The Engagement Arrangement

by Jaci Burton

She entered the warehouse where the wines were stored, happy to see that the cases were already pulled and sitting separate for the crew to take out to the reception area later that day. She counted the cases, and of course they were correct. Her team knew their jobs. She breathed a sigh of relief and headed out, running straight into Finn.

  “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “Walking my dog. You look cute.”

  She smoothed her hands over her wildly uncontrollable hair. “I do not. My hair’s a mess but I had to leave it this way because I’m getting it done later at the hotel. You probably don’t even care, so why am I telling you this?”

  He laughed. “I don’t know. But your hair’s not a mess. You’re way too hard on yourself, Brenna. You know what you look like to me?”

  She cocked her head to the side. “What?”

  He wrapped his arm around her and brought his face closer to hers. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Your hair is like curly pillows of amazing red. Without makeup on, I can see a sprinkle of freckles across your nose and cheeks. You look like a fairy. A sexy, desirable, seductive fairy who’s got me held in her spell. You’re magic, Brenna.”

  She momentarily lost the ability to breathe. Or to speak. What guy talked like that, wound sweet, poetic words about her appearance while holding her in his arms?

  No man she’d ever known, that’s for sure.

  “You have a way with words, Finn Nolan.”

  “Do I? I just say what’s on my mind. Want to hear what else is on my mind?”

  She did. She most definitely did. She laid her palms on his chest, momentarily enjoying the rock-hard feel of him. But then Murphy barked and dashed toward something across the vineyard.

  “Sorry, gotta go fetch my dog. We’ll finish this later.”

  She sighed as she watched him run after Murphy and disappear around the side of one of the buildings.

  She’d never been more disappointed in her life. Though it was probably for the best since they were outside where anyone could walk up on them.

  And then she reminded herself that they were fake engaged, not even a real couple.

  Time to face reality, Brenna. This fake romance isn’t going anywhere.

  And no amount of poetic words was going to change that.

  She straightened her shoulders and went back to the house. It was time to pack up her things and head over to the hotel.

  She checked in with Honor first to make sure she didn’t need any help. As usual, Honor had everything under control.

  “I’ve already talked to the caterers and the cake decorator and the deejay this morning,” Honor said, walking so fast Brenna was out of breath by the time they made their way to the arbor, which was in the process of being decorated with beautiful flowers and vines. “The crew is here and already setting up the barn for the reception. Everything’s under control. Erin and I have this, so go enjoy being a bridesmaid.”

  Enjoy? No, she most definitely was not going to enjoy being a bridesmaid. She wanted to be here working this wedding rather than being in this wedding. Having to spend the entire day with Allison was going to be like an eternity in fiery hell. But sure, she could totally handle this.

  She went to her room, packed up her bag and drove over to the hotel. Esther had a suite so she took the elevator to the top floor and knocked on the door. She could already hear loud talking, likely Allison’s voice because she always liked being the center of attention.

  Andrea, one of the bridesmaids, answered the door. “Hey, Brenna.”

  “Hi, Andi. How’s it going in here?”

  “Utter madness. But there’s champagne and snacks,” she said as Brenna followed behind her.

  “Brenna’s here!” Esther ran over to give her a huge hug. “It’s my wedding day.”

  “I know, honey. I’m beyond excited for you.” Which she was. She was thrilled for Esther. She would have been even more thrilled if Allison weren’t part of the day.

  “Late as always, aren’t you, Brenna?”

  Speaking of Allison . . .

  But Esther ignored her and looped her arm in Brenna’s. “We have mimosas and pastries and we’re spilling tea like you would not believe while we wait for hair and makeup to show up. And Brock’s mom is giving us all the dirt about his childhood antics. Though I’ve heard most of them before.”

  Brenna grabbed a mimosa and a Danish and sat and listened to Greta talk about Brock’s antics as a child. Then, since turnabout was fair play, Esther’s mom, Paula, told some embarrassing stories about her. They were all innocent stories, but also hilarious.

  While they all sat around waiting, Brenna got a chance to chat with the other bridesmaids. Andrea had gone to college with Esther and Brenna, and Brenna already knew Marie from high school. Sabra worked with Esther, and Hilary was Esther’s cousin.

  They were all delightful and friendly. Except for Allison, of course, but Brenna planned to do her best to avoid her nemesis.

  Finally, hair and makeup arrived so all the bridesmaids split up. Unfortunately, Brenna got stuck in makeup sitting right next to Allison, but she had to accept the card she was dealt because it was Esther’s day. Hopefully Allison would be too busy admiring herself in the mirror to concern herself with Brenna. She listened while Allison complained about the foundation spray, then bickered about everything from the way the makeup artist did brows to the colors of eye shadow.

  Brenna thought the makeup artist must have the patience of a saint to put up with her. She should draw a unibrow on her just for vengeance.

  She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have to live with her.

  “Brenna, I see you’ve been busy,” Allison said, obviously running out of things to complain to the makeup artist about. “Working as a flunky for your dad. Finding such a hot guy to agree to marry you. How did you manage that?”

  She took in a calming breath and let it out.

  “I run the vineyard and the winery alongside my father. If you’re interested in knowing more about how grapes are grown and harvested or how wine is made, I’d be happy to inform you. As far as Finn, I’ve known him since we were teens. We fell in love naturally. This time I have the right man.”

  Brenna was an excellent liar. She should probably be concerned about that.

  Allison sniffed and held her head back as the woman patted powder on her face. “Whatever. It’s not like you could hold on to Mitchell. He told me what happened between you two.”

  She shouldn’t engage with Allison, who was only trying to bait her. But as tension coiled around her like an angry snake, she couldn’t help herself.

  “I’m sure he told you his side.”

  “Well, why don’t you tell me yours.”

  She couldn’t look over at Allison because her makeup artist was currently applying lashes. “What’s the point, Allison? You’re not really interested in my take on anything. Mitchell and I split because we wanted different things. Are you happy with him?”

  “Of course I am. We’re both doing amazing at our jobs, we have a house we love and we’re thinking of having a baby soon.”

  “I’m happy for you. And for him.”

  Allison’s sniff was her only response. Brenna would have rolled her eyes but then her lashes would end up on her eyebrows, so she did a mental eye roll instead.

  It got quiet then, which to Brenna was a slice of utter heaven. Once makeup was finished, Brenna had to wait for someone to free up to do her hair, so she wandered. Allison was off in a corner on her phone so Brenna went over to see how Esther was doing. She’d already had her makeup done and was currently chatting with her mom and Greta while the stylist did her hair.

  “Can I get you anything, Esther?” Brenna asked.

  “Oh, you’re so sweet. I’d love a glass of ice water. I went a little hard on the mimosas and I don
’t want to face-plant walking down the aisle.”

  Brenna laughed. “Ice water coming right up.”

  She went over to the bar and fixed a large glass of ice water, wrapped a napkin around it so it wouldn’t drip, then brought it back over to Esther.

  “Thank you. What would I do without you?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Esther grinned and squeezed her hand.

  “How about some fruit and cheese? We need to keep your blood sugar level today.”

  “Brenna’s right, honey,” Paula said. “Lots of small snacks today.”

  “And then tonight, I get to eat lobster and filet.”

  “That’s right,” Brenna said. “I’ll be right back with a plate.”

  She went over to the table where food had been laid out and selected some of the fruits and cheeses.

  “Stuffing your face, I see,” Allison said.

  So it was going to be like this.

  “Actually, it’s for Esther. She needs to stay hydrated—not with alcohol—and well fed today with nutritious food. And maybe if you’d checked on her instead of spending all your time on your phone, you’d have taken care of the bride, since you are her matron of honor.”

  Brenna left Allison standing there with her mouth open and about to say something that Brenna didn’t care to hear.

  She delivered the plate to Esther, then was called to have her hair done, so she slid into the chair, grateful that she’d be there by herself and wouldn’t have to deal with her nemesis.

  She’d had enough of her. But she did notice that Allison hovered by Esther, which was a good thing. Maybe now she’d actually do her job as matron of honor. Though Brenna didn’t mind looking after the bride-to-be. Not only was Esther her friend, but Brenna and her sisters always pitched in on wedding days to help Honor, so taking care of the bride was a natural thing to Brenna.

  The stylist curled her hair, then swept it into an updo. It wasn’t Brenna’s normal style by any means, but she had to admit it looked decent. The stylist left a curl dangling along the side of her face, and with the makeup, which hadn’t been overdone like she’d feared, she looked . . . pretty damned good, she had to admit.

  It was getting late so once everyone’s hair was finished, they had to get dressed and make their way over to the vineyard. It would take a while to get everyone into their dresses. Everyone except the bride, who was going to get dressed at the vineyard. And Allison, of course, who had to be made to feel as special as Esther for some ridiculous reason.

  Once Esther’s mom was dressed, she called Esther’s dad, Ron, who showed up at the suite to drive Esther and Paula to the vineyard. Along with Allison, of course. The rest of the bridesmaids would be over there later.

  Brenna made sure to get dressed so she could drive over and help out in any way she could.

  “Oh, Brenna,” Esther said. “Would you mind hanging out here to make sure everyone is dressed and doesn’t forget jewelry or anything? I was counting on Allison to do that, but since she wanted to dress at the vineyard . . .”

  Brenna knew exactly what Esther wasn’t saying. That her matron of honor had let her down. She nodded right away. “Of course. I’ll make sure it all gets taken care of.”

  Because Allison couldn’t do her job right, Brenna would pitch in.

  Esther squeezed her hand. “Thank you so much. One thing I don’t have to worry about because I know you have it.”

  After they left, she checked in on each of the bridesmaids as they got dressed, noting earrings and bracelets and boots—because this was a cowboy wedding, after all. Once everyone was ready, Brenna double-checked the room to make sure nothing was left behind.

  They’d get their bouquets at the vineyard so she didn’t have to worry about that. When she got the call that the limo was ready, she herded them all downstairs and they all piled into the car.

  “What’s up with Allison, thinking she’s so special?” Andrea asked.

  “Yeah.” Marie smoothed her hands over her dress. “I don’t get it. Shouldn’t she be with us? I mean Esther has her mom and her mother-in-law and the bridal venue people.”

  “I heard she made a fuss about having her own changing room at the venue,” Andi said.

  “Nuh-uh,” Sabra said. “Why?”

  Andi shrugged. “No idea. But you know Allison.”

  “I definitely know Allison,” Marie said. “And I believe it.”

  “What do you know, Brenna?” Andi asked.

  All sets of eyes focused on her. No way was Brenna adding to this conversation. “I don’t have any idea other than she left with Esther.”

  “That’s too bad,” Hilary said. “We need some good gossip to chew on.”

  They all laughed, and, fortunately, that was the end of the Allison conversation and they moved on to the topic of everyone’s cute cowgirl boots. The last thing Brenna wanted was to be accused of talking shit about her nemesis.

  If the other bridesmaids saw Allison as a pain in the ass, that was fine with Brenna, but they could all form their own conclusions about her without Brenna’s help.

  Honor met the car at the driveway and Erin escorted the women to the waiting area, where there’d be snacks and refreshments.

  “How did it go?” Honor asked as Brenna trailed behind everyone.

  “About like I expected.”

  Honor rolled her eyes. “She’s already put up a fuss about the room not being big enough for her, and wants to know why she doesn’t have her own personal attendant. Do you think we could just lock her in there and tell Esther she fell down a well or something?”

  “As ideal as that sounds, eventually we’d have to let her out.”

  Honor shot her a look. “Would we, though?”

  Brenna snorted out a laugh. “Honor. You’re ruthless.”

  “I can be, when the situation calls for it. Besides, she’s on my last nerve.”

  Which was saying something because Honor was always the picture of calm. It took a lot to get on Honor’s bad side. Dealing with overwrought brides and bridesmaids was her sister’s specialty. Nothing got to her. But this was Allison. Even back in high school when they were still friends, Allison had been a handful, always having one drama after another. It was either a fight with her parents or her older sister or a boy she was dating, or she was mad at one of the friends in their group. If there wasn’t drama in Allison’s life, it wasn’t a day ending in Y.

  Clearly not much had changed.

  Some women grew up and left those dramatic days behind them.

  And some would continue it all their lives like they needed air to breathe.

  She went into the room where the bridesmaids were, deciding she’d better eat something, because it would be a while before they ate dinner. The last thing she wanted was to feel faint tonight. She grabbed a plate and added some hummus and veggies along with a couple slices of cheese and some crackers, and poured herself a glass of juice. That would be enough. She didn’t want to eat anything more filling because her dress was tight enough.

  The door opened and Allison stood in the doorway as if she expected the entire group to stand in awe of her. When no one even spoke to her, Brenna noticed the disappointment shadowing her face.

  Really, did she think it was her special day? Somewhere along the way Allison lost sight of the fact that she wasn’t the bride. She almost felt bad for her.

  Almost.

  “Close the door, Allison,” Marie said. “You’re letting the hot air in.”

  Allison huffed out a breath and shut the door behind her.

  And now Brenna really felt trapped, because the ceremony would start soon, and they would all have to stay in here until then.

  “You should all be standing,” Allison said. “Your dresses are going to wrinkle and you don’t want to look terrible when you walk down the
aisle, or for pictures. Esther will be disappointed.”

  Brenna knew for a fact that the fabric on these dresses wasn’t going to wrinkle. And she wasn’t going to get up. She was comfortable in this nice cushy chair and her boots were off.

  “Did you all remember your necklaces, bracelets and earrings?”

  “I took care of that,” Brenna said. “We all have everything we need.”

  Allison looked around, then zeroed in on Brenna. “I don’t see the bouquets. Where are the bouquets?”

  “They’ll be at the entrance to the barn and handed out right before the ceremony, so they stay fresh.”

  “What about makeup? You know we’re all going to need lipstick touch-ups.”

  Oh, she was definitely in a mood.

  “The makeup artists are in with Esther right now. Before the ceremony starts they’ll do a final once-over on all of us to make sure we look our best. The photographer will lead us into the bride’s room to take photos with the bride as well. Is there anything else?”

  Allison’s lips clamped tightly together, and she went over to the refreshment center and poured herself a glass of water.

  Several of the bridesmaids sent Brenna looks of gratitude as well as smiles.

  Brenna leaned back in the chair and decided that maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  CHAPTER

  • • • • • •

  eleven

  FINN HAD BOUGHT a damn suit. He never thought he’d need one, until he realized he was going to have to be Brenna’s partner in crime. She was going to be all fancied up for this wedding, and him wearing a shirt and pants wasn’t gonna cut it. He called Jason since he didn’t have the first clue about dressing up and asked for his help. Jason went to the suit store with him and helped him pick something out that didn’t make him look like a lame jackass.

  He’d discovered that nice suits cost a lot of money, but Jason told him that he could wear it to several functions and it would last him several years.

  He’d taken Jason’s word for that, and it was a nice suit. A dark navy and he even bought a new shirt and a colorful tie. He didn’t buy shoes, because he had dress boots that could be worn with anything. Even Jason had concurred with that. He could only hope he’d measure up when he stood next to the beautiful Brenna.