The Engagement Plot

by Phillips, Krista;

  It didn’t escape anyone’s notice that he hadn’t even looked to see who was calling. Hanna wouldn’t put it past him to have a long conversation with a telemarketer about sales strategies until lunch arrived just to stall.

  Lilith took the conversation ball, though, and rolled with it. “Hanna, I thought I’d take you and Carly on a little shopping expedition this afternoon. Maybe pick out an outfit for the interview tomorrow? My treat, of course.”

  While that sounded super sweet, Hanna forced herself not to look down at her outfit. Was she that frumpy? She thought she looked fairly nice today, although she was going to have to reuse an outfit for the interview tomorrow. Not that she cared, but William and his mother might.

  But still, shopping was expected, whether she liked it or not. “That’d be great, Mrs. Preston.”

  “It’s Lilith, remember. Or Mom would do as well. You’re almost family, you know. Speaking of, after we find your interview outfit, I say we stop by a bridal shop or two. I know it’s too early to decide on a dress, but it’s fun to start browsing and get an idea of the style you like.”

  Hanna was still stuck on “Mom.” This sweet woman viewed herself as a mother figure to her, wanted to go wedding dress shopping with her. She blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She hadn’t missed her mom more than at this very moment. Yes, it was a fake engagement. She wouldn’t really be buying a wedding dress.

  But going through the motions was still a reminder of what she was missing.

  And lying to her fake future “mom” didn’t help.

  Maybe she should just tell them the truth. Her conscience would thank her.

  She opened her mouth to do just that when Will slid back into his seat, a scowl on his face. “Something has come up at work. We’ll have to head out tomorrow right after the interview.”

  His dad wore a matching frown. “Why is work calling on a Sunday anyway?”

  “They scheduled an emergency board meeting for tomorrow afternoon. Long story.” He glanced at Hanna, and the worry in his eyes made her shudder. Something wasn’t right. But then he put on his game face, smiled, and picked up a menu. “You haven’t ordered yet, have you?”

  Hanna smoothed a hand over his arm, partially as an act but deep down, to reassure him. Why she felt the need to do that she wasn’t sure. “No, we were waiting for you and talking about shopping this afternoon.”

  His mom smiled and clicked her long, manicured nails on the table. “Yes, you and Dad can do whatever you’d like. Us girls are going wedding dress shopping.”

  William looked down at his menu, his throat bobbing from the deep gulp he took. “I’m in the mood for lobster. Anyone else?”

  Yes, the man had perfected the art of changing the subject. Must be in the job description of CEO or something.

  No crying allowed.

  This isn’t real, Hanna. Pretend only. Like when she was four and Momma got her a “play” wedding dress for Christmas. It had fake flowers along the waist and probably cost less than five dollars at the thrift store, but she’d worn that thing out dressing up in it so many times.

  Today was no different. Except that the white dress had an almost five-digit price tag on it and represented just how impossible her childhood dreams were now.

  Hanna twirled around in front of the mirror, not able to take her eyes from her reflection.

  Big mistake. Her heart took flight with delight. The ball gown style dress, with its full tulle bottom, flowed in a circle, so very princess-esque. What girl didn’t want to feel like a princess on her wedding day? And to have a twirling dress. Oh, she might just swoon right there in the overpriced bridal salon.

  And the top of the dress.

  It was nothing she would have picked off the rack for herself. The saleswoman had decided the wife-to-be of a CEO and reality TV star should at least try on something with a bit of glitz.

  Hanna was usually more a fan of simple. She’d tried on a nice, tasteful—both in price and modesty—A-line that she’d liked, as well as a mermaid dress per Carly’s suggestion that, after trying on, had made Hanna laugh so hard she thought her sides would burst. She wasn’t fat, but God had blessed her with hips. And she had no plans to show off their magnitude on her wedding day, be it fake or not.

  But this dress. Wow. Simple was out the door and glamour rocked the salon. Literally. The strapless bodice was smothered in rhinestone embroidery, with a thin silk band around her waist. She could totally picture herself walking down the aisle in this dress.

  It was everything she never wanted, but only because she hadn’t allowed herself to dream that big.

  And oddly, the image of Will at the altar beside the pastor wasn’t nearly as yucky as it had been just a short month ago.

  What was happening here? Was she actually falling for him again? Like, more than “oh my gosh he’s a good kisser” falling? Maybe it was just his charm getting to her. The man could charm the parka off an Eskimo. He had that air about him that just said, “Hey, I’m not perfect, but I’m a good guy.” He opened doors for her when she wasn’t too quick to open them first. He made jokes that really weren’t funny but made her laugh anyway. He looked too adorable with that black-and-blue eye that was finally, mostly, gone.

  Ack. This was not good. She was falling for him again.

  She put a hand to her stomach, the feeling of three very different textures meeting her skin. Jewels, silk, and tulle. All meshed together to make something more beautiful than she could imagine.

  Was that how she and Will could be? Different, yet together something wonderful?

  Oh, what was she thinking? Will didn’t want this just as much as she didn’t. It was a ploy to save face, secure his career, and maybe, a little bit, make retribution to her. That was all. She needed to remember that, needed to remind her heart of that.

  He’d hurt her. He could do it again just as easily, if not more so now.

  The Hanna and Will mixture was more likely to cause indigestion than to be delectable.

  But that reality didn’t change the fact that with this dress on, sound reason threatened to escape through her fingers like sand scattering in the wind.

  Carly stepped up beside her and put an arm around her waist. “Whadya think?”

  Hanna took a breath, trying to blink away tears, not able to take her eyes off the dress. “It’s perfect.” Except that it was fake.

  The saleswoman, who’d introduced herself as Anita, looked prouder than Hanna’s dad holding a prize-winning walleye. “We’re having a ten percent off sale this weekend, just so you know.”

  Smile and nod, Hanna. She did just that. No need explaining this was for dream purposes only. Instead, she twirled again, allowing herself to experience the giddy princess feel one last time. “Actually, we haven’t set a date yet, so I don’t think I’m ready to buy a dress today, but—wow. If I were getting one right now, I’d definitely be saying yes to this dress.”

  The saleswoman was not to be denied. “You never know if you’ll be able to find this one again, though. The spring-season dresses will be coming out soon, so this isn’t going to be available much longer.”

  Her pretend future mother-in-law came up behind her, arms crossed, a finger tapping her chin. “You know, I think she’s right, Hanna. This is the perfect dress for you. It fits your personality and William’s, and it’s not every dress that makes a bride tear up. I think you should get it.”

  Panic rammed into Hanna, threatening to send her falling to the floor, expensive dress and all. Buy the dress? She couldn’t think of a worse idea. “No, I need to, uh…”

  Anita came and put an arm around her. “I know it’s a big decision, dear. But the more dresses you look at, the more confused you’ll be. When you find the right one, you need to snatch it up. Trust me. I’ve been in this business for over twenty years.”

  Hanna eyed Carly, who shrugged her shoulders. “The dress is gorgeous, Hanna.”

  Never had she wanted to backhand her best frien
d as much as she did at that moment. Did she not read the “get me out of this” message she’d sent with her eyes?

  Lilith pulled out her checkbook. “It’s settled, then. And if I wasn’t clear before, the dress is your wedding present from Harrison and I. We’ve already discussed it, and it’s well below our price limit. So don’t you worry about the cost.”

  Anita looked like she’d just landed in commission heaven. She fluttered over to Lilith, so giddy she might as well be the one getting married. “Come right this way, and we’ll get it all settled.” As an afterthought, she turned back to Hanna. “Your friend can help you get changed. Oh, you’re going to be just the most beautiful bride.”

  Stuck, Hanna just stood there, not sure what to say. She commanded her mouth to move, to call out and tell them to stop. That she hated the dress and wanted to keep looking. That was the sensible, right thing to do. But her voice jammed in her throat, and no words came out. Not to mention Carly was squealing like a ten-year-old and pushing her toward the dressing room and saying something about picking out veils.

  She went through the motions of taking off the cursed, amazing dress and getting back into her jeans and sweater. The dress hung from the wall in all its tulle-covered glory.

  This was just fantastic. On top of a fake fiancé and a fake wedding ring, she was now the proud owner of a fake wedding dress that cost almost ten grand.

  William was going to have a cow. No, take that back. A cow was much too mild. It would be more like a bull. A raging, angry bull.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  William put the last shirt his mom had washed for him onto the top of the stack of clothes and zipped up the black Samsonite suitcase. The only good part of this day was that he hadn’t been made to go shopping with the women.

  A thought of Hanna decked out in some fabulous all-white number made the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. She’d probably pick something simple, high-cut neckline, very few embellishments. But simple fit her. She’d look stunning, he knew.

  At least she wasn’t purchasing one. Not yet, anyway. They had to finish this charade so she could go on to someone who deserved her first.

  Guilt plunged into his gut.

  That was the crux of his issues lately, wasn’t it? As hard as he’d worked, as important as his job was to him, the fact that he didn’t deserve an amazing woman like Hanna was about to kill him.

  Heaving the baggage from his bed, he set it by the door and looked around at his childhood bedroom. He’d hung his outfit for the interview tomorrow in the closet. He wore old sweats and a T-shirt around the house tonight so he could just stuff them in the side pocket of his bag tomorrow. Everything was planned. It would go perfectly, just as he liked it.

  Except he had no clue yet what to do about Hanna after the interview. He should probably just put her back on a plane to Minnesota. That was the intelligent thing to do.

  But the impromptu board meeting tomorrow night was not a good sign. They were either saying his efforts were too little, too late, or giving him an ultimatum.

  There was no logical reason for Hanna not to go home for a while. They’d made their statement. They’d been seen in public together plenty of times. And besides a few sleazy magazines, most of the press from anything reputable seemed encouraging. He’d even had a message this afternoon from a writer at People about doing a feature story on them.

  But he’d told them he’d get back with them next week. No use committing to something before he knew if he was still employed or not. Then again, they were offering a hefty sum for a feature photo op and inside story. That could be useful for an unemployed Hanna.

  Nothing could be decided until after tomorrow night, though.

  Which probably meant that Hanna should come back with him.

  Not because he needed her there for moral support. He flopped onto his bed as he’d done so many times as a kid. No. He didn’t need blond-haired, blue-eyed, sweet-as-sugar Hanna to support him. It was his job to support her.

  He shifted to his side and stared at Claire’s picture on his bedside table, taken a year before she died. She’d been eleven. He was in the picture, too, making some crazy face that was giving her the giggles. It had been his favorite thing to do. Making his sister smile. She had so many moments of not smiling in her life, it had felt like the one thing he could do to make things better.

  That, and he prayed. His mom had called him their personal prayer warrior. For a kid of fourteen, he’d been on fire for God, believing that miracles happened and that he lived daily with one of those miracles who was walking and smiling and breathing.

  A year later, God turned His back and stole their miracle away.

  William reached out and picked up the picture, blinking away the highly unmanly tears that weren’t allowed to fall. Duped. That’s how he felt. Like God had made them think everything was going to be fine, made them trust Him, then just pulled life out from underneath them.

  Claire’s life.

  And sometimes it felt like He’d stolen Will’s life, too.

  His parents seemed unscathed though. They’d mourned for a while, but look at them now. Active in church. Praising a God who had abandoned them. The ultimate naïveté.

  It was why he hated coming home. Seeing them all smiles-for-Jesus made him sick to his stomach.

  A knock sounded on the bedroom door, and he shoved the picture under his pillow and stood up as the door opened to reveal his dad. “Will? Thought you might want to go for a ride with me with the girls all gone. Get out the snowmobiles and make some tracks?”

  Hanna would be jealous. But no part of Will wanted fun right now. “I’m all packed, actually. Not really dressed for the cold.”

  “Oh, come on. You can borrow something of mine.”

  What part of no didn’t his old man understand? “I’m surprised you’re still snowmobiling.”

  “What, you mean because I’m such an old guy now? Don’t think I can handle it?”

  Will shrugged. “You said it, not me.”

  “I’ll have you know your mom and I go out once a week when there’s enough snow. You aren’t putting us in the grave just yet, son.”

  The thought of losing his parents almost made him want to sit down again. But he didn’t dare show weakness in front of his father. “How about we go down and get something to eat? It’s almost dinnertime, and who knows how long it’ll take them to shop?”

  His father begrudgingly agreed, and they made their way downstairs. With a feast consisting of popcorn, salami sandwiches, and soda, they broke Mom’s rule and settled into the living room.

  Concern prodded at Will. His dad was a stickler for house rules. There were probably a few scars on Will’s rear end from the paddle for eating candy in the living room to prove it. Either his dad had seriously mellowed in his old age, something he’d yet to see a sign of since he’d been home, or he wanted to talk about something unpleasant.

  Kinda like the time Dad sat him down to have the sex and puberty talk. That had resulted in ice cream and brownies for dinner.

  But so far, Harrison just clicked the TV to ESPN and tossed a few kernels of popcorn in his mouth.

  It was about ten minutes later when the food was gone that the older man cleared his throat. “William, I wanted to talk to you.” Will settled back in the recliner, feet up, trying to look relaxed. “I already know how babies are made. We had that discussion awhile ago, remember?”

  His dad didn’t even crack a smile. “It’s about Hanna.”

  He’d figured as much. “Okay.”

  “And Claire.”

  Pushing in the footrest, William stood up. “Think I’ll go up to bed.”

  His dad stood to meet him, his voice low instead of his usual booming demands. “We should have talked about this a long time ago, William. I’m sorry for that.”

  Will clenched his hand into a fist, really wanting to punch something right now. “For what? For not talking about it, or for forgetting about your
daughter?”

  “I never forgot about her, and you know it. I love you and Claire more than life itself.” His loud drumlike voice was back. “Now sit down so we can have an adult conversation about it. You’re a man now, William. It’s time to act like it.”

  “What kind of man turns his back on his daughter? I’m sick and tired of seeing you all happy-go-lucky and ‘God’ this and ‘God’ that. If your God was worth anything, He would’ve actually answered our prayers, and you know it. Claire was the sweetest girl who ever lived and loved Jesus more than anyone I’ve ever known. God killing her was just wrong. How can you sit there and be okay with that? Especially as her dad?”

  William took a step forward, looking directly into the eyes of the father he’d always feared and used to respect. “I hope I never become a father, because if it makes me anything like you, I don’t think I could live with myself.”

  He stomped off and started back up the stairs.

  “William, wait.”

  He looked down at his father from over the banister and saw tears in the older man’s eyes for the second time in his life. “What?”

  “I love you, William. It doesn’t matter what you say to me. I know you’re hurt, but I won’t ever stop loving you. Neither will God. I’m praying for you, son, whether you like it or not.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Hanna stood at Will’s bedroom door, fiddling with a button on the lime-green cardigan sweater Lilith had insisted on buying for her. She’d said it was classy but hip.

  But what wasn’t so classy and hip was that it was time to tell her faux fiancé about the fake wedding dress that now hung in his parents’ closet.

  The man was going to be mad enough to steam a fish.

  If she didn’t tell him now, though, Lilith would say something later, and William might blow their cover.

  As much as that had sounded good a few hours ago, she couldn’t fess up now that a ten-thousand-dollar dress had been purchased. This enagement plot was going to have to die a slow death, but regardless, it wouldn’t heal her guilt.