Sophie looked momentarily stunned, but sat up straight and faced the front, folding her hands primly in her lap. “Okay. I’m sorry.”
Olivia chuckled to herself. Madison was one of the few people who could get away with saying something like that without making Sophie mad.
“You know, it might be a good thing that he hasn’t gotten the ring yet,” said Sophie. “That means you can pick out exactly what you want.”
She held up her left hand. The two-carat diamond glistened in the overhead lights. “Mason proposed to me with the ring of my dreams. He knows me. He gets me. I am so lucky.”
Sophie paused for a long moment and Olivia thought that they had turned a corner, until her sister said, “But don’t worry, you and Alejandro will have the rest of your lives to get to know each other. I mean, on one level, I think you two know each other better than some couples who have been together for decades. That’s what love at first sight is—or in your case, second or third sight.” She smirked at her own joke, then went on, undeterred. “I think we need to announce your engagement tonight.”
Olivia held up her hands. “No. Stop. Look, we have talked about nothing else but Alejandro and me since we’ve been here. That’s precisely why I’m asking you to not say anything about our engagement tonight. No, scratch that. I’m asking you to not even think about my engagement tonight. I want you to focus on your own wedding. Soph, this is your night. I promise we can make the big announcement after you all return from your honeymoons. And not a minute sooner, okay?”
God help me.
Sophie shrugged. She looked like an angel in her lace veil. Her dark hair was pulled back away from her face, accentuating her exquisite cheekbones. The makeup artist had done a beautiful job creating a smoky eye that brought out the almond shape of Sophie’s without looking too heavy. It was sweet and sultry... It was just right.
“When we get home from Tahiti,” Sophie said, “Mason and I are going to throw the biggest, splashiest, most spectacular engagement party for you and Alejandro. We’re going to invite everybody in Austin and Miami. Because it’s a pretty spectacular happening when my sister, who had sworn for as far back as I can remember that she didn’t believe in love, finally meets the man who makes a believer out of her. How does that sound?”
Sophie looked Olivia square in the eyes and held her gaze. Olivia did her best not to squirm.
Liar, liar. Pants on fire.
“That sounds—” Olivia’s voice broke. She cleared her throat. “That sounds fabulous. But you might want to discuss the rather large guest list with Mason before you commit.”
Still holding her sister’s gaze, a slow Mona Lisa–like smile bloomed on Sophie’s face.
“Mason will be happy to host the engagement party of the century for you and Alejandro. After all you’ve done for us.”
Olivia couldn’t breathe.
Oh, no. Oh, boy. Here we go.
She hoped she didn’t look as pale as she felt.
“But you know,” Sophie said, “it really was just a temporary case of cold feet. I would’ve married Mason no matter what. Because I love him and I can’t imagine my life without him.”
* * *
To Olivia’s great relief, the double wedding went off without a hiccup. Sophie and Mason, Kieran and Dana were joined together as husband and wife in the grand ballroom of the Driskill Hotel, in front of nearly five hundred of their closest friends and family members.
The ballroom was festooned in white flowers—peonies, roses, lilies of the valley, freesias and hydrangeas arranged in tall gold-toned vases. The place looked like a florist’s shop had exploded and it was glorious. The guests sat in gilded chairs situated in two sections on either side of an aisle. But tonight there weren’t brides’ and grooms’ sides. The bridal couples had made it clear that everyone was gathered for the sake of love.
The place proved a perfect backdrop for her sister and sister-in-law.
Sophie looked stunning in her satin-and-lace ball gown, with its long train and veil trailing behind her. She looked like royalty.
Dana looked artistic and beautiful in the vintage silk shantung wedding gown that belonged to the grandmother of her maid of honor, Monica. She had graciously lent it to Dana for the special day and it served as both her something old and something borrowed. If Dana had designed a wedding gown for herself, it couldn’t have been any more perfect than that one.
Honestly, Dana and Sophie both looked so radiant they could have worn bathrobes and slippers and still looked gorgeous. They were both so full of love as they promised to love, honor and respect their grooms for the rest of their lives.
As Olivia listened to the minister’s touching opening words, her gaze picked Alejandro out of the guests. When he caught her looking at him, Olivia couldn’t look away. Emotions she’d never experienced before zinged through her—happiness for the two couples pledging their love before God and everyone, wistfulness at the beauty of that love, and maybe even a touch of envy. She may not believe in love, but never in her entire life had she wished she did more than that moment.
Little Rosabelle, Dana and Kieran’s adopted daughter, was the one who drew her out of her reverie. Bedecked in her pink princess dress, complete with floral crown, four-year-old Rosie was the flower girl. She did a fabulous job strewing rose petals down the aisle. Her new nanny, Elaine, stood at the side of the dais, smiling encouragingly at the little girl, poised at the ready to gently correct Rosie’s course should she veer off track. But the child played her part perfectly, smiling bashfully at the guests seated on her either side. Given that she was so young and it was getting close to her bedtime, Rosie couldn’t have done a better job.
At the beginning of the ceremony she stood with the bridal party. It was no surprise when she grew a little restless. Standing next to Olivia, she began to entertain herself by playing with the skirt of Olivia’s dress. She grabbed a handful of skirt and pulled it around herself like a cape. It enlisted titters and awwws from the audience. The sound made Rosie hide her face and then peek out from the fabric. When she saw everyone looking at her, she stepped around behind Olivia and hid. Olivia placed a reassuring hand on the little girl’s blond curls. Actually, she didn’t blame her one bit for wanting to hide. She was getting a little weary of these wedding games herself. There were many times this week when she had wanted to hide her face from the world. But her sister was happy and within a matter of minutes she would be married. It was all worth it.
Alejandro was smiling at her again. He looked so handsome in his dark suit and white shirt. It was a different look from the cool Miami casual that he had projected most of the week. The more dressed-up look suited him. He was such a handsome man. All of his brothers were married. Why wasn’t he?
Olivia recalled the conversation she and her sisters had last week at the bachelorette party before everything blew up. If she were inclined to be a romantic she might have believed that the reason Alejandro had never married was because he had been waiting for her.
But that was just crazy.
“By the power vested in me,” said the officiant, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Err—husbands and wives?” The man shrugged and looked out at the guests. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Mason Montgomery and Mr. and Mrs. Kieran Fortune Robinson.”
The guests erupted into boisterous applause as the recessional music sounded, signaling the end of the ceremony. Olivia handed Sophie her bouquet, scooped up Rosie, balancing her on her hip as she waited her turn to walk back down the aisle.
The bridal party exited the room where the ceremony had taken place and waited for the wedding planners to usher everyone out and into the room where they could enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Then the bridal party and immediate family returned to the ceremony room for pictures.
They were us
ing the same photographer as they’d used for Rachel’s and Zoe’s weddings, because she had done a beautiful job. But Olivia didn’t remember the photos taking this long.
Joaquin and Matteo Mendoza were in the photographs because they were married to her sisters and therefore full-fledged immediate family. As with Alejandro, they had not been in the bridal party, so at first impulse it seemed strange that they would be in the pictures and Alejandro wouldn’t. But it made sense.
I think maybe Alejandro would be a perfect match for Olivia.
She tried to blink away the memory of her sister’s words. It was just crazy girl talk.
Isn’t it a coincidence that he’s the last single Mendoza and you’re the last single Fortune Robinson?
Obviously it was time for a reality check. There were good reasons that the two of them were still single. Good sense topped the list.
It had been a long week of wedding festivities and pretending. She was tired and her defenses were down. That always happened when she let herself get worn out. That was the only reason she was thinking these irrational thoughts as she watched her sisters interact with their husbands.
As the photographer arranged them into a grouping for a shot of the entire family Sophie stepped out of place and surveyed the group.
“Where is Alejandro?” she asked. “It’s my party and I’ll do what I want to,” she said with a sassy smile. “And I want Alejandro in the family picture. It’s important.”
“It’s not just your party,” Olivia reminded her sister.
“Dana?” Sophie asked. “Do you mind if Alejandro is in the family picture?”
Dana shook her head. “Of course not. It’s fine.”
“Mason? Kieran?” Sophie said. “Any objections?”
As they indicated their approval, Sophie shot her sister a triumphant look.
Sophie wasn’t letting this go. Olivia realized if she put up too much of a fight, things could get ugly. Granted, Sophie and Mason were married. Technically, her job was done. However, if she took this opportunity to announce that there was no engagement or that they had called off the engagement, pretending it was too sudden or logistically difficult, it would cast a dark cloud over the festivities.
This was one of those times when it was best to lose the battle so she could win the war. In that spirit, the best thing she could do was to just go along with it.
“In that case, if nobody objects I will go find Alejandro,” Olivia said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
It wasn’t hard to locate him. He was standing with his father and Josephine, sipping a cocktail that looked like scotch and soda. He was holding a flute of champagne in the other hand. As she approached she was about to tease him about being a double-fisted drinker, but he smiled the warmest smile at her and held out the champagne.
“This is for you,” he said. “You look like you could use it.”
“I look that bad, huh?”
His smile faded. “No, not at all. It was just a figure of speech. You look beautiful.”
Olivia felt her face warm at the sincere compliment. She never blushed. It was unfortunate that her body was choosing this moment to start. Then again, her body seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to Alejandro.
Just accept the compliment, she told herself. It was only a compliment. “Thank you. Hello, Orlando. Josephine, you look lovely. I’m so glad you both could be here for the wedding. It means a lot to our family.”
They exchanged pleasantries about the ceremony and about how adorable Rosabelle was in her flower girl debut.
“You’re so good with children,” Josephine said. “Do you have any of your own?”
A hiccup of a laugh bubbled up in Olivia’s throat. “Oh, heavens no. I’m not married. Of course, you know that since—I mean, I’ve never been married.”
Her gaze fluttered to Alejandro, and she felt her face heat up again.
“I’m sorry to barge in but, Alejandro, your presence is requested in the photo room.”
Photo room? Ugh. Get ahold of yourself.
“I mean, the bridal party would like for you to be in some of the pictures, if you don’t mind.”
She smiled and tried to look normal, but she felt like one of those grimacing emoticons.
“I don’t mind at all,” Alejandro said, just as calm and cool as if she had asked him to bring the car around so they could escape this circus.
Now, there was an idea. Maybe they should get in his rental car and just keep driving until they were far away from here. Maybe they could go to Miami. She could stay until both couples were back from their honeymoons, when she could announce that she and Alejandro were no longer engaged. Then it wouldn’t be a bombshell. In fact, Sophie might be so wrapped up in her own marital bliss that she wouldn’t want the gray clouds of a broken engagement to shadow her own happiness.
“Where should we go?” Alejandro asked, waiting on her to lead him.
“Miami,” Olivia mused aloud. “Let’s go to Miami. Right now.”
Alejandro shook his head and laughed. “That’s one of the things I like the best about her,” he said to his father and Josephine. “She has the best sense of humor. She always keeps me laughing and guessing.”
The three of them laughed again and Olivia joined in so that they would believe that she really was just making a joke that hinted at her being a weary maid of honor.
If they only knew.
Actually, no. She didn’t want them to know the truth. She didn’t want anyone else to know about the ticking time bomb that she had created. She simply wanted to pacify her sister until the married couples got into their respective limousines and drove off into the night toward the first days of the rest of their lives.
She took his arm to lead him toward the photo room. After they had said their goodbyes to Josephine and Orlando and were out of earshot, Alejandro asked, “Why do they want me in the photos?”
Olivia slanted him a look that suggested he should know why. “Because, darling, you are my fiancé. Remember?”
“Right.” He ran a palm over his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair, a tic that Olivia was beginning to associate with him being stressed. “Did Sophie tell everyone?”
Olivia shook her head. “No, but she is definitely testing me. I can’t tell if she’s on to us or if she’s just excited because she thinks I’ve finally come over to the dark side.”
“The dark side? Is that what you think of marriage?”
Maybe she was being overly sensitive, but there seemed to be a bit of rebuke in his tone.
“Don’t you?” she answered. “I mean, you’re not married and how old are you?”
“I’m thirty-four. And no, I don’t necessarily think of marriage as the dark side.”
“Then why aren’t you married?” She instantly regretted asking the question that had been lurking in the back of her mind since she realized he was the last single Mendoza. “Or do weddings make you sentimental?”
He shot her a look. “I was actually engaged once.”
The revelation hit Olivia like a sucker punch. “Really? What happened? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking. I really thought you and I were similar in our thoughts about marriage.”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “That’s what happens when you assume.”
She made a show of flinching. She remembered the old saying—when you assume you make an ass out of u and me. She arched a brow as she asked, “Are you calling me an ass, Alejandro?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” The way he looked at her had her blushing, and inwardly going to pieces. It should be illegal for a man to look at a woman like he looked at her, making her feel things she shouldn’t be feeling in this elaborate charade that they had orchestrated. Especially when he was set to leave in a couple of days.
>
“Again, when you assume, you run the risk of jumping to wrong conclusions,” he said as he reached for the door to the ballroom where the ceremony had taken place. “Here we are, my most cherished fiancée.” His dark eyes danced with mischief. “Let’s give the bride the show she’s expecting.”
They were already inside the ballroom when Olivia realized how neatly Alejandro had evaded her question. He’d been engaged. Who was the woman he had loved enough to want to spend the rest of his life with—or at least want that for a brief period of time? What had happened to break up the engagement?
Now wasn’t the time, but she fully intended to find out.
* * *
Alejandro’s participation in the photos hadn’t taken long. Sophie had only wanted him in one shot: the family photo. He had stood on the end and quietly joked with Olivia that they could cut him out of the picture if they wanted to. He probably should’ve found a way to gracefully bow out of the photo session. She could’ve told them she couldn’t find him. But it was done now. He was officially part of the family photo.
He got the distinct feeling that Sophie might’ve been calling their bluff by including him in the family shot. If she was, then she knew she was taking a chance. Maybe she’d had the photographer snap a few shots without him after he’d left.
This wasn’t the first time he’d wondered if he’d pushed the envelope too far when he had proposed to Olivia in front of Sophie and her sisters. But seeing Olivia in distress had made him desperate to fix the situation. He’d just wanted to see her smile again. Of course, he wanted Sophie to be okay, too, but for a crazed moment, when he’d seen Olivia in such turmoil, he’d known he had to make things right. His knee-jerk reaction had been a proposal.
There was no getting around it now. The fake-proposal die was cast.
Before he returned to Miami, he would help Olivia clean up any family repercussions the “breakup” might cause. It was important they left family relations as good as possible. Olivia had already said she would be the heavy and take responsibility for the breakup. She’d claim they’d gotten swept away by the romance of the double wedding, but with distance and a fresh perspective, she realized she wasn’t ready for a lifetime commitment.
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