Nate grinned. “I have an idea too,” he said, eyes lit with an inviting gleam.
“Oh?” I tilted my head to the side.
“I saw a nice little spot when I went to the bathroom earlier. Down the hall, there’s a little balcony with a side view, and with the way it’s designed, I think there’s an alcove on either side of it.”
“Uh-huh. So what’s your idea?” I said, slowly licking my own spoon to tease him.
“You already know,” he murmured, his face only inches from mine now.
I giggled softly. “Can we sneak away?”
We pulled back and looked down the table. Everyone was either drunk or engrossed in conversation. Nate and I carefully stood up and slipped away as quietly as possible, trying to look inconspicuous as we headed down the hall in the direction of the restrooms.
“It’s here,” Nate said, pulling me toward an open glass door. “See?”
It really was small. Most passersby wouldn’t even realize there was a balcony here if it weren’t for the breeze coming through. But it was big enough to fit us around the side in the little nook without anyone seeing from the hall.
“What if someone is down there?” I asked, leaning over the balustrade. It was too dark to see anything other than the ocean and glinting lights below.
“Then someone will be getting a show,” Nate said, wrapping one arm around my waist. His free hand pulled my face toward him, and he crushed his mouth to mine.
I released a half gasp, half moan as he kissed me, pulling me closer to him and the hardness growing in the front of his pants. I rocked against him, grinding on it, and his hand traveled up the skirt of my dress. The arm around my waist snaked upwards and around to untie the pussy bow on the front of my dress before delving inside to cup my breasts in their bra cups. The hand up my dress grazed the swell of my ass, and I let out a moan as Nate squeezed it.
Part of me still worried about people below seeing us, or someone walking in on us from up here, but a far bigger part of me didn’t care about anything other than being with Nate, however he wanted me.
“Nate… I want....” I tried to choke out the words, but it was almost impossible to speak over the thick desire coursing through me. Every time I tried to get another word out, a moan would rise up in its place instead.
“What do you want?” Nate asked, his breath hot against my ear.
I finally managed to eke out two more words. “Touch me.” I shuddered against him as his thumb grazed my nipple.
“Gladly.”
The hand on my ass moved around, fingers tracing the outline of my mound through my panties. My body arched as two fingers slipped beneath the fabric and pushed inside me.
“You’re so fucking tight,” Nate grunted against my ear, his voice hoarse and rough. “So wet.”
“Just for you….” My legs began to shake as his clit circled my thumb.
Nate’s lips moved down to my neck, kissing and nipping at me as his hand worked my pussy, teasing and finger-fucking me until I was dripping all over him. Then his mouth was on my left breast, sucking my nipple as it peeked from the top of my lacy bra cup. I let out another loud moan. “More!” I said, my voice racked with urgency. “Faster.”
Nate’s fingers curled inside me, hitting the sweet spot on my front wall, and his thumb sped up its movements on my clit until my breathing turned ragged. A few more swipes and I was coming on his hand as a succession of gasps spilled from my lips.
My legs were shaking so hard that I almost collapsed as Nate pulled his hand away, but he held me up in his strong arms, a smile playing on his lips. “Now it’s my turn,” he said, grabbing one of my hands and placing it on the front of his now-unzipped pants. His cock was so hard I could practically feel it pulsing beneath the fabric.
I was about to slide my hand inside when the staccato sound of nearby footsteps made me spring back. “Shit, someone’s coming!”
Nate cursed and quickly zipped himself back up as I smoothed down the skirt of my dress. A few seconds later, Libby stepped out onto the balcony and let out a long, heavy sigh. When she looked to her right and caught sight of us, the sigh morphed into a startled cry. “Oh! I didn’t know you two were here,” she said, taking three steps backwards.
I stepped toward her, my cheeks burning. Nate hung back. “Sorry. We were just getting some fresh air,” I said hurriedly.
“Great minds think alike,” she replied.
I crinkled my forehead. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I just needed a little break. Mom was trying to give me advice on ‘how to please a gentleman in the bedroom’,” she said, making air quotes. “I had to escape.”
“Oh, god.” I groaned. “I think she’s had a bit too much to drink.”
Libby snickered. “Tell me about it.” She shook her head slowly and looked up at the stars.
I took one step closer. “You sure you’re okay?” I asked in a hushed voice. “I know you must be nervous. The wedding’s coming up in just a few hours now.”
“I’m fine, really.” She quickly looked over my shoulder at Nate, then back at me, lowering her voice as well. “You were right the other day. Just silly little jitters. I spoke to Bobby, told him everything. He took it really well, and we’re still great.”
I smiled and nodded with satisfaction. “Good, because I can’t wait to see you in that dress.”
“I can’t wait either. But anyway, this balcony is a bit too small to fit all of us….” Her voice trailed off, and she arched a brow at me. “By the way, speaking of dresses, yours is undone.”
My hands flew to my front, deftly tying the two ends of the pussy bow back together so that my bra wasn’t hanging out. “We’ll, um... we’ll be back inside soon,” I said, my cheeks burning even hotter.
Libby winked. “Take your time.”
She went back inside and disappeared into the hallway. I turned back to Nate and stepped toward him. “Well, she totally knows what we were up to,” I said with an embarrassed grin.
He grinned back at me and shrugged. “Oh, well. At least your mom didn’t catch us.”
“True. But on the bright side, if she did, she’d probably never try to give me bedroom advice. Not when she knows I’ve already graduated to balconies.”
He chuckled. “Always a silver lining.”
I cocked my head to the side. “It’s weird. For the first week we were here, I was so worried about us getting caught out as a fake couple, but now all we’re worrying about is getting caught hooking up like high schoolers.”
“We’ve done a real one-eighty.” He winked and pulled me closer to him. “Now, where were we before we got interrupted?”
I giggled, then let out another series of breathy moans as he peppered my neck with kisses. Part of me still couldn’t believe I was actually here with a genuine boyfriend after all the fakery and games, but the lips on my skin reminded me that it was all true. Nate was mine, and I was his. We were going to slay that wedding tomorrow as a couple.
A real couple.
33
Georgie
It was a perfect day for a perfect wedding.
The church was small, warm, and charming—white with stained glass windows and a bell tower. It stood on a hillside, overlooking the sparkling waters of Clare Bay, and the scent of roses and lilies filled the air inside as the bells tolled. If love had a sound and smell, this was it.
I sat in a front pew on the left side with Nate beside me, a blissful sigh puffing out from my lips as Libby’s bridal party slowly made their way inside. They walked to the lilting notes of ‘We Belong Together’, played by a string quartet who sat off to the right side of the church. Bobby was up at the front, wearing a perfectly-fitted tux. He was flanked by his groomsmen, all dressed in matching suits, and one of them winked as the maid of honor finally stepped up to the front.
Mendelssohn’s Wedding March began to play, and we all stood up and turned our heads. My hand flew to my mouth as Libby began to make her way toward her fut
ure husband, right arm linked with my mother’s left as they stepped down the aisle together. Her dress was a fitted mermaid-style garment of shimmering white beaded fabric, and it accentuated her curves to perfection. Her hair was up in an ornate braided bun, adorned with a sparkling tiara, and her skin was lit with hints of a golden highlighter that made her skin glow like a sunrise. To top that off, she was smiling from ear to ear. She’d never looked so radiant. So beautiful.
Bobby was a lucky man.
Nate squeezed my hand, and I quickly flashed him an excited smile before turning back to continue watching Libby walk down the aisle.
A few seconds later, my phone chirped in my pink beaded clutch, which I’d left on the pew when I stood up. I quickly leaned down, reached inside the purse, and shut the sound off as my cheeks flushed hot. How could I forget to put my phone on silent on my own sister’s wedding day? I sighed briefly at my thoughtlessness, then frowned. Wait… I did put it on silent earlier this morning, save for one thing. I’d changed a setting in Reuben’s contact details to beep and vibrate at me in case he happened to get back to me today, seeing as I didn’t want to miss anything from him.
It seemed like he and his security industry buddies might’ve already found something… or he was just contacting me to let me know there was nothing.
I glanced at my clutch again as everyone sat back down. Libby had only just arrived at the altar with Mom, so the vows hadn’t started yet. I could probably afford to have a quick peek at my phone before I died from suspense.
I surreptitiously slid my phone out and glanced at the email Reuben just sent me. Managed to get these from a couple of sources. Have already forwarded to police. Hope it helps – R
My pulse raced like the throbbing engine of a racecar, and my hands shook. Holy shit, they had found something!
I skimmed over the attached photos and drew a sharp intake of breath.
I looked again. And again. A fourth time just to make sure. Then I looked up. Mom was still standing by Libby, hugging her and wiping a tear of joy from one eye. Bobby was smiling from beside them, his chest puffed out proudly.
I took another breath and closed my eyes for a beat, then opened them again, staring toward the altar. Staring at the person I thought I knew. I’d been wrong. So very, very wrong.
I stood up, my legs quaking and unsteady as shock seeped through every inch of me, every pore. My phone slipped from my sweaty palm and dropped to the pew with a clatter. Every head in the room turned to me.
“Libby,” I choked out in a halting voice. “You cannot marry this man.”
34
Nate
Hushed murmurs spread through the church like wildfire as Georgie stood up and called out to her sister. Every guest stared in our direction. Every expression was scandalized.
Margaret narrowed her eyes from where she stood up at the altar. “Georgina! What on earth do you think you’re doing?” she said sharply as Georgie stepped out from our pew and into the aisle.
As her mother spoke, I picked up Georgie’s phone from the pew to see what caused her outburst.
Holy shit…
My whole world seemed to tilt on its axis as I took in the CCTV still images she’d just received from her friend. He’d managed to track down footage from two separate sources—one apartment home security camera which happened to be almost directly across the road from the CryptX office’s main entrance, and another town house camera about a mile down the road.
The first still image set showed not one, but two people stepping into the office at 2:58 A.M. on the day of the theft. It also showed them leaving at 3:20. They were both dressed in dark clothing with balaclavas covering their faces, but it was clear that one of the people was a petite female and the other a tall bulky male.
The second set was far more illuminating. It showed the two people getting into a car that they’d parked a safe distance down the street (or so they thought). Judging by the next few images, they’d sat in it for several minutes, ostensibly talking about the heist they’d just pulled off. In two of the stills, they were wearing their balaclavas, but in the next few, they’d removed them, probably thinking they were safe in their car and out of reach of any surveillance.
The man was a stranger to me. Short spiked blond hair, heavy brow and a prominent jawline. The woman, however, was immediately recognizable, even in the grainy black and white stills. Fair hair and an aquiline nose. Wide expressive eyes.
Holy fuck. No way.
I looked up, my stomach coiling into knots. My heart thumped so loud I wondered if anyone else in the church could hear it. I’d only looked at the CCTV images for a few seconds, but even so, the whole world already felt dramatically different. Everything I believed, everything I thought I knew… it was all shifting, fracturing, crashing down around me.
Not Bobby. Never Bobby.
All along, it was her—the woman my brother was about to marry.
Libby fucking Miller.
Georgie didn’t seem to have listened to her mother at all. She kept walking slowly up the aisle, her jaw set with determination as she stared directly at her sister. “You don’t deserve him.” Her words came out in a low hiss, but anyone within a ten foot radius could still hear what she said. “You lying, two-faced bitch. I can’t believe we all fell for yo—”
Margaret interrupted, holding up a hand. “Shut up! How dare you speak to your sister like that on her wedding day?”
Georgie ignored her and took another two steps forward. I noticed her legs were trembling, so I stood up and strode straight over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder as I seethed inwardly.
“What was the plan, huh?” she bit out. “Stay married for a year or so, just long enough to convince everyone you gave it a real shot, then claim it didn’t work out and sail off into the sunset with Justin and all that sweet cash you stole?”
Libby’s expression remained neutral. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said smoothly. Then she glanced at Margaret. “Mom, you were right all along… she came here to try and ruin my wedding!”
Georgie rolled her eyes. “Oh, give it up. I have proof. My friend just sent me the photos.”
“I saw them too,” I said quietly, shooting a death glare at Libby. If I said any more than that or raised my voice by even half an octave, I might just explode. I had to resist that urge, even though the need to take over and demand answers was forcing my blood to boiling point. This was Georgie’s time to confront her sociopathic sister, not mine. I could wait.
“What photos?” Libby shrugged, then turned to Bobby. “I think she’s having some sort of psychotic breakdown. Obviously she’s somehow roped Nate into her delusions,” she said in a saccharine-sweet stage whisper.
For once, Bobby didn’t immediately defer to her. He stared at Georgie, his eyes wide. “What are you talking about? What photos? Who’s Justin?”
“The man my sister has apparently been working with to fleece Nate out of his money, using you as the golden ticket to do so. Pinning you as the scapegoat, too.”
“What?” Margaret finally spoke up again, waving both hands around in an attempt to get Georgie’s attention. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Georgie kept her eyes on Bobby. “My sister used your keycard and passwords to get into the office that night. She’s the one who hacked Nate’s laptop and transferred his money to god knows where.”
Libby’s eyes glittered with malice. “Bullshit!” She stepped forward, hands on her hips.
Georgie sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. “I told you to give it up! I have proof, and now the cops do too, because you weren’t as careful as you thought you were. You forgot to account for private home security systems.”
“What?” Libby’s face blanched, and she seemed to shrink several inches as her shoulders sagged. “I… I don’t…” Her voice came out in a ragged whisper now.
Georgie took another step forward and sniffed derisively. “You know, as messe
d up as it is, your plan was pretty ingenious. I can’t imagine how long it took to figure out and pull off. But you always were the smart one, weren’t you? You sure as hell tricked me that day when I caught you texting Justin, after all.” She went on, her voice breezy now, as if she’d already processed and accepted everything. “And it doesn’t hurt that Justin’s a forensic accountant, does it? I’m sure between the two of you, you thought you’d be able to hide that money and get away with it forever.”
“Wait, you mean Justin Byford? Her ex?” Bianca widened her eyes and stepped away from the head of the bridesmaid lineup.
“Yup.” Georgie nodded. At the same time, Libby tried to make a break for it, but she only made it half a step before her maid of honor stopped her.
“You fucking bitch!” Bianca screeched, swinging the bouquet at her head. “He’s mine!”
“What? You’ve been sleeping with him?” Libby shouted, rubbing her head and ducking as Bianca swung at her again. “What the fuck?”
Oh, Christ. This was a real clusterfuck. Truth grenades were being launched from all directions, worsening the situation with every word and every second that passed.
I glanced back down at the photos on Georgie’s phone, which was still clutched in my free hand. I figured the blond man was Justin Byford, whoever the fuck he was. Libby's lover, apparently, and partner in crime. My hands clenched into fists at the thought of the smarmy prick sitting on my stolen fortune, patting himself on the back for pulling off such an imaginative heist.
Guilt roiled in my guts as I thought of all the times I’d blamed my brother for the missing money over the last five months. All the times I’d made him feel like shit when he was innocent the whole time. I might’ve won some sort of victory today, because I’d probably be able to get every last cent of my money back soon, but I’d never felt so fucking low.
Mr. Man Candy: A Fake Boyfriend Romance Page 27