The Wedding Hoax

by Heather Thurmeier

  “Actually she was tired from the marathon sex you interrupted on the kitchen floor. I was well on my way to my fourth home run before you barged in here and messed up my night.”

  “Fourth?” Troy scoffed.

  “One of the perks of engaged life.” Cole got up from the couch and took their empty beers to the kitchen. He yawned purposefully loud while he put them into the recycling bin, stretching as he walked back into the room.

  Apparently taking the hint, Troy said a hasty good-bye and left. Relief washed over Cole, but it was quickly replaced by dread at the conversation he had coming up with Daisy.

  He knocked on her door.

  No answer.

  He knocked again. He had to talk to her, and he had to do it tonight. Something like this couldn’t be left to fester between them, or it would only cause more issues down the line. If he didn’t care about what happened between them, he’d walk away. But he did care about her, at least enough to make sure she wasn’t in her room crying over something he’d done or hadn’t done.

  “Dee, I know you’re in there.” His nickname for her kept slipping out despite his best efforts to rein it in. This time it might work to his benefit and soften her up a little. “Can I come in?”

  “Go away, Cole.”

  Ignoring her request, he pushed open the door. A lump lay buried in the blankets. The mattress sagged beneath him as he climbed onto the bed beside her and leaned back against the headboard.

  “That’s the exact opposite of going away.”

  “I know.”

  He stayed quiet for a few minutes, enjoying lying there next to her, sharing the same space. He looked around her room, amazed at how she’d turned his boring and bland guest room into something nice. Every inch of it screamed Daisy’s name from the flowers in a vase on the dresser to the books stacked five-high on the nightstand.

  “Are you going to tell me what happened at dinner, or do I have to ask?”

  “A momentary lapse in judgment.”

  “You seem to be having a lot of those lately. It might be a critical problem.” He hoped she heard the teasing tone in his voice even with all those blankets over her head.

  “Listen, Cole.” Her voice wavered.

  He cut her off before she could say more. “I’d be able to listen better if you would come out from under there.”

  A small sigh came from the lump then she removed the blankets, uncovering her head and chest. Static-filled hair stuck up in every direction.

  “Are you actually laughing at me?” She shot upright in bed, the thin spaghetti strap of her tank top pajamas falling off her shoulder.

  He realized he must have been grinning like a fool. “I’m sorry. It’s your hair. It’s ridiculous.”

  “So you came in here,” she paused, “to insult my hair?” When her voice spiked an octave on the last word, he couldn’t stop the laugh from spilling out of him.

  She glowered while he regained his composure.

  “I came in here to find out what happened at dinner. One minute I thought I was saving you from choking, and the next you were on me. Everywhere. And then just as fast as you started things, you turned it off like a light switch.”

  “Your brother was at the door.” She lay back down in bed, on her side, facing him. The way she was laying and the angle of her shirt gave him a sweet view of her cleavage. He tried his best not to look but quickly conceded defeat. The view was too good to ignore. One he’d like to bury his face in again if she’d give him the chance.

  “He would have given up in another minute or two and gone home,” he said.

  “And pissed off all the neighbors while he was at it.”

  “I couldn’t give a shit about what the neighbors think. But I do care about you, whether you choose to believe it or not. I didn’t miss the tears in your eyes when you fled to your room.”

  “I didn’t flee.”

  “You did. And I’d like you to tell me why since you’re the one who came on to me, and you were the one to call it off.”

  She chewed on her lip for a minute before answering. “I really thought going through the motions would be no big deal. But moving in together added a whole other level I wasn’t ready for.”

  “I know. But I really tried to keep my end of the bargain. I wasn’t trying to seduce you with dinner.”

  “I know you weren’t. It was all me.” She looked as if she were about to say something but stopped herself.

  “You’re not clamming up on me. Whatever you have to say, I want to hear it. I need to hear it.”

  “Fine. After you mentioned not going out and flirting with ‘anything with tits,’ if I recall your exact words correctly, I couldn’t stop picturing you with other women. It pissed me off. And…it made me jealous, okay? I know I shouldn’t be, but I can’t help it. Then I saw the concern on your face when you thought I was choking, and it was all too much. I acted on impulse, and I won’t do it again.”

  “But you want to? To be with me?” If she wanted to, why fight it?

  “But. I. Won’t.” She emphasized each word distinctly.

  “Why. Not?” he asked, just as distinctly. “If you want something, why not go after it? Do it? Live life?”

  “That’s what I was trying to do. But I’m not like you. I can’t live in the moment and say the hell with the future.”

  He slid down and rolled over so he lay on his side, facing Daisy. He propped himself up on his elbow. “Why does everything have to lead to something else with you?”

  “Why can’t you consider the future for a change and factor that into one of your decisions? You can do it for the magazine. Why can’t you do it for your personal life?”

  “It’s not the way I’m made.” He shrugged.

  She shrugged back. “Ditto to your question.”

  “When you plan everything out, it takes away from the fun and excitement of it all. Sometimes it’s nice to be spontaneous, in the moment, with no obligation for more.”

  “Don’t worry. You’re not obligated for anything more than the rest of this arrangement with me. No one’s made that clearer than you.

  Her voice had a new hard edge to it. He didn’t like hearing it.

  “Can’t we just have fun? Enjoy each other’s company to the fullest while we’ve been given the opportunity?”

  That sounded like a great plan to him. And with Daisy, no less. Even rumpled from the blankets with bed head and puffy eyes, she still looked amazing. He could think of much worse ways to spend time than in her bed or her in his.

  As he watched, a whole range of emotions played across her face, finally settling on something vague and closed off from her usual happy self.

  “You need to leave now,” she said simply. Coldly.

  The mere idea of leaving her bed sounded horrible, but he dragged himself out of it regardless. He recognized the look in her eye, the hardness in her jaw, and knew their conversation was over. Whatever she wasn’t telling him about tonight was going to stay a mystery because he’d never pry it out of her. She could be exceptionally stubborn when she put her mind to it. The only thing she’d manage to tell him was that she thought about the future and he didn’t. That wasn’t news to either of them.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Daisy checked her blind spot for cars, then moved her four-door sedan into the right lane. Only one more mile until her exit. The dashboard clock read five. They’d have dinner by six and then they could be out of there by eight, claiming that they had to get back to the city before it got too late since they both had to work in the morning.

  The thought of canceling dinner with her mom and Cole had crossed her mind on a few occasions over the last couple of weeks. But she’d put her mom off as long as she could and now she had to bring Cole out for a visit, or her mom was bound to get suspicious. She’d asked to see her future son-in-law more times than Daisy could count at this point.

  Daisy didn’t know why her nerves were so bad. It wasn’t like her mom and Cole had never
met before, but that was before she and Cole were lying to everyone about their relationship. Daisy was a terrible liar, and if anyone was going to see through their little charade, it would be her mom.

  Today had to go well. She couldn’t tell her mom the truth. That would mean admitting she was having trouble paying for her rent, salaries, and her mom’s medical bills. She would sell a kidney before letting her mom feel guilty about something that was beyond her control.

  Whatever questions her mom asked tonight, Daisy had to do her best to answer them in a way that was honest. Or at least as close to honest as she could be. An outright lie would definitely give her away. Her mom could always tell when Daisy was lying.

  “Ready?” she asked Cole, pulling up in front of her mom’s house.

  “I am if you are,” he said, climbing out of the car and striding toward the house with confidence.

  She grabbed his hand to stop him. “Don’t forget to make it good. She can’t know the truth about us. Okay?”

  He squeezed her hand. “If that’s what you want, then I’ll play along. She won’t get the truth from me.”

  “Thank you,” she said, relaxing slightly with his reassuring smile. She appreciated that he didn’t ask her any questions or demand a reason on why she wanted things this way. He simply respected her enough to do as she asked.

  They walked to the front door, still holding hands, and knocked before heading inside. Normally Daisy would have called out to announce her arrival before going down the hall to the bedroom, but tonight she didn’t have to. Her mom was in the front living room, sitting up in her wheelchair, a blanket over her lap.

  “I didn’t expect you out here.” She gave her mom a kiss on the cheek.

  “Well, I couldn’t have my guest hanging out in my bedroom, now could I? What would the neighbors say?”

  “Cole, you remember my mom.”

  “How could I forget the woman who gave Daisy her good looks?” He shook her mom’s hand.

  Samantha wandered into the living room with a tray of food and set it on the coffee table before returning with another topped with drinks. She filled a plate and handed it to Daisy’s mom.

  “Dinner is very casual tonight, as you can see. I hope you don’t mind.” Her mom motioned for them to fill their own plates.

  “Everything looks delicious. You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, Samantha. I could have stopped somewhere to pick up food on the way.”

  “Not to worry. The delivery boy only left a few minutes before you got here. I didn’t do anything but put it into dishes.”

  Daisy once again worried she didn’t pay Samantha enough for all the work she did. But one glance at her bank-account balance was all it took to confirm that she couldn’t afford to pay her any more. Although, now that she’d been saving her rent money, her account was growing. Maybe soon she’d be able to provide the nurse with a bonus of some kind.

  They chatted comfortably, her mom asking Cole questions about the magazine, his family, and how their wedding plans were coming along. Daisy was thrilled that most of the questions had been directed at him so far so that she didn’t have to lie.

  Cole answered each one without hesitation, making sure he also included references to Daisy along the way. He was nothing short of charming. Even Daisy found herself laughing at his jokes and chiming in with little details about the things they’d been doing together.

  When they’d sat on the couch and he’d put his arms around her, she’d smiled and snuggled into his side, feeling content in the moment. She’d been so worried about putting Cole and her mom in the same room, but without reason. He handled himself better than she expected, and her mom appeared completely smitten with her phony future son-in-law.

  Once they’d finished eating, Samantha stacked their plates back onto the tray. “I’ll be right back with dessert and coffee.”

  “Let me take that for you,” he said, reaching for the tray. He disappeared into the kitchen following Samantha.

  Daisy watched his rear view appreciatively as he walked away. She’d been sneaking peeks at him as often as she could without getting caught. Maybe she didn’t want to be with him again—or maybe she wanted to be with him again too much—but she could still look and enjoy the man candy without harm.

  “It’s nice to see you so happy,” her mom said.

  Daisy smiled. “I am happy.” True.

  “Cole is even more wonderful than I remembered. Is he treating you well?”

  “Cole is always a gentleman.” True. This was going well.

  “Are you excited for the big day to arrive?”

  Daisy thought about her answer for a moment. Excitement wasn’t really what she felt at all. “Not really. I feel nervous, like it won’t all go the way it’s supposed to.” That was true, too. Except the things she worried about possibly going wrong were probably very different than a typical bride’s worries.

  Her mom took her hand. “As long as you love each other, everything else will work out in the wash. You do love him, don’t you?”

  Daisy bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t avoid answering the question, but would her mom see through her answer? “I love Cole more than I thought possible.”

  The moment the words left her mouth, she feared she’d actually spoken the truth without realizing it and without wanting to. Did she really love Cole? Like love him, love him?

  Falling in love with Cole was the exact opposite thing she was supposed to be doing. This thing between them wasn’t a real relationship, and therefore she wasn’t supposed to have real feelings for him.

  No. No, she didn’t love him. She’d only said she did and sort of believed it because she was trying so hard to convince her mom of it. That’s all it was.

  Cole walked back into the room carrying a tray of coffees while Samantha brought in the dessert. He looked up and smiled at her after setting down the tray. The tightness in her chest turned to warmth.

  Oh God. Do I love him?

  Her mom accepted a coffee, visibly relaxing after Daisy’s confession. Cole returned to Daisy’s side, falling back into the conversation easily.

  She nodded, smiled, and contributed as needed, but her mind wasn’t in it anymore. Did she really love Cole? Despite her built-in lie detector as far as Daisy was concerned, her mom hadn’t questioned her love for Cole at all. Was it possible that she loved Cole and didn’t even realize it yet?

  “No,” she whispered, determined to make the denial true.

  “No what?” Cole asked. Her mom and Samantha stared at her. “You don’t think the promotions we’ve been doing in the magazine are good?”

  Shit.

  “No,” she said, swallowing. “I think they’re better than good. They’ve been great. Amazing.”

  He looked at her as if she had three heads.

  “I hate to run, but Cole and I should head back to the city. I have a really early morning tomorrow, and it will take us a good hour to get home.”

  “I’m so happy you both came out to visit. I hope we can do this again sometime soon. I’d like to know my future son-in-law a little more before the wedding.”

  “Anytime.” He stood and shook her mom’s hand, giving it a quick kiss in a very gentlemanly way. “Thank you for a wonderful dinner. Next time we’ll bring dinner with us.”

  “Sounds like a date.”

  “That must make me the luckiest man in the world getting a date with not one but three beautiful woman in one night.” He laid on the charm, thick and efficiently.

  “All right, let’s go before they stop believing your used-car-salesman charm.”

  Daisy ushered Cole out of the house after quick good-byes to her mom and Samantha. As they walked back to her car, he slipped his arm around her waist. She relaxed with his touch, her body reacting against her better judgment.

  He pressed her up against the car door, leaning into her and burying his face against her neck. When he kissed her softly, her world stopped revolving, and nothing else ex
isted but him, this moment. He put so much passion into a simple kiss, she clawed at his shirt, fisting it in her hands and pulling him closer. Her head spun. When he kissed her like that, she really could believe she loved him. And if the passion he put into his kisses was any indication, maybe he loved her, too.

  He broke away, hovering over her as if debating whether or not to kiss her again.

  Yes. Do it.

  “In case Helen and Samantha are watching out the front window. Pretty convincing, right?”

  She bit the inside of her cheek, forcing the tears and hurt she felt building to subside. She was a fool. He only kissed her because he was keeping up the act.

  If only the truth didn’t hurt so much.

  …

  Cole tried to make small talk on the way back to the city, but Daisy wasn’t in a chatting mood. Eventually he gave up, succumbing to his thoughts about dinner with Daisy’s mom.

  He didn’t want to think about the dinner. To think about how easily he’d fit into her life. To compare how warm and accepting her mom was compared to his cold, unsupportive father.

  When was the last time his father asked a question about the magazine then didn’t shoot him down for all the shit he was doing wrong? When had they’d ever shared a nice meal without it ending in an argument?

  Daisy’s mom had been friendly, warm, kind, and encouraging about his business and about their engagement. He would have been happy to stay there and chat all night.

  Being the man by Daisy’s side, the one who was supposed to come to a thousand more family dinners once they were married, felt great. And the thought that it would end soon and someone else would take his place sat like sour milk in his stomach. The thought made him nauseous.

  He wasn’t qualified to be the man by her side. It needed to be someone who would put her first, treat her the way she deserved to be treated. Not a workaholic like him—a guy who would stay late at work to run numbers for the third time instead of coming home as soon as possible to the woman waiting for him. A man who would make that choice a thousand times if it meant his father looking at him without disappointment in his eyes.