was bringing someone, but we’re making the big announcement tonight.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie wince. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“What?”
“Making an announcement about your engagement at your brother’s pre-wedding dinner. Tonight’s supposed to be all about him.”
“Trust me, it is all about him.” Nicholas shook his head. “Nobody’s even asked about you.”
“No surprise. But wait—I thought you were bringing a date to keep your mom from setting you up with someone.”
“One of the bridesmaids,” Nicholas said. “Caroline. Her mom is some higher-up at an Ivy League college.”
“It’s a little late for you to be trying to date your way into a good school,” Charlie joked.
“Haha. Not funny. But this is more than showing up with a date. You’re my fiancée, remember?”
“Of course. And after this, you’re going to find a way to explain why it didn’t work out, which probably means you need to find a more permanent solution to this problem.”
“Any ideas?”
Charlie was quiet for a moment. Thinking again. He wondered if she was coming up with some grand scheme. Maybe she could create some sort of scandal at the wedding that would make his mother the laughingstock of the community, ensuring nobody would even let their daughters date him. That would put an end to the matchmaking, for sure.
“Honesty.”
Nicholas couldn’t say anything to that. She was right. He should have been honest with his mother years ago. Charlie would probably see when she met Donna Baker Shaw exactly why that wasn’t the easiest thing to do.
They pulled up to the valet and Nicholas slipped the guy a generous tip to take care of both parking the car and getting their bags up to their rooms. They just needed to check in and go to their separate rooms—on separate floors, thanks to the fact that he’d added her at the last minute.
But they’d barely had time for their eyes to adjust from the brightness outside to the relatively dim lighting of the lobby before they were surrounded. His eyes weren’t the only thing that needed time to adjust. His mind was a few steps behind what was happening here.
“You’re here!”
“You must be Charlie.”
“Hi.”
“Give me a hug.”
It came from every direction. There was his brother, who gave Charlie a hug like they were long-lost friends. Then there were his brother’s friends, including his best friend. The bride-to-be, Elizabeth, stood next to Caroline, along with assorted other women he recognized as the bridal party.
“You’re all checked in,” his brother, Nate, announced as Nicholas started toward the main desk. The words stopped Nicholas in his tracks.
“What? How?”
“Mom took care of it all. We have a block of rooms.” Nate shrugged. “She just didn’t want the wedding party to have to deal with things like that. We’re going to the outdoor patio for a drink before dinner. Come on.”
Nicholas looked over at Charlie. She didn’t drink. He didn’t want her to be in a position that made her uncomfortable. But she smiled over at Nicholas and nodded, and in that short exchange, they seemed to communicate that they were going along with this.
“Sure.” Nicholas nodded.
Somehow, Charlie ended up being absorbed into the group of bridesmaids, while Nicholas found himself walking alongside his brother. “New girlfriend?”
For some reason, Nate’s question annoyed Nicholas. Probably because they’d always had a bit of a competition, even if it wasn’t direct. It just had always seemed like if Nate did well in a sport or got good grades or even had a girlfriend, Nicholas felt pressured to one-up him. He had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with the way his mom always pointed out to him how successful his younger brother was in pretty much every area.
“Fiancée.”
He hadn’t planned to break it to his brother that way, of course. The word had just spilled out. He even felt bad about it, especially since Charlie had mentioned she wasn’t sure he should bring it up this weekend. But telling people individually was preferable to making a big-deal announcement at dinner, he now realized.
“You’re engaged? Man! Does Mom know?”
Nicholas shook his head. “Nobody does. Well, nobody here, anyway.”
Everyone here was either close to the bride or the groom. That meant there was a connection back to his brother or mom from a large chunk of those who would be at that dinner. Nicholas didn’t feel as though he was a part of that. This was his brother’s life. He wanted to make it clear he had his own life that