His Make-Believe Bride

by Frankie Love

  Relief floods over me. Good. I wasn’t just imaging that our connection is real. Alice is confirming it.

  “Great. I know you have your audition, and I have some fishing trips lined up, but I can rearrange them. Did you have a certain time in mind you could get away?”

  “Actually, I need you to come here. I have a big favor to ask. You don’t have to feel pressure to say yes or anything, I swear. I just...”

  “Just what, baby?”

  “I was wondering if...you would be my date. To my sister’s wedding.”

  A grin spreads across my face.

  “Really? You want to show me off to your family? You’re not scared of what they’ll think of me? Remember, I’m a big ass Alaskan man. Can they handle that?”

  Alice laughs. “Honestly, I don’t care what they can handle right now. I’m furious with them.”

  I swallow, trying not to get jumping to conclusions. “So, you’re mad at your parents and you want me to show up there to piss them off?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that,” she says adamantly.

  But that’s exactly how it sounds. When she slept with me, sticking it to her controlling parents was on the forefront of her mind and I can’t help but wonder if bringing me around for the wedding is the exact same thing.

  Damn, I don’t want it to be. I want her to bring me around because she can’t help herself.

  Because she can’t stand the idea of not being with me.

  “I know it sounds bad, but, Aiden, I want you to be my date.”

  “And what do they want?”

  “They want me to go with Peter Gunheight. He’s a complete dick. I refused, and then I told them I was gonna go with...”

  “With me.”

  “Yeah. I know, it sounds bad when I say like that. But I just can’t imagine getting through that day without you.”

  I run my hand over my beard. Truth is, I don’t really care about her reasons. I just want to be with her. And I think if I had another day with her, she’d realize that I mean more to her than daddy-payback.

  I think she would realize I’m the real fucking thing.

  “Will you at least think about it?” she asks.

  “I don’t need to think about shit.”

  “Oh.” I swear there are tears in her voice.

  “Dammit, I don’t need to think because of course, I’ll come. I’ve been dreaming of your creamy cunt for ten days, woman. I’m gonna show up and make sure you know I’m going fucking crazy here without you.”

  “Aiden.” Her voice cracks.

  “Don’t Aiden me, our night together was real. It was the real fucking thing. And I think you just need to spend more time with me to realize that for yourself.”

  “Thank you,” she says. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

  “Anytime, baby,” I tell her, meaning it. She tells me the details of the wedding in a few weeks and I promise to buy a ticket after dinner at my parents’.

  “Will your brothers be at the family dinner?”

  I smile, patting Chum’s back, appreciating that she remembers the conversations we had after we made love on my boat, where we shared more of our history. It tells me this is all as real for her as it is for me.

  “Hell yeah, everyone will be there. Family dinner is a fucking non-negotiable according to my mom. All the grandkids come over along with my brothers and their spouses. It’s a good time.”

  “That’s so great. We don’t have any little kids in our family yet.”

  “You’d fall in love with my nieces, somehow I always get wrangled into giving pony rides.”

  Alice laughs, her voice filling my truck with the best fucking sound. “I can imagine that. And see, you’re all talk. You may say you’re this burly man, but I think deep down you’re a softie.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that. I still like to give my brothers a hard time. But I’d love for you to meet them someday, Alice. “

  “I’d like that.”

  “Now tell me,” I say practically growling in the phone. “You mentioned something about having a hard time going to sleep at night?”

  “Yeah...” she laughs into the phone and I have to adjust myself. Damn this woman lights a fire under me.

  “So, how would you get yourself to sleep?”

  She giggles, but then indulges.

  I let my head falls back into the seat, picturing her sweet, sweet ass.

  Then she tells me exactly what she did to her pussy to get off. I beg her to stop or I’ll fucking lose my load in the car like a horny-ass teenager.

  “Okay, sorry,” she titters. “It’s fun getting you so excited though.”

  “Well, hold onto that thought. Two weeks from now you can have more where that came from.”

  “I suppose I should let you go if you’re headed to family dinner,” she says.

  “Yeah. I’m already late. But once they hear all about you maybe they’ll let me off the hook.”

  “You’ll tell them about me?”

  “How could I not? You mean something to me, Alice.”

  “You mean something to me too, Aiden.” She sighs. “So, does your family live close to the marina where you live?”

  “Oh, I have a house too, beside the boat,” I explain, realizing she might think my only residence is the little fishing boat. “My parents live on the water not too far from the marina though, in a beautiful log cabin.”

  “That sounds pretty nice.”

  “It’s the most beautiful place in the world, the only problem is you.”

  “And why exactly am I a problem?”

  “Because you’re so damn far away.” I shake my head, remembering how right she felt in my arms. “What are we gonna do about that, Alice?”

  “Let’s just get to the wedding first.”

  “So at this wedding, what are you gonna be wearing?”

  “An ugly bridesmaid dress. I think my sister’s determined to make everyone look horrible so she looks perfect.”

  “That sounds about right, but that’s not gonna work for me.”

  “Oh yeah? And what do you suggest I do about that?”

  “I suggest you make sure you’re wearing something lacy and delicious underneath.”

  “I can do that for you, Aiden. After all, you are coming all this way.”

  “Good. Because that night, after I take that dress off you, and strip you down to panties, I promise I’ll do things for you too.”

  I get off the phone, my cock fucking hard, my heart fucking hers.

  Two weeks.

  Two weeks until I see her again.

  Chapter Nine

  The weeks leading up to my sister’s wedding are a whirlwind.

  Of course, I do my part to help with the wedding preparations, but people have been hired to do most of the work.

  And my focus is on the audition.

  The timing isn’t exactly perfect, but it’s not like my sister is going to rearrange her wedding based on a job interview I have.

  And I would never expect her to. In a lot of ways, the timing works well for me personally. My mom is so busy focusing on Anna that I have one less person on my back leading up to audition.

  My parents have put so much time and money into my playing over the years, that I want this to work. I want this part so bad. I want to make them proud.

  Also, I want independence.

  If I get the gig, so many doors will open for me. I’ll be able to get my own apartment, be on my own and spread my wings.

  And I’d have money to visit Aiden.

  The day of the audition I’m a nervous wreck.

  Aiden and I have just talked a few times. He’s been away on another fishing trip.

  And as much as I wish I could spend all day and night talking to him, realistically it’s not in the cards until we get through the audition and the wedding.

  “Keep your head on straight,” Dad says as we wait for the audition. We are sitting in a large foyer in the Benaroya Hall, waitin
g to be called in.

  “I know. Dad, I won’t mess this up.”

  “I know you won’t, but you don’t get a lot of shots like this, either. It’s not every day a spot opens up in a world-class symphony. And the fact you’ve had two other chances...”

  “Dad, I know. I’m just going in there and will do my best. I can’t have you stressing me out right before I go in to audition. I already feel like crap that we haven’t been practicing for Anna’s wedding.”

  My dad is a really talented cellist. But after my sister and I were born, he took a position at his father’s investment group and stopped playing.

  He’s the only reason I started playing. I remember when I was little he would tell me he would never let me quit my dreams, no matter how life got in the way.

  “We will focus on the wedding later,” he says. “Today is about you. We can play that piece for her ceremony half-asleep and drunk.”

  I raise an eyebrow at Dad. He listens to me practice every single day, and he never, ever messes around.

  “Was that a joke, Dad?”

  He shrugs, adjusting his tie. He left the office to come here with me today, and I see worry lines on his face. If we were going to share a deeper moment, now is not the time because I am called into the theater.

  My hands are shaky, I’m unnerved. If I fail again, I don’t know if I’ll have the strength to pick myself back up.

  Then I close my eyes for a moment and remember Aiden. His hands on my hands, his mouth on my mouth. His heart in my heart.

  I’m no longer scared; I’ve worked my entire life for this. I walk onstage, a smile spreading over my face.

  I can do this.

  Before I begin, the panel asks me a few questions about myself and I try my best to answer them politely and professionally.

  Then I pick up my bow and place it on the strings.

  Then I begin to play my heart out.

  I think about Aiden caressing me. About his eyes searching my eyes. About his arms reaching around my waist, holding me tight, refusing to let go.

  I play like I have never played before.

  My father may have pressured me in the past, but this audition isn’t about anything of that.

  This is about me.

  What I want.

  When I finish, tears that I didn’t expect fill my eyes.

  Today I did my best.

  I won’t hear about the audition for a week, so now all I can do is hope that my best was enough.

  And get ready for the family wedding of the year.

  Aiden said he was going to fly in tonight. But then he texted and let me know his flight was canceled and that he wouldn’t be here until tomorrow.

  I understand that. He’s coming all the way from Alaska, on a last minute trip. And I want to believe that it’s as simple as that.

  But of course, my mom and sister assume the worst.

  They assume that Aiden isn’t real. To make matters worse they’ve seated Peter next to me at the dinner anyway.

  I can’t believe they did that, it’s as if they assumed my “make-believe” date wouldn’t show.

  Having come to the wedding is one thing, after all, he’s a family and went to college with Donovan. But having him here tonight? What if Aiden had arrived?

  “Mom, this is a new low,” I tell her stiffly as I realize where she has seated me.

  “Well, I can’t have my daughter sitting by herself can I?”

  I will myself not to roll eyes.

  “So, is your date actually going to come tomorrow?” Mom chides me. “Because it is going to mess up the headcount if he doesn’t.”

  “Yes, Mom, he is.”

  My sister comes over to us at the posh restaurant in downtown Seattle. “What are you guys talking about over here in the corner?” She frowns, grabbing my hand. “Come, be social. You missed the bachelorette party last week, the least you could do is try to be friendly now.”

  I clench my jaw and adjust the belt on my dress. I missed the party because it was the night before my audition. Of course, she has forgotten that now and only seems to remember what I didn’t do.

  “Lead the way, Anna,” I tell my sister, not wanting to argue the night before her big day.

  I spend the next thirty minutes smiling at my sister’s sorority sisters.

  “Where are you going to school?” a girl named Courtney asks.

  “I finished last year.”

  Courtney tilts her head. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-one. I finished early.”

  My sister scoffs. “She actually finished high school early, took classes every summer, never took a break, and--”

  “Can we not?” I say. Yes, I finished early, but going to music school was a dream. It never felt like work.

  “Your dad’s a musician too, isn’t he?” Courtney asks.

  “Yup.” I smile tightly, knowing my Dad retired from his music career earlier than he should have. Wishing I had been around to encourage him. Wondering why my mom hadn’t.

  “And you’re playing a duet tomorrow?” she adds. “That is so sweet.”

  Before I can say anymore, dinner is announced and I take my seat next to Peter. I must be frowning because the moment I slide into my chair he’s ready to pounce.

  “What’s your problem, baby?” Peter asks leaning in. “Looks like you need to relax. I have a few ideas about what we could do. Maybe find an empty closet? What do you say, Alice? We’ve been tiptoeing around what is already in the cards for far too long.”

  “Are you suggesting we have sex at my sister’s rehearsal dinner?” I ask flatly.

  “Alice,” he purrs. “I’ve never heard you speak so bluntly.”

  “Really? Probably because you never ask me anything. We’ve been set up on how many dates over the years? I don’t think you know a single thing about me besides the fact that I play the cello and have a trust fund. A real man would know what questions to ask to open me up.”

  “Open you up?” His eyes darken. “I think I can do that.”

  “Yeah, right,” I laugh into my wine glass.

  “Meow, I’ve never seen this feisty side of you before, Alice,” Peter says. “I like what I see.”

  I drop my napkin on my plate, having no appetite.

  “Look, sweetheart, we’ve been playing cat and mouse long enough. Look at them,” he says, pointing to my sister and Donavan. “Don’t you want what they have?”

  I frown, because yes I want what they have… at least a version of it. But not with Peter.

  With Aiden.

  “You know you’ve been saving yourself for me,” he says, leaning close. “Why don’t we surprise everyone and get engaged tomorrow? I can pop your sweet cherry after I put a ring on your finger.”

  I’m so fed up I turn to him, hissing, “Too late, Peter. There is no more cherry to pop.”

  He looks dumbfounded, but it quickly turns to anger. His face reddens, and he takes a deep breath as if trying to steady himself.

  Good, I sincerely don’t want to make a scene tonight and already regret telling him that I’m not a virgin.

  “Who did this to you?”

  I scoff. “No one did anything to me. I chose something for myself. I wanted it.”

  “Who is he?” Peter’s brows furrow, concentrating on what, I don’t know; it’s like he doesn’t know what his next move should be.

  “He’ll be here tomorrow,”

  “Good, because I have a few things I’d like to tell him.”

  “I was never going to be yours, Peter, so drop it.”

  He just laughs sharply, shaking his head. I can feel him planning his revenge. Great, just what I need.

  Attempting to control my emotions, I pick up my glass of wine, knowing I’m going to need lot more Pinot Grigio to get through the night next to this guy.

  I pull out my phone, rereading Aiden’s text.

  So sorry, Alice. Flight got canceled. I’ll be there tomorrow. Promise.

  His w
ords are formal and brief, and I was sad he didn’t call. But I just typed back a brief reply.

  No problem. Can’t wait until tomorrow. Headed to the rehearsal now.

  His response?

  Have fun.

  I want to hear his voice. See his face.

  I’ve got no reason to assume the worst but I can’t help fear he missed the plane on purpose...that he may not come at all.

  Just when I need him more than ever.

  Chapter Ten

  Of course, my flight is fucking delayed.

  I tried to get a private plane out, but everything was booked, and since the weather was bad, I had no choice but to bide my time, knowing Alice was out at a rehearsal dinner, probably looking fucking hot as hell, and having a blast.

  I didn’t call her, even though I wanted to so fucking badly. The last thing she needs is me to get all clingy.

  But damn, tomorrow I won’t let her out of my sight.

  The next morning, I’m more than anxious to get on the plane, and when I finally unbuckle my seat after we take off, I take a deep sigh of relief. I will see Alice in a matter of hours.

  When I land in Seattle, I take an Uber to a ferry dock.

  I get on a boat to a place called Bainbridge Island to the fancy-ass resort where her sister is getting married.

  On the ferry, I go into a bathroom and change for the wedding. I don’t do suit coats or ties, but my mom told me I should wear a suit.

  The wedding is outside, and the last thing I want is some fucking tie around my neck. There’s a reason I need the great outdoors around me, instead of the suffocating feel of the city.

  “But you should show her that you are a man of means,” Mom had said, but I just scoffed.

  “If that’s what she wants, I don’t want her.”

  I may have a fuck-ton of cash, but money doesn’t mean very much to me, especially after Sheila. Still, I listened to my mom’s advice and got an Armani suit that she approved of.

  But only because Alice means something to me and I know this wedding means something to her

  When the ferry docks, I get a car, knowing I’m already cutting it close with getting to the wedding on time. I don’t want to be late, but this was out of my control.