Not Her Real Fiance

by Elana Johnson

  She manages every event at The Heartwood Inn, and as I interviewed a few of the people she’s worked with this week, it became even clearer to me that her attention to detail and demand for perfection are absolutely necessary. Without them, she isn’t her, and I’ve started to fall in love with that woman, her demands and all.

  He sighed and looked up. Maybe Bella had helped him with the article, just to make sure it didn’t come off as too accusatory or too defensive. Oh, and to make sure all the right words got put in the right places.

  “This is about Celeste,” Bella had told him at least a dozen times. “She’s going to read this, and what she thinks and feels is more important than clearing your name.”

  He’d agreed with his sister, and he’d made any changes she’d suggested.

  I just want the right story out there, the article continued. And it wasn’t fully reported. So yes, Celeste and I had a fake engagement, but we’d already started talking about how to break up at an appropriate time so as to not hurt anyone so that we could then start a real relationship.

  I’m sure she had first impressions of me as well, as she once submitted a proposal to my construction firm that went unanswered. As I dug to find out where her proposal had gone, my secretary found it had been filed with another project and we’d never seen it.

  Well, we have now, and had I seen this proposal during the terms of the grant, I would’ve approved it. So it is with great pride and hope that I announce today that Keith Construction will be partnering with The Heartwood Inn to build an amazing outdoor wedding hall that will improve the grounds and bring even more people to Carter’s Cove.

  I don’t know what will happen with Celeste and me. I know at one time she mentioned getting married on the property her family has owned for generations. It’s probably a fool’s hope to think she could forgive me and consider me for the groom in that grand ceremony.

  But I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a fool.

  No matter what, I apologize to any I’ve hurt through this ruse and want the people of Carter’s Cove to know that everyone makes mistakes. And when I do, I own up to them. I apologize to my friends and family, and I especially apologize to Celeste Heartwood and her family.

  Brad flipped the paper over so he wouldn’t read it again. He’d already gone through it four or five times, and Celeste still hadn’t called. He’d resisted the urge to go to her, to call her or text her. He’d put the article out there. She’d see it eventually, and he could wait a little longer.

  He waited all day Sunday and didn’t hear from her. He had to walk through the VIP pool at the inn and sign final paperwork on Monday, and his pulse skipped over itself a dozen times during the three-hour ordeal.

  With everything cleaned up and the pool being filled by someone on the grounds crew at Heartwood, Brad stood in the hall and looked toward Celeste’s office.

  “Haven’t talked to her?” James asked. “I’m sorry what we talked about made it into the paper.”

  “It’s a local island paper,” Brad said. “Fifteen thousand people, and they’d be lucky if ten percent of them read The Island Weekly.” His throat felt so dry. “And Donna has all the details for the condo we got out in Mount Vernon Hills.”

  He’d been thinking of staying out there too. Just to clear his head. Get some distance from Carter’s Cove, from Celeste. Maybe if he wasn’t on the island anymore, he couldn’t think about her day and night.

  “I know,” James said. “She texted me. That’s my next stop.”

  “Let me know when you’re going to go,” he said. “I think I’m going to come too.”

  “You are?” James looked at him with surprise. “Didn’t you just get a dog?”

  “The condo is pet-friendly,” Brad said.

  “Oh, so you’ve been planning to come.” James wasn’t asking, and Brad wasn’t sure what he’d planned for. He hadn’t planned for his incredibly emotional and vulnerable article to go unanswered.

  Literally, no one had said anything to him about the words he’d written. No one besides Bella and his mother, that was.

  “I’m still undecided,” he said.

  “All right. Well, I have tomorrow off, and I’ll be heading out there on Wednesday.”

  “All right.” Brad watched James walk away, and he couldn’t help looking back toward Celeste’s office. In the end, he couldn’t just walk away. If she hadn’t read the article yet, he could show it to her. Surely she’d at least accept his apology, and they could part on good terms.

  His soul wailed at the prospect of that, because Bella had assured him Celeste would forgive him and they could start their real relationship once the article published.

  With his palms sweating, he walked down the hall toward her office. Every breath became hard to take, and he almost stopped a couple of times.

  The door opened, and he froze completely. “I’ll just go back and grab it, Paige,” Celeste said. “It’s no problem. Has Gwen brought lunch?” He caught a glimpse of her before she headed back into her office. She continued to talk, but Brad’s ears had filled with a white noise.

  She was leaving, and he felt his only chance for closure slipping away. He opened the door and went inside the office, calling, “Celeste?” so she wouldn’t be startled by him.

  He didn’t hear her heels clicking against the industrial carpet, but she suddenly appeared in the doorway. He hadn’t heard her, because she wasn’t wearing heels. Or shoes at all.

  Instead, she wore a black bikini with a gauzy, white cover up that he could see right through. He forgot how to speak, and all he could do was drink in the tanned, toned sight of her, her messy, blonde curls spilling over her shoulders, and those beautiful, beautiful eyes.

  “I can’t let go of you,” he said, unsure of where the words had come from. “I’m miserable without you, and I—did you see The Island Weekly yesterday?”

  Celeste opened her mouth and said something he couldn’t hear. She cleared her throat and said in a louder, clearer voice, “Yes, I saw it.”

  Brad just started nodding, pain spiraling through his whole body. “Okay.” He exhaled and then scoffed. “Wow, that hurts more than I thought it would.” He backed up, his fingers fumbling for the doorknob. “Sorry to bother you.” He needed to get out of there, fast, before this woman cut his heart from his chest and squeezed it to shreds.

  “I expected you to call,” she said as he entered the hallway. “Maybe you’ve been off the island?”

  “Why would I call?” he asked, not turning back. “I wrote the article. The ball is in your court.”

  “I texted you. I asked you to meet me at Redfin.” She shook her head, her chin wobbling. Brad wanted to run to her. He’d have been anywhere she said—if he’d gotten those texts. “You didn’t come, and I ate by myself.”

  “No.” He moved back into the office. “I didn’t get a text from you.” He crossed the room to her, that bikini so sexy he could barely think. “Look. Take my phone.” He handed it to her, and she did examine it, glancing up at him every few seconds.

  “It appears that none of my texts went through.” She stretched his phone toward him, and along with it, gave him hers. “Read mine.”

  Brad held her gaze before looking down at her phone. Just saw the article.

  Meet me for dinner at Redfin at six? I’ll have a private table in the corner.

  Maybe you’re not on the island. Traveling? I know you’re transitioning between construction jobs.

  That was it. She’d thrown the ball back, and he hadn’t received the pass.

  “I would’ve been there,” he said. “At six last night, I had literally locked myself inside my house so I wouldn’t drive around the island to find you.” He gave her phone back to her, letting his fingers linger on her. “Every word was true.”

  “You’re funding the outdoor wedding hall?”

  “Of course. It’s a brilliant proposal.” He grinned at her, hating this fragile ground they were on. “But Celeste, the artic
le wasn’t about the wedding hall.”

  “I know.” She nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear. She wasn’t wearing makeup, and the scent of sunscreen hovered around her.

  “I’m falling for you,” he said. “And if you’ll let me take you to dinner tonight, we can maybe see if we can make our fake relationship into a real one.” He couldn’t help smiling again, because he felt so close to getting her back. “I know I can fall all the way in love with you if you’ll let me.”

  There. He’d finally got all the words out that he needed to.

  A tear slid down Celeste’s cheek, and she swiped it away quickly. She smiled through the emotion, and she was so beautiful. “I’m falling for you too. Want to hang out with me, Paige, and Gwen on the beach today?”

  Relief spread through Brad, and he chuckled. “Can I bring my dog?”

  “You got a dog?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been really lonely, Celeste. When I lost you….” He shook his head and looked at the ground.

  “Our beach is dog-friendly,” she said. “Now get over here and kiss me.”

  Brad didn’t need to be invited twice. He swooped Celeste into his arms, the feel of her absolutely perfect.

  “I missed you so much,” she whispered just before he captured her mouth with his.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Brad pulled up the inn, the early hour of the morning cool enough to make him smile. Of course, soon enough, it would be boiling hot, with the humidity supposed to be off the charts today.

  He got out of his truck and started unloading the lumber he’d picked up the previous evening. He hadn’t gone to Mount Vernon Hills, and he didn’t have a a crew with him at The Heartwood Inn.

  No, he wanted to build every inch of the outdoor wedding hall for Celeste—and then ask her to marry him in it.

  Their new relationship was only a couple of weeks old, but it was going well. He’d only had to take a couple of steps back after the apology, and they’d been moving forward at full steam since.

  In fact, he’d be seeing her for lunch that day, as it was Tuesday, one of her lightest days for events at the inn. That was why both the bakery and their on-site restaurant had coupons for kids to eat free before six p.m.

  He whistled while he worked, using his muscles for something besides running on the beach feeling really nice.

  The excavator would be coming later that week to dig the hole for the building, and he had the cement trucks coming to pour the foundation early next week. Then Brad would be back with a hammer and nails and he’d get this hall built.

  It wasn’t that complicated of a project—it was just big. And Celeste deserved the best, so Brad would be making sure every piece of shiplap was lined up exactly right, so she could provide the ultimate wedding experience for her brides.

  He finished unloading and he took a picture of the build site. He was planning to document it every step of the way and present a book to Celeste once it was finished. She’d commented on the old lighthouse they’d toured together last week that she liked the old photos on the wall showing the progression of the place.

  Brad checked to make sure his football was still in the backseat of his truck, and then he drove through his nephew’s favorite hamburger joint before heading to his sister’s house. Celeste sat out front in her car, and Brad couldn’t help smiling just from seeing her.

  He parked in the driveway, and met her on the front sidewalk. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said. “How long have you been waiting?”

  “Only a few minutes.”

  “You’ve met Bella. You didn’t need to wait out here.” He chuckled at the nervous look on her face. “She doesn’t bite. Very hard.”

  That got Celeste to laugh, but it was short-lived, and she glanced toward the front door again.

  “Here,” he said. “You take the food. Tommy and Lizzie will love you then.”

  “I don’t know why I’m so nervous to meet them.”

  “Yeah, why are you?” he asked, taking advantage of the sober moment. “You like kids, right?”

  “I don’t have a lot of experience with kids,” she said. “None of my sisters have children, and yeah.”

  “Did you babysit when you were younger?”

  “Yeah, that’s why me an Gwen are so close. Olympia always had a date, and my mother favored her, so….”

  Brad was still learning about all the complex relationship of Celeste and her sisters, particularly Olympia, so he just put his arm around her, handed her the bag, and said, “Let’s go meet the troops.”

  He stepped in front of her once they got to the door, and he rang the doorbell three or four times before just walking right in.

  Bella was yelling, and Tommy came skidding into the living room from the kitchen at the back of the house. “Uncle Brad!”

  Brad laughed and lifted his nephew right off the ground. “Remember I said I was bringing my girlfriend today?” He looked at Celeste, because he’d never actually said the word girlfriend out loud to her.

  She beamed at him, her eyes all melty-soft, and Brad knew he’d used the right term. “She’s got your food, bud.” He put Tommy down, who immediately moved over to Celeste.

  “I’m Thomas,” he said.

  “Nice to meet you,” Celeste said, and she sounded pretty stuffy in that moment. She lifted her eyes to Brad’s. “I’m doing it, aren’t I?”

  “A little,” Brad said with a smile. “She’s Celeste,” he added. “And where’s Lizzie.”

  “That would be time-out,” Bella said, arriving in the living room with a sigh. “She needs another couple of minutes. Hey.” She leaned into Brad, who gave her a sideways hug.

  “You remember Celeste.”

  “Of course.” She smiled at Celeste and added, “Thanks for taking them today. I’m so ready for Greg to come home.”

  “How much longer?” Celeste asked.

  “Ninety-four days.” Bella flashed a smile, picked up her purse, and said, “Don’t eat all the ice cream, Bradley. I’ll need some tonight.”

  “Hey, I never eat all the ice cream.”

  “Every time,” Bella said.

  “I’ll make sure you have some left,” Celeste said.

  “Hey,” Brad said again, looking between her and his sister. They both just looked at him, saying so much without words. “Fine,” he said. “I won’t eat all the ice cream.”

  Bella nodded. “I’m off.” She walked out the front door, at which point Lizzie peeked around the corner.

  “Can I come out of time-out, Uncle Brad?”

  “Yep,” he said. “Tommy has the food. Let’s eat it outside or in the kitchen. Take your pick.”

  “Kitchen,” Tommy said. “It’s too hot outside.”

  “Even for swimming?” Brad asked.

  “Can we go to the water park?” Lizzie asked.

  “The pool’s not good enough?”

  “It’s boring,” Tommy said.

  “Wow.” Brad chuckled as he followed the kids into the kitchen.

  “Where does she go?” Celeste asked as Brad started to help Tommy unpack the burgers and fries.

  “Who? Bella?” Brad glanced at her, handing her a chicken sandwich. “I have no idea.”

  “You don’t ask?”

  “Nope. Wherever she needs to in order to get her sanity back. Then she comes back.”

  “Are we sleeping over tonight?” Lizzie asked.

  “Yep,” Brad said. “Your mom said you’d have your bags packed. I think we know how that goes when I try to help.”

  By the look on Lizzie’s face, she had not packed her bag before her mom left.

  “That’s why she was in time-out,” Tommy said just before taking a big bite of his cheeseburger.

  “I forgot pajamas last time,” Brad said.

  “For a sleepover?” Celeste asked. “That’s like, the first thing you pack.”

  “Maybe you should do it.” He looked at Celeste, and everything inside him lit up from the inside. “Go on, Lizzie. Tak
e Celeste to your room and have her help you pack. Then we can go to the waterpark after lunch.”

  He’d told Celeste they might go swimming. Or to the beach. Or the waterpark. So he knew she’d have everything she needed to do that. She held his gaze for a couple of long moments, and then she smiled, and she was oh-so-sexy.

  “I like the beach better,” she said. “Have you guys ever been to the beach?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Lizzie said, dipping her French fry in a puddle of ketchup. “But Mom won’t take us to the nice beach.”

  “The nice beach?” Celeste sat down at the table with the kids, no one making a move to go pack an overnight bag. Brad gave in and sat down as well.

  “Yeah, the one over by the place with all the pools.”

  Celeste looked at Brad, and he just shrugged. “I own that place,” Celeste said. “We can go there today if you want.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Lizzie said, looking up at Celeste. “Do we have enough money?”

  “Yes,” Celeste said. “We have enough money.”

  “Celeste doesn’t need money to go to that beach,” Brad said, watching her. “Her family owns it.”

  “Your family owns the nice beach?” Tommy looked at her. “That’s amazing.”

  “Right?” Brad asked. “So when we go, we have to be really good, or she won’t let us come anymore.”

  “Criss-cross heart’s promise,” Lizzie said, her high-pitched girly voice making Brad laugh.

  “And you have to pack your own bag,” Brad said. “Or you’re not coming.”

  His niece looked at him with alarm, and shoved half of her hamburger in her mouth. He shook his head and chuckled again, his threat totally without merit. He wouldn’t leave Lizzie here, and she probably knew it.

  Still, she did go down the hall to pack her bag, and Celeste went with her. They put their bags in Brad’s truck and headed to “the nice beach” for the afternoon.

  Chapter Nineteen