“Okay, let’s get a move on!” Lori smiled.
Peyton hurried to the dressing room and stood there looking at the dress a moment. Maybe Gus would see her in this dress and then he could picture her as more than a friend. Maybe he could see a life with her and white picket fences and children and growing old together.
A determination bloomed in her to fight for him. He was the love of her life, and she wasn’t going to just let him go. When she took her vows tomorrow, she’d mean every word, and she’d do whatever it took to show him they meant something to her.
Chapter 24
Gus paced in the room just off the church’s sanctuary. How was he going to go through with this? Even picking up the marriage license the day before hadn’t brought it home that he was getting married. Not even the rehearsal dinner did it. It wasn’t until he was dressed and standing in front of the mirror that what he was about to do hit him.
Married.
Not fake married. Not acting married. Actually married with rings and vows and everything that went with a wedding. Yeah, they could get it annulled, but faking those vows? The ones that promised to love, honor, and cherish her? The kind he didn’t want to break?
“Hey, man,” Ty said as he stepped inside the room. “Guests are all seated. You about ready to take your place out there?”
Gus whirled around and raked his hand through his hair. “No. I’m not. This is serious. I’m about to lie in front of God and everyone that I’m pledging my life to Peyton, and she doesn’t want that. She sees me as a friend.”
Ty set his hand on Gus’s shoulder. “Do you love her?”
“You know I do, but this goes beyond loving her. I’m telling her family, our friends, and that minister that I’m making a commitment to her.”
“Are you lying about that?”
“No, that’s the problem. I’m not lying or faking it. I want this, Ty. I want this more than anything in the world.”
“How do you know she doesn’t? Have you ever even bothered to ask her?” Ty dropped his hand and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I haven’t had time. Things happened so fast. We’ve barely seen or spoken to each other since we landed. And anytime we thought we might have a second, someone has barged in.”
“Then go find her, and no matter who is in the room, tell her how you feel. Stop being afraid of getting your heart broken and go for it.”
Before Gus could answer Ty, wedding music began to play. “I think my time’s up.”
“Yeah, I think so. Are you going to go through with it?”
Gus nodded. “I’m not going to embarrass Peyton in front of a church full of people. I couldn’t do that to her.”
“You sure?”
“If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I never want to be the cause of her pain or heartache. Those vows we’re making might not mean anything to her, but they mean something to me, and maybe if we’re tied together, it’ll give me the boost to tell her how I feel.”
“All right. Then I guess we need to get out there.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Ty. Thanks for being here.”
Ty smiled. “Anytime, buddy. Now, go marry the girl of your dreams.”
Gus nodded and pulled the door open. If he wasn’t sweating bullets before, after seeing the crowd turn their attention on him, he was now. In just minutes, he’d be standing in front of them, putting on a farce of a marriage. Could he keep himself together long enough to get through the vows?
It seemed his choice was gone now that he was standing at the front of the sanctuary. Peyton would be walking toward him, and he knew she’d be a beautiful bride. Even on her worst days, she was beautiful.
Mentally, he steeled himself. He was going to do this. He was going to promise to love her and mean every word. If she wanted it annulled later on, then he’d deal with that when he came to it.
Chapter 25
Peyton slid her hand down the front of her simple wedding dress. Her heart was fluttering like she was buzzing from a caffeine rush. In just a few minutes, her dad would be walking her down the aisle, and she’d be marrying Gus. For real. No more faking it. She’d be saying “I do” and vowing to love him forever. She’d already made the decision to mean them, so why was she so nervous all of a sudden?
She did love Gus, and she did want to marry him. That part wasn’t what made her nervous. It was knowing he didn’t feel the same way. Since arriving in Juneau, they’d had no time alone. Between looking for a wedding dress and getting everything else together, she’d barely been able to wave hi to him.
“Hey, sweetheart,” her mom said. “You look so lovely, and this dress is so perfect.”
Lori nodded. “You do. You look like a princess.”
A knock came at the door, and her mom hurried over to answer it. Her dad stood in the doorway, and music filtered in from the sanctuary. “It’s time. Are you ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.” She didn’t know how she was keeping herself together. She swallowed hard, picked up her bouquet, and walked to her dad.
He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “You are so beautiful, baby girl. And you couldn’t have picked a better man.”
“I know. Gus is wonderful.”
“And he’s good to you, which is what a dad always wants for his little girl.” Smiling, he pulled her hand through the crook of his arm. “I believe your husband is waiting.”
“Yeah, he is.” She took a deep breath. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
They walked out of the little dressing room to the closed double doors leading to the sanctuary. When the doors opened, Gus came into view, and she was blown away at how incredible he looked, from the crisp white button-up to the dark slacks he wore. But what really caught her breath and made her heart skip a beat was his smile.
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He was perfect, and she was marrying him.
When she stopped in front of Gus, her dad put her hand in Gus’s and said, “I hope you two have a long, happy life together. Take care of each other, okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Gus replied.
Everyone took their seats as the minister cleared his throat. “Friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness two people who love each other profess that love to the world.” He paused, and Peyton’s mouth went dry as the weight of the words settled on her. This was it. This was her promising to love and cherish Gus. How could she do that if he didn’t love her like she loved him?
The minister continued. “The vows they are about to exchange are sacred. They are promises of devotion, care, love, and perseverance in hardship. We—”
Just as Peyton opened her mouth to protest, Gus pulled away. “We need to talk.” He took her by the hand and pulled her to the room just off the sanctuary.
“I’m sorry, Peyton. I can’t go through with this.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I can’t marry you because these vows won’t be fake for me. I won’t want it to end.”
Peyton tilted her head. Did she hear him correctly? “What? I thought you only saw me as a friend.”
His eyes turned glassy as he held her gaze. “I have loved you for so long. I didn’t mean it when I said that, even way back then. I heard you telling your friend on the phone that you saw me as a brother, and I was just protecting myself. It wasn’t true. I am wholly, totally, madly in love with you. I love you from the tips of your weird toes to the top of your crazy head. I can’t exchange vows with you when you don’t feel the same way about me. I love you.”
Gus loved her? “You do?”
“With all my heart. You are the only one I have ever loved. I love your heart, humor, intelligence, and I can’t imagine life without you. But marrying—”
Peyton dropped the bouquet, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. “I love you too. I don’t want it to end either. I was sick to death, thinking we’d annul our marriage in a few months. I don’t ever want to be apart from you. You are everything I have ever wanted and
so much more. You have such a giving heart, and you are so tender and sweet. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better man to love and give my heart to.”
“You love me?”
“Yes, I love you. I love you with all my heart.” She cupped his cheek. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for days, but I could never get a moment alone with you. And when I did tell you, you fell asleep on me. I love you, Gus. I love you so much.”
A smile slowly stretched on his lips. “I love you too. More than I ever thought I could love someone.”
“I wish you would’ve talked to me about what you heard back then. I just knew Leslie would ask me a bunch of questions, and I didn’t want to answer them. I didn’t really feel that way. I’m sorry I walked away and avoided you when you kissed me, but I was shocked and didn’t know how to respond right that second. By the time I was ready to talk about it, you said you only wanted to be friends. I figured that meant you didn’t feel any chemistry between us, so I pushed the possibility of anything beyond friends out of mind.”
Gus chuckled and shook his head. “Believe me, there was no lack of chemistry.” He traced her jaw with his fingers. “One simple conversation, and we wouldn’t have wasted so much time. I should have been honest, but I was so afraid of losing you as a friend that I just…couldn’t take the chance. I’m sorry.”
“I am too. I should have known you well enough to know you were protecting yourself. We’re a pair, huh?”
“A great pair.”
"Yeah, we are. I love you, Gus.”
“I love you, Peyton. I always have.”
“I’m thinking we should get married.” Peyton smiled.
He chuckled. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”
There was a knock at the door, and Ty stuck his head in. “Peyton’s parents and sister would like to come in.”
“Sure, they can come in,” Gus said. “And you too.”
“Sweetheart, what’s going on?” her mom said once they shut the door.
Peyton swallowed hard. “We’ve been pretending to be married to protect Gus’s resort.”
Peyton’s mom cleared her throat. “Are you telling me you two weren’t married?”
Gus and Peyton turned their attention to the small group gaping at them. “No,” Peyton said. Then she explained how everything happened, from blurting it out to the journalist to not correcting Lori.
“I can’t believe you were faking it this whole time,” her mom said.
Lori touched their mom’s shoulder. “They may have been faking being married, but there is nothing fake about how they feel about each other.”
Ty nodded. “No, there isn’t. And it’s about time they figured it out.”
“No, there isn’t,” Peyton said. “And that marriage license is real, and I’m not leaving until this fake marriage is real.” She smiled up at Gus. “That is, if you’re okay with it.”
The corner of his lips quirked up. “I’m more than okay with it. I’ve wanted to be with you since I can remember. I didn’t know how I was going to handle having you in New York and not being with you. It was killing me to think you might date someone else.”
“I don’t want to be with anyone else but you. I kept thinking I was going to get to New York and show you how much I cared about you. That maybe you’d see we could be more than friends because it wasn’t enough anymore.”
“Are you okay having the wedding here? I know you wanted the ceremony held on the beach.”
“I don’t care where it happens as long as it happens. I don’t want to waste another second.” Peyton lifted on her toes and kissed him. “Not another second.”
Gus held her hand to his chest. “I don’t either.”
There was another knock on the door, and the minister cleared his throat as he peeked in. “Are we still having the wedding?”
Peyton giggled. “Yes, most definitely, yes.” She’d never been so deliriously happy in her life. It was as though whatever had been holding her four-leaf clovers had opened the floodgate, and they were drowning her.
Gus and Peyton took their places again, and they exchanged their vows and rings. The best part was when the minister announced them as husband and wife and Gus swept her up in his arms and kissed her.
The world around them faded, and she gave him all her heart as she kissed him. It wasn’t just a vow or a promise to her. He could have all of her because she knew she was safe. She’d married her best friend, and there was nothing but forever in front of them.
Epilogue
One year later…
“Gus, where are you taking me?” Peyton asked as he covered her eyes. “You’ve been so secretive.” What on earth could he be planning? He’d been so sneaky the last few months.
He chuckled. “You’ll see in a minute.”
“I smell ocean. You said we were going to Juneau.”
“We are. We’re just taking a detour.”
“A detour?”
He uncovered her eyes, and Peyton gasped. “Oh, what have you done? We’re at the resort? Why is there a setup for a wedding ceremony?”
“I know how much you wanted a beach wedding, and I wanted to surprise you. So, for our anniversary, I thought we might renew our vows.”
She turned to him. “All those questions about wedding dresses and sizes and tasting cakes and everything? That was for this?”
“Yeah. I’ve set it up so we have the entire week to spend with family and friends. Gwen Hartley will arrive tomorrow, and she’ll bring dresses for you to try on. And I even invited Justine.”
That didn’t surprise her. Justine’s article about the resort was a glowing review. It had bolstered the app and made the resort famous. Since then, it was always booked. Even the article on them had been great. They’d called Justine and told her the truth. Instead of being furious, she’d been thrilled. Best friends figuring out that neither of them had ever wanted to be just friends was an even better story.
“Oh, Gus, this is the sweetest thing, but I loved our little church wedding.” And she did. That was the best day of her life. Finding out he loved her as much as she loved him.
“I know, but I wanted to give you this. I want you to know that I want all your dreams to come true. I love you, and you made all my dreams come true when you said you loved me,” he said and pulled her to him. “I love you more now than the day I married you.”
She circled her arms around his neck. “Gus, I love you too, and this past year has been incredible. You don’t have to worry about my dreams because all of them have you in them. But thank you so much for this. It’s beautiful and sweet.” She smiled. “I have a wedding gift for you too.”
He tilted his head. “You do?”
“Yeah,” she said, taking his hand and pressing it flat against her stomach.
His mouth dropped open. “You’re…? No way.”
She nodded. “I am. I went to the doctor yesterday. I thought we were going to dinner tonight, and I was going to tell you then, but since we’re exchanging things…” She shrugged.
“Oh, sweetheart, this is the best gift. Well, besides you. You will always be the best gift I’ve ever received.” He smiled.
“We’ll need to figure out a nursery for the condo in New York.”
“Well, hold that thought. You know how we’ve been talking about moving to Hawaii?”
“One conversation a year ago doesn’t constitute talking about moving to Hawaii,” Peyton said.
He laughed. “I know, but I love it here, and I know you love it here. I was thinking we might check out a few homes and see about calling it home.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I’m kinda tired of freezing winters. Aren’t you?”
“In a way, this is where it all started.”
“So does that mean you’re open to it?”
“I’m open to anything that keeps me next to you and in your arms, because there is no other place I’d rather be.”
He lowered his
lips to hers and kissed her. “And there is no other person on this earth I love more than you. No other person I’d rather hold or grow old with. I love you, Peyton. Now and forever.”
“I love you too.”
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Sneak Peek! Her Pretend Billionaire Boyfriend Chapter 1
Tristan Stone swiveled his chair away from the boardroom table and looked out over the Seattle skyline. The sun glinted off the windows of the Space Needle while a white-capped Mount Rainier stood in the background. He wished he was there, on the top of the mountain, and not dwelling on the board meeting that had just ended. He didn’t want to think about the dozen or so men and women who’d argued about which direction his grandmother would’ve wanted him to take the cruise line he’d inherited.
He missed her.
Find someone to love, sweetheart. Not all women will want you for your money. His grandmother’s words were like a megaphone in his head. He could still feel the aged hand touching his cheek and see the wrinkled face smiling up at him. Even while she was sick, she’d been thinking of him.
He’d tried to convince her he didn’t feel lonely, but she could always see through him. Three months, and not a day went by that he didn’t miss her laughter and wisdom.
“Tristan!” Grayson Matthews’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Are you listening to me?”
“No,” he said without taking his eyes off the skyline.
“Nice. Real nice.” Grayson huffed, pulling a chair directly in front of him and sitting backward in it.
Tristan leveled his eyes at him. “What?”
“That board meeting was out of control. Why didn’t you do anything?”
Why? Because he didn’t want to do anything. His grandmother wasn’t even cold, and vultures were circling. “My head isn’t here.” He had tasks to finish for his grandma. One of which was taking a cruise on the last cruise ship she’d designed so he could spread her ashes over the ocean.
The Matchmaker's Fake Marriage Page 17
