The Penrose is packed to the brim with everyone who loves and adores Jude and Sophie. The aesthetic touches my designer heart, fitting perfectly in the middle of vintage and contemporary. It’s cozy, with wood and brick elements throughout, but the light fixtures add this cool, modern vibe.
If anything, this place is authentic and fun and just suits them perfectly.
Flynn takes my hand and guides me toward our assigned table, but on the way, we’re stopped by several familiar faces for hugs and greetings. His mom, Aunt Paula and Uncle Brad, Ty and some woman with big boobs and even bigger jade-colored eyes named Mindy, every step we take, it feels as if another person pops up to say hello.
And the instant Lexi sees us, she sprints across the hardwood floor and wraps both of her little arms around us. “Hi, Uncle Flynn and Aunt Daisy!”
Aunt Daisy. Gah. That pulls right at the heartstrings.
“Hey, Lexi Lou.” Flynn smiles and releases my hand to lift Lexi up and into his arms. “Whoa, did you grow?”
She rolls her eyes and giggles. “Of course, I grew, Uncle Flynn. That’s part of childhood development.”
Her reaction makes me smile, but it also spurs an ache to form inside my chest. I rub at the annoying discomfort and try to focus on the big night—Jude and Sophie’s rehearsal dinner. Tomorrow, the happy bride and groom will be happy wife and husband.
And tomorrow, you could find out that you and Flynn no longer need to keep up the marriage façade.
“Aunt Daisy?”
I blink out of my thoughts and find Lexi back on her feet, staring up at me. “Yeah, sweetheart?”
“My Mathletes competition final is in two weeks.”
“It is?” I ask, trying like hell to act as excited as I should be. “That sounds like a really big deal, Lexi.”
“It’s the state championship. Do you want to come?”
I nod and try to ignore the ball of emotion that has found its way into my throat. “Of course I want to come. I wouldn’t want to miss that for anything.”
Yeah, but you can’t actually say you’ll be there. Because you’ll probably be back in LA by then.
Flynn smiles over at me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. He reaches out and rubs the top of Lex’s hair affectionately. “Consider us both there, Lexi Lou.”
“I’ll let my mom know to save two more seats,” she says. “So, fifteen seats total so far. And if Uncle Ty brings one of his girls, that’ll be sixteen seats.”
One of his girls? I’d probably laugh if I didn’t feel like the room was closing in on me.
“Daisy!” Winnie calls from the other side of the room. “Get over here, sis! We’re having a bridesmaids’ powwow in the other room.” When Ty starts to head that way, she quickly points an index finger in his direction. “No boys allowed!”
He puts a hand to his chest and feigns discomfort. “You wound me, sis.”
“I swear to everything, Ty, if you try to mess with any of the bridesmaids tonight or tomorrow, I’ll wound you for real.”
He just grins like the devil. “And what if the single bridesmaids can’t resist me?”
“Oh, they will,” Winnie adds. “Because I’ve already told them you have an incurable venereal disease.”
“Jesus, Win.”
She cackles and then meets my eyes again. “C’mon, Dais!”
“Looks like you’re being summoned. Have fun, babe,” Flynn whispers into my ear and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. “See you in a bit.”
The kiss is simple, chaste even, but it does nothing to help my emotions. Every cell inside my body loves feeling a sweet gesture like that from Flynn, but it’s all just part of the game we’ve been playing…right?
A game that will soon be over.
The pact we made will be complete.
And like Flynn said from the beginning, no strings will be attached.
The lie we’ve been living will no longer be needed. Soon, everyone will know the truth. Winnie and Sophie and Flynn’s mom and brothers, Uncle Brad and Aunt Paula, adorable Lexi, everyone will know I’m a fraud.
Everyone who’s become the family you always wished you’d had.
Tears threaten to fill my eyes, but I blink them away. I refuse to do anything that will ruin Jude and Sophie’s big night.
You can’t change the reality of the situation. All you can do is put on a happy face and get through the night without falling to pieces.
Yeah. I can’t change any of it. All I can do is make the best of it.
And you definitely can’t change the fact that you’ve fallen in love with your fake husband.
Frank Sinatra serenades the room, and Flynn pulls me tight against his chest. We float across the dance floor in between the other couples in attendance at Jude and Sophie’s rehearsal dinner.
“This is just a taste of what’s to come tomorrow night!” Uncle Brad announces and proceeds to dip Paula and plant a smacking kiss to her lips.
Paula giggles. Ty cheers them on. And Flynn just shakes his head on a low chuckle that makes his chest vibrate against mine.
All in all, it’s been a pretty good night.
Dinner was delicious. Jude and Sophie appear so damn happy it makes my heart twist against my ribs. And I managed to pull myself together enough to help celebrate the soon-to-be husband and wife.
Flynn presses a soft kiss to my forehead, and I have to shut my eyes for a brief moment to not let it affect me. But hell, it’s affecting me.
Every innocent touch, kiss, caress from him feels so right that it’s wrong.
Wrong because he’s not my real husband. He’s not the type of guy who does relationships. He made that fact clear from the get-go. Flynn is just a kind, genuine man who helped me in my time of need. And it’s highly likely that, as of tomorrow, my time of need will be a thing of the past.
“You know what I think?” Winnie’s voice grabs my attention, and I glance to my right to find her and her husband Wes slow dancing together. “I think the two of you should plan a wedding.”
Flynn smirks. “Sorry to break it to you again, Win, but we already did that.”
“Yeah, I’m aware. But I’d like you to plan a wedding that I can actually attend.”
Wes smirks. “Like you should talk, baby. We got married on a beach in the Bahamas. And only you, me, and Lexi were in attendance.”
“Shut up, Wes!” Winnie squeals and smacks a hand over his mouth. He just laughs and playfully bites at her fingers in a way that makes her giggle and yank her hand away from his face.
Flynn is amused by the whole scene. I know this because a genuine smile kisses his perfect mouth. But me, on the other hand? Well, I’m overwhelmed. Confused. And my heart is starting to take up a breath-stealing rhythm inside my chest.
I’m a fraud. A liar. A phony. A fake.
And even though I never anticipated the aftermath of Flynn’s and my marriage, I’m starting to comprehend just how many people our web of lies has ensnared.
Not to mention, your heart.
Guilt pitches a tent inside my stomach, and I have to remove myself from the dance floor, away from Flynn and his family, and just…away from everyone I feel like I’m going to disappoint far too soon.