In fact, I couldn't think of anything better.
Chapter 12
"Holy shit," I exclaimed as we walked past the divider in the middle of the ballroom, leaving the ceremony portion of Elizabeth and Weston’s wedding to go to the reception. Everything about the event was incredible, from the décor to the uniforms of the wait staff. The location itself was very highbrow—the Park Hyatt’s Onyx Ballroom, a luxurious venue, steeped in glamor with floor-to-ceiling watercolor panels.
"That's what I said when I saw you walk out to the car this morning," Donovan said, squeezing my hand.
I heard him, and my chest did a silly little flutter, but I was too wrapped up in the scene in front of me. Though it had been an early evening wedding, hors d'oeuvres were the only food being served. There were probably too many guests to accommodate a full-service dinner logistically. But it was an open bar, and the food on the trays that the waiters passed seemed substantial. A live band played jazz music, and there was a table with a nice sized-gift bag for every guest to take upon their departure.
"All this for a fake wedding?" I wouldn't even do this much for a real wedding. Of course I'd always planned on eloping somewhere, so maybe I wasn't the best judge.
"Hush." Donovan scanned the nearby vicinity to make sure nobody had heard me. "You want to be careful what you say. Elizabeth apparently has a few family members suggesting this marriage is a sham. There's nothing like a fifty-thousand dollar wedding to say true love."
My jaw might have dropped.
Well, if that's what it took to access her trust fund… I assumed her inheritance was exponentially more.
"I guess I'm amazed she could pull it off so quickly." They'd only had a handful of months to plan the whole shebang. If I ever did get married, I was definitely hiring her wedding planner to handle everything.
And why was I thinking so much about my own possible wedding? Spending so many nights with Donovan the past week, maybe. Funny how having a relationship got me thinking long term, even when it was such a newly formed relationship.
"It helps to have friends.” He pulled two glasses of champagne off a tray as a waiter passed and handed one to me. "The hotel belongs to the father of a friend of mine. Elizabeth knew the woman who brought in the flowers. Her wedding dress came from Mirabelle's. Mira is Hudson Pierce's sister. Hudson has done some business with Reach recently, as you know. They agreed to only one attendant each, which made the rehearsal quick and simple for everyone, especially when Weston realized Brett would be a more enthusiastic best man than I would. It all came together."
"You mean, you made it come together." If there was one thing I was learning about Donovan, it was that he knew how to maneuver. Knew how to pull strings. No wonder he'd once had the nickname The Puppet Master.
"I know what's important. And this is important." He took a swallow of the champagne then so I couldn't read his expression. Couldn't tell if the importance was because of the business merger this union created, because he believed in their marriage, or because it had made Weston unavailable to me.
Perhaps it was a little bit of all three.
"For what it's worth, I don't think you have anything to worry about on the believability front." I raised my voice just slightly in case anyone nearby was listening in. "It’s obvious how much love they have for each other. They gazed at each other during the ceremony like no one else existed in the universe.” I lowered my voice. "I actually mean that."
He frowned skeptically. "We'll see. There's already a pool going around with the guys on how long before they file for annulment."
"Isn't filing for annulment part of the plan?" I whispered.
He smiled and nodded at someone across the room. "It is," he said through his grin, "but a date hasn't been set for it yet. It was left to be determined. The guess is how long they'll last. Do you want in?"
It was my turn to frown. "No, I do not." I didn't know what bothered me so much about it. We’d made bets on Weston regarding Elizabeth before. But that was when I truly believed that they were just pretending their way through this whole thing.
Now I wasn't so sure that they were. "It doesn't seem right to bet against somebody's happiness."
My date swung his attention back in my direction. "Jesus. You really believe this could work out, don't you? That's cute."
"Thank you for being so patronizing. I truly appreciate it,” I said sarcastically, folding one arm over my breasts so I could sip my drink with a scowl. So apparently he didn’t believe in their relationship. It stung for some reason, as though he’d said he didn’t believe anyone should get married, and as though I cared what he thought on the matter.
And maybe he didn’t. He’d once been engaged, but he might have changed his perception of the ritual, but why I cared about his opinion was unbeknownst to me. It wasn’t like we were getting married.
"No, I really mean that. You’re adorable." He tugged my hand away from my chest and pulled me toward him. "I’m not saying I don’t believe in marriage,” he said, as though he knew exactly what I was thinking. “I’m saying that this marriage has obstacles. Weston is a playboy. He hasn't stayed with one woman for longer than two weeks in his life, and here you are with faith in him. I think that's cute."
His mouth was near mine but before he could kiss me, I said, "That's not true. He's been faithful for months to Elizabeth.” I tipped my chin up, cueing him to press his lips to mine.
"Then the rumors are true," an unfamiliar voice exclaimed beside us. "Donovan Kincaid has found himself a girlfriend."
Instinctively, I backed away from the man I'd been about to kiss. I’d accepted that people were going to talk about us—I really had—but it was one thing to say I was cool with it and quite another to actually be cool.
"I'm the one who told you that rumor, you asshole," Donovan said clapping the back of the stranger in front of us. He was of average height; his hair cut short, almost military style. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, bulky where Donovan was lean. Hard where Donovan was chiseled. Mean where Donovan was mischievous. "Sabrina, this is Cade Warren. Cade, I told you about Sabrina."
"No. You told me about our new Director of Marketing Strategy. Weston told me about Sabrina." He shook my hand in greeting—a firm shake, just gentle enough to prove he remembered he was shaking the hand of a woman. "Pleasure to meet you. Everything I've heard has been quite… complimentary."
I bit down the anxiety threatening inside. I hated not knowing what he had learned from Weston versus what he had learned from Donovan, but at least it had been Donovan who had told him we were together.
I also hated that I knew almost nothing about Cade except that he worked in the Tokyo office. It made it hard to make small talk.
Fortunately, Donovan knew things about him, and he came to my rescue.
"Cade’s story that he’s here for the wedding is only a cover," he said—a pointed jab at his partner. "He's really in the States to meet up with a woman from the past."