I will not let him in my fucking head. I am well aware that I’ll be alone. I’m the only single one left other than Alex, but he’s in Egypt, living his best life. I’m here with all the happily married idiots. There’s nothing that I’m more aware of than the fact that I’m living at the resort because I have nothing else.
Even the RV I was staying in is gone.
No, now, I live in a small cabin on the property so I can always be on call.
I down the glass of whiskey in one gulp. “On that note, I’m going to do all the fun stuff I was talking about and dance with my fake wife.”
Fuck reality, I’m going to enjoy the fantasy for today.
Sixteen
MAREN
“Did you have fun today?” Oliver asks as we dance in front of our family and friends for our last dance.
“I did. Your sister did an amazing job.”
“Spending other people’s money is my sister’s true calling in life.” The clinking of glasses starts again. “Fucking Christ. I’m going to kill my brothers.”
We lean in and kiss, my heart melting with how much I like this. How easy kissing him is, and a part of me aches because it’ll be over once we leave the reception. We’ll go on our vacation, hang out at the beach for five days, and then come back to our separate realities. When my father passes away, that’ll be it. Oliver and I can go back to just being friends.
And that makes me sad.
Our song ends, and the DJ calls everyone to the floor before starting the next song. At least we won’t be forced to kiss again. He holds me close, swaying in perfect rhythm. “What do we do about tonight?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we have to stay in the suite together.”
Oliver smiles. “We do.”
“I just . . . I don’t know what . . . you . . .” Good grief, I sound ridiculous. We are thirty-one years old, not fifteen. We can sleep in the same room and not have it be a big deal.
It’s just that I’m wearing this dress and my emotions are a bit too close to the surface.
“We’ll be fine,” Oliver assures me. “I’m sure we can manage.”
“You’re right. I think my brain is exhausted from overthinking everything.”
“I’m sure. Are you at least feeling relieved we pulled it off?”
“I am,” I tell him honestly. “It’s hard, though, because I’m happy that we did this but I’m also a bit sad because I know this might be the last memory I have with my dad before he dies. I’m incredibly grateful to you, Oliver. You have no idea. I had the most perfect wedding. Truly. This was everything I could’ve dreamed of, but . . .”
“But it was with the wrong guy.” The way his voice cracks at the end causes me to jerk my head back.
“No. It’s not that.”
“I just mean that I was not supposed to be the Oliver standing here.”
He’s right that he wasn’t supposed to be him, but that’s not what I was thinking. He is the right Oliver. He is everything, and if I had gone through with the wedding that was planned, it wouldn’t have been this perfect. Oliver Parkerson is warm and inviting. He welcomed my family, and while our being in love was all for show, the way he acted wasn’t.
Had I actually married my ex-fiancé, nothing would’ve gone as smoothly. He is nice, yes, but he’s not comforting. There’s no way he would’ve fit in with my uncles the way Ollie did, and my stepmother would have eaten him alive.
“Maybe not, but I know I married the best Oliver today,” I say softly.
Slowly, I raise my gaze to meet his, and the desire swimming in his eyes weakens my knees. He leans in, without anyone tapping on glass or analyzing our interactions, and presses his lips to mine.
It’s soft, sweet, and tinted with something more.
This is crazy.
Absolutely insane because I shouldn’t want him to keep kissing me, but God, I do.
He pulls back, rests his forehead to mine, and says, “I am in so much trouble,” under his breath as the song ends.
Me too.
Me. Fucking. Too.
We break apart and start saying good night to everyone.
“This was definitely the most interesting wedding I’ve ever officiated,” Mark says with a grin.
“Considering it’s only your second, that doesn’t say a lot,” Charlie, his wife, says.
“True, but you know . . .”
“Please don’t ever agree to do it for anyone else.”
“I make no promises. I have to uphold the rules so I don’t lose my spot in heaven.”
Charlie rolls her eyes. “Please, we all know you’re going to hell.”
He grins. “That’s life with you, my sweet.”
“Right. You’re in hell.” She scoffs and then gives me a tight hug. “We are so going to talk about this when you get back.”
“I know.”
“Mark is right,” she says, pulling back and smiling. “You would’ve made an excellent field agent.”
I roll my eyes and snort. “Please, I don’t do danger.”
“And you don’t think this was dangerous?”
“That’s a different kind of danger.”
She looks at Oliver and then back to me. “True, but it isn’t any less risky, my friend.” Then her gaze moves to her husband. “I know all too well how my story ended with a man I didn’t love and had to fake it with.”
So not going down that road.
Jackson and Catherine nudge their way closer, and Charlie whispers something in Oliver’s ear that causes him to laugh.
“Congrats on the nuptials,” Catherine says with a glimmer in her eyes. “I can’t wait to hear how the honeymoon goes.”
“Stop it,” I warn.
“Have fun, Maren. Seriously, if you were my client, I would tell you to just embrace this for the time you can. Life is hard, and you are always in your head. Allow your heart to lead this one just a little, regardless of the possible fallout.”
Coming from a publicist, I’m a little shocked at that advice.
Jackson nods. “It’s amazing what might happen when you do that.”
Catherine tilts her head. “Aww. You’re being all sentimental, Muffin.”
“Weddings always do it.” My boss is a man who could snap anyone in this room in half. He’s tall, strong, and trained to be deadly, but when he looks at his wife, he’s goo.
It’s cute.
“Thank you all for everything,” I say, knowing they could’ve imploded everything and went out of their way not to.
“We’re a team, and if you had told us before you came up with this plan, we would’ve done what we could.”
I eye him, not sure what that means and not sure I want to, but smile because I think he means it in a sweet way.
After they move down, Devney and Sean come over with a sleeping Cassandra and Austin looking like he’s ready to fall asleep standing up.
I know she has mixed feelings on all of this, but she stood by me without ever wavering. “The wedding was amazing, and I don’t really know what to say other than I love you and hope this works out for you both.”