chapter 21

"You listening to me?!" Mickey yelps, nearly blowing out my eardrum.

"Christ, Mick, what –"

"You fucking got married?!"

I stare at the ceiling. "What?"

"There are pictures coming out of whatever bumfuck town you're in," Mickey says. "I've been able to head a few off at the pass, but some news outlets have already started publishing stuff. And God, the fucking TikToks."

"TikToks?"

Mickey sighs. "Of you and some woman shopping? At a jewelry counter? In a mall??? For fuck's sake, Rex, you can at least get the woman a nice ring, not any of that every 'kiss begins with Kay' shit."

I sit up. "I don't..." I rub my face. "Aw, fuck."

"Yeah, stop playing dumb. There's photo evidence. People have been on high alert since your accident. Do you have amnesia or something? You do remember you're in the public eye, right?"

Not amnesia. But horniness does make you stupider. "Yeah, of course I do..." I want to turn into a billion grains of sand and disappear. "What are the pictures of?"

"You were at a