by Eliza Boyd
“That’s what Jude said.” But Melody waved a hand in the air as if to dismiss that silly idea. “You know us. The more the merrier!” Then she opened her arms to Nicole, who’d been quietly standing at his side.
Not anymore. Now, she was in Melody’s death squeeze as Melody rocked her from side to side in warm, strong hello.
Which was exactly how Melody had become the boss of Roger.
“You know, Jude didn’t even get your name, so I don’t know it. I’m Melody.”
“Nicole,” she replied.
Melody stretched her arms out and held Nicole at a distance, getting a good look at her. “And you’re just gorgeous. No wonder our boy here snatched you right up.”
Nicole gave Evan a smug look. “She thinks I’m gorgeous.”
“Oh, I bet Evan tells you that every single day, sweetheart,” Melody said in a singsong voice, her red hair falling over her shoulders in waves.
Nicole tilted her head at him, clearly waiting for the compliment.
He’d wanted to tell her in the car. He’d thought it the moment she’d stepped out of her door. But he hadn’t wanted to cross that line. In front of his friends though? It was expected. So even though he took her hand and kissed the back of it to play the part, he meant every word as he said, “I should tell you that more often. Because you are.”
The smug look fell right off Nicole’s face. An expression of disbelief replaced it. Or maybe it was wonder. Awe. Surprise. In the heat of the moment, he couldn’t tell. All he knew was that he hoped she believed the truth when this was all over.
That she was indeed gorgeous. And kind. And helpful. And selfless. And all the good things he needed a fake fiancée to be. All the good things his next real fiancée would be. Someday.
Her hazel eyes softened as Melody let out a long, “Awww!”
Then Roger joined them, slinging his arm around his own fiancée and sticking his hand out to Evan. “And you,” he said, releasing Evan’s hand, “must be the other bride-to-be in the room. I’m Roger, this fool’s best friend since high school.”
“Best friend and you still didn’t ask me to be your best man,” Evan said, ribbing him.
“Oooh, ouch.” Roger stumbled back a few steps, acting like he’d been wounded. “Let’s not pretend like we both don’t know why I asked Jude.”
That was when Jude and his wife, Helen, came into the foyer, rounding out the crowd. “Because we all know I’m the one who’d throw a better bachelor party,” he said.
Evan’s mouth fell open. “That’s not even close to being true.”
“Oh really?” Roger challenged him. “And what would we have done if it had been your job?” He tilted his head, waiting for the answer.
At a loss for ideas, Evan sputtered. But it wasn’t because he couldn’t think of anything better than that bar. It was “their” hangout, yeah. But he’d met Nicole there. Nothing could have topped Roger’s bachelor party for Evan more than that had. So he had nothing.
“Okay, fine,” he grumbled, feigning surrender. “You’re right. He was the better choice.”
It was as if Nicole understood though. She gripped his hand before shooting him a look that said everything. It made hope swirl in his chest. Hope he had no right to feel with how busy he was, but hope he wanted to hold on to anyway.
Roger socked him on the arm and ushered them in. In the kitchen, the rest of the bride and groom’s families were getting plates down from cabinets, stirring food on the stove, and filling cups with punch. They all greeted Evan and Nicole warmly and then returned to their various jobs to get the dinner part of this event going. When everything was ready, Nicole and Evan got in line and made plates. With food and drink in their hands, they sat in the last two open spots at the large table taking up most of the eating space in the kitchen.
“So!” Melody shouted five minutes into the meal. “We all want to hear about you and Nicole met, Evan. This is all so sudden, so we want to hear every detail.” She sipped her wine and beamed a smile over the rim of her glass, nodding vigorously.
“Oh, no, that’s okay,” he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “It’s not even that interesting of a story. I don’t want to bore you.”
Roger scoffed. “Don’t be silly. Nothing with you is boring. With all the money in the world, your life couldn’t possibly be boring.”
Next to him, he felt Nicole tense up. Her fork stilled on her way to her mouth, and then she dropped it to her plate, taking his hand in hers.
“Want me to tell the story, babe?” she asked.
He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Uh, sure. If you want.”
She sat up, adjusting her position in her chair. “Okay, so, it was midnight. This guy was aimlessly wandering the aisles of Walmart—the only store open that late with a giant selection of cold medicine. When I noticed him, I simply couldn’t take my eyes off him. It wasn’t because he looked so helplessly lost in front of all the kids’ cough syrup.” She turned her head toward his, so close that their noses almost touched when he faced her. “It was more because there was something about him that drew me in. Something that made me unable to look away.” She raised a hand to the back of his head, toying with his cropped hair as she said, “Something that told me I needed to know this man because he was good and kind and clearly there to help someone else and be a nice person.”
His heart kicked up a couple of notches. The urge to loosen his tie overwhelmed him. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than for this story to be true. For her to actually mean the words she was saying. On a basic level, she did. He’d been at the bachelor party to be a good friend. With how Roger treated him and his money, he hadn’t wanted to go. But he’d been there, and he’d never regret it now for a single day in his life.
It’d brought her to him.
She aimed her gaze back at the crowd as she finished telling her fake tale. “When I approached him, I asked him if he needed help. He said that his daughter was sick and he’d do anything to make her feel better. But he didn’t know what to get her and his mom was asleep, so he couldn’t ask her. Now, I”—she pointed to her chest—“don’t have kids, but I do have a father I take care of. He gets sick sometimes, so I know what helps. I pointed him to the Vick’s VapoRub and told him to put it on her feet and let her sleep with socks on. That always works for my dad.”
“The next day,” Evan said, chiming in so she didn’t have to do all the work, “Hadley felt so much better, and I had to do everything I could to find the angel of Walmart to tell her she’d helped my daughter. So I tracked her down to the bank she works at, took her to lunch”—he faced Nicole, who was just inches from his mouth—“and knew I had to marry her right then and there.”
Quietly, Nicole added to the story. “He got down on one knee and everything. It was so romantic, and I couldn’t say anything but—”
“‘Yeah, sure. I guess,’” they both said at the same time.
They both laughed after that. Evan was thankful they’d been on the same page. Nicole appeared to be thinking the same thing, but she was playing her role spectacularly, staring at him with something that looked like love shining in her eyes.
Fake love, but it was there nonetheless.
The story was over, and he hoped everyone believed it. He sure would have if he were them.
But he still couldn’t look away from her.
In fact, the only thing he did was inch closer to her.
With everyone oohing and awwing around them, he felt their expectation. Their desire to see an actual couple in actual love. He didn’t want to disappoint. But he also couldn’t deny that he wanted to know what her lips felt like against his. Even if it’d bring him to the point of no return, he had to do it anyway. This close, the floral scent of her shampoo enticed him closer. And once she’d nodded almost imperceptibly, he couldn’t stop himself.
With his gaze on her mouth, he pressed forward until there was no more space between them and her mouth was on his. The warmth
of her kiss spread through him in a way he had no right to experience. Her lips were soft and smooth, everything he’d hoped they be and more. And they felt so right this close to him. Like they belonged there. Like he’d been born to kiss her. Forever.
Conversation resumed around them, but Evan could barely hear it over the thrumming of his heart. He hadn’t felt like this since he’d been with Hadley’s mother, and that hadn’t turned out well. At all. He’d been crushed, and worse, he’d felt horrible for his little girl. Helpless to make the situation right. Yet, somehow, with Nicole, it felt different. Way beyond what he’d felt with Patty. And as much as he didn’t want to let her hold him back from something incredible, he had his daughter to think about.
When he pulled back from Nicole’s lips, he hated how torn he felt. On one hand, he could envision a life where they could get to know each other, build an actual relationship, and maybe even get engaged for real. On the other, he could see Hadley enjoying having another woman in her life until that woman went away too.
Maybe he was strong enough to be destroyed a second time. But he’d never put his daughter through that again. Never.
Ultimately though, it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t feel the same way about him. That moment wasn’t the right one to ask. They were supposed to already be on the same page—together and in love. Engaged, even.
Though Nicole was an expert at playing her role in this, he suddenly felt his mask slipping. That was only because it was all becoming too real. With the wedding tomorrow, all he had to do was make it through one more day. Twenty-four more hours of being Nicole’s fake fiancé. He could manage that. Couldn’t he?
His heart disagreed entirely.
10
Nicole hadn’t slept well the night before. Not with the memory of Evan’s kiss bouncing around in her brain all night. Every time she closed her eyes, she thought about it. She’d even called the bank to pick up an extra shift if it was available. Luckily, they had a spot for her. So she’d worked on a Saturday simply to keep her mind busy.
Now, she didn’t have a choice. Evan took her hand as they walked into the venue for Roger and Melody’s wedding. They still needed to look the part. Just a few more hours of this fake-fiancée nonsense and then she’d bide her time until she heard about whether Hadley got into the school or not. Once that was done, they were done.
And then she could move on.
Again.
It’d been hard enough the first time. She wasn’t nearly as invested this time, but she still couldn’t imagine it being easy to walk away from a smart, funny, and kind man like Evan. A man whose hand fit in hers just right and whose lips felt made for hers.
That kiss…
Inwardly, she sighed. On the outside, she took a deep breath, and when they walked through the doorway leading to the banquet room, that breath stalled in her chest.
Everything about the decorations, from the arch at the altar to the centerpieces on the tables, screamed winter wedding. And it was exactly what she’d been planning with Peter.
She’d planned a lot of things with Peter. Unfortunately, she’d been the only one doing the planning. That was the last time she’d make that mistake. Yet her stupid heart wanted her to imagine walking down an aisle just like this one and finding Evan standing at the end of it, waiting for her with tears in his eyes when he saw how beautiful she was on their special day.
When Evan’s hand squeezed hers, she shook those crazy thoughts off.
“You okay?” he asked quietly, leaning in so his mouth was close to her ear.
She nodded curtly. “Yeah. It’s gorgeous.” She gestured with her chin to indicate the room.
“It really is,” Evan said, and when she faced him, he was looking at her.
To ward it off, she chuckled lightly. “You don’t actually have to tell me that, you know. We were just playing it up yesterday.” Though a part of her wished he really meant it. To be gorgeous in Evan’s eyes? She didn’t want to imagine how good that would feel. How addicting it would be.
“I know,” he told her. Then he gazed at their laced fingers and caressed her hand with his thumb. “That doesn’t mean I don’t mean it.”
She swallowed thickly, trying to process those words. But Roger came up to them before she had a chance and snatched Evan away.
“Sorry, but this guy right here is in the wedding party, so I have to steal him,” he said, slapping Evan’s shoulders with his hands.
Evan raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it—a move she was becoming used to. “You’ll be okay?”
“Of course,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. Then she shot him a sly grin. “I’ll just go have a seat on the bride’s side.”
“Ooh, your fiancée has jokes!” Roger teased as he dragged Evan off.
Evan didn’t let go of her hand—or her gaze—until absolutely necessary, and Nicole wasn’t sure if it was part of the sell for his friends or actually real. The lines were becoming so blurred that she couldn’t tell anymore.
He had just called her gorgeous when no one had been listening. He’d even told her that he’d meant it. So he really did think she was attractive. But that didn’t mean he wanted to be with her in any capacity. It didn’t mean they were really in a relationship. And it didn’t mean she was willing to risk her heart.
She had to take it at face value and then continue to play the part.
As she was trying to locate a seat, a woman put a hand on her arm.
“Nicole, right?” the woman said. Her blond hair was in a complicated updo instead of falling loose at her shoulders like it had been the night before. “I’m Helen.”
“Jude’s wife. Of course. I remember,” Nicole told her. “Mind if I sit with you?”
“That’s why I stopped you. I figured you didn’t know anyone else, so come over with me. I have a seat near the front over there.” She pointed to a few rows ahead as they made their way over there. When they sat, she gave Nicole all of her attention. “So you and Evan are getting married, huh?” She smiled, appearing genuinely happy about that fact.
“Yes,” Nicole said, trying to sound just as genuine. She crossed her legs and folded her hands together at her knee, hoping this wedding would start soon. This conversation could lead down a dangerous, convoluted, lie-filled road she didn’t want to navigate.
“That’s so exciting. Have you set a date?”
“In two months,” she answered. That was what they’d told the headmaster at Pemhall Prep, so she hoped that was what she should say to Evan’s friends.
Too late now.
Helen gasped. “So soon!” Her wide eyes conveyed what she wasn’t saying out loud.
Nicole waved her hands in the air. “No, it’s nothing like that.” Her hands fell to her stomach. “No shotgun wedding or anything.”
But with her fingers there, she wondered what it’d be like to be pregnant. To have a baby. Evan’s baby, even.
The thought made her chest tingle. In a good way? She wasn’t sure.
“Oh, whew!” Helen faked wiping her brow. “Evan has said he definitely doesn’t want any more kids.”
“He doesn’t?” she asked, tilting her head. When she saw Helen’s reaction to her question, she realized her mistake. That was something his fiancée should have already known. “No, I mean of course he doesn’t. Hadley’s his pride and joy.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Helen scrunched her nose as she grinned. “Kids really make life complete. I don’t know what I’d do without my Makayla.” She pulled her phone out of her small purse and brought up a photo. The young girl was about six or seven, and she looked like a perfect mix of Helen and Jude.
“She’s adorable,” Nicole told her honestly.
“She’s my baby,” the woman gushed, putting her phone away. “I have no idea what life would be like if Jude and I hadn’t had kids. Or if I didn’t have Jude to help me with her. I just don’t know how Evan’s done the single-dad thing for almost all of Hadley’s life.”
She slowly shook her head in disbelief, tucking her bag under her seat. “It’s a wonder he was able to pick himself back up after what happened with her mom.”
Nicole swallowed, trying to take that information in. She had been blindsided by the no-kids thing. They hadn’t talked about those important relationship questions because they weren’t really in a relationship. But the fact that Evan had been a single dad for nearly seven years? Her heart broke in that instant. Something horrible must have happened with her mother. It made Nicole desperate to have a real talk with Evan.
He hadn’t wanted to talk about his money, and she hadn’t wanted to talk about her life in Phoenix. But if they were going to continue this lie, they needed to open up.
“Right,” Nicole replied, nodding like she knew what this woman was talking about. “I can’t imagine what that was like.”
“Me either,” Helen said, sadness in her eyes. Then they brightened as she lightened the mood. “Which is why it’s so wonderful for us to see him with you! I saw that kiss last night. The way he held your hand all throughout dinner. You two,” she cooed, grinning wide at Nicole. “You’re the real deal.” Then she patted her leg and straightened in her seat as the music cueing the bridal procession to start played overhead.
Nicole’s chest felt so heavy. She almost couldn’t breathe with the air that thick. What in the world had happened to Evan to make his friends so happy to see him move on? And how did this woman think their fake relationship was the real deal? Were they acting that well?
She got her answer when it was Evan’s turn to walk down the aisle. On his arm was a beautiful woman from Melody’s wedding party. Nicole had met so many new people the night before that she couldn’t remember her name. But she was absolutely stunning in the lavender bridesmaid dress, with her hair pinned up and her makeup done just right. Anyone would have agreed.
Yet Evan’s eyes sought Nicole out and stayed on her as he approached the altar. He even winked at her right before he passed by.
