“I don’t give one damn,” he muttered.
“I think you do,” I replied, thinking of all the times he’d asked me to do something with him only for me to tell him I couldn’t because I was helping Nadine in the kitchen. “If it’s any consolation, I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time with you either, and I’m sorry I moved out and stayed with her when you divorced, but living with you had been hell.”
His head lowered. “That was your worst betrayal,” he spat. “I decided to force your hand then or I’d lose you completely. I thought if I forced the issue, you’d rediscover your love for real estate and the business in general. All I did was push you even closer to her until you even stopped coming around.”
Reeling from the shock of today’s discovery, I sank into the nearest chair I saw. “But that still doesn’t excuse the way you reacted to me being a bisexual.”
“I don’t give a damn if you’re bisexual or not,” he answered. “I just wanted grandkids. How can you give me that with another man? Is it a crime to want to have grandkids to leave this legacy to? All my other colleagues, they already have kids who are settled down and have children of their own. And what are you doing with your life?”
I frowned at him. One minute I warmed toward him and the next I was reminded why I had let our relationship deteriorate over the years. He wasn’t a saint by far, but neither was he completely the devil I had made him out to be.
“You don’t get to choose when I settle down and with whom,” I told him.
“I guess grandkids are off the table since you’re involved with that feisty young man.”
“Same-sex couples can have kids too, Dad.”
“Yes, but your young man himself is a kid. He doesn’t look mature enough to be a father.”
“Leave that up to us to decide. When the time is right, we’ll talk about it.”
“Fine! I won’t interfere, but I can’t assure you I’ll ever like that boyfriend of yours.”
My lips twitched as I desperately tried to hide my smile. “You’re just pissed he isn’t afraid of you.”
“He should be. I can…” He trailed off at the eyebrow I raised at him.
“And what about you and Becca?” I thought it only fair to ask since we were discussing relationships. “I don’t think this change of heart and you sleeping with her is a coincidence.”
“We talk,” he answered with a shrug. “Unlike the rest of the world, she doesn’t necessarily think something makes me a bad person because it’s unorthodox. She’s open-minded, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that fascinates me about her.”
I didn’t remember my father with my mother. She’d been gone too long, but I remembered him with Nadine, and I couldn’t think of him ever expressing himself this way about another woman. But Becca?
“Umm, she doesn’t exactly have a good track record when it comes to men, Dad.”
“We talked about that too, but who cares? I’m hardly the person to judge. Besides, we’re not exclusive or anything. I believe we’re open to seeing other people. Not that it’s any of your business what we do since we’re all adults involved.”
And with that, he refused to say another word about Becca. My phone rang out in the room, and I fished it out of my pocket, groaning when I saw Jason’s picture. He had been just as upset that Becca was sleeping with Dad, and he’d made no secret of it that he didn’t like Dad one bit.
I answered the phone. “Hey, babe, are you okay?”
“No, everything is ruined!” he wailed and started babbling words I couldn’t understand.
“Jace, slow down and tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s Becca,” he replied, breathing hard and fast. “We all agree after today it’s best to cancel the wedding, but Becca just called Miranda at the Wedding Experience, and she wants to see us all in her office now. I don’t think she wants to cancel the wedding.”
“What? She has to cancel the wedding.”
“Not according to the contract Becca signed with her for the airing of the program. They want a wedding to happen. What are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll work something out. Where are you now?”
“We’re on our way to the boutique.”
“Okay, nobody says anything until I get there. I’m on my way.”
“Please hurry.”
I could hear the worry in his tone, and before I could reassure him, he hung up.
“Shit!”
“What’s wrong?” Dad asked.
“I have to go,” I replied, rising to my feet. “Becca’s workplace still expects us to get married, and I’m going to have to fix this. God knows how, but I have to. I can’t marry her, especially now.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I’m going, Luke, and that’s final.”
***
“So let me get this straight. You decided to screw over this marketing campaign that we have going on by lying about being engaged so you can collect at the end of it?”
Five of us were jammed into the small office at the back of the boutique where Becca worked. Becca and I were seated on the chair, Lucas Sr stood to the end where she was, and Jason was perched on my lap. With the cat out of the bag, I hadn’t been able to resist pulling him to me when I sat.
“Um, I thought it was a fair trade,” Becca replied. “You get a couple for your wedding video, and we get the money we needed.”
“And a day before the wedding you expect to cancel the event?”
“We know there’s a lot that went into the preparations,” I said, helping Becca out. “And we’re fully willing to pay for the cost incurred.”
“We are on a strict schedule here, Mr. Bronte,” Miranda replied. “Do you know how much time you wasted while we were getting footage for our promotional feature? That’s time we won’t ever get back.”
“But you can’t make them marry,” Jason remarked, his back ramrod straight. “We’re in love, and she’s sleeping with his father. Do you see how fucked-up that would be to make them get married?”
“I’m not making anybody get married,” Miranda returned. “You promised me a wedding. You were aired on TV talking about that wedding, and all we need is the wedding footage to complete our project. We will not be starting over from scratch having gone to all this trouble.”
“So, we still have to get married,” Becca concluded, staring at me. Considering this was her suggestion in the first place, I didn’t expect her to look unhappy that we were still being pushed into this marriage.
“No!” Jason barked, springing up off my lap. “I’m sorry, but just no. You can’t marry him.”
“Jason,” I said, trying to calm him down. “It’s not going to be a real wedding, but if this is the only way we get Becca out of this mess, then we’ll have to do this.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “What do you mean it won’t be a real wedding?”
“We’ll just have the ceremony without signing up the wedding license,” I told him. “Basically, just creating a fake wedding so the Wedding Experience can have the footage of the ceremony.”
He turned to Miranda. “Will that be enough?”
“Frankly, I don’t give a damn if you sign the license or not,” she answered. “Just give me my damn footage that Rebecca signed off on the contract. I hope nobody’s expecting a dime after this deception either, because I’ll sue you for damages so bad you’ll wish you weren’t born. You’re all a set of crazies that shouldn’t be allowed around normal folks.”
I couldn’t say I disagreed with that observation. I rose to my feet, tucking Jason to my side. He still looked wary, like he didn’t believe we’d pull off this ceremony without me being legally wedded to Becca.
“Sorry for the deception,” I said to Miranda. We owed her that at least. “We were in a dire situation and thought this would solve our problem. I’ll say we have all learned a valuable lesson from this. Haven’t we?”
“Oh, s
ave it.” Miranda swiveled in her chair. “I knew the minute I saw you two that you were fucking each other. I just thought you were doing one up on Rebecca here, and I didn’t want to break the news to her. And by the way, Rebecca, I am sure you understand why it would be in your best interest to find another job.”
Becca looked ready to cry, but she swallowed and nodded. “I understand.”
She exited the room first, my father behind her. I directed Jason in front of me, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“I hate this,” he said on a huff of breath. “I didn’t say much the first time, but this time I’m not going to pretend. I really hate this.”
Once we were out of the store, I noticed my father’s car was gone. So was Becca.
“I guess they left us behind,” I murmured.
“What’s up with that?” he asked. “Are they a couple now or what?”
I shrugged. “Beats me.”
“And now you marry Becca.”
I cupped his chin and waited until he was staring directly at me. “But I’m in love with you.”
Just like that the tension left him, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. “I know, and I love you too, Daddy Luke.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Jason
“Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?”
I couldn’t tell who glared the most at Becca: Lucas’s father who hovered in the room, Lucas who had just entered the room, or me yanking a little harder than necessary on Becca’s veil.
A little too much if anyone had asked me. She would be lucky not to be struck by lightning for wearing a sacred veil at a pretend wedding and whatnot.
“It’s not a real wedding, Becca,” Lucas reminded her, walking over to the chair where she was seated. Whereas a groom would have kissed his bride at this point, this groom came over to me, cupped the back of my head, and pulled me forward for a kiss.
We had an audience. His father was right there as was Becca, but I kissed him back hard. I deserved a proper kiss when my boyfriend was being someone else’s groom today. Given it was all fake, I wasn’t jealous at all. Except that he looked quite smart and completely like someone’s soon-to-be husband, and I wanted that to be me.
My husband.
The way he kissed me promised that one day, and for now that was enough.
“Jason, quit mauling my groom,” Becca cried, interrupting us. “The ceremony is about to start in five minutes, and we better all be in our rightful places.”
Lucas released my lips. “I was just checking everyone was okay and Jason and my father haven’t knocked each other out yet. What round are we in?”
“The sixth round,” Becca replied, rolling her eyes. “Let’s get this done to avoid further bloodshed. The farther I am away from you, Lucas, the safer I believe everyone should be.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” I replied, but I was pleased everyone understood quite well that Lucas was all mine. Borrowed for today only and never again.
“And the next time you two have your crazy ideas, why don’t you keep them to yourselves,” I said to both Becca and Lucas Sr. “If you two didn’t get involved, none of this would be happening right now.”
“You need to rein in your little Chihuahua, Lucas,” his father stated. “He’s one toe away from crossing the line.”
“Damn,” Lucas groaned, heading out the door. “You two don’t belong in the same room. At least try to get along for today.”
“Jason, where’s my bouquet?” Becca asked.
I blinked at her. “I thought you said you were bringing them from the apartment.”
“I know I told you to take them up for me.”
“I don’t remember that at all,” I said, hurrying from the bedroom at Lucas’s father’s house where we had all decided to get dressed since the wedding was in the gardens. “I’ll go wait for you downstairs. Come as soon as you’re ready.”
“Jason!”
I ran out of the room and down the stairs to wait for Becca at the glass door at the back leading out to the pool deck and gardens. Everything was all so beautiful, and not a soul suspected this wedding wasn’t real. I could spot the camera crew that worked with the Wedding Experience, taking shots of the guests who were already seated.
Lucas stood at the top of the makeshift aisle which was stretched from one end of the pool to the other. The guests were gathered on either side of the pool deck. It looked romantic, the floral arrangement on either side of the altar beyond beautiful. It would have been the perfect setting for a real wedding.
I waited for Becca downstairs. She was already fully dressed, so I didn’t expect her to linger for as long as she did. She had us waiting for a good twenty minutes before she came rushing toward me. Someone had procured a makeshift bouquet for her which she held in one hand. It wasn’t the flowers that held my attention though but her lopsided updo that I’d slaved over all morning.
“What?” she asked, standing in place beside me and hooking my arm with hers. “It’s within bad taste to be early for your own wedding.”
“It’s also within bad taste to act the hussy and have sex with the groom’s father on your wedding day,” I shot back. “You couldn’t show a bit of restraint?”
“Jason, you were late getting to the apartment this morning so we could travel here together to dress for the wedding,” she replied me. “You want to tell me you and Lucas were just braiding each other’s hair and that’s why it took you that long? Now be quiet and walk me down the aisle.”
My cheeks turned red as her comment reminded me of the way the groom had pulled me to the edge of the bed this morning and thoroughly fucked me while telling me he loved me. But she was wrong. It was hardly the same thing. Lucas and I were in love. She and Lucas’s father were so blah. There was no rhyme or reason to their existence together.
She stalked ahead of me before I could say anything to her. I had every intention of behaving myself for the rest of the function, not even teasing her about doing a quickie with Lucas’s father. Then I saw the hem of her dress tucked up into her pantyhose at the back, and a grin spread across my face.
“Hey, wait up.”
She stopped for me to catch up with her. On cue, the “Wedding March” played, and we started down the aisle together.
“God, I wish I didn’t have a conscience,” I muttered, then stopped to yank her dress down. “There, I believe that’s the way it should be worn.”
Thankfully her face was concealed by her veil, so I couldn’t see her expression. I took her hand in mine and walked her as quickly as I could down the aisle. The quicker the ceremony took place, the sooner we could forget this nightmare.
I handed over Becca to Lucas before I took my seat where I proceeded to tune out as much of the ceremony as I could until I had to produce the wedding rings.
“Oh no!” I cried, and this time it was genuine. I’d forgotten to take up the wedding rings.
“Here they are,” Lucas’s father announced, popping up next to the couple.
They recited the traditional wedding vows, the rings were exchanged, and they were joined together in holy matrimony.
Then came the part that had me gritting my teeth.
“You may kiss your bride.”
The thought crossed my mind of how I could easily push Becca to the side and claim the kiss meant for her, but I reminded myself the last thing I needed was having to do over this wedding ceremony. No, sir, one was good enough for me.
Their kiss was quick, a peck really, and I could sense the confusion in the audience, but who cared? It made me happy.
The reception that followed was as insufferable as the wedding. At least the food was great, and there was enough drink going around to keep the guests happy—all people I didn’t know. Still, I had to endure Becca and Lucas putting on a show for the cameras that were going around by the Wedding Experience. The little display of affections, the first dance by the couple, the cutting of the cake.
I
stayed at the back of it all.
The “bride” and “groom” were dancing with their guests, and I was planning to head back inside the house when I bumped into Wesley. He was without his camera but had a champagne flute in hand.
“Nice fake wedding,” he said, glancing around. “You look nice, like you should be next to the groom instead of playing the insignificant other.”
He was always nice to me, but this time I sensed an edge of bitterness to his words. I instantly remembered Lucas warning me to stay away from this guy.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said and made to walk by him, but his hand shot out and he grabbed my wrist.
“Well shoot, baby, don’t walk away from me. Why don’t you and I have a nice time while your boyfriend’s otherwise engaged.” He stopped one of the waiters passing us and deposited the glass on the tray. “Dance with me.”
“I don’t want to dance with you.” Pulling on my arm was useless. For the first time, I wished I wasn’t such a smaller guy who was easily overpowered.
“Come on. Just one dance, you tease.” He reeled me into him. I resisted, but he yanked on my arm. I had no idea how close to the edge of the pool we were until he flailed, still clinging to me.
“Let me go!”
The bastard held on to me as if I could prevent him from falling. Instead, I went over the edge with him, my cry of outrage swallowed by the water.
Water quickly soaked into my clothes, weighing me down, but I was always a strong swimmer, so I fought my way to the surface madder than a wet hen.
Karma. This had to be karma for all the bad things I’d done to stop this wedding.
Wesley broke the surface, and I promptly forgot about karma. This was all his fault.
“You son of a bitch!” I slapped Wesley as hard as I could before I struck out for the edge of the pool. I wasn’t surprised to find Lucas waiting for me. A small crowd had gathered to take in the spectacle.
“Grab my hand,” Lucas said to me.
I grabbed on, and he pulled me up. I sat at the edge of the pool, wiping water from my face and brushing back my wet hair. My makeup—everything was ruined.
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