Regina Mills shifted sleepily on the large, comfortable bed, the bare skin of her shoulders sliding across the rich satin fabric beneath her. Having apparently survived her best friend's bachelorette party in Vegas, Regina wanted nothing more than to drift back into dreamland, and would have, if not for the fact she had a raging headache pounding at her temples, and an equally awful taste in her mouth.

She wondered what the bartender had put in the cosmopolitans he had been serving her. After all, she'd paid him extra to make sure her beverages were—unlike those for the members of her betrothed sister's entourage—strictly nonalcoholic. This, in order to make sure she didn't lose all inhibition and do anything foolish, as she had been known to do in the past at these types of events.

Regina groaned and opened her eyes. Saw she had nothing on underneath the covers and what was surprising her the most was that there was a strong male arm clamped just beneath her breasts.

Startled, Regina blinked to clear her head, and blinked again. What…in the…world…? Had she been drinking last night? Because, honestly, that was the only way to explain any of this!

Still trying to get her bearings, Regina pushed herself into a sitting position, stared at what she saw. Tousled light brown hair, equally stunned blue eyes and an incredibly handsome, oh–so–familiar face that she dreaded seeing daily, covered with a two–day stubble of beard.

…

Despite the fact that he and the groom had been friends since childhood, Robin Locksley knew it had been a mistake to agree to be David Nolan's best man. Mostly because Robin's antagonist, Regina Mills, was the maid of honor. Physically, Robin and Regina had enough sparks to light up the entire east coast, but none of the natural compatibility needed to get along. Like oil and water, the two of them would never mix. Although Robin admitted privately to himself that he did enjoy getting under the pretty attorney's skin. Had she not been so uptight… But she was. And he'd had far too many rules growing up to want to pepper his adulthood with any more. These days, he and he alone decided what was right for him, and in what manner he wanted to live.

As if to prove that point, Regina's delicate hand closed over his wrist—which was still clamped against her slender form.

"You!" she hissed, flinging his arm away, like some odious piece of trash. "What are you doing here?"

Good question, Robin thought, rolling over onto his back and taking a lazy look around. They were in a hotel room, all right. Together. For what had apparently been the rest of the night. The larger question was what exactly had happened the night before?

"Explain to me what you are doing here!" Regina demanded.

Trying not to get distracted by how beautiful the disheveled brunette looked in the sunlight pouring in through the windows, Robin glanced at the hand she was waving indignantly in front of him. More telling than the knowledge she was a lefty, was the plain gold band encircling her ring finger.

Robin fought the sinking feeling in his gut, and a hazy memory of an emotional albeit slightly tipsy exchange with Regina, followed by a dare, and a trip to the Las Vegas marriage bureau. Which, unfortunately for the two of them, stayed open till midnight, daily.

He dimly recalled more taunting, the purchase of a marriage license, and then with Regina's bossy friend trying desperately to derail the very bad idea while her groom–to–be goaded them on, a trip—with the entire wedding party—to one of the brightly lit wedding chapels on the Strip…

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?" Regina demanded, even more outraged.

Robin remembered selecting an Elvis and the Showgirl–themed wedding, never dreaming a straitlaced woman like Regina would follow through on the wild idea—even to win a bet. And then, there were wedding vows being said, but not by David and Mary Margaret, but by…oh, hell…no…

Robin tore his gaze from the color streaming into Regina's cheeks and looked down at his own left hand. In squaring with his fuzzy memories, there was a band there, too, identical to hers. Rather than try to explain, he lifted it for her to see. "Just this," he commented drily, leaving her to fill in the rest just as he had.

Regina tossed her head indignantly. "If this is a joke—" she speared him with her dark eyes, apparently not recalling anything yet "—I am not laughing Locksley."

Nor was he. His heart thundering, Robin sat up, too. He shoved both his hands through his hair, hardly able to believe he had done what he swore he never would. And actually followed in the impulsive footsteps of his oft–married, even more frequently divorced, parents.

"You do know what happened!" Regina yelled.

"Would you mind toning it down, it's very early and I'm mildly hungover," Robin said.

"I don't remember anything," Regina said.

"It's beginning to come back to me," Robin admitted gruffly. Although the memory was still fuzzy. And yet oddly romantic in a romantic comedy kind of way.

Regina grabbed the sheet and leaped from the bed. Holding the sheet around her body, she paced back and forth, as he watched her mumble to herself. "I can't wait to hear!"

Robin tore his eyes from the sumptuous breasts about to spill out from behind the sheet and recollected, "It was after the bachelor party, when we met up with the bachelorettes in the bar next to the casino. Talk turned to marriage and you bet I'd never say 'I do.'"

Regina paused, and wet her lips. Already, Robin noted, the story sounded plausible to her. Probably because she had been ragging on him about that since the two of them had first met two years before.

He shrugged and continued. "I said, 'Sure I would. You're the one who doesn't have the guts to tie the knot.'"

Regina paled, apparently recalling now, too. "And that's when I took you up on the dare and we all went to the county clerk's office for a license, then to the chapel on the Strip…"

Robin tensed as it all became more and more real. "I kept thinking you'd back out."

Regina sent him an accusing glare. "I kept thinking you would."

Robin groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. Unfortunately, neither of them had. "So we got married to the stunned amazement of everyone else in the wedding party, and the continual railing of your best friend. And had a glass or two of champagne."

"And that's the last thing I remember," Regina whispered, her hand pressed to her soft, trembling lips.

Robin only wished that were the case with him. Although not completely sober himself after an evening out carousing with the guys, he had known Regina was tipsy from the get–go. He'd even heard the other bridesmaids giggling about tipping the bartender extra to put liquor in her drinks after all, because they all knew the ever–uptight Regina had a tendency to say and do surprisingly unexpected and/or hilarious things when under the influence of even one drink. And they'd wanted to see if they could get her to loosen up, and liven things up.

Loosen up, she had. She married him.

"This can't be happening," Regina said.

"It was bound to happen between us, with the way you sass me all the time intentionally," Robin said.

"Then why do you provoke me?" Regina asked.

"Because I enjoy rattling your bones," Robin said. "And from the looks of it, we rattled each other's bones last night."

Pale, shaking, Regina moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

Although the know–it–all had a habit of getting under his skin as thoroughly as he got under hers, Robin abruptly felt sorry for her. He reached over and covered her small, delicate hand with his. "Look. We were out of our minds."

Regina stiffened and withdrew her palm. "Clearly."

"Regina," Robin was saying as Regina sat up abruptly and started to pace the room again.

"We'll just have to find the quickest divorce lawyer and get this taken care of immediately," Regina said.

"Regina we don't have to rush into anything," Robin said as he went to stand in front of her.

"Are you kidding?" Regina said rather loudly. "We just got married last night because of a damn bet Locksley!"

"Well before you decide anything else, there is something you might need to remember," Robin said as he got out of the bed, wearing only his wedding ring.

"What's that?" Regina asked. For her part, she kept her eyes on his face.

"You're now a Locksley too," Robin said as he leaned down and kissed a shocked Regina on the cheek before turning and heading into the bathroom. "Wife."