My (Mostly) Fake Wedding - Penelope Bloom Page 0,59

think I should’ve made him aware sooner that I was interested in someone—or that the someone should’ve at least spoken to him before we were engaged.

I gave him a one-armed hug. “You’ll learn to like Chris.” I rested my head on my dad’s shoulder, wondering what I meant by that. Would he? I’d gotten the feeling Chris was about to tell me he already had his extension—that he was only agreeing to follow through with the wedding because he knew it was important for the future of my business. In other words, the prognosis for our marriage was likely to be dead upon arrival, and my father wouldn’t learn to like Chris, because he’d hardly ever see him.

“You really did do a great job setting this all up,” Asher said.

“Hopefully it’s enough. I still get about three nasty reviews and a handful of emails every day about Texas. Sometimes I’m not even sure a home run here would be enough good publicity to outweigh the bad.”

Asher bumped his knee into mine with a little smile. “You’ll figure it out.”

I heard footsteps crunching up behind us in the grass. “Can I have a word alone with her?”

We all turned to see Lance standing there with his hands in his pocket. I almost laughed a little when I saw he was wearing a turtleneck. Chris and his damn comment had poisoned my mind so all I could see was a veiny, phallic turtle’s neck when I looked at Lance.

I couldn’t help still feeling a little wave of… something to see him. Lance had been a fixture in my life for so long. I’d had so many butterflies in the stomach moments around him. So many wasted dreams and hopes. Now it all felt like it was mixed together with a strange blend of nostalgia and bittersweet sadness.

My dad and Asher got up, leaving the two of us alone.

He sat beside me, leaving enough of a space between us on the bench that I could tell he was being cautious. “Hey,” he said.

“What are you doing here?” I’d made sure Lance wasn’t invited after he showed up at my apartment and stirred up the drama with Chris. Him being here was several steps too far. Chris would probably think I’d invited Lance, and then—

No. Chris wouldn’t think that. I remembered back to the times he’d had more than enough reason to assume the worst of me—like when the picture of Lance kissing me in the coffee shop surfaced. Chris had never assumed. He’d asked me, and he’d believed me.

Lance interrupted my thoughts by trying to reach out and put his hand on my knee. I flinched back. He hesitated, then pulled his hand away, nodding. “I wanted to see you. You’re my best friend. You were, at least.”

“Lance. You know how important it is for this wedding to go smoothly for me. How could you just show up here like this? Do you realize how it would look if anyone saw us even talking right now?”

His jaw flexed. “I don’t care what they think. And I could take care of you, no matter what happens here. It’s what I should’ve been doing our whole lives, and I wish I’d realized it sooner. But I’m here now.”

“And it’s not enough.” I got up, feeling a pit in my stomach. “I’m getting married today.”

Lance got up too, taking a step toward me, which I mirrored in the opposite direction. “But it’s a crock of shit, Belle. Listen to yourself. What are you thinking is going to happen? You two will just keep playing pretend forever and live happily ever after?”

“If we lived happily ever after, it wouldn’t matter whether it started out as a sham or not, would it?”

He laughed; his face wrought with disbelief. “Are you hearing yourself right now?”

“For once, yeah. Maybe I’m listening to myself. You need to go. I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing, but I have to get ready for the ceremony, and I can’t have you here.”

Lance’s hands were balled into fists. For a second, I thought he was about to reach for me. Instead, he nodded his head like he was confirming something to himself, then stalked off stiffly.

I let out a long breath when he was gone.

Why did it feel like I’d just passed through a crossroads in my life? And why was I still not sure what path I was walking?

39

Belle

The wedding was, if I said so myself, absolutely breathtaking. I guessed I