You're The One

by Layla Hagen

  Tearing my gaze away from the flowers, I headed toward the front door, finally gathering the courage to push it open.

  When I stepped inside, I sighed. It smelled absolutely mouthwatering.

  Hunter was in the kitchen, cooking steaks.

  “Hey!” I greeted.

  He winked. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

  “Want me to set the table?”

  “Already done.”

  I squinted. “Are you trying to bribe me again?”

  He chuckled. “Just wanted to cook you dinner, future Mrs. Caldwell.”

  “What?”

  “What what?”

  “There will be no future Mrs. Caldwell. I’m keeping my name.”

  Hunter set down the steak fork, frowning. “No, you’re not.”

  “I can’t believe we’re arguing about this the day before the wedding. A real couple would have discussed this ahead of time. How the hell are we going to pull this off?”

  “You’re gonna take my name, and that’s that.” His voice was dominant, but he didn’t think I’d just relent, did he? I liked making Hunter happy, but I did have some solid reasons for sticking to my guns.

  “No, I’m not.”

  “No one would believe I couldn’t convince my wife to take my name.”

  “I’m not going to the hassle of changing my name only to change it back in three years.”

  “Josie....”

  “Don’t Josie me. It’s not negotiable.”

  He tilted his head, a twinkle appearing in his eyes. “Everything is negotiable.”

  “You’re so full of yourself. There is no guarantee a real fiancée would want to take your name.”

  “I would convince her.”

  “How?”

  “Are you sure you want to know?”

  He was looking at me with the same fire as this afternoon. Clearly, the hours apart had not only not extinguished it, but stoked it.

  And when he looked at my lips, I felt that same fire coursing through me. His semi-naked body was imprinted on my brain, and I knew he was not faring better than me.

  “I’m keeping my name, Hunter. I’m building a reputation for myself at the firm and among clients, and I don’t want to confuse anyone by changing my name,” I said eventually, stepping away from him. He didn’t reply, which I considered a victory.

  During dinner, the tension between us escalated. He touched me constantly. Brushed his arm against mine when he served the steak, rested his ankles against mine under the table. I just couldn’t cool down.

  After dinner, I helped clean up, trying to stay out of his way as much as possible.

  “Josie, you want to talk about earlier?”

  Damn. I’d been too obvious. I was at the sink, rinsing our glasses.

  “What do you mean?” I schooled my voice to sound neutral.

  I felt him right behind me when he spoke next. “You’re avoiding looking at me. Is it because I saw you naked or because I sported a raging hard-on for you?”

  Holy shit. Energy vibrated through me. My hands trembled lightly. His breath on the shell of my ear was messing with my senses. He wasn’t touching any part of me, but I felt the heat of his body. There couldn’t have been more than an inch distance between us.

  I stopped the water, drawing in a deep breath. “I don’t... I don’t know. I don’t know what to think or how to explain anything.”

  “Let me put you at ease and explain myself. You’re fucking beautiful, and—”

  I whirled around, thinking it was the easiest way to interrupt him. Unfortunately, that put me face-to-face with him. I hadn’t miscalculated. He was close. And now he’d moved one hand on my waist. I felt every finger press against my rib cage as if they were touching my bare skin.

  “Stop with the flirty lines.”

  “Why? They’re true.”

  I swallowed. “Hunter... just, don’t.”

  He watched me as if he was about to hoist me up on the counter, but after a few seconds, he reluctantly let go.

  We slept in different bedrooms, but I didn’t think even that could cut through the sexual tension. The lease to my apartment was still running until the end of the month. Maybe I should spend the night there? I was just about to broach the subject when he abruptly said, “I’m going for a run.”

  “Oh. But the treadmill wasn’t delivered yet. And isn’t the gym in the condo building closed for quality check tonight?” We’d gotten a memo about this.

  “Yes, it is. I’ll just run around the neighborhood.”

  “You hate running on pavement.”

  “I need to release all this tension somehow.”

  “What tension? Ohhh....”

  My face felt on fire as I realized what he meant. Scratch that. There was so much heat in his gaze that my entire body was on fire.

  He smiled, not taking his eyes off me as he pulled away. “I have a hunch I’ll have to get used to it.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Josie

  The next morning, I was giddy. The wedding might be fake, but my excitement wasn’t.

  I was determined to block out any negative thoughts and fears. The list of things that could go wrong was endless, but I wasn’t going to dwell on that today.

  I was far too excited to even be able to go through my yoga routine. Clearing my mind was impossible.

  First things first, I called an Uber and headed to the hotel where my family was staying. It was right next to Hunter’s ballroom, where the reception and ceremony were taking place.

  Hunter had arranged for a driver to pick them up from the airport. The schedule was so tight that I only had time to say hi to everyone, and then my sister, Dylan’s girlfriend, and I were meeting Tess and Skye at the spa. Mom had texted that she was too tired to join us.

  I arrived at the hotel before they did, and when the gang came in, I took stock of everyone. Momma had cut her jet-black hair into a bob and had lost a bit of weight. Dad looked the same as ever. I swear the man didn’t age. His dirty-blond hair was cropped short, and he towered over everyone.

  My brothers, Dylan and Ian, hugged me first. They both took after Dad. God, I missed them.

  “Where’s Hunter? We want to talk to him,” Dylan said at once.

  “No, you don’t. I don’t need you to scare off the groom before he says yes.”

  Ian rubbed his palms. “We’ll find him without your help, don’t worry.”

  I rolled my eyes, exchanging a glance with my sister, Isabelle. She was younger than me, and since I’d left home so early, I’d left her alone to deal with our brothers for all these years.

  She hugged me tight, and I didn’t want to let go. After greeting everyone, I helped them check in.

  When we arrived in the rooms, a surprise awaited us.

  “The rooms are huge,” Mom exclaimed.

  Wow. Hunter had booked them suites. When I’d brought up my parents, he said he’d take care of it. I imagined he’d just book a few rooms, not suites.

  He was spoiling my family. I had the overwhelming urge to see him and hug the living daylights out of him.

  I settled on messaging him.

  Josie: Thank you for the rooms. They’re great. You’ve made everyone very happy.

  Hunter: Glad to hear it.

  Josie: Are you on schedule so far?

  Hunter: My schedule only begins in three hours.

  Josie: Lucky you.

  Mom patted my cheek as I helped her steam her dress. “My sweet girl. I can’t believe you’re finally getting married. You’ll be so happy with Hunter.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just smiled. With a bout of panic, I realized the whole day would be like this, and I’d have to look everyone in the eye and lie to them.

  I could do this.

  No negative thoughts. No negative thoughts. I repeated the mantra as the girls and I left for the spa.

  I wasn’t close to my brother Dylan’s girlfriend, Lina, but I’d heard a lot about her.

&nb
sp; “This is so fancy,” she said once we entered the spa.

  It really was. There was a small koi pond in front of the entrance, and the inside looked like something out of a fairy tale.

  Tess and Skye met us at the manicure stations, where I sat next to Isabelle. We were a little further away from the others.

  “How did it happen? When?” she asked. “You need to tell me everything.”

  “I already told the story at my bachelorette party.”

  “Which I did not attend.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Sometimes I wish I were more like you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You came to the big city when you were a teenager, took the leap. I was always too afraid to get out of my comfort zone.”

  “But you’re happy with your life, aren’t you?”

  My siblings had all left Montana for college and were now spread throughout the country. Unfortunately, none moved to New York. I was still hoping to convince them to join me one day.

  “Most of the time, yes. But don’t let me spoil your big day with my soul searching.”

  I wanted to ask her for more information, but she changed the subject, focusing on Hunter.

  The next few hours were simply crazy. Never in my life had I undergone so many beautification processes in so little time.

  Nothing was just something when you were a bride.

  Makeup included a thirty-minute face massage as a first step. Hairstyling was preceded by a three-step care process.

  Since the bridal package lasted two hours longer than a regular one, the rest of the party left before I did.

  I would change into my dress at the hotel, as that made the most sense. Hunter and I couldn’t very well both get dressed at the house. What if he saw me?

  It seemed silly to care about all these superstitions, and yet I couldn’t help it. I wanted to do things the right way, even though...

  No negative thoughts.

  No imagining what my actual wedding would be like. Truthfully, it couldn’t measure up to this one.

  My Dad was in the lobby when I entered the hotel, pacing around.

  “Dad, what are you doing here all alone?” I asked.

  “Wanted to look at this place. Stay with me for a few minutes? I’ve got a feeling this is the only time I’ll get you to myself today.”

  “Sure.”

  We sat in a corner of the lobby, drinking coffee.

  “My girl is a grown woman,” Dad murmured.

  “Still a Daddy’s girl, don’t you worry.”

  “You were always such a happy kid. We did well, didn’t we? Your mom and I?”

  My heart squeezed. “I had the best childhood.”

  Why would he have doubts? The wedding was bringing out emotions in all of us.

  “You left when you were so young, and we didn’t have much to give you.”

  “Daddy, I’m happy. I’ve always been happy.”

  He watched me carefully, sipping his coffee.

  “So, your future husband spoke with me today.”

  “Hunter’s here already?” I looked around instinctively. Dad grinned. “What?”

  “You’re head over heels in love with this man.”

  “I’m not—”

  Holy shit. I’d almost told him I wasn’t in love. My breath caught. I gripped my cup tighter. Luckily, Dad didn’t seem to notice.

  “What did he talk to you about?”

  “So, he suggested something. I wanted to run it by you.”

  “Of course.”

  “He suggested we all come down here at Christmas for two weeks. Business is closed during that time anyway. He said he’d cover all costs.”

  Something funny happened to my throat. It felt raspy all of a sudden.

  “Sure. That sounds fantastic. Two whole weeks? Wow. We haven’t had that in years.”

  “You’ve got yourself a great man, Josie.”

  I knew. Oh, how I knew.

  The urge I had earlier to hug him returned in full force, but I honestly had no idea where he was.

  Josie: Can I talk to you? I’m going to room 2118.

  I had to start getting dressed. Securing the veil in my hair wouldn’t be easy. The hairstylist had berated me for not bringing the veil with me—he could’ve sorted it out, but I’d honestly completely forgotten about it.

  My dress was in Mom’s room. The group was already there, drinking champagne. Amelia too, as well as her sister—Hunter’s mother. I’d only met her twice, at high-school graduation and then college graduation.

  “Darling, you look absolutely beautiful,” she said.

  I twirled once for effect, and as I turned to face her, realized that she was watching my belly intently. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Throwing me a conspiratorial wink, Tess handed me a glass of champagne.

  We all toasted to the wedding, and when I took my first sip, I heard both my Mom and Hunter’s sigh. Their disappointment crushed me, but at least this cleared any doubts that this was a shotgun wedding.

  I’d make sure to take a sip in front of all the guests to avoid being questioned.

  “Okay, so, before you change into your dress... we’ve got a present for you,” Tess exclaimed, handing me the sexiest set of lingerie I’d ever owned. Pearly white silk, with a pattern of lace at the hem. Two sets of panties, a bra, and a short robe.

  “Wow.”

  “A little something for your wedding night,” Tess said.

  Which I’d be spending alone. Right... they didn’t know that.

  “And you can wear it under your wedding dress. We specifically picked something that would fit,” Skye added.

  “And that will completely blow Hunter’s mind. He’ll maul you before he manages to undress you,” Tess said.

  “I’ll pretend I haven’t heard that,” Amelia said.

  Tess grinned. “Whoops. Forgot to rephrase that in a mom-proof way.”

  Skye’s cheeks turned a little red. I pulled her into a half hug.

  “Mom, we need some wedding traditions. How come we don’t have them? We have traditions for everything,” Isabelle said.

  That was true. We had traditions by the bucketload, especially for big holidays.

  Mom smiled. “That’s because Josie’s the first to get married. We can start working on those now.”

  “Does Ian and Dylan wanting to give Hunter the talk count as tradition?” I asked.

  Amelia laughed. “Let the boys feel like they’re doing their job. Cole and Ryker didn’t make things easy for poor Mick when he first asked me out.”

  I knew that only too well. They both made Mick jump through hoops.

  I changed in the ensuite bathroom. I could have just packed the lingerie, and Tess and Skye would be none the wiser. But I wanted to be sexy. If the wedding were real, this was exactly what I’d be wearing, and since I was having my fantasy wedding anyway, why not wear the lingerie too?

  While I was fastening my bra, someone knocked at the door.

  “Hunter is here to talk to you,” Tess said.

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “Hunter, you’re not allowed to see her. Talk through the door.”

  “Tess, don’t be ridiculous,” he boomed.

  “I mean it. I’ll stay here and keep guard if necessary.”

  “No need,” I replied, chuckling.

  “Okay. I’ll leave you two.”

  I waited until I couldn’t hear Tess’s footsteps anymore before asking, “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. You said you wanted to talk to me.”

  “Right.”

  “You’re really going to talk to me through the closed door?”

  “Tess is right. It’s bad luck to see the bride on the wedding day.”

  “You do know this isn’t real, right?”

  “All the more. Want something to go wrong and you to be shipped across the ocean?”

  “Josie....”

  “So
, I’ve talked to Dad.”

  “Good. I talked to him earlier too.”

  He sounded pleased with himself—which was when I realized that he’d gone to Dad on purpose.

  “You can’t pay to fly in my entire family for Christmas. It’s very generous, but I can’t say yes.”

  “Yes, you can. Things are different now.”

  “Why?” I almost pressed my ear against the door, not wanting to miss a word.

  “Because you’ll be my wife. And I want you to be happy. And I know that you’re always feeling guilty about not spending more time with your gang.”

  My eyes burned at the corners, turning misty. This man! It was a good thing we were talking through a door and he couldn’t see my face.

  I cleared my throat, fiddling with the hem of my robe. I was beginning to realize that the problem wasn’t that a real wedding wouldn’t measure up to this one.

  It was that I didn’t think another man could measure up to Hunter. I doubted that anyone I’d ever marry would get me better than Hunter would, that he’d understand me on such a deep level—that he’d know exactly when to push because I was standing in my own way.

  “I won’t accept a no. So there you have it.” That bossy tone was going to be my undoing.

  “Thank you. It’s a lovely surprise.”

  “My pleasure, Josie. I’ll go now. Tess is giving me the evil eye from across the room.”

  I laughed, waiting until I was sure Hunter had left before coming out. I discovered that my brothers had joined our group in the meantime.

  “The number of eligible bachelors at this wedding is astounding,” Tess said.

  “My girlfriends are already rubbing their hands in excitement,” Skye added. “Awww, look at Ian. He’s practically shivering with fear.”

  Dylan held his hands up, laughing. “Lucky I’m taken.”

  Ian turned to me. “As my sister and the bride, I beg you... save me.”

  “But this is so much fun.”

  Isabelle did a little shimmy, grinning. “These two always say you’re their girl. So happy to finally see you throw them under the bus.”