by Leigh James
"The trick is," Nikki said, fanning herself, "to put the lime in your mouth before you've even swallowed. That makes the whole thing go down so much easier."
"How many of these have you done?" I asked. The world seemed to tilt as I examined the neat row of tequila shots lined up on the oak bar.
"Tonight? I dunno." Nikki shrugged and handed me another shot. "Don't worry about me. I do this all the time. This is like a Wednesday night in Southie for me, not a Friday night in Vegas. This"—she motioned to our party, a large part of whom were already intoxicated and showing it—"is strictly amateur night."
"You sure make it look easy." Jake squinted at Nikki suspiciously. "But I feel like I'm gonna puke already." I'd been keeping an eye on my friend as he'd had several bourbons on the plane, followed by a bottle of wine at dinner, then three tequila shots with Nikki. Former linebacker or not, he was starting to look a little green.
"See?" Nikki turned to me, jerking her thumb at Jake and clinking her glass to mine conspiratorially. "Amateur night."
"I'm not a freaking amateur," Jake said. He grabbed a shot off the bar and regarded it. "Let's do this. I'm a lot of things, but I'm no pussy."
Nikki downed her shot, raised an eyebrow at him, and placed the empty glass on the bar. "We'll see, big guy."
I finished off my shot then tapped Nikki on the shoulder. "You can't sleep with him. Stop flirting."
Her lip curled up. "I'm not flirting with him. He's a Democrat, for Christ's sake."
Jake's face turned stormy. "I'm from Massachusetts. Everybody from Massachusetts is a Democrat."
"Not me," Nikki said. "I'm a Libertarian. Now all we need's a decent candidate…"
Jake and Nikki looked ready to spar, but I held up my hand to stop them. My tongue felt thick and I was worried I wouldn't be able to get the words out. "Don't even hate fuck him, okay?" I begged Nikki. "I'll s'plain later."
Nikki nodded and knocked back another shot. "Got it, boss."
I scrunched my eyes up at her. "Did Blake tell you to call me that?"
"No." Nikki adjusted her dress and looked at me as if I were crazy.
"Where is she, anyway?" I turned around and looked through the bar with squinted eyes. That had been my seventh shot. Plus, all the wine I'd guzzled at dinner sitting across from my father, trying to numb my brain. I should have known better, but damn, I couldn't let Nikki drink me under the table.
But she was sitting upright, and I was squinting. Epic fail.
I saw Blake still sitting at the table with Serena, engrossed in a conversation about God only knew what.
"She's with your sister—oh, fuck," Jake said. "You better go get her. Rescue her and shit." His voice sounded slurry, but maybe my ears were just fuzzy.
"Okay." I stood up, not at all steadily. "Remember, I'm bunking with you tonight." I patted Jake on the chest.
"Right, right," he said, but I could tell I'd already lost his attention to Nikki. I headed over toward Blake and my sister. "Blakey," I interrupted, "can I talk to you?"
"Blakey?" Serena asked. The two bottles of wine she'd polished off at dinner had done nothing to help her attitude. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," I said. It came out srlsy.
My sister furrowed her brow and watched as Blake stood up and walked me out of Serena’s earshot, wrapping her arms around me to offer support.
"Did you do shots with Nikki? A lot of them?" she asked, clearly concerned as she struggled underneath my weight.
I nodded at her. I didn't want to seem like I couldn't carry my liquor, or worse, tell her I liked her.
"You need to go to bed." She turned back to Serena. "Will you excuse me? He clearly needs help."
Serena nodded. "You're a better woman than I am." She looked at me with thinly veiled disgust.
"Damn right," I said.
"Lucas, stop." Blake looked at Serena apologetically. "See you tomorrow."
My sister shocked me by giving Blake a sympathetic smile. "Good luck with him. You're going to need it. I'm gonna go get hammered. My family's driving me to drink, as usual."
"Were you two being friendly?" I watched as Serena made a beeline for the bartender. "What the hell were you talking about?"
"I'll tell you when you can think straight." Blake herded me toward the elevator.
"Twentieth floor," I croaked.
"We're on the top floor, babe," she reminded me gently.
"Not me. I'm sleeping with Jake tonight." I slumped against the cool wall of the elevator, relishing the smooth feeling against my hot skin.
"Why? We have more than one bedroom. Plus, I don't think you should be too worried about breaking your celibacy vow tonight," she said, eyeing me.
"But it's tradition," I insisted. "The bride and groom have to sleep apart."
"You're exaggerating the rule—they're just not supposed to see each other before the ceremony." Blake sighed. "Plus, I need your thumbprint to get into the room."
I shoved my phone at her. "Text Jake. Make him come get me."
Blake groaned. "He looked like he was more interested in getting Nikki."
"Just do it," I begged.
"Fine." She grabbed my phone, texted quickly, then hauled me out of the elevator. She took my thumb and pressed it against the scanner. The door swung open, and Blake eyed the winding staircase. "Ugh…"
"I can do it." At this point, I was pretty sure that it was my words that were fuzzy rather than my ears.
"Put your arm around me," Blake snapped. We hobbled down the stairs, and she deposited me, somewhat abruptly, on one of the couches. She hustled off and came back with a glass of water and two pills. "Ibuprofen," she explained. "Take them before you die, or wish you had."
I swallowed the pills and looked up at her. She was a little blurry. "Does my sister like you?" I asked.
"No. I mean, she likes me more than she likes you, but that's not really saying anything." Blake flopped down across from me. "She wanted to talk about Robert. She was just drunk. And lonely. Weddings can be hard for people."
I perked up. "Thass good. I'm gonna take care of that."
"What do you mean? Oh, never mind. Just lie back and close your eyes. You look like you're going to fall over." She came over and adjusted me, putting a pillow behind my head. "Amateur," she said under her breath.
"I heard that."
"Good," Blake said. "I can't believe you let Nikki drink you under the table. She's never going to let you live this down."
"I'll show her."
Blake laughed. "Oh yeah, big guy. You really look like it right now."
I opened one eye and peered at her. "This is the most fun I've had in a long time."
She nodded. "Me too." She was still blurry, but I thought she looked suddenly solemn.
I tried to reach for her, but my arm didn't want to move. "So why do you look so sad?"
"I'm not. I'm thoughtful. I'm thinking about what my life is going to be like at this time next year."
"Don't think about that." I closed my eyes. "I don't want to think about it, either. I like you, Blakey. I like having you around."
"You flatter me."
"S'the truth." A drunken man's words are a sober man's thoughts. "I like you, and I don't like anyone."
My phone beeped. Blake grabbed it then went up the stairs. A moment later, someone whistled. "Nice place—very nice," Jake's voice boomed. "How you doin', soldier? Not so good?" he called down to me.
"Shut up," I croaked. The words barely got out.
"Don't worry. I got him." Jake rumbled down the stairs. He hoisted me up, ignoring my groaning protest. "He said it was important that he let you have some alone time until the ceremony," he told Blake. "No matter how drunk he is, I know he'd want to respect that."
"Thank you," I said. My voice came out muffled against Jake's chest.
"Thanks, Jake," Blake said. "And you." She leaned over and kissed me gently on the cheek. "Good night."
"I like you, babe. I really like you." I reached for her, my voice s
till muffled. "I can't wait until tomorrow."
"Get some rest and sober up." She sounded tired.
It was only later, when I was attempting to sleep on Jake's couch as he snored heavily nearby, that I realized she hadn't said she liked me back.
I hurt bad the next morning, but not as badly as I should have. I sent out a silent prayer of thanks to Blake for providing me with painkillers before I passed out. Then I just lay there until Jake stopped snoring, got up, and made us coffee.
When I ventured sitting up, my head felt as if there were rocks rolling around inside it. Mean rocks.
I sat down heavily next to Jake on the deck with my coffee. "So, quick question for you," he said.
I rubbed grit from my eyes. "Yes?"
"Last night, when we were leaving your room, you told Blake you liked her." Jake squinted at me, and I noticed how bloodshot his own eyes were.
"So?"
"So why didn't you tell her you loved her?" My friend looked stymied. "You are marrying her this afternoon and all."
I coughed. "Oh. That."
Jake took a sip of his coffee. "Just tell me the truth. Don't make me interrogate you. I have a bitch of a headache."
I sighed and leaned back against the chair. "I hired her to marry me. She's an escort."
"I knew it!" Jake hopped up and started pacing. Then he winced as if moving hurt and quickly sat back down. "Well, actually, I didn't think Blake was. I thought her friends were, though. Never met a woman who could out-drink me like that. Nikki didn't even wobble when she got up. I knew she was a professional something."
"Which is why I told you to stay away from her. You're a senator now. That's a scandal you don't need."
Jake shrugged. "She's cute, though."
"Stop. You can't. And you have to pretend you don't know. You can't let my sister figure it out, or she'll go nuts and this whole thing will blow up."
"Don't worry about it. I work in Washington now. I've got lying down to a science." He sat back down and looked at me. "I thought you and Blake were the real deal, though. I saw the way you were looking at her."
"I like her—just like I said. But there's nothing going on with us. We're getting married, and then she has to live with me for a year so I can inherit my share of the trust."
Jake laughed. "You're getting married, you're living together for a year, but there's 'nothing going on' with you two." He made air quotes in what I believed was an effort to truly annoy me. "That's classic Lucas Ford, right there. My man of steel. Nothing gets to you."
"It's a business arrangement," I explained with growing annoyance. "I'm not even sleeping with her."
Jake looked stunned. "Are you fucking kidding me? She's gorgeous. And she's an escort."
"I know."
"So what's your problem?" He sounded dumbfounded.
"I don't have a problem." I tried to keep my voice even. "And I don't want any. That's why we're not sleeping together."
"You worried about her getting pregnant?"
"No. Jesus." The thought hadn't even crossed my mind.
"You worried you're not man enough?"
My temples were starting to pound. "Shut up, Jake."
"Or are you worried that you might like her too much?" Jake sounded smug.
Herein lied the problem with spending time with my best friend. He knew me too well. I should have been at my office, where everyone was too afraid to talk to me—and I could fire anyone who tried. "You're making my hangover worse."
"One thing I will tell you—practically the only thing I remember from law school," Jake said.
That got my attention. "What?"
Jake grinned at me. "You have to sleep with her to consummate the marriage. Otherwise, it can be annulled. Or contested. If Serena's trying to prove it's a fraud, that's an angle she could work."
"How would she go about that?" I asked. "How would she ever know?"
"No idea, bro. But you know your sister. She's crazy enough to try it. So you better fuck your wife tonight." He put his hands behind his head, smiling and looking satisfied with himself.
"What?" I snapped. "What are you smiling about?"
"Lucas likes Blake, Lucas like Blake," he chanted then expertly maneuvered out of the way of my fist when I tried to punch him.
"Fuck you," I muttered.
Jake laughed. "Best. Weekend. Ever."
Chapter Thirteen
Blake
"You look gorgeous, honey," Helena said. She dabbed her eyes with a tissue. "Like an angel."
"Thank you." I faced myself in the mirror as the makeup artist put the final touches on my lipstick. "She's doing a great job with the makeup. That helps."
Both Helena and the makeup artist snorted. "You look gorgeous because you're gorgeous," Christie said, coming to stand next to me.
"That’s the truth," the makeup artist said. "I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful bride."
"Oh, that's nice. You guys are making me feel good, which is helping with my nerves." My nerves were, in fact, getting the better of me. I was excited to put on the dress, but I felt silly about it. What was I really excited about? This wedding would be legal, but it wasn't real. Lucas was going to be my husband on paper, in name only. So why did I have butterflies?
I heard some commotion from the back of the dressing room. "What's going on?" I asked Christie.
She grimaced a little. "I don't think Nikki's feeling too good."
"That's just great." Still, I laughed a little. Nikki always liked to talk tough, so it was amusing that the tequila had finally caught up with her last night. A moment later, she stumbled toward me, adjusting her long, strapless bridesmaid gown.
"Oh, Blakey, you look beautiful." Her eyes shimmered with tears. "I can't wait to see you walk down that aisle."
"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked skeptically. She looked beautiful as always, but she also looked a little pale.
Nikki straightened her shoulders. "I'm fine, and I wouldn't miss this for the world. Now just excuse me while I go throw up."
"Amateur," I called as she hustled to the bathroom.
"I heard that!" Nikki slammed the door behind her.
The makeup artist put a tiny bit of lip gloss onto my lips. "I think you're ready," she said kindly.
I nodded and stood up a little shakily. "As ready as I'll ever be."
More people were seated in the pews than I was expecting. I stood at the end of the aisle, just out of sight, and felt myself sway a little.
"Easy, girl," Jake said softly, coming up beside me. He linked his arm through mine. "I've got you. It's my job to walk you down the aisle. But first, Lucas wanted me to give you a couple of things." He motioned to the wedding planner. "I need Blake for a minute. In private."
"She needs to be coming down the aisle in five minutes," the wedding planner said, adjusting her headset. "But you can use the antechamber until then so you can have a little privacy."
Crisply efficient, she led us to a small room and closed the door behind us. I turned to Jake in a panic. "Is he having second thoughts?"
Jake let out a bark of laughter. "You should be so lucky. He just wanted to give you a few things before the ceremony." Jake took out a box and opened it; inside were five different items. He pulled out the first one, a beautiful gold bangle. "This is something old," he explained as he slipped the bracelet onto my wrist. "It was Lucas's mother's."
Next, he pulled out a bobby pin. "Can you put this in your hair?" he asked hopefully. "This is your something new, but I have no idea what to do with it."
I smiled and took it from him, securing it into my hair.
"Here's your something borrowed." Jake smiled as he handed me a shiny penny. "It's my lucky penny. Lucas borrowed it from me to give to you."
I took the lucky penny, air-kissed it, and tucked it safely inside my bra.
"I won't tell Lucas I saw you do that," Jake said, chuckling. "And here's the last thing. Your something blue." He handed me a lacy blue gart
er, looking sheepish, and shrugged. "Lucas is more traditional than you might think."
I beamed at him. "He knows I'm superstitious." I slid the garter up on my thigh, carefully navigating my beaded dress.
"Yeah, he did mention that." Jake held out his arm for me. "You think you're ready for this?"
"There are a lot of people out there," I said nervously. I fingered the bracelet that Lucas had sent to me. "But I feel better about it now."
Jake gave me a quick look. "I'm only gonna say this to you once because Lucas would punch me. But he is definitely into you."
I felt myself blush a little. "That's sweet, Jake, but you don't know the whole story about us—"
"I do," Jake said, interrupting me. "Why else would I be trying to convince you that he likes you right before you marry him?"
I shrugged. My nerves really started to thrum.
"Just give him a chance. That's all I'm asking."
I nodded solemnly. "I can do that." I wasn't sure if I was lying to Jake or lying to myself with that answer.
But as we started down the aisle, I had a feeling I was about to find out.
LUCAS
It was just me and the bridesmaids waiting up front. I nodded solemnly at several of the guests: my cousin James and his wife, Audrey; Shirley, my assistant, and her husband; and several other relatives that I hadn't seen in a very long time.
Serena's ex-husband, Robert, was there, as was our trust administrator. I'd invited them both out of spite. Serena had looked as though she were about to pass out when she saw Robert, but he only looked tense and a little sad. I reminded myself to speak to him after the ceremony and thank him for coming. We used to be friends, and I hadn't seen him in a long time.
I was surprised at how many people had shown up on such short notice. I guessed their curiosity had gotten the better of them. Lucas Ford, ruthless loner billionaire, was finally tying the knot. I'd tried to avoid making eye contact with James and Audrey after we'd said our initial hellos. They knew the truth, and I didn't want to see the curiosity burning in their eyes. Everyone there was curious, but not for the same reason as my cousin and his ex-escort wife.