by Claire Adams
“It does, but this gray one is special,” I said. “It’s Mom’s favorite.”
“Gray on black,” Ron murmured. “I guess it’ll work for a wedding.”
Ron hadn’t been too surprised when I told him about the wedding. He understood the direness of the situation, and how important it was to speed up these things within the next six months.
“Just don’t try and speed up any babies,” he had joked. “You gotta wait the whole nine months for them, at least.”
It hadn’t occurred to me whether to not Maddie would have been interested in children until that moment. It didn’t matter, of course, but I couldn’t help but imagine her as a wonderful mother. Any children she had would be well-taken care after she received the rest of her money at least. I had told Ron not to worry about that, and our conversation had continued. I was thankful that he didn’t seem to be looking too deep into our relationship. Apparently, he expected any sane man to fall for Maddie, and he had complimented me in a way that didn’t make our relationship any more awkward.
“How is she doing?” he asked after I finished my glass. For a split moment, I wondered which woman he meant.
“Sick,” I said. “The news cheered her up, at least. But she hasn’t gotten any better.”
“Is it still six months?” he asked. “Or has the doctor said anything differently?”
“She hasn’t wanted to go back,” I said. “She says she already knows everything that she needs to know, so there’s no reason for a doctor’s appointment.”
“I bet that pisses you off.” Ron frowned as I refilled my drink. “Gavin, it’s not even noon yet. Got the wedding jitters?”
I nodded my head absentmindedly. “This time last year I was coming to terms that marriage wasn’t for me,” I said honestly. “And I was more than okay with that. I was actually a little excited that I could live a life for myself and no one else.” And now it seemed like I was living it for everyone else.
“You really love her, huh?” he asked. I realized the three of us hadn’t actually hung out in the time that Maddie and I set up this arrangement, and that Ron had no idea how we acted with one another. So far our charade had only been for Mom’s viewing pleasure.
“She’s special,” I said. “But you knew that. What I didn’t know was how she was going to make me feel.”
“How does she make you feel?” he asked.
“Like this entire time I’ve been waiting for the rest of my life,” I said. It was obviously a lie, but he needed to think that we were truly in love. “It feels like I’ve been waiting for her to start my life.”
Ron nodded as he listened to me. He wasn’t the romantic time, neither of us were, but he smiled softly.
“That’s some heavy shit,” he said. “Crazy that she’s been beside you this entire time, huh?”
I desperately wanted to tell him the truth, but I knew that it had gone too far. Tricking a dying woman, my best friend, and practically the entire world that we were in love? At this point, I wasn’t even sure who the bad guy would look like. Sure, Maddie was the one receiving the money, but I was the one willing to pay for a fake relationship. It looked bad on the both of us.
“How’s life with your woman?” I asked, desperate to get the attention off of me. “Still dating the open swinger club?
“She isn’t in a swinger’s club,” he said. “Close, but we don’t switch off partners.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t be against it,” I said. He shook his head.
“I know you got this fairy tale romance shit going on, but I’m telling you, what we got is the real deal. She fucks who she wants, I fuck who I want, and yet we still find the time to fuck each other. If Maddie weren't my baby cousin, I’d encourage you to suggest it, but frankly, the thought of Maddie in any way like that makes me sick.”
I chuckled. “No thanks, anyways. I’m not the sharing type.”
I had never been the jealous type either, but the thought of Maddie in the arms of another man made me somehow both uncomfortable and enraged.
“She was pretty pissed when I said I’d have to reschedule our date night tomorrow,” Ron said.
“I’m sorry for the late notice, but I need you at the wedding,” I said. “Moral support and all.”
“I know, I’m fucking with you,” he said. “I’d be pretty pissed if I wasn’t invited at least, or even asked to be your best man, even if it wasn’t a grand gesture like you see on the internet these days.”
I laughed. As soon as I arrived at his house earlier I had blurted out my insecurities about the wedding, he had consoled me, and I asked him to be my best man as I poured myself a whiskey. Definitely not a grand gesture.
“I’ll make it up to you somehow,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it. Well, maybe just let me stay in your mansion while you’re on your honeymoon,” he suggested.
“Honeymoon?” I asked. “Shit, we haven’t even talked about that. We probably won’t have a honeymoon for another few months.” Not to mention our annulment process might have started by then.
“I understood,” he said. “Does she have her wedding dress yet?”
I slammed my drink on the counter. Did she? She hadn’t mentioned it, and I hadn’t bought one for her. I pulled out my phone with the intent to message her when Ron pulled it out of my hand.
“If she doesn’t have it, go pick her up and take her shopping,” he said.
“What, is that supposed to be a romantic gesture?” I asked.
“You’re fucking hopeless,” Ron said and laughed. “Yeah, it’s a romantic gesture, now go get her in your car and take her to the fanciest wedding dress shop in town.”
“This sounds expensive,” I said and slipped on my shoes.
“Weddings generally are,” he said and nearly pushed me out of his house. He closed the door behind me, and I got in my car and drove toward Maddie’s apartment.
Ten minutes after calling her and telling her to meet me outside, Maddie finally emerged from her apartment’s doors and got in the car.
“What’s this about?” she asked. She was in a light green floral dress that barely touched her mid thighs, and I had to squeeze my hand and refrain from putting my palm on top of her smooth skin. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun with wisps sticking out on the sides, and she smelled of soap and shampoo. I must have called her as soon as she was out of a shower. My cock twitched at the thought of her soapy body and my hands over it, but I forced it out of my head. There were more important things to do.
“You don’t have a wedding dress,” I said and got on the freeway.
“I didn’t think I needed one,” she said. “I mean, I have a simple white dress that would work.”
“You really think my mother is going to be okay with her daughter-in-law wearing a simple cotton dress on her wedding day?” I asked. “If she had it her way, my mom would probably want you in a giant princess-style ball gown.”
“For a little backyard wedding?” Maddie asked. “Isn’t that a little much?”
“Are you trying to turn down an expensive designer-made gown?” I raised an eyebrow. “Think of all the photo opportunities for your social media.”
“I’m not sure what I would even promote,” she said. “Wait, designer?”
The car pulled into a busy parking lot, and Maddie gasped as we arrived at the boutique of one of the most famous clothing designers of our time.
“I’m going to wear one of her dresses?” she gushed as we exited the car. “Gavin, this is too much!”
“It really isn’t,” I said. “Out of everything we’ve done, including this fake wedding, a real wedding dress isn’t too much.” I passed her as I walked toward the entrance. “Plus, you can keep the dress and just wear it at your real wedding.”
She hesitated behind me as a weird expression crossed her face. I opened the door and tilted my head at her.
“What?” I asked. “Did I say something wrong?”
She stuttered ove
r her words as she passed me into the shop. “No, it’s fine.”
I stood behind her as we waited for a consultant to greet us. Maddie was stiff, her body straight against mine, and even though she was possibly only an inch away from me, our skin wasn’t touching.
“Can I help you?” the consultant asked. She was a woman in her mid-forties, with curly black hair loose around her shoulders and a professional business suit that matched thin shoes. I realized that Maddie and I both were dressed below our means, me in a sweater and loose trousers and Maddie in a common dress, and that the look the consultant was giving us wasn’t one of excitement. She didn’t think we could afford such a place.
“My fiancée and I are getting married tomorrow,” I said. “Her other dress was ordered straight from Italy, but it got held up at customs and isn’t going to arrive until Monday.”
“Italy?” The consultant raised an eyebrow. Her lips twitched as she considered the implications. “So you’re in need of a last-minute wedding dress?” she asked Maddie.
“Yes,” Maddie said. “If it’s possible.”
“Well,” the consultant gestured at one of the shelves toward the back of the store. “Our clearance section is all ready to walk out of the door now, and I’m sure you’ll find at least one or two dresses that will fit within your budget.”
“Oh, okay,” Maddie said, and the consultant turned to walk away. I stepped forward and raised my voice.
“We’re not interested in the bargain bin,” I said. “You have to have other dresses ready to walk out the door that haven't been priced down.”
The consultant stopped and looked at me. “Any dress on a mannequin is out the door ready,” she said. “But those all start in the upper tens; what’s your maximum budget?”
I noticed Maddie flinch as she realized the consultant meant upper ten thousand, but that didn’t faze me.
“What’s your most expensive dress here?” I asked. The consultant laughed.
“A princess gown for 150,” she said. Maddie gasped, but I nodded my head.
“We’ll start there,” I said. “I can pay with cash or card, whichever is easiest for your store.”
The consultant’s eyebrows both raised. “My name is Yvette,” she said and shook both of our hands. “If you’ll follow me, I can get your beautiful fiancée in a fitting room and pick out dresses that will compliment her perfectly.”
“Thank you, Yvette,” I said as we both followed her toward the side of the shop.
“One hundred and fifty thousand?” Maddie whispered. “Gavin, no.”
“Relax,” I grinned and leaned toward her ear. “Just have fun trying it on. There’s nothing better than proving people wrong, and that asshole thought you and I were a joke.”
Maddie smiled. “So I can try any of them on?” she asked.
“Until you find your perfect dress,” I said. “Sky’s the limit.”
She followed Yvette into a dressing room, and I took a seat just outside of it. I watched as Yvette brought several dresses into her fitting room, and waited for nearly 10 minutes between each one for Maddie to emerge.
The first was a mermaid style cut that hugged her body until it ended in a fin at the bottom. It was a champagne color, with sparkling beads that caught the eye.
“What do you think?” she asked innocently as she stared at herself in the mirror. My jaw almost dropped, but I kept it under control and stood behind her. I trailed a finger across her bare back, and she shivered beneath my touch.
“I keep thinking about how hard it’ll be to rip this off of you,” I said. Her eyes widened as her stare met mine in the mirror. I noticed she didn’t spend more than a few seconds staring at the dress. “But you don’t love it,” I said. “So I’ll have to rip a different one.”
She agreed with me and returned to the fitting room. The next one looked like a regular ball gown in the shape of an A, and was all silk and smooth with little details to distract the eye. It made her curves more pronounced, and her breasts nearly spill out of the neckline, and she swatted at my shoulder as I stared at them in an obvious fashion.
“Not the one?” I asked as she struggled with keeping her breasts covered.
“No,” she shook her head and tried again.
Several more times she tried on a different dress, each one emphasizing a different part of her body, and by the first hour’s end, I was struggling with keeping my thoughts in order. She was beautiful in all of them, but the dirty thoughts were the only things keeping me from truly seeing her as a blushing bride. A part of me was thankful for that, at least.
After nearly an hour and a half, as I heard Yvette finish helping her into another dress, Maddie gasped.
“This is it,” she said immediately. I leaned forward in anticipation. “This is the dress.”
“Well?” I called out. “Let me see it.”
She hesitated a moment before responding. “Not this one,” she said. “You’re not going to see this one.”
Yvette emerged from the dressing room with a price tag in her hand. She handed it to me, I took a single glance, nodded, and gave it back to her. It wasn’t 150,000, at least. She paled slightly, clearly not expecting such a reaction, and cleared her throat.
“It is against tradition to see the wedding dress before the wedding,” Yvette said.
“Come on, Maddie,” I said. “Not even a peek?”
“You’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” she said with a happy tone in her voice. I leaned back against my chair as Yvette left to help Maddie out of the dress. “You’re definitely not seeing this until it’s on the aisle.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off of my face.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Maddie
It was the day of my wedding, and I sat in the car and watched as planes landed and took off from our state. I often imagined that I was on one of them, waiting my turn to leave this boring state, and on my way to a better life. The irony wasn’t lost on me as I waited for Nancie’s flight to arrive. Afterward, we would grab some breakfast and then rush to Gavin’s house, where I would put on the gorgeous wedding dress that I had picked, and Nancie into one of her designer gowns that she brought with her.
She still wasn’t okay with my sudden engagement at all. I was lucky that she agreed to fly back at a moment’s notice, after nearly an hour on the phone convincing her that what Gavin and I had was true love, but I knew there was still a part of her that didn’t believe me. I couldn’t blame her, really. I had barely spoken to Gavin in ten years almost, and all of a sudden, we were getting married.
A part of me knew that I could tell Nancie the truth. She wouldn’t judge me. She would have done the same thing. But I wasn’t willing to go against Gavin’s terms, despite how difficult it was to keep the lie to myself.
Nancie finally emerged from the airport, looking just as beautiful and stunning as ever, in a flowing white dress that draped along the ground behind her. She had a sunhat on, which I had to smile at considering the sky had been cloudy and downcast the past few weeks, and flip flops.
Her skin had a healthy glow to it, and she smiled with a face clear of imperfections.
“California’s been nice to you,” I said and hugged her. “You look amazing.”
“You have no idea,” she gushed as I opened the passenger door for her. “Now let’s get to breakfast so I can tell you just how great California has been.”
I laughed. It wasn’t surprising that she was totally ignoring the entire reason why she was even in town. I took her to a small diner that we both liked when we were poor and broke living in our apartment together, and she ordered a smoothie bowl with a side of honey toast while I stuck to a simple smoothie. I had a wedding dress to fit into, after all.
“Is it like the movies?” I asked. “Lights everywhere, stars shining at night, celebrities at coffee shops.”
“More than you could imagine,” she said. “I mean, sure, there are just as plenty drug dealers
and homeless people, but the glamorous parts make up for it.”
“And your job?” I asked. “Is it what you expected?”
“A little harder,” she admitted. “It keeps me busy, at least. Which is good when you’re living in such a busy city. You’ll love it, Maddie. You were meant to live in Hollywood.”
She blinked, realized that I was about to marry a man, and shook her head.
“I guess you could still visit,” she said. “For a vacation, or whatever.”
“I might still get out there,” I said. “Gavin seemed to like the idea, at least. We talked about California a lot. He doesn’t really have too many attachments here.”
“What about his family?” she asked. “Well, I know his mom won’t last much longer, but there’s no one else?”
I frowned as she talked about Mona’s illness so casually. Mona was everything to Gavin; it didn’t take a fool to realize it.
“No one, really,” I said. “So who knows, we might still end up in California. He’s a writer, so it would be good for both of us. Maybe getting away from the life he’s used to will help get him back into the swing of things. I’d love to be there with you, but I’m about to be tied down to him. You know, in the best of ways.”
“Well I hope you do,” she said and finished her smoothie bowl. “I have plenty of gigs lined up for you when you do. And married or not, you’re still too talented to just waste away as a housewife taking care of little Gavins. You deserve your own life.”
“Like an actress?” I asked. “Do you know any acting agencies?” Modeling was where I wanted to get my start, but I prayed like hell that I could move into acting too. It was the ultimate dream.
Nancie nodded. “I talked to a few, and told them all about you. They can’t wait to meet you.”
I paled and gasped. It’s all I’d wanted since I could remember realizing that I could have a life one day. Like a grown-up life. “Then count me in,” I said. “One way or another, I’ll make it there.”
Nancie smiled as I paid the bill. She was hesitant to let me cover it, which I couldn’t blame her. She was still used to me being the poor friend. But there was no way I’d let her know that I had a few hundred thousand dollars in my account. At least, not yet.