Designing Abigail Kilton's Dress - #1 The Wedding Dress

Chapter 3 - Clumsy Is Not Fashionable

Kayleigh bolted upright in her new bed, heart pounding at the sound of a very angry alarm. She reached over to her bedside table to check the time. It was 8:20 a.m.

IT WAS 8:20 A.M.

"Oh, my gosh!" she exclaimed as she tried to scramble out of bed. Only her legs were trapped under a heavy weight.

"Marcus! Marcus, wake up!" she hissed pulling her legs free and escaping his grasp.

Marcus groaned and his hand shot outwards as he tried to wrap his arm around her waist again. She jumped out of bed and cursed as she remembered she wasn't wearing anything.

Kayleigh snatched the top sheet and wrapped it around her body, uncovering Marcus's naked form in the process. She screamed involuntarily and her head protested at the sound of her own voice.

The wine. How much wine did they actually have?

She hadn't been in London twenty-four hours and she already had a body-crushing hangover, a naked man in her bed and was late for her first day at work. 

"This can't be happening," she whispered, clutching the sides of her head.

"What's wrong?" the god in her bed asked in a very husky, very sexy tone.

Because while Marcus Burrows had always been good-looking, there was no denying that six years in London changed more than the man's teeth. He was in outrageous shape. His shoulders were broader than Kayleigh remembered. His arms were stronger and his legs... His legs...

Kayleigh lost her train of thought as images from the night before flashed before her eyes. She cast a sweeping look down her body and sure enough, red marks and bruises were scattered all over her pale skin.

What the hell was in that wine?

"Kay Kay, are you alright?"

She clutched the sheet closer to her body and directed her focus back to Marcus's face.

"Yes!" she asserted looking about the room until she found his shirt and boxers and threw them at him. "No, I have to be at Oxford Circus in twenty minutes."

Marcus checked his watch. "It's only ten minutes away. Take the Bakerloo line. You'll make it."

"I know, but I still need to get ready," Kayleigh whined pulling her hair up with a clip and fetching a towel.

Marcus eyed her carefully, his gaze stopping on her restless fingers picking at the poor towel. Kayleigh noticed the concern in his eyes and stopped fidgeting. Her grip tightened over the material instead.

She heard his steady breaths as he got dressed and sat back on the bed trying to tame his hair with his fingers. It went down to his shoulders and even in her anxious state, Kayleigh thought he looked absolutely delicious. 

"Do you... uh... do you want to talk about this?" he started trying to meet the girl's eyes. "I mean, we really should."

Kayleigh suddenly felt self-conscious and her heart was thrashing dangerously against her ribcage.

Of course, they should talk. They should have talked a long time ago. Or at least before they completely threw their senses out the window. But this was messy. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have when she was running late for the biggest opportunity of her life. 

What had she done?

"Not now, okay?" she replied with a small smile. "I have to get ready. Just let yourself out."

She ran to the bathroom and when she was out of the shower five minutes later, Marcus Burrows was nowhere in sight.

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