by Teri Wilson
“He’s a good man, Zander.” Finally, she’d managed to say something truthful.
“I believe you. He must be, if you chose him.” Zander pushed back the cuff of his dress shirt and checked his watch. “And he should be waiting downstairs right about now.”
She tossed her garment bag and pet carrier onto the bed. Prancer wiggled out of it and pawed at the silk duvet cover.
Zander didn’t bat an eye. His imaginary brother-of-the-year trophy was getting bigger by the minute.
“Great. I’ll go down and introduce you,” she said.
“Not so fast.” He wagged a finger at her. “I’ve got a room reserved for him, too. We’re doing this right. The groom can’t see the bride before the wedding.”
She jammed her hands on her hips. “Are you kidding me? That’s a silly superstition. You of all people shouldn’t believe in stuff like that.”
Had the rumor about the Bennington’s runaway bride curse taught him nothing?
Zander shrugged. “Like I said, you’re my baby sister. It’s tradition, and I don’t want to risk any bad luck. You and Anders want to have a long and happy marriage, don’t you?”
His right eyebrow shot up.
How about until just after Christmas? Would that be considered long?
Chloe forced a smile. “Of course we do.”
“Then you’re staying put. I’ll deal with Anders. I haven’t even met him yet. This will be good. It will give me a chance to get to know the man who’s managed to sweep you off of your feet.” He grinned, and something about the way he looked at her made the breath clog in her throat.
This was so much harder than she thought it would be—not the getting married part, but all the lies. She would have thought she’d be an expert at it by now, but lying to her family was beginning to get to her. They thought this was real. They thought she’d spend the rest of her life with Anders. They thought he’d be by her side on Christmas morning at the Wilde family brownstone, unwrapping gifts and sipping hot chocolate for years and years to come.
She took a deep breath and tried her best not to imagine what such a Christmas would be like, but images spun through her consciousness like snowflakes—Lolly setting out cookies for Santa Claus, Prancer tangled in the garland from the Christmas tree, Anders kissing her beneath the mistletoe.
God, what was wrong with her?
None of that would ever happen. They were pretending. It was just that the lie was so much more tempting to believe when her family was acting like she was living out some beautiful holiday love story.
She swallowed, with great difficulty. The only thing worse than lying to her own flesh and blood would be having to beg them to lie on her behalf. She couldn’t ask them to perjure themselves at Lolly’s guardianship hearing. She wouldn’t.
“Okay, I’m on my way down. I’ll see you in an hour or so, when you’re ready to walk down the aisle.” Zander paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Give me a call if you need anything, but don’t worry. Mom’s on her way, and she’s got a surprise for you.”
Chloe’s stomach tumbled. She still hadn’t seen her mother face-to-face since Emily had flown into the dance school in a panic over the Vows column, and frankly, she was a little terrified of having to explain her sudden nuptials. Zander had assured her he’d calmed Emily down, but still. The last thing Chloe needed was a surprise. “Wait—what are you talking about?”
But her brother didn’t respond. His grin widened and he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone.
“Well, then.” Chloe sighed and glanced at Prancer. The little dog was rolling around on the large bed, rubbing her little face on all the pillows, oblivious to Chloe’s existential crisis.
“You’re no help,” she muttered and reached for the ice-cold bottle of champagne.
She popped the cork and poured a glass. Liquid courage. It couldn’t hurt, could it?
A knock sounded on the door. “Chloe, it’s me.”
Her mother.
Chloe set down her champagne flute. Maybe a clear head was a better idea. “Coming.”
She took a deep breath and opened the door, not altogether sure what to expect. Emily with her arms crossed and a look of profound disappointment on her face? Maybe even tears? Please, no. Anything but that.
Blessedly, she was greeted by neither of those nightmare scenarios. Emily stood smiling at the threshold, dressed to the nines in a floaty, mother-of-the-bride type dress and her hair in a fancy twist like she’d always worn back when she competed in ballroom dance competitions. She held a garment bag over her arm—a much longer one than the garment bag currently flung across the bed.
“Mom, you look gorgeous.” Chloe didn’t want to look at the garment bag, but she couldn’t take her eyes off it. She was equal parts curious and terrified of whatever was inside. It was awfully big, and Emily was already dressed for the wedding, which meant it could contain only one thing.
She held the door open wide. “Come in.”
Emily walked past her, while Prancer yipped and spun in excited circles on the bed.
“You brought the puppy?” Her mother laughed.
“Yes, I thought it might be fun for Lolly if Prancer was in the wedding.”
“That’s adorable.” Emily inhaled a deep breath. “Look at you, already thinking about her like she’s your daughter.”
Chloe felt oddly like she might fall apart, so she wrapped her arms around her middle to keep herself together. Were she and Anders doing the right thing? Lolly was the sole reason for the marriage, and now they were being forced to drag her into it. Were they doing more harm than good? “She’s a precious little girl. Anders loves her very much.”
“I know he does. They’ve both been through a lot.” Emily held up her hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to try and talk you out of this or even ask if you’re sure. If marrying Anders is really and truly what you want, I’m here for you. We all are. This is your wedding day, a day for joy and love and happiness.”
Relief coursed through Chloe, but it was short-lived, because then Emily held up the garment bag, the aforementioned surprise, just as Chloe feared.
“I brought you something.” Tears shimmered in Emily’s eyes.
“Is that a wedding gown?” Chloe’s voice shook, and she gestured to the bed. “Because you really shouldn’t have bought me anything. Maybe we can return it. This is supposed to be a simple ceremony, and I already had a white dress hanging in my closet. It will work.”
She’d planned on wearing the same pleated chiffon number she’d worn to city hall when she and Anders had gotten the marriage license. It was perfectly fine, especially for a wedding that wasn’t technically a wedding. Plus, she’d rather liked the way Anders had looked at her when she’d worn it, although that shouldn’t have mattered a bit.
“Calm down.” Her mother rolled her eyes. “I didn’t spend any money.”
She unzipped the garment bag, and a puff of white tulle spilled out. The gown was beautiful. It was also very familiar. Chloe had seen pictures of it in family albums and on the wall of the brownstone all her life. When she was a little girl, she’d dreamed of wearing it on her wedding day. Her mother had even let her try it on once when she was ten years old. It had nearly swallowed her whole, but being wrapped up in all that vintage tulle and lace had made her feel like a princess.
She squeezed her eyes shut tight as Lolly’s words came rushing back to her.
Are you a Christmas princess?
She wasn’t a princess. She wasn’t even a Christmas bride. Not really.
She forced her eyes open and gave her mother a wobbly smile. “You want me to wear your wedding gown?”
“Of course I do, darling. You’ve always loved this dress.” She took a step closer and cupped Chloe’s cheek with her free hand. “If marrying Anders is what you want, then it’s what I want, t
oo. You’ll wear it, won’t you?”
She couldn’t say no. If she did, it would be a huge red flag.
And her mother was right. Chloe had always pictured herself walking down the aisle in this very dress, only now that she thought about it, she’d never once imagined the man waiting for her at the end of the aisle would be Steven. But if he’d wanted to marry her, she would have said yes. Wouldn’t she?
She twisted the ring on her finger—the one Anders had given her.
“I’d love to wear it.” If Anders had taken a liking to her little white dress, his eyes would probably fall out of his head when she walked into the ballroom in this one.
Not that it mattered, except it would be nice if he looked at her with that glowy expression of adoration that grooms always had when they first saw their wives-to-be all decked out in bridal white. For her family’s sake, obviously.
Liar.
Tears pricked her eyes. She’d been painfully aware of all the lies she’d been telling her family, but when had she started lying to herself?
“Do you think it will fit?” she said.
Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe it was like Cinderella’s glass slipper and would fit only if fate willed it so.
Emily removed the dress fully from the bag. Age had changed its color from frosty white to a lovely, pale shade of blush, like a Valentine from days gone by or a timeless promise. Hundreds of tiny rhinestones scattered over the gown’s full tulle skirt glittered in the soft light of the chandelier.
“Don’t you worry, love.” Emily pressed a hand to her heart. “Something tells me it will.”
Chapter Nine
The kindness of the Wildes was beginning to make Anders wonder if he was about to make a mistake. The biggest one of his life, perhaps.
Her brother had greeted him in the lobby with a wide grin, clapped him on the back and said, “I’m Zander. Welcome to the family.”
Anders had felt like the biggest, worst impostor in the world. But no, he’d soon realized things were just getting started. He could sink to new, much lower depths as the day progressed. Like when Allegra arrived on the scene with a special flower girl dress for Lolly, and Emily Wilde grew misty-eyed as she pinned a flower to the lapel of his tuxedo.
Grant had been right. He was a monster. He’d given little to no actual thought to what this charade would do to Chloe’s family. They expected her to be married to him for the rest of her life. They thought he was going to be a permanent part of their family.
They thought he loved her.
And he didn’t, obviously. The overwhelming tightness that he felt in his chest when he thought about her and the way he almost felt like everything was going to be okay when she was around couldn’t be love. People didn’t fall in love in a matter of days. It just wasn’t possible.
What he felt for Chloe was gratitude. Without her, he wouldn’t have a chance of securing Lolly’s custody. She was saving his family. She was saving him.
And how was he returning the favor? By hurting the people who cared about her.
He looked around the Bennington ballroom, where rows of white chairs connected by swags of evergreen and frosted holly berries held his friends and colleagues. Chloe’s sister, Tessa, her cousin Ryan and his wife, Evangeline, along with their newborn baby and Allegra, were all lined up in the front row. Emily Wilde was at the back of the room, helping Lolly with Prancer’s leash and the basket of white rose petals she would scatter down the aisle. Someone had even fashioned a tiny ring pillow for the dog to wear on its back.
It was all so heartfelt, like a scene out of a Hallmark movie.
Come January, these people will despise me.
As well they should. He was already beginning to despise himself.
He needed to see Chloe or at least talk to her. He needed her to remind him that she was fine with all this, that they were doing the right thing. He reached into the pocket of his tux for his cell phone, and as he dialed her number, he couldn’t help but wonder when he’d started to rely on her so much. Because he had. He needed her, and not just for Lolly’s sake.
Anders wasn’t accustomed to needing someone. Anyone. He’d been on his own since he was seventeen years old, with no one but Grant to rely on. And now Grant was gone, too. Sometimes he wondered what he’d done to deserve such a lonely life. What had prompted fate to be so cruel as to take their parents away when they were practically still kids, and then take Grant and Olivia in the same sudden manner a decade and a half later?
Then Anders would remember there was no such thing as fate. Nor was his life lonely. He’d been doing just fine, until lately. But soon he’d be fine again, as would Lolly. He just needed to get through today, and he definitely needed to stop thinking about things like fate and destiny. They were nothing but myths, just like love at first sight.
A vision of Chloe dressed in her silly reindeer costume and glaring at him as she accused him of being a puppy thief on the day they’d first met flashed in his mind.
His grip on his cell phone tightened. The call rolled to voice mail and Chloe’s honeyed voice came through on the recording, and he sighed.
“It’s time, man.” A hand landed on his shoulder.
Anders looked up. Zander. “Now?”
“Now.” Zander grinned and nodded toward the tower of white poinsettias, covered in twinkle lights and shaped like a massive Christmas tree, where a clergyman stood, waiting to make Anders a married man. “Are you ready to become my brother-in-law?”
Are you ready to make Chloe your wife?
Anders nodded. “I am.”
The next few moments passed in a blur as he took his place beside the minister, the last of the guests filled the seats and music filled the air. A white grand piano had been brought in, where Julian Shine, Chloe’s brother-in-law, played a gentle Christmas carol with just a touch of jazzy flair. Anders’s chest had that terrible, tightly wound feeling again as Lolly came toward him up the aisle, dropping rose petals as she went. The silly dog tugged at the end of her leash, causing the ring pillow to slide around to her belly, and all the guests laughed.
Somehow it made him feel like more of a monster than ever.
This is wrong.
Then Chloe appeared, walking toward him on the arm of her brother, looking like something out of a dream. Only not the sort of dreams that he’d been having lately—nightmares that caused him to wake in a cold sweat, panicked at the thought of losing Lolly, of disappointing Grant again. Permanently.
This was a different kind of dream. The kind where a woman with laughter as sparkling as the summer sun high in the sky over Central Park wanted to promise to love, honor and cherish him for the rest of his life. The kind of dream where he’d gotten into an argument with a beautiful woman over a silly little dog, and now that woman wore his ring.
“Hi,” she said, snapping him out of his trance when she came to a stop alongside him.
Zander gave him a look that somehow felt like both a warning and a blessing at the same time, before taking his seat. Chloe passed a bouquet of blue spruce and mistletoe to Lolly, who cradled it in her arms like a priceless treasure and sat down beside Emily Wilde.
Then it was just the two of them, hand in hand, as the minister talked about love and commitment and the meaning of forever. And by God, if this wasn’t what a real wedding felt like, Anders didn’t know what did.
The minister turned toward Chloe. “Do you, Chloe Wilde, take Anders Kent, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
She looked up at Anders, and her eyes went misty. Don’t cry. Please don’t. He didn’t know what those unshed tears meant—he only knew that he wouldn’t be able to go through with it if she had even a trace of doubt about what they were doing.
“Are you sure about this?” he whi
spered. “It’s okay if you’re not. I’ll find another way. I promise.”
He didn’t care if the minister heard him. He didn’t care that the promise he’d just made was probably an empty one. He was running out of time.
Chloe smiled through her tears and she gripped his hand as if it were a lifeline. As if she wasn’t just saving him, but they were somehow saving each other.
Then she turned to the minister and said, “I do.”
* * *
It was over so quickly.
One moment, Chloe was walking down the aisle toward Anders with her heart beating wildly in her chest as he looked at her like she was a real bride and he was a real groom and this was a real wedding—the wedding of their dreams.
And then in a flash, there was a shiny new wedding band on her finger, right beside the diamond Anders had given her the day before, and the minister was smiling at them and saying, “Anders and Chloe have vowed, in our presence, to be loyal and loving toward each other. They have formalized the existence of the bond between them with words spoken and with the giving and receiving of rings.”
Bond...they were bonded together. She and Anders Kent, who she’d met less than a week ago.
The clergyman’s smile grew wider. “Therefore, it is my pleasure to now pronounce them husband and wife.”
A forbidden thrill coursed through Chloe. Or was it just nerves? Right, that was what it was—nerves. She was going to have to kiss Anders now, right there in front of all her friends and family. For the very first time.
How on earth had she forgotten about the kiss? They should have practiced first, at least one time. First kisses were almost always awkward. She never knew which way to tilt her head, and they usually went on far too long, as if neither party wanted to be the first to pull away, even after they’d both begun to suffocate from lack of oxygen.
The odds of pulling this off and making it look natural were slim to none, but they didn’t exactly have a choice. Regular newlyweds wouldn’t exactly take a pass on their first kiss as a married couple.
