Hot SEAL, Independence Day
Page 16
He took the document from her hand and glanced down at the words. They were written in Spanish with the English translation beneath. The paper was thick parchment with fancy scrollwork designs on the border. At the top of the page, it read Acta de Matrimonio, and beneath it, in English, were the words, Marriage Certificate.
Chase’s heart hit the pit of his belly as he skimmed the Spanish to find the signature scrawled at the bottom of the page: Chase Flannigan. Beside his name in neatly written cursive was the name, Maggie Neal.
He looked at the ring on his finger, and then glanced at her.
She stood with what appeared to be a photograph in her hand, staring down at the image, her face blanching a startling shade of white. Then she looked to him. “We’re married?” Her finger pointed from him back to herself, wrapped in the sheet. “You and me? Married?”
With the proof in his hand, Chase had a hard time refuting her statement. He ran his free hand through his hair. “I don’t remember signing this.”
She looked over his shoulder at the document. “Is that your signature?”
He nodded. “Looks like it.” He jabbed his finger at the name Maggie Neal. “Is that yours?”
She closed her eyes. “I’m not believing this. It can’t be.” She spun, dropped the sheet and slipped the dress over her shoulders. “Whatever the hell happened last night…didn’t, as far as I’m concerned.”
“What do you want me to do about this?” He held up the marriage certificate.
“Tear it up. It didn’t happen. You and I are not married. No way. No how.” She snatched her heels off the floor, marched for the door and held it open. “Get out of my room.”
He shook his head. “I can’t.”
“You sure as hell can.” She waved her shoes at the hallway. “Go. Now.”
“Ms. Neal…Maggie, this is my room.”
“If this was your room…” Leaving the door open, she marched to the closet and flung open the door, “Why are my clothes in…” Her gaze took in his crisp white shirt and dark trousers hanging neatly beside his extra pair of jeans and one of the polo shirts his buddy Trevor said he’d need to fit in with the clientele at the all-inclusive resort. “Where the hell is my suitcase?” She ducked her head into the shallow closet as if searching for a hidden compartment. As she straightened, she pressed a hand to her forehead and swayed. “My head feels like steel wool, and I think I’m going to throw up.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and glared at him. “What have you done with my things?”
“Listen to me,” he said as slowly and as clearly as he could. “This. Is. Not. Your. Room.”
“Yes, it is. It says so right on the door. Room 336.” She crossed to the door and pointed at the numbers on the door.
“That’s 326, not 336.” He leaned out the door and jerked his thumb toward the opposite end of the hallway. “Your room is down there.”
She frowned, stared at the numbers, blinked and stared again. With a huff, she whirled and searched the room, her gaze landing on the dresser in his room. “If this isn’t my room, is that my room key?”
Chase retrieved the key card from the dresser and ran it over the locking mechanism on the door. The light turned red. He tried again, still the light blinked red. “I guess, it is.”
She snatched the key from him and marched down the hallway, muttering, “I’m not married. I didn’t come to Cabo to get married. This is not happening. It’s all one horrible, horrible nightmare. Gina!”
The woman was spitting fire, and Chase found it strangely charming. The marriage certificate still in his hand, he followed, telling himself he wasn’t interested, but needed to resolve this little matter of their marriage. “This appears to be a legally binding document. We can’t just tear it up,” he called out after her.
As much as Chase abhorred the institution of marriage, he kind of liked torturing Maggie with the idea she might be legally bound to him in holy matrimony. This thought gave him an inordinate amount of pleasure. He followed her to room 336. “We can’t just tear up this certificate. It’s stamped, and a copy is probably stored in some archive somewhere.”
“We sure as hell can,” she called over her shoulder. “What happens in these kinds of places stays in these places. That certificate won’t hold up in the US courts. I’m a US citizen, subject to the US court system. I’m not married.” She waved her key card over the door lock, and the light turned green. Maggie pushed into the suite. “Gina!” Without waiting for a response, she charged across the room like a bull toward a matador’s red cape and flung open a door. “Gina! What the hell happened last night?”
A startled squeal sounded from the bed. “Geez, woman. Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?”
About the Author
ELLE JAMES also writing as MYLA JACKSON is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of books including cowboys, intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edges of their seats. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, snow skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories. Learn more about Elle James at www.ellejames.com
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