack. Now, I'm wondering if those friends of yours would mind at all if I stole you away, because I would really like to take you out tonight."

Annaya felt her heart begin to beat quickly in her chest from her attraction to him and the excitement of having him stand so close to her with the offer to take her out that night made adrenaline pump through her veins. It felt so dangerous and so unexpected to agree to go off with a man she knew nothing about, but her body wouldn't let her say “no”  even if her head told her to be cautious.

His smile was too charming and his eyes too alluring for her to be afraid, so it was only with a little hesitation that Annaya looked back over her shoulder at her friends one last time, before looking up to catch Jack’s deep, dark eyes and smile. “I’m all yours.”

*

Annaya's head was pounding. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had that much to drink. In fact, it would be fair to say she didn't remember last night at all. It was all a blur of spinning wheels and jackpots and bells and laughter. She let her eyes slowly flicker open and although everything was something of a hazy blur, she was able to recognize the golden covers of her own hotel room bed and the bedside table covered in the jewelry she'd thrown off.

She could see last night's pair of heels thrown aside on the carpet and her blue dress over the back of a chair. She realized then she was completely naked under the covers and giggled at herself for having a wild night. She couldn't wait to meet up again with Natalie and find out what had happened. The morning-after stories were always the best.

She let out a little yelp of surprise when she heard a groan emanating from beside her and then felt the body of a man rolling over and sitting up beside her. Annaya's surprised eyes caught with Jack's and she let out a gasp to match his amused laugh. It was only now that she laid eyes on him, that Annaya vaguely remembered flirtatiously leaning over a poker table to draw the attention of a handsome stranger from across the bar and how he'd offered to take her out.

They'd stayed at the bar for two or three more drinks after that offer, and after that, the night began to become a bit patchy. Annaya sort of remembered going dancing and she sort of remembered being at a neon-covered building with a steeple of some sort. The most vivid memories amongst the drunken haze were those that had been made in this very bed.

The naked woman looked down at her shoes again and remembered kicking them off before Jack had powerfully pulled her close and pressed his lips down over hers. She could recall the
zweep
of her cocktail dress zip being pulled down by his strong hands and she even remembered the sensation of his hands running over her waist. With a sudden jolt, she remembered they'd made love last night. The memory made her blush deeply and pull the covers up over her chest, but when she turned to look again at Jack, she could see that he was still grinning.

"Are you not used to drinking that much?" he asked her kindly, but with a slightly teasing tone under his words.

"Not in recent years."

"Do you remember what happened last night?"

"Did we... I mean... we had...?"

"We did. And it was good, if I remember rightly, although I'll admit that there are some blanks from last night. I don't even remember how we got back to the hotel."

"Me neither."

"Safe to say we had a good night. Are you alright?"

Annaya nodded numbly and then allowed herself a little chuckle. She'd been surprised to find Jack in her bed, but she remembered now just how desperate she had been to bring him back here and how her heart had skipped a beat the minute she first saw him. It was still fluttering now at the sight of him.

He was also naked beneath the sheets, but sitting up, Annaya could see the toned muscles of his abdomen and strong shoulders. It made her feel a sudden surge of lust all over again and she almost wanted to kiss him and recreate the events of the night before, but Jack was already standing up and searching for his clothes.

"How long are you in town for?" he asked her, as he pulled on his dress shirt and black pants.

"We're going back today."

"Where are you from?"

"Bakersfield, California."

"Shame. I'd have liked to see you again."

Annaya watched him get dressed and felt sorry that it would all be over so quickly. She couldn't remember the last time a man had quite got her blood pumping like that, but she had no regrets. She had wanted some no-strings attached fun and that was just what she was getting. The worst thing about their one-night stand was the burning curiosity that Annaya was left with about the man.

Who was he? What did he do? He'd had had all the charm and lines of James Bond, but Annaya wouldn't have known if he was just a casino waiter. She supposed it was best to let the mystery remain and have fond memories of a wild night instead of driving herself mad wondering just who she'd slept with.

She leaned forward onto her knees and watched him get dressed. Her expression became concerned when she saw Jack stop when he noticed a little bundle of papers on the side and saw his expression become confused. She had no idea what the papers were, but she could see from the way his mouth had fallen open slightly that they were shocking to him.

"What is it?"

"These are photos."

Annaya began to giggle. She wondered if one of them had taken some cheeky snaps of their bedtime antics and now Jack was shocked by their night together. She held out her hand eagerly.

"Let me see!"

Jack's face was serious as he handed over the pictures and when Annaya began to flip through them, her own face became serious too. These were no kinky shots of naked bodies. No, these were pictures of two strangers very unmistakably getting married. There she was, in her blue cocktail dress with a huge grin on her face, holding a little bouquet in one hand and with her other arm linked with Jack's. In the picture, he was also grinning wildly and they were standing in front of a cheesy Vegas chapel covered in neon lights.

That's why Annaya remembered neon and steeples... She flicked through to the next picture, hoping that she'd be able to reason all this away and find that they'd just gate-crashed somebody else's elopement. She had no such luck. Right there was a picture, clear as day, of her and Jack signing a very official-looking marriage license.

A shocked hand flew to her mouth and as her gaze flew around the room again for any further evidence of her misdemeanor, she noticed a ‘Just Married’ sign swinging from the frame at the bottom of the bed and spotted a corsage amongst her jewelry on the side.

"This can't be real."

"It looks real to me. Do you remember any of that?"

"Neon."

"Bloody neon. I can't believe this is happening." Jack began to pace the room frantically with his hands in his hair and shook his head in furious disbelief. Suddenly he turned on his heel and pointed frenziedly in Annaya's direction. "You can't tell
anyone
about this. Ever. I'm going to make it go away."

"How are you going to do that?"

"We'll get an annulment. Immediately."

"Alright."

"This is a mess."

"Calm down. We'll get an annulment."

Annaya began to giggle again. She'd always been known as the wild one in her group of friends, but this was crazy even for her. Yet, even though she knew this whole thing was mad, she couldn't help but see the funny side of falling into that rom-com cliché of a drunken Vegas marriage. Natalie had wanted a story and she wouldn't be disappointed!

"It's not funny," Jack said sullenly. "This is just the sort of thing that could be the final straw for me."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been treading on thin ice with my father for a while now. If he gets wind of this, he'll publicly disown me and I'll be out on the streets."

"And how's your father going to find out?" Annaya said calmly. "He wasn't there, was he?"

"He didn't have to be."

Jack stepped over to the window furtively, like a criminal on the run, and pulled back the curtain to look down at the street outside. Annaya saw him breathe a sigh of relief and he turned back over his shoulder to explain things a little more.

"My father is Brandon Casali."

"Is that meant to mean something to me?"

"Casali. Like Casali Casinos. He's worth billions. If you were from Nevada you'd know his name. Take a look."

Jack picked up a newspaper, which had been laid down on the coffee table by the hotel staff and threw it over to the bed. Annaya picked it up and her eyes widened when she saw that Brandon Casali's new development project was front page news of the local paper.

"If we got papped last night, then our pictures could be all over the front of tomorrow's paper. That would not go down well."

"Well, fix it!" Annaya interjected quickly. Suddenly the situation seemed a lot more serious and she felt panic setting in. What had been a fun story to tell her friends and a bit of hassle in the form of paperwork, would be a lot more of an issue. It could mean her face in a national paper with people laughing at her for her drunken mistakes. "Jesus, Jack. Why didn't you tell me last night? If I'd have known you were such a big shot, maybe I'd have..."

"--have what?" Jack interrupted. He gave her a stern and knowing look and Annaya shut her mouth. They both knew that even if she had known about his inheritance that nothing would have happened any differently. The moment they'd laid eyes on each other, they'd been destined to end up here. It was magnetism.

Annaya swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up with the sheets still wrapped around her. She began to follow Jack around the room as he picked up his socks from one corner of the hotel suite and his shoes from another. Eventually, he turned around to face her and let out a patient sigh. He brought her to a stand-still with two reassuring hands on her shoulders and told her he would deal with it.

"I can get this sorted," he vowed, "but I'm going to need your signature, so don't go anywhere. Stay in this hotel. I'll be back as soon as I can with everything we need to make this go away."

With that, he was gone and Annaya felt deflated. She remembered just how excited she'd been last night when she'd locked eyes with the sexiest man she'd ever seen and how her heart had fluttered when he'd asked if he could steal her for the night. She'd been so looking forward to a fun and carefree night, but now it all felt like more of a nightmare. She felt like Jack was angry with her and like the whole world was watching.

Still, she couldn't help but marvel at the night's events. How had she managed to seduce a billionaire? The thought was ludicrous and just as quickly as she'd felt dismayed, she felt the laughter bubbling up again.

It was just absurd, wasn't it?
she thought. Luckily for Jack, Annaya wasn't a gold-digger and had no interest in denying an annulment for the sake of a hefty divorce settlement, although she did wonder what it would be like to be that mind-blowingly rich. She guessed it was just another fantasy to push to the back of her mind, just like her fantasy of having one incredible night that didn't end in tears.

Chapter2

There was a little cheer from all the girls sitting in the hotel breakfast bar when Annaya entered and she bowed her head in shame and scurried to her seat at the head of the table next to Natalie, who looked well rested and excited.

"So?" her friend urged, taking a large bite of a jam-covered croissant. "Did you end up having to sleep alone?"

"Oh God, Natalie, I've done something so stupid!"

Natalie leaned forward with interest and lowered her voice so that the other girls wouldn't overhear them. "What have you done?"

"I drank too much and went to a chapel with Jack..."

"No.
No
.
No!
" Natalie's voice became gradually louder as she put two and two together and then she gasped. "You married that guy?"

"Ssh! Keep your voice down. He's gone to the courthouse. We're going to get it annulled."

"Dear God, Annaya! You don't even know who he is!"

"He's loaded. I know that much."

"What do you mean?"

"You know that casino we were in last night? His father owns it."

"You're joking!"

"I'm dead serious. Apparently, he's the son of a billionaire and this morning he freaked out thinking that the press were onto us. According to him, it's one more slip-up and his father will disown him."

"Oh my God..." Natalie gasped again. "Well, nobody can say that you don't deliver when you promise a story."

"What am I going to do, Nat? I feel awful. My head's pounding, my mouth's dry and somewhere out in Vegas there's a billionaire who's pretty annoyed with me."

"It takes two for something like that to happen, Annaya. He was throwing just as many glances as you last night."

"I hardly remember."

"You couldn't take your eyes off each other."

"Oh God, Natalie. I just want this to go away. I don't want to end up in the paper. Everyone will say that I'm a gold-digger or after my five minutes of fame. I just want to keep my head down and get as far away from him as soon as possible."

"Get some coffee in you," Natalie advised, "You look awful. Calm yourself down. Everything's going to be OK. If he's got that sort of money, then he's sure to be able to pull some strings."

"You're right. I'm so sorry, Nat. I didn't mean to cause a scene at your hen-do. I promise that as soon as we're back in California, I'm going to be as good as gold."

Natalie let out a light little laugh and raised her eyebrows with amusement. "I highly doubt that, but it's alright. You wouldn't be you without leaving a trail of drama everywhere you go."

It was true. Annaya had been a bit of a livewire during her youth. She didn't mean to cause trouble. It was just that she had an irrepressible spontaneous streak that she found impossible to ignore.

At prom, she'd been the one to break her wrist trying to climb up onto the stage to dance and at their high school graduation, she'd been the one to trip on her own gown and fall on her face. Then there had been that night, out where a bar fight had started when two men had both tried to hit on her at once.  And one could not forget that quiet trip to the shore that had ended in disaster when Annaya had been certain that she knew how to drive a jet-ski.

She never went out with the intention of having something dramatic happen, but she always seemed to be the one with the crazy story the next morning and she had something of a reputation now.

Perhaps that's why she and Jack had been so naturally drawn to one another. They were both the young and restless type who loved to live life to the full, even if it meant screwing up every now and then. Well, they'd screwed up this time!

Annaya finished breakfast and tried to look innocent in front of the other girls and their partners as they all drank orange juice and nibbled on toast. Annaya's head was still spinning from the night before and she could hardly face eating anything, but she didn't want anyone to question her about what she'd got up to after she'd left the casino, so she tried to play it off as if she'd had a quiet night.

All the same, her thoughts kept drifting back to the self-assured, sexy Jack Casali and they weren't thoughts of panic. No, she found herself daydreaming about his broad shoulders and charming smile and wishing that her memories of the night before weren't so clouded. If only there was a way to live the night again and to recall every sensation in perfect detail.

After breakfast, Annaya did as she was told and returned to her hotel room to wait for Jack. Her flight was leaving in just a few hours and she began to get agitated as she waited for his return, not wanting to miss it and then have to travel alone. She felt a surge of relief rush over her when he rushed into the hotel room just thirty minutes or so later with a file of documents in his hand.

He'd gotten changed since that morning and was wearing a pair of smart pants and a blue shirt. His hair, which had been ruffled that morning, had been neatly combed back and his clothes were perfectly ironed. He looked the picture of innocence and nothing like the chuckling one-night stand he'd appeared that morning. He came into the room slightly breathless from rushing and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Annaya waiting for him on the sofa in the suite.

"Great! You're still here."

"Did you get everything we need?"

"Yes. I just need you to sign these papers."

"Got a pen?"

Jack handed her a pen and the forms and laid them down in front of her on the little coffee table. Annaya quickly flicked through the pages, signing her name on every dotted line until she got to the last page and then she breathed her own sigh of relief and handed the paperwork back to Jack.

"Thank you for handling this so well," he told her. "I know I rushed out of here in kind of a panic this morning, but I guess it was a shock for you too."

"I'm just glad it can be sorted."

"It will. My lawyer assures me that he'll be able to rush this through. With any luck, it will be annulled within days."

"Let me give you my number," Annaya said, scrawling down her digits on the back of Jack's hand. "Give me a call when it's all gone through. Just in case I want to elope with someone else in the meantime."

Jack let out a little laugh that was tired, but relieved. "It was kind of a crazy night, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun. If you're ever in Vegas again, come by the casino. I'll take you out for a night that doesn't end in nuptials."

"That sounds good to me."

They said their final goodbyes and Jack helped Annaya carry her suitcase to the elevator and then rode down with her to the hotel lobby where the other girls were already gathered with their cases. They began to giggle and gossip when they saw Jack holding Annaya's case and Annaya turned red, ready for the onslaught of questions that would ensue. Jack simply gave the women a small smile and then turned to give Annaya one final, reserved peck on the cheek.

"Safe flight."

"Thanks."

Then the billionaire turned on his heel and was gone. All the girls began to squeal and flocked around Annaya with interest.

"Who was that?"

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Did you get his number?"

"Are you going to see him again?"

Annaya waved away their questions with her hand and gave a nonchalant smile and a casual, coy shrug. "It was just a one-night stand, girls."

"That's a shame," one of the girls, Amy, commented. "He was gorgeous."

"He was, wasn't he?" Annaya agreed. She and Natalie exchanged knowing smiles and fell to the back of the pack to walk to the cab that had come to pick them up to take them to the airport.

"How'd it go?" Natalie asked quietly.

"Fine. He said it would be annulled within days."

"Are you alright?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I guess that was just a bit of a rollercoaster ride, even for you."

"It's just another story to tell, Nat."

Annaya brushed off the whole event as though it didn't matter, but inside she did feel a little sad. She was always that girl that men slept with, but never the one that they called the next day. She was the girl who always had a great story to tell, but never the one who could hold a man's attention for long. She felt a sudden awareness of everything that was missing in her life.

Sure, she loved getting attention from men and for the most part, she enjoyed the freedom of being single and the excitement of knowing that she could have any man she wanted. Every night out was a potential opportunity for a romantic affair and a new sexual encounter.

  Annaya had to confess that she was starting to grow tired of the revolving door of men in her life. Wouldn't it really be something new to be with one guy for a reasonable length of time? Wouldn't it be something to fall in love and settle down and follow in the steps of all her girlfriends who had managed to find a single man to be with forever?

The feeling of being lonely was one that Annaya wouldn't let herself feel very often, but it was there all the same. It was difficult now that all of her friends had coupled up and were settling down. She simultaneously longed for those wild days of partying and being totally uninhibited as one of a group of single girls and was envious of her friends who'd moved past all that and found something that meant more to them than a fun night.

What was Annaya doing with her life? As she flew home and then took the train back to her own apartment in Bakersfield, she told herself that it was time to make a new commitment to being serious. No more one-night stands. No more fleeting sexual encounters. Jack would be her last wild fling.

It was late by the time that Annaya made it home to her cozy little apartment and she was glad to be able to finally put her feet up and fall back on her bed. She felt exhausted and decided to leave her bag unpacked until the morning, although she did root around in her purse to check her phone. It had been turned off during the flight and she was surprised to find when she flicked it back on, that she had one new voicemail. She listened to it curiously.

The voice on the other end of the line was that of Jack Casali. "Hi Annaya. It's Jack. I just wanted to say sorry again for everything that happened last night and how I handled it. I really meant it when I said it was a shame that you wouldn't be sticking around. You're a beautiful woman."

There was a pause then, as though the confident playboy didn't know what to say and so he quickly changed the topic back to the matter-at-hand. "I'll let you know when the papers go through and in the meantime, please don't tell anyone what happened. Word gets out easy.

“I guess that's all. It was nice meeting you. Bye."

Annaya half-laughed at the awkward voicemail and plugged her cell in to charge, threw off her clothes and crawled beneath the covers. She couldn't help but notice how quiet it was in Bakersfield compared to Vegas and she began to wonder again about the kind of night she'd really had with Jack.

She thought about how it would be nice to have someone with her right now. Still, she decided not to dwell on it. After all, she'd managed to take home the most eligible bachelor in Vegas. Wasn't that some story?

One day, when she was settled down with her husband – a nice, quiet man – she would once again tell stories of her wild youth and they would all laugh about it and how much she had changed. For now, she pulled her covers more tightly around her and pressed her eyes shut, beginning to dream of roulette wheels and dark eyes before she'd even fallen asleep.

*****

"So, what happened with the girl after you'd taken off the other night?"

Jack and Lewis were having drinks at an upscale bar in the center of Vegas. It had been almost three days since Annaya got on a plane and flown away, but Jack still couldn't get her off of his mind. It must have shown, because Lewis was asking more questions than usual. Jack raised his eyebrows in a cross between amusement and exasperation when he recalled all that had happened in one night with Annaya and smiled.

"Remember how you told me to stay out of trouble?"

"That sounds ominous."

"We ended up in some God-awful neon chapel. I woke up in her bed the next morning and found photos of the marriage."

Jack had expected shock or admonition from Lewis, but instead, his friend melted into laughter and gave Jack a brotherly, teasing shove. "How on earth do you get yourself into these situations, Jack? What did you drink?"

"I don't even know," Jack confessed, giving into his own laughter now. "I don't remember a thing we did that night after we left the casino."

"The last I saw of you, you were getting pretty close at the bar. Then you put your arm around her and walked out. So, what are you going to do about the marriage?"

"The papers for an annulment have already been filed. I should be in the clear in just a few days."

"She didn't fight it at all? Try and get a settlement?"

Jack smiled. "She didn't even know who I was, even when I told her – not a flicker. She just didn't want to be in the papers, I think."