Mr. Mistake: A Fake Marriage Romance (Mr. Mistake Series Book 1)

by Karice Bolton

  He smiled and let out a little laugh. “Well, I’m glad to hear that or I wouldn’t have done things right.”

  I playfully slapped his hand away, and he grinned.

  “I know what you mean, though,” he added. “It’s complicated.”

  “Even more so now.”

  He nodded and didn’t refute a thing.

  We were in this deep. There were so many more emotions on the line than only ours. There were dreams to be made. Memories to be created. Lifetimes to unfold in a shortened time frame.

  “Do you think your mom will tell you?” I asked softly.

  He shook his head. “Not until she absolutely has to.”

  I grunted and shook my head. “I don’t know why some parents are like that. It’s not fair. Doesn’t give the child a chance to come to terms.”

  He nodded and shrugged. “I don’t think there is such a thing as coming to terms.”

  I dipped my head and kicked some grass away. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “It doesn’t matter if you have three weeks, three months, or three years. It’s never enough when you know it could end.”

  We slowly started walking toward the parking lot.

  “It was like with my grandma. She died of a stroke, out of the blue.” He glanced at me. “Except it wasn’t out of the blue. She was in her nineties, so we always knew something could happen. And with her, it wasn’t enough time. When you love someone, it’s never enough time.”

  I nodded and looped my hand over his. “You’re right. When you love someone, even a lifetime isn’t enough.”

  He shook his head. “Have you ever lost someone close to you?”

  “No. I still have my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I just couldn’t even…” my voice trailed off, and he nodded. “I guess that’s why I was so juvenile with this prank on my friends. I saw their challenge as an opportunity to teach them a lesson. I mean, does it really matter when there are life and death issues out there?”

  He stopped walking and tugged me toward him. “Life isn’t all doom and gloom. Don’t change how you think. Don’t start worrying about your life and your choices by comparing them to something so—”

  “It’s impossible not to,” I told him. “I understand wanting to give your mom something so special. I really do. It makes more sense than what I was doing.”

  “It all makes sense, and it all led us to here.” He laughed. “Can you imagine if we’d started dating, and I was the one to bring it up to you?” His brows arched. “Wouldn’t have happened.”

  “But since I was already the nimrod with the bright idea…”

  He laughed. “You said it. I didn’t.”

  I squeezed his hand and pulled him toward me, and without saying another word, his mouth claimed mine, and I melted into our fantasy world once more.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “So, here’s the deal.” Winter held up her glass and motioned for Arie and Samantha to join in with theirs. “You’ve found the real deal.”

  Or not so real.

  “And by all accounts, you might have rushed a tad bit…” Winter eyed her friends.

  “Only because I was following my best friends’ advice,” I teased. “In fact, I’m pregnant, guys.”

  Winter almost dropped her glass before I blurted out, “Kidding.”

  But I felt it was well-deserved under the circumstances. They’d cast a spell on me about the whole love thing in the first place. I’d been perfectly fine minding own business on Fireweed Island, teaching, doing my crafts, cooking, reading, organizing my life sans men, and then voila…

  They dumped the most incredibly sexy mistake right in my lap.

  Maddox McKenzie was a wonderful man. There was no doubt about his being incredible or the real feelings that were starting to sprout rapidly.

  But I couldn’t stop thinking about everything he was going through with his mom. It wasn’t my place to interfere, but I hoped his mom would talk to him and soon. Everything I looked up online about where she was at with the disease scared me beyond belief. I wanted a happy ending for Maddox and his family, but I didn’t know if they’d get one, so I would do whatever he wanted to make her happy.

  To make her last days happy…whether that meant days, weeks, months, or beyond.

  I glanced at my friends, who were all staring at me.

  “Well?” Arie asked, her brows raised. “Why’d you call us for an emergency spa day?”

  “Oh, sorry.” I shook my head and drew in a breath. “Well, my mom and Maddox’s mom will be here in a few minutes.”

  “Really?” Arie asked, surprised.

  “Yup. I wanted to have a day to celebrate with the people closest to me, and I thought it would be a great time for my mom and his mom, Dorothy, to get to know one another more.” I glanced toward the front of the spa. I’d chosen a place in Seattle so everyone could make it easily. Since this all began, I’d spent more time in Seattle in the last couple of weeks than ever before, and oddly, I didn’t mind. Plus, I had to swing by the attorney’s office whom I’d contacted about drawing up a pre-nup.

  “That’s sweet of you.” Arie nodded.

  “And I wanted to ask if each of you would be my bridesmaid.”

  Winter stood up and smiled. “I knew it. I knew you couldn’t live without us being in your wedding.”

  “It’s a small wedding,” I reminded her, and she shook her head.

  “Doesn’t matter. You still need bridesmaids.” She grinned and traded glances with Samantha. “And a wedding shower and a bachelorette party.”

  I groaned, putting my fingers to my brows as if I had a sudden headache. “I told you. No bachelorette party.”

  “And I told you it wasn’t for you anyway,” Winter reminded me, sitting back down in the comfortable velvet chair.

  “Fine.” I bit my lip, and they started clapping. “But no wedding shower. We both have everything we need. We’re set.”

  “As long as we get the bachelorette party, I don’t care.” Winter wiggled her brows, and I knew I was in trouble.

  Before I could lay down my list of rules, I saw my mom and Maddox’s mom walk into the salon. I stood up and gave a big wave to them both. It had just started to pour down rain, and they were both freshly misted. It was a familiar look in Seattle since rarely did any native Washingtonians use umbrellas.

  “Thank you for coming,” I nearly squealed. “Especially on such short notice.”

  “I think with your timeline, everything is short notice.” My mom laughed, and I had to agree. Thankfully, this salon had late afternoon appointments for the day, so everyone could make it.

  I gave Dorothy a hug, but this time, I let myself feel the frailty I’d ignored before. She dressed to cover up her weight loss. I pushed down the sadness and glanced at my mom as the six pedicurists came over and motioned for us all to pick our colors and follow them to the chairs.

  “You’ve got two weeks and counting before your big day,” Samantha said, smiling as she relaxed in the chair across from me. “How are you and Maddox holding up?”

  I glanced at my mom and his mom, who were already busy talking among one another, and drew a deep breath.

  “We’re doing pretty well. Getting the venue reserved and out of the way was the biggest hurdle. Of course, I’m having my cake done by Gabby’s Goodies. We’re trying cake flavors soon. Gabby was able to fit us in last-minute, and we decided to have Mud Flats cater for us.”

  Winter laughed and shook her head. “Really?”

  “Yup.” I nodded. “It’s nostalgic for us since that’s where everything began. Plus, they could squeeze us in without much notice too.”

  “What about the flowers?” Arie asked.

  “Natalie at the shop in Fireweed is doing them for us. I want it simple, and she completely understood my vision. She’s also providing the chairs and white canopy tents.”

  Winter looked satisfied. “Well, it seems that everything is taken care of except, oh, say, I don’t know�
�� our bridesmaid dresses?” She laughed. “Do you know how hard it’s going to be to find bridesmaid dresses on such short notice?”

  “Well, I suppose if we went to a bridal store, it could get tricky, but I found a few styles I liked on Nordstrom’s website, and I already ordered them for you.”

  “Are you serious?” Samantha looked impressed.

  “I just hope they fit.” I grinned.

  “What if we hate them?” Winter asked.

  “It’s not your wedding, so…” I shrugged, digging out my phone.

  I knew they’d absolutely fall in love with the dresses, and they were all different so they could wear them out beyond the wedding and not look like the Bobssey triplets.

  “They are arriving in three days.” I handed the phone to Winter, whose mouth went from a sour pucker to a considerable grin instantly.

  “Wow. This is amazing.” She glanced at me, looking sheepish. “But I thought only the bride should wear white.” Winter’s white dress looked more like a sundress than anything, and I loved the cut. Winter would look great in it.

  “Nah.” I shook my head. “But Arie and Samantha’s aren’t white.”

  I took the phone back and showed Arie hers, which was a pale pink Maxi dress with a flowing skirt.

  Arie squealed with excitement. “I should let you pick out all of my clothes.”

  I scrolled to the next dress and showed Samantha her lavender wrap dress, and she clutched her heart.

  “I love it,” Samantha gushed.

  “I love mine too.” Arie nodded.

  Winter glanced at Samantha’s dress. “I think we have the best bridesmaid dresses in the history of bridesmaid dresses.”

  “That’s because they aren’t bridesmaid dresses.” I laughed. “There are some benefits to having a shotgun wedding.”

  Winter nodded in agreement, and Dorothy smiled at me.

  “Would you like to see the dresses?”

  “I’d love to see them.” She smiled, and I handed my phone to Winter, who gave it to Dorothy. She let out a low whistle, and I was so happy to see the joy light up in her eyes. She showed my mom, who nodded and smiled. She’d already seen them the day I ordered them online.

  “So, who’s Maddox having for his best men?” Winter asked, and I froze.

  I had no idea.

  I glanced at my mom and Dorothy, who were waiting for me to answer.

  I squirmed in my chair and stared at the floor.

  Not only did I have no idea who was going to be in our wedding, but I also had no idea who all Maddox’s friends were. Surely, he had friends, but with this pseudo-whirlwind romance, I’d never met any of them.

  Wait. No. That wasn’t true. There was the guy at the skydiving place. Jordan. Maybe Jordan would be in the wedding? Yes, Jordan was definitely going to be in our wedding.

  And if he wasn’t going to be, he would be shortly.

  “Umm. Jordan is one of them. He was at the jump.” I cleared my throat. “And then, Morgan.”

  Winter nodded, looking content with my answer.

  “What about the third one?” Arie asked.

  “I actually don’t know.” I furrowed my brows and shrugged. “I’ll text him to see who he decided to ask. Last I checked, he didn’t know.”

  I really didn’t like fibbing.

  “I’m guessing he’ll ask Robert to be in his wedding.” Dorothy looked right at me, and my tummy dipped. “I’m sure he’s mentioned Robert, right?”

  My mind raced, scouring our conversations, searching for a Robert, a Rob, a Bob, and I couldn’t place Robert.

  I craned my neck and drew a deep breath. I decided I wasn’t going to lie anymore than I already had.

  “I hate to admit this, but Maddox has never mentioned a Robert, or if he did, I must have spaced.” I grimaced, feeling embarrassed.

  And if we were going to keep this charade going past the ceremony, I certainly needed to be involved in Maddox’s life more.

  A lot more.

  She waved her hand. “Maybe it’s been a while. I don’t even think he lives in the state anymore.”

  I nodded and let out a deep breath, dodging that bullet.

  “I couldn’t be more excited for you, Tessa,” Winter told me. “You both have a lot to learn about one another, but now you’ll have a lifetime to do it.”

  Samantha nodded in agreement. “It might be unconventional having a wedding this soon, but I know a lot of people who’ve gotten divorced even though they dated one another for eons before ever saying I do.” She smiled. “So, to each their own.”

  “Thank you.” I blushed and glanced at Arie. She and her ex-husband had dated for several years before they married, only to divorce a short time after.

  “And one of those people is sitting right across from you.” Arie laughed, holding up her hand as if she read my mind.

  Dorothy laughed and nodded. “I have to confess, I was a little startled at my son’s decision to ask you to be his wife. He’s always very methodical in what he does. Even though he takes pretty big risks in life, there’s always something there guiding him. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust his instincts.” Her blue eyes stayed on mine. “I know he’s chosen wisely yet again.”

  “Thank you.” Her kind words flowed through me and gave me the confidence that we’d get through this. “I only wish I’d known him in high school.”

  His mom shook her head. “Timing always works out how it should.”

  I smiled and nodded, wondering how much different things would have been had I known he’d had a crush on me. That he was the one behind bringing me flowers.

  As we were all waiting for our toes to dry, I sat back in the chair and thought back to the things Maddox had shared. We still had so much to learn about one another, but the chemistry was there.

  We had a strong connection, physically and otherwise.

  But was that enough? Would this fantasy start a new reality for us?

  The bell in the lobby chimed, and I glanced toward the door.

  My heart sputtered to a stop before speeding up again.

  Maddox was walking through the door with a bouquet of flowers. His eyes connected with mine as my friends cooed in awe while I smiled, shaking my head.

  In a perfect world, this was the perfect relationship with the most thoughtful man in existence, but I had to continually remind myself what this really was.

  He stopped in his tracks, and his gaze darted to his mom’s.

  “Hey, Mom.” He grinned and waved. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

  She beamed and nodded, tears filling her eyes. I had to look away so I didn’t start crying too.

  Maddox walked over to me and leaned over to kiss my cheek as he handed me flowers.

  “I knew you said you were coming here with your friends.” He smiled. “I wanted to surprise you. I just got finished at the post office, dropping off the wedding invitations.”

  “You always get it right, don’t you?” I whispered, touching the whiskers along his jaw. Maddox was dressed in a blazer and jeans, his hair damp from the rain outside. He’d obviously just come from work.

  He laughed and shook his head. “Not always. I left work early and hoped I’d catch you.”

  I wiggled my toes. “Perfect timing.”

  “I know you were going to head back to Fireweed tonight, but I was hoping I could convince you to stay with me, have dinner…”

  It was like we were the only ones in the salon. Excitement pulsed through me at the thought of spending more time with him.

  I glanced at my mom and Dorothy, who were leaning over, waiting to hear my words of acceptance, and I chuckled.

  “Of course.” I smiled. “I’d love that.”

  I caught my mom nodding as she sat back, and I chuckled.

  “It’s like we’ve got the peanut gallery here.”

  Winter laughed and stretched her legs. “It’s not every day your best friend falls head over heels in love.”

 
Maddox’s eyes connected with mine. “Head over heels, huh?”

  Heat rose behind his gaze, and every part of me wanted to dash out of the salon and into his bedroom.

  “Well, yeah.” I grinned. “I’d hope so, considering we’re getting married.”

  Maddox cupped his hand over mine and helped me out of the chair as our moms came over to us.

  “Dorothy and I are going out for dinner together. We want to beat the crowds and become a couple of early birds.”

  My mom kissed my cheek and gave me a longer than usual hug before Dorothy did the same. She kissed her son too, and we watched them trundle out the door.

  “At least our parents seem to get along.” I smiled, and Maddox looked as if he were in awe of something, but I couldn’t figure out what.

  “Okay, kids.” Winter slid on her ballet flats. “Paint’s dry, and I’m starving. I’ve got leftover lasagna waiting to be reheated for dinner.”

  “You guys can come with us,” I offered, secretly hoping they wouldn’t.

  “No way. And crash you two lovebirds’ night?” Arie laughed. “Yeah, right.”

  I slid on my sandals and wished I’d read the forecast before selecting my outfit, but at least my toes would look cute while soggy.

  My friends filed out of the salon with Maddox and me behind, his hand clasped over mine as we walked outside into the pouring rain. As my friends dashed to their cars, we stood quietly under the awning, waiting for the latest cloudburst to finish.

  “I didn’t know you invited my mom.” He turned, his gaze holding mine. “That was really thoughtful.”

  “Your mom is so sweet, and it seemed only natural. Anything to do with the wedding and…us.” My gaze fell to the sidewalk.

  Maddox lifted my chin up. “What’s wrong?”

  I let out a sigh and shook my head. “I just wish things were different. Really different, on so many levels.”

  He squeezed my hand and nodded. “So do I, T. So do I.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was funny how my friends thought we should all go searching for Mr. Wrong to find Mr. Right, and I got stuck with Mr. Mistake, who complicated my every thought.