My (Mostly) Fake Wedding - Penelope Bloom Page 0,58

me, raising a suggestive eyebrow. “Why, stepbro. Are you offering to help if I’m not?”

“I’m not your stepbrother, idiot. And no.”

“So,” he asked, sinking into his chair and taking a swig of his drink. “What brings he-who-must-not-be-named to my abode?”

“I felt obligated to give my little brother some advice before he gets hitched.”

Chris watched me with suspicious eyes. “Pretend hitched,” he said.

“Is that what it is to you, though?”

I shrugged. “What else would it be?”

“It might be my brother’s foolish hoping something fake could turn into something real. Have you talked to her about any of this?”

Chris grunted. “I’m not sure what we are talking about. So, probably not.”

“For once, act like you have a pair of brain cells to rub together. Stay with me here. You love the wedding planner. You’re wishing this marriage was real. You don’t know if she feels the same way, and you’re just hoping it’ll somehow work out for the best. Am I making sense?”

“Assuming you were right, which I’m not saying you are—by the way. How would you suggest a man in that position should broach the topic? Hey, want to pretend this fake marriage is a real one? We can ride off into the sunset—you on top, me on the bottom.”

Speaking to my brother required an ability to tune out portions of what came from his mouth. He couldn’t help himself, I’d learned, and it was like speaking another language. I’d learned to cut through his sarcasm and jokes to pluck the true meaning. “A man would find the wedding planner and tell her how he felt. A scared little boy would pretend to masturbate with his protein shake and hide in his room all morning.”

“Why do I feel like this just got personal?”

I sighed, then reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Talk to her.”

38

Belle

It was late morning and the day was still holding a refreshing coolness in the air. In front of me, a wall of green was speckled with vibrant purple flowers and the sounds of activity filtered through the gardens all around me. Somewhere, I heard two people trying to decide how to overcome some issue in the kitchens. In another direction, it sounded like a group of kids were playing tag while their parents chatted and watched.

It was one of those rare, unexpectedly perfect moments that sometimes snuck up on me.

So I sat there in the cute little sundress I’d thrown on just drinking it in. Because I’d gradually come to realize something: happiness and good things weren’t what I’d always imagined. They weren’t facts of life you could plan your day around. They weren’t guarantees that came with iron-clad money-back promises.

When I looked back on my life, I could see all the best things and the best moments had snuck up on me. They’d flitted by just like a gorgeous animal might poke its head from the brush, catch the sunlight for a few seconds, then scamper away.

And maybe that was some sort of secret to life. I needed to open myself up and enjoy the moments that I got, even if it was just a beautiful morning in a beautiful place.

Or, a little voice in my head chimed in, a beautifully ridiculous man in an insanely ridiculous situation.

I let that thought settle into my head as I sat there, brain wandering over everything that had happened in such a seemingly short period of time. Over how much had changed already.

I had about half an hour before the frenzy of the day was scheduled to fully consume me. Hair, makeup, dress fittings, and all of that was after I personally went down to the outdoor area where the ceremony would take place for one last look.

My father and brother found me as I sat near the gardens. I hadn’t realized I’d been remembering the time Chris and I hooked up in a flower-filled room until I was staring eye to eye with my father.

I blushed, even though he had no way of knowing what I was thinking.

“Seems like you’ve really done a number here,” my father said, hiking up his slacks to sit beside me.

Asher took the spot on my other side.

“A good number or a bad one?”

“Guess we’ll find out in a few hours.” He was glaring off into the distance, and I sensed that I was supposed to say something here. Given that I’d only come clean about the arrangement with Chris to my brother, I could see why my father would be mad. He’d