The Mischievous Mrs. Maxfield

by Ninya Tippett

  I shook my head. "No one because I don't need it. I mean it, Brand. It's Wednesday night, for God's sakes. We're going to splash around the private pool lounge on the hotel rooftop. Maybe do a little dancing. And maybe the other girls will get sloshed. Who knows? Aimee assured me she didn't hire male strippers or anything pervy like that."

  "Good to know you're safe from anything pervy like that," was Brandon's dry remark as he smiled. "I, on the other hand, am being hounded by some buddies to let them throw me a stag party so they could have pervy things such as female strippers."

  I wrinkled my nose. "Typical. Why don't you let them?"

  Brandon shrugged. "Because I already have enough problems with you about other women. The last thing I want is to give you more reason to punish me."

  My mouth dropped open. "I'm punishing you?"

  As much as hated to admit it, I was glad that Brandon wasn't having a stag party and acquainting himself with more female bodies. The fact though that he saw himself being punished by me for the whole squabble about Simone caught me off guard.

  He raised a brow at me in challenge. "Aren't you? Cozying up with Jake? Ignoring me? Holding me at arm's length? Pushing me away at every possible opportunity?"

  "I recall explaining this to you when we talked at your father's house," I said in a surly tone, crossing my arms over my chest. "This isn't punishment, Brand. It's called self-preservation. Just because you don't care to protect me, doesn't mean I can't protect myself."

  His face hardened. "I'm not going to hurt you, Charlotte. I may have been a certified villian coming to you with this ridiculous idea to get married but I would never hurt you."

  The look on his face mellowed my temper. He clearly meant what he said about not intending to hurt me but Brandon was most likely not well-acquainted with hurt and didn't know all the forms it could come as.

  "There's no singular way of hurting somebody, Brand," I said quietly, making no move when he squatted down in front of me and started tying the laces on one of my sneakers that had come undone.

  Unable to help myself when a warm, tender weight settled in my chest, I reached out and touched his hair ever so lightly with my fingers. "I just can't be the person you discover those other ways with."

  He rose to his feet, now closer to me than he'd been a minute ago, and his hazel eyes were gazing down at me searchingly. "There's no singular way to show someone you care, Charlotte. I just have to make sure I'm the person you discover those other ways with."

  And with that, he pressed a soft kiss on my forehead. "Have fun at your party."

  "I will," I breathed, fighting the pounding of my heart as Brandon turned to walk back inside the chapel.

  Half an hour later, the rehearsals wrapped up. I said goodbye to Aimee, Rose and Felicity who were being driven back by Gilles, and stayed for a few minutes to see off all the other members of our wedding entourage including the Maxfield sisters who were driving back with Martin and Mattie.

  Once most of them had left, I snatched the brand new camera the Schuberts gave me as a wedding present (which I'd offered to Brandon as it's technically half his but he just told me I could have it) and started for the door.

  "Where are you sneaking off to?" Jake said as he appeared beside me.

  "I'm going to take some photos around the chapel," I told him, slipping the camera strap over my neck as I jogged down the stairs. "Brandon said I have half an hour—"

  "Charlotte."

  I halted at Brandon's voice and turned around, raising the camera to take a snapshot of him.

  He was just slipping his phone back into his pocket as he approached us. "I'll be as quick as possible—"

  "I have a small crisis to avert at work and I need to get going now," he said, his expression remorseful. "Can we come back another time so you can take your photos?"

  I bit my lip, torn. "Sure. We can go now if you'd like."

  "I can drive her back home, Brand," Jake said. "She can stay behind and take pictures and I'll stay with her and make sure she gets back okay."

  Brandon swivelled his gaze to his best friend. "Do I trust you?"

  Jake gave him a cocky smile. "With everything else but her. But you know I'd never harm her."

  "But you're going to try to steal her from me," Brandon said with a scowl.

  "You can bet your life on it," Jake confirmed, showing no sign of wavering under Brandon's near-murderous glare. "I normally wouldn't compete except that I have a strong suspicion I can make her happier and she has to know that before she walks down the aisle with you."

  I rolled my eyes in disbelief at the sheer lunacy of their conversation. I held up my hands and wedged myself between them. "Alright, alpha males. Let's stop talking about me like I'm not here or like I'm some toy you guys are fighting about."

  Brandon's nostrils flared, his gaze never leaving Jake who was shooting him the same look of challenge. "I'll stay."

  "Brandon, no!" I protested, turning to face him. "If you're needed at work, go. I'll stay and Jake can drive me home. You have my promise that my virtue will remain intact."

  "Don't make promises you can't keep, babe," Jake said casually and I suspected it was more so intended to rile up Brandon rather than actually warn me.

  Nevertheless, I turned to the man and smacked him in the chest—which was as hard as a tree trunk but I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from letting out a loud ouch. "Jake, behave yourself. I will not be subjected to yours and Brandon's pissing match. If you don't stop teasing, I won't stay here with you."

  Jake clutched a hand to his heart in feigned hurt. "Charlotte, why do you ask me these impossible things?"

  I laughed and shook my head at him before grabbing Brandon by the wrist and pulling him aside. "I'm really going to be okay. Just go. Don't worry about Jake. He's harmless."

  Brandon raised a brow. "I recall a conversation with him a few nights ago telling him the same thing about Simone. That didn't hold much weight to him, did it?"

  I rolled my eyes in irritation. "It might have something to do with the fact that you were already sleeping with her before. Jake and I are as non-sexual as a pair of tombstones, really."

  Brandon grinned despite himself. "Ah, Charlotte. You just have no idea of what you're capable of, do you?"

  "Many things, I assume," I answered with a dismissive snort. "But I don't sit around and tally up all my awesome attributes. They come up when I need them. I try not to shove them in people's faces like a second nose."

  He laughed. "Alright, I'll leave. But should Jake do anything stupid, I'm on your speed-dial."

  I gave him an impatient sigh. "Yes. On number twelve, I believe. Oh, wait, there's no button for that. You must be the one on six labeled nagging mother."

  "Cheeky little brat," he said as he tapped a finger on my nose and turned toward the door. "I'll see you later, Charlotte."

  Then to Jake who stood a few feet away from us patiently waiting, he said, "Hey, Jake. Remember second grade when I broke all your fingers? Yeah? Just keep thinking about that."

  "Sure, barbarian," Jake called back out with a grin. "I remember when I kicked you in the balls right after that. Did Charlotte want babies? 'Coz I'm pretty sure I caused you permanent damage."

  I elbowed Jake in the stomach. "Boys, take it down a notch, will you? I don't want to suddenly get struck by lightning here with all your filthy talk."

  "Just remember, Jake," was Brandon's parting shot before he jogged down the front steps of the chapel and into his waiting car.

  Twenty minutes later, Jake and I were sitting on one of the sturdier low branches of a white oak tree, sharing a lone bottle of water we dug up in the backseat of his Range Rover and a chocolate bar.

  "Are you excited about the wedding?" he asked, passing me the chocolate bar for my turn at a bite.

  I shrugged. "Isn't every girl?"

  He gave me a meaningful look. "I think we've established since the night we met that you're not like any girl."

  Yo
u're right. Not every girl gets to marry Brandon Maxfield, live a lie for a year and get paid a million dollars for it. I'm definitely not your average girl.

  Not everything had to be a lie though. I knew I could be a good daughter-in-law to Martin, be a good sibling-in-law to the entire Maxfield brood, provide all the support Brandon could use from a wife, and also be a friend to Jake.

  "I've dreamed of marrying Brandon, you know?" I said, not quite lying with that statement. "I've dreamed that he was the prince who will sweep me off my feet and carry me to his castle where we would live happily ever after."

  I glanced at Jake with a smile. "It's almost a dream come true—just sorely lacking the white horse, a real castle and magic pumpkins."

  Jake chuckled. "I'm sure that if Brandon set his mind to it, he can probably arrange something for that."

  "Not the magic pumpkins," I said with a resigned sigh. "He's a mere human after all. He's not perfect."

  "No, he isn't," Jake confirmed, his tone more serious now. "Despite everything, he's a good guy, once he's let you in. But most of the time he'll be stubborn and difficult. He's not the most sensitive person either. But he'll always have your back and he's relentless when it comes to someone he cares about."

  "Are you trying to convince me to marry Brandon, Jake?" I asked teasingly. "'Coz I can assure you, I'm already doing that."

  A strange emotion flickered in Jake's bright green eyes. "I can hardly miss that fact. Brandon's a smart guy. He found you and snatched you up before you could slip through his hands."

  I snorted, passing him the chocolate bar. "You give me way too much credit, Jake. Has it ever occured to you that I was the one who didn't want him to slip through my hands?"

  "Actually, it didn't because although Brandon's a great catch, I think you can have any man you want, Charlotte," he said, taking a bite before giving me the last piece, a tender smile on his face. "The only reason you're marrying Brandon is because you love him."

  A strange pounding started in my chest at Jake's last statement.

  I knew that I had a longtime crush on Brandon when I was much younger but I doubted that it was love because no one could really love a dream—especially not one as far-fetched as Brandon Maxfield. The reality was a stark contrast to that dream but my chances at finding love with him were just as impossible.

  No. I couldn't possibly love Brandon. It would devastate me.

  "You do love him, don't you?" Jake prompted and I realized I haven't said anything in the last few minutes.

  I put a bright smile on for him. "You're really asking me that? If you were a girl, you wouldn't need to. You'd be so in love with him yourself it would be ridiculous to imagine an alternate reality."

  Jake sighed and shifted on the branch to face me fully. "You're right. Any girl would fall for his good looks, wealth and status. Having known Brandon most of my life, that's hardly news. That's the same reason he's managed to avoid marrying any of those women—because that was all they loved. I doubt you're prone to the same influences."

  My heart squeezed at Jake's words and the realization that the very things that made men like him and Brandon extremely attractive were the same ones that left them vulnerable to the claws of selfish, opportunistic women. Of course, I was no better except that I didn't go hunting for Brandon. I merely took what he offered at the right price but the crime was all the same.

  Jake didn't know all that though and it was better that it stayed that way. I didn't get an angel's reputation often and I didn't mind it right now when I was getting random attacks of shame.

  "Of course I am," I told Jake airily, tossing my hair back for an added effect. "I love a rich, hot guy as much as the next girl."

  Jake laughed and tossed me a piece of bark he'd scraped up from the trunk. "Be serious, Charlotte. What do you love the most about Brandon?"

  I pursed my lips, wondering how to get away from this particular topic.

  I didn't like lying no matter how much of it I'd been doing lately. I didn't love Brandon. How could I love someone I've known two weeks, not counting the number of years I'd spent listening to Martin talk about him? How could I marry a guy who was paying me a fortune to play Mrs. Brandon Maxfield for a year while he remained in love with the perfect Simone Clark?

  Well, you don't exactly hate him—at least not as much as you probably should. Even if you don't love him, there must be something you love about him. That will do.

  "I love that he rescued me from the douchebag harrassing me at Marlow's," I started, feeling encouraged when Jake's eyes lit up wtih interest. "I love that he randomly grabs my hand for a squeeze in reassurance. I love that he's actually funny when he's not being his usual starchy self. I love that he randomly sends me emails or answers mine at like two in the morning when he's away. I love that he easily gets along with children—Mattie, Rose. I love that he has a good relationship with his Dad even if they clash sometimes given their very similar domineering personalities. I love that he makes me feel beautiful just by the way he looks at me sometimes, when I can see how affected he is by me. I love that even though he thinks I'm a little crazy, he doesn't really do much to change that about me, even when he'd be so much better off with me as the perfect lady."

  I finally stopped when I realized I was rambling and glanced at Jake in embarrassment.

  He was just smiling.

  "Well, you did ask me," I said with a roll of my eyes, tossing him the balled up wrapper of the chocolate bar. He caught it easily before the wind could.

  "I did and I'm not sure whether I'm relieved or regretting that I did," he answered with a loud sigh. "I'm happy that you see a lot more in Brandon than other women do but I'm crushed that I'll have a much harder time convincing you to leave him for me."

  I burst out laughing. "Jake, stop it. At some point I'll believe you and that'll just be weird."

  He grinned and put his hand over mine briefly. "Think of it as an open invitation. Anytime he does something as stupid as break your heart, I'll be there."

  When I realized that he could be serious, I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is it because you truly care or are you just competitive with Brandon?"

  "I don't compete with Brandon, especially not over women," Jake protested with an oh-please look on his face. "We don't even like the same type."

  I arched a brow at him. "Oh, yeah? Then why do you like me?"

  Jake pressed his lips together as if debating what he was about to say next. "You're not really Brandon's type which I realized the moment I saw you. You didn't stand so primly or poise the smile on your face to be a specific size and look, or only laugh up to a certain octave. You were tapping one foot impatiently as if you'd rather be somewhere else. You made a lot of funny faces with your brows and your nose. You grinned and laughed without holding anything back. It was at that moment that I worried whether my friend had finally found the right woman who was nothing like the others he dabbled with before or he had frontal lobotomy."

  I flushed but smiled. "I think there was a compliment in there somewhere."

  He grinned. "It's all of it. You just have to realize, Charlotte, that there's absolutely nothing wrong in being who you are even if it doesn't quite fit the mold. You have to stop second-guessing your worth just because you're uncomfortable with the change."

  "Thanks, Jake," I told him, putting my other hand on top of his which was already covering my other one. "I know exactly what you mean but it's nice to be reminded sometimes."

  He nodded and patted my shoulder. "Good. Now, come on and let's get you home before Brandon sends out a search party."

  ******

  "You look like a pocket-sized Venus."

  "That's a little bit better than the pin-up girl compliment I got earlier so I'll take it," I told Tessa with a grin as I gave her a quick hug. She had just shown up at the private rooftop bar lounge we rented for the night in the poshest hotel in town.

  "You sure know how to sex it up," Anna said dryly, appearing behind her sister.<
br />
  I laughed and stepped aside to let them through the door. "Yes, well, the girls seemed to have mixed up tonight as my honeymoon and forced me to wear this on the threat of tickling and spiders."

  "The virgin needs to be initiated before her wedding night and the first step is to make her aware of just how hot and sexy she is!" Becca bellowed from the hot tub where she was already sprawled with a bunch of the girls from Marlow's, all clad in bikinis and clinking cocktail glasses with each other. Marlow's was well-known for its young, nubile waitresses besides the food and atmosphere. Sexist, I know, but such was the world and those who couldn't afford its luxuries such as female indignation sucked it up.

  My cheeks burned with mortification as the sisters turned to me with identical looks of surprise.

  "You're a virgin?"

  "My brother restrained himself?"

  Great. Just great. Now you're an even greater oddity than you were ten seconds ago.

  I glowered at the girls in the hot tub and then rolled my eyes at the Maxfield sisters who were staring at me like I'd sprouted two horns and a third breast. "Yes, I'm a virgin. I decided to sell my virginity to the highest bidder—your brother—and offer it on my wedding night. Satisfied?"

  Tessa smiled. "I'm actually not surprised at all."

  Even Anna, who had arrived looking like she hated the world, gave a reluctant nod. "You're not at all what I expected, Charlotte."

  I snorted. "I get that a lot. Now, go get changed into your swimsuits and join us at the pool. Aimee arranged for karaoke and we're doing it while half-submerged in water. Yes. Silly, I know, but I didn't plan this so don't look at me."

  "I'll go change," Anna announced. "I hope you have something strong in your bar because I'm going to need it tonight."

  Tessa eyed her in irritation. "We talked about this. You're not drinking, Anna."

  "You said coming here was a good idea to distract myself and I'm doing just that." Anna glared at her sister. "Besides, I've gotten pretty good at breaking the rules. Why stop now?"