by Lisa Suzanne
It’s for the cameras. It’s for the contract.
Just like everything in this stupid mess.
“A spontaneous Vegas wedding?” my grandmother on my mom’s side practically yells to me when she’s still too far away for a comfortable volume.
I lift a shoulder and play coy. “We’re just so in love, and we were there, and it happened.”
She presses her lips together and shakes her head. “You have no idea how long your mother has been planning your special day. How could you take that from her?”
Way to lay the guilt on thick, Gran. “I didn’t mean to take anything from anyone. It was what was right for us. He’s going back on tour and we wanted a little time together before that happened.”
She waggles her eyebrows suggestively, and I giggle.
“Gran!” I say, holding my chest in shock.
Eddie laughs, too. “Gran has always had a wild side,” he interjects. “Ever hear about the time she went streaking through her college campus?”
She smacks him in the arm. “You mean the secret time I went streaking through my college campus?” she hisses at him.
“Who went streaking?” David booms as he walks through the front door. I run over and grab him in a hug. I haven’t seen him in months, and a hug from my brother feels comforting at the moment. “Hey, baby sis,” he says softly. “We need to talk.”
I nod. We both know we’ll find time, and we both know where and when. It’s sort of become our tradition to meet on my parents’ huge wraparound porch just after dessert comes out. Everyone is busy grabbing their treats, and it leaves us a few quiet minutes to catch up.
And today is no different. I spend the entire day deflecting so I don’t have to tell so many lies, and by the time my mom starts pulling the pies out of the fridge, I’m exhausted.
David catches my eye and nods toward the front door, and I quietly slip away from the conversation I’m half-listening to about my aunt’s cookie baking club to meet my brother on the porch.
“Hey,” he says, his hands on the handrail on the far side of the porch.
“Hey.” I stand beside him and stare out at the view. A lone car drives down the fairly quiet neighborhood street.
We’re both quiet for a beat, and then we both speak at the same time.
“My marriage is a sham.”
“I’m going to ask Grace to marry me.”
My jaw drops as I turn to look at him, and his jaw drops as he turns to look at me.
“What?” we both say at the exact same time in the exact same tone.
“You first!” I practically squeal.
“Tomorrow morning. I’m getting her a puppy, too. The collar is going to have the ring on it.”
“Oh my God!” I squeal for real this time. “A puppy and a wedding? It’s like an insta-fam!”
He chuckles.
“Congratulations.” I lean in and give him a hug.
“Thanks. I haven’t told anyone yet and I’m a little nervous.”
“Don’t be. She loves you, David. She’s going to be thrilled to marry you.”
He gives me a weak smile, and I can see the nerves already. But he’ll be fine. “So what’s this about a sham?”
“We got drunk on tequila and woke up married.” I lift a shoulder.
“So why are you pretending?”
I press my lips together. “You can’t tell anyone.”
He gives me a look like that’s understood—like it’s not even a question as to whether he can keep it a secret, and I know he will. But still...I have to hold something over him.
“I’m serious. I’ll squawk about Joey’s weed and Dad’s car and Eddie’s Playboys.”
He laughs. “I can’t believe you remember any of that shit, and they won’t care, but fine.” He holds up his hand. “Scout’s honor. I won’t even tell Grace.”
I blow out a breath. “I signed a contract that I’d stay married through the filming of this reality show his band is on. I guess everyone wants to see him get his happy ending after he broke it off with his ex on the last season.”
“Bree?” he asks.
My brows dip down. “How’d you know that?”
He rolls his eyes. “Grace. Duh. She loved that show. When I told her that three of the MFB guys were in my class, she freaked. They’re her favorite band. And now that you’re married to one of them, well, let’s just say she’ll be expecting backstage passes.”
I laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“We already have tickets to their New Year’s show.”
“They’re performing here?”
He laughs. “You didn’t even know?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead. Adam gets back the twenty-ninth so I figured I had a few days away from this mess. Today has been awful with the deceit. With all the lies. I had to tell someone.”
He grips the handrail again. “Can I ask you a question?”
I nod.
“What are you getting out of all this?”
I lift a shoulder. “Aside from a nice paycheck at the end, I guess I get to live the dream of being married to someone I’ve had a crush on for more than half my life.”
“And how’s that working out for you so far?” he asks, ever the logical one.
“So far? Pretty crappy.”
He hangs an arm around my shoulders. “Why’s that?”
I stare out at the empty street in front of us. My parents’ house faces a little greenbelt, and a woman walks with a toddler on the far side. I focus on them for a few beats. “Because I don’t want it to be for the cameras. I don’t want it to be pretend, but nothing feels genuine—not even when he told me he’s falling for me.”
“Was it in front of the cameras?”
I shake my head.
“Then it was genuine.”
I look over at him. “How do you know?”
“Because men are pretty straightforward creatures. If he said something to you off-camera that was just for you, he meant it.”
“Fine. But it’s still risky. I can’t just give in and say okay, let’s try it, I’m falling for you too, because what if it doesn’t work? What if we break up in three weeks and have to stay married because of the contract? The contract. The stupid contract!” By the time I’m done with my babbling, I’m slamming my fist against the railing.
David pulls me into a hug and soothes me by rubbing my back for a few beats. “Love is always risky, Emily. Contract or no contract, there’s no guarantees.”
I stiffen at his clichés. “Nothing proved that more than finding out Chad was cheating on me.”
“Chad was cheating on you?” He backs up a step.
I nod. “With a friend of mine. Isn’t that nice? And then I saw Adam kissing Bree, and I just...I don’t know. I guess I saw the same thing happening.”
“Adam isn’t Chad.” His voice is vehement. “I never liked that douchebag anyway. I always knew you could do better.”
“And Adam is better?” I toss some air quotes around the word better.
He shrugs. “He can provide you a more secure future, at least. And you know what? I’ve never seen you two together other than the video that went viral, but he can make you laugh. I saw so much laughing. So much happiness. You seemed lighter than you have in months. Maybe even years. And today? You’re dragging again, and I think I know why.”
I narrow my eyes at him in a challenge. “Why?”
“Because he’s not here.”
My mom’s voice interrupts us from around the corner. “Dessert’s ready!”
I clear my throat. “Good luck tomorrow.”
“Good luck with whatever you decide.” He squeezes my arm. “I just want you to be happy.”
“Same to you.” I give him a quick hug, and we head inside for pie, cookies, and eggnog.
CHAPTER 31: ADAM
I stare out the window at the falling snow as I think about Emily.
Again.
She’s been weighing heavily o
n my mind the whole time I’ve been away from her, which has been less than forty-eight hours, and it’s an odd feeling. A piece of me is missing because it’s back in San Diego where she holds it in her hands, and I never felt that way when I was apart from Bree. Ever.
Not in the entire four years we were together, and not a moment since we broke up.
And that’s what tells me this is different. Important. Lasting.
I just need to make her see that, too.
I don’t go back to San Diego until Tuesday, and it’s only Friday. I still have four more days until I get to see her again.
It’s the night after Christmas. The celebrations are over, the presents unwrapped, the boxes broken down and the wrapping paper in garbage bags ready for pick-up. And here I sit, staring out the window rather than playing Monopoly with my parents, sister, and grandparents, the only people left in the house after our family Christmas party earlier today with my aunt, uncle, and two cousins. It was a small celebration, which is just the way I like it considering the typical parties I attend with far more than ten attendees.
“If you stare harder at it, you might be able to transport it back to San Diego,” my grandma says.
I chuckle. “I live in San Diego so I don’t have to drive in it.”
We’re quiet for a few beats, and then she asks, “What’s this I hear about you and some girl running off to Vegas to get married?”
I blow out a breath. It’s not like my grandma is going to tell anyone the truth, and to be honest, I’m surprised it’s taken her this long to confront me about it. “It started out as a drunken mistake, but I think I’m falling for her.”
“You think you are?” she presses in that way only those closest to us can do.
“I am.” I keep my gaze out the window.
“That’s great, sweetie. You love your wife.” Her tone betrays her words. She knows something is up, and she isn’t going to let me skate by without confessing.
I laugh. “If only it were that simple.”
“Why isn’t it?”
“Because we signed a contract stating that we have to stay together for six months while Rock on the Road Revisited films.” I sigh again. “Anytime I do anything, she thinks it’s for the cameras. And when I told her I was falling for her, she was too scared that she was going to get hurt to agree to give this a real try with me.”
“You know, many many moons ago, your grandfather was a bit of a playboy.”
My brows move down as I think about how that’s way more information than I ever wanted to know about my grandfather, but sometimes Grandma does this. She’s a bit of a storyteller, but it usually leads somewhere that helps me see things from a different perspective. I wait patiently to get to that point.
“As you’ve heard lots of times, we met at the soda shop where I worked. He used to come in all the time. What I never told you was that he started by coming with a different girl on his arm each time. I knew from that he was a playboy, so I wouldn’t give him the time of day when he asked me out. I liked him, but I wanted more than to be the girl on his arm for one afternoon.”
I don’t see how this relates. I’m still trying to be patient.
“Anyway, it turned out your grandfather wasn’t bringing those girls in as dates. He was tutoring them in math, and the soda shop was just a good meeting place.” She chuckles. “Between you, me, and the window, I think some of those gals didn’t need the tutoring and just wanted some time with your grandfather. He was quite a looker back then.” She winks at me. “Still is.”
I laugh. So my grandfather was a hot nerdy tutor back in the day. More things I didn’t really need to know about him.
“He must’ve asked me out a hundred times before I finally agreed.” She smiles as she thinks back fondly.
“What made you agree?”
She lifts a shoulder. “I did it so he’d back off. I was scared to give him a real chance because I had big feelings for him. I figured I’d purposely make the date go bad and he’d leave me alone. Only that’s not what happened.”
“What happened?” I ask, finding myself suddenly invested in this history lesson.
“Well, as much as I tried ruining things, your grandfather just wouldn’t have it. He made me feel comfortable, and we talked and we laughed. We danced.” She smiles at the memory. “He did everything he could to show me that he’d protect me and care for me. He told me over and over that he only had eyes for me. I still didn’t believe him until almost the very end of our date—which wasn’t at the soda shop, for the record. We were interrupted in the middle of dessert by one of the girls he tutored. She asked if they could meet at the soda shop the next week for a math lesson, and that’s when I learned the truth...that he wasn’t dating any of those girls, he was tutoring them.”
The point of her story finally clicks, but she spells it out for me anyway.
“You have to make her feel special, Adam. Make her feel like she’s the only one you have eyes for.”
I clear my throat. “She walked in when my ex-girlfriend kissed me and totally misread the situation. And her last relationship ended because her boyfriend was cheating on her.”
My grandma’s eyes soften. “Oh, honey. Then it’s even more important you do something to make her feel like what she’s getting into with you isn’t a risk. She’s scared, and understandably so given both your histories. On top of that, you’re a celebrity, and that would take anyone some getting used to.”
“You’re right,” I say, not sure why I couldn’t see this before. “But how do I fix things? How do I make her see that I’m not a risk?”
She lifts a shoulder. “Only you can figure that one out. Use what you know about her, about yourself, and about your feelings.” She pats my hand and stands. She drops a kiss on the top of my head. “Goodnight, sweet boy.”
“Goodnight, Grandma.” I stare out at the falling snow again as my grandma heads up to bed, willing the answers to be somehow written out there for me to find.
CHAPTER 32: EMILY
My mom’s in the kitchen making her famous lemon chicken, my dad is in his workshop in the garage, and my brothers are all back at their own houses. It’s quiet here two days after Christmas on a Sunday afternoon, and I’m reading a book on the couch in the family room when the doorbell interrupts me.
Adam doesn’t get back until Tuesday, so I decided just to stay here at my parents’ house. I feel like it would be too strange to live at the MFB residence without Adam there, and we haven’t moved into our new place yet. It’s hard enough as it is when he is there, and this is giving me a welcome reprieve from the cameras and mic packs and overall faking it for a few days.
My jaw drops open when I open the door. “What are you doing here?”
“Surprise,” Adam says softly, a smile tipping up the corners of his mouth. He takes a step forward and pulls me into a hug, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, his arms feel like the place where I belong.
“I thought you weren’t getting back until Tuesday.”
“Who’s at the door, honey?” my mom calls from the kitchen. My eyes widen as I realize we’re going to have to put on a show for my parents.
At least the cameras aren’t here.
“I wasn’t,” he says softly before I can answer my mom. “But things changed and, well, I had to see you.”
“Emily?” my mom calls.
“What things changed?” I whisper-hiss.
His eyes soften as he gazes down at me. “I want to be with you,” he whispers, and even in the whisper, I can sense the genuine nature of his words. Why else would he be here telling me this—especially without the cameras following him?
This is just for me.
“I want to make this work, and the only way I can do that is to show you in person that you’re the one for me. The only one for me.”
My brother’s words about love being risky choose that exact moment to rush through my stupid brain. Adam’s standing here acting like this won’t be
a risk, but David was right. It’s always risky.
I just have to decide whether I’m ready to take that risk with Adam Wilson.
“Was there someone at the door?” my mom’s voice is coming closer, and I turn and spot her just as she comes around the corner. “Oh,” she says when she spots my husband. She freezes in place.
“Hi Mrs. Clarke,” he says with a little wave.
I elbow him in the ribs. “It’s Mom now, right Mom?”
She purses her lips. “I’m sure your father would like to be here for this conversation.” She scurries off toward the garage to get him, and as soon as she’s out of the room, I open the door a little wider to allow Adam in. He drops a kiss on my cheek when he passes me by.
“I think we should tell them the truth,” he says.
My brows draw down in confusion. “You do?”
He nods then takes a seat on the couch and clears his throat. “I know we’re not supposed to tell anyone, but it’s not fair to make you lie to them.” He rubs his hands down his thighs nervously.
“Where’s this coming from?” I ask.
“Well, I can’t help but think that if we start on a lie and your parents eventually find out, they’ll never trust my intentions with you. And I can’t have that because I think you and I are going to end up together.”
Both my eyebrows shoot up. “You think we’re going to end up together?”
He shrugs. “The magic of Christmas and falling snow and a really nice conversation with my grandma helped me put a few things in perspective. And yeah, I think we are. I’m going to make you see that you’re the only one for me, that this might’ve started out as some stupid, drunken thing, but it was never a mistake. It was meant to last, only we didn’t know it. But I know it now, and I’m going to fight for you. I’m going to fight to make you see that, too. Because I’ve fallen in love with you, somehow and someway, and it’s my job to help you see that being with me will never be a risk because we’re—”
I cut him off when my lips collide with his. I don’t know what comes over me in that moment other than the fact that he just said every single thing I really needed to hear.
