Page 45 of My Fake Fiancé

I am about to say something else when the door to the bridal shop opens and Tatyana comes hurdling out of it. Before either Callum or I can react, Tatyana, still dressed in a bridesmaid dress, launches herself at Callum with her knee up in front of her and nails him right in the sweet spot. Callum doubles over and then falls to the sidewalk, groaning and grabbing himself.

“What the hell are you doing here, you -” Tatyana starts to go on a long rant filled with curse words but I jump in and grab onto her arm as I see her launch towards him again.

“Heyyy, hey there. As much as I appreciate this, you probably shouldn’t do that with the company inside.” I make a face and Tatyana makes a ‘whoops’ expression.

“Stay away from her,” Tatyana says, then loops her arm through mine and we go back into the shop leaving Callum on the sidewalk groaning in pain. Once we are inside, Tatyana smiles at me. “See I refrained from calling him anything that last time.”

“Yes.” I laugh and smile appreciatively. “I am so proud of you. Thanks for coming out there and defending my honor.” I chuckle and squeeze her arm.

“Anytime.” Tatyana hip-bumps me and leads me back to the rest of the group. I look back for a second and see Callum getting off the ground and limping away. I smile, I have the most amazing best friend.

“Everything alright over here, ladies?” Mrs. Michaels walks over to us and I quickly step away from the window to meet her so she doesn't see Callum disappearing down the street.

“Yes, I just needed some fresh air. I’m not used to all this attention and trying on so many gowns,” I trail off with a small smile. “Whew, a lot of them were quite warm.”

Mrs. Michaels laughs a joyous laugh and links her arm through mine, pulling me back toward the group. “That is completely understandable. Take as many breaks as you need.”

“Thank you,” I say but look back at Tatyana as Mrs. Michaels drags me away. “ Help ,” I mouth. Tatyana shakes her head but reluctantly follows behind us.

We settle back on the couch and watch as Merrin tries on a few more dress options. Instead of joining her, Tatyana taps out and after changing back into her own clothes, she comes to sit beside me. She has a glass of champagne in her hand as she leans into me.

“Are you okay?” She whispered, trying to keep her voice low.

I look around to make sure no one can see us before I respond to her. “I don’t know how I keep running into him. I don’t know why he won’t leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry, kid. We’ll figure it out.” Tatyana rubs my arm to comfort me.

When we are finally finished with the appointment at the shop, I’ve almost forgotten that this whole thing wasn’t real. Mrs. Michaels and Merrin made me feel so welcome and having my mom and grandmother with me had only brought all of us closer. Tatyana even looked like she was having fun.

“Thank you so much for such a wonderful day,” I say to Mrs. Michaels as we all head back to the cars. The others walk ahead of us while Tatyana trails behind.

“Oh, of course, dear. I am so glad we were able to spend some time together. Hopefully, we can get together soon,” Mrs. Michaels says and pulls me closer to her to give me a side hug.

“I would like that,” I admit and she nods then gives a little wave as she gets in her car with the rest of the group. Thankfully, I don’t have to travel back with them now that Tatyana is here.

I say a quick goodbye to everybody else before finding peace and quiet in Tatyana’s car. I close my eyes but I can feel her staring at me. I grunt and point to the road. She starts the car with a chuckle.

“Drinks?” Tatyana asks as she pulls out of the parking lot. When I don’t say anything, she looks over at me and I peek at her from under my eyelashes. “You just want to go home?”

“I’m sorry,” I say with a nod but Tatyana just waves the worry away.

“You’ve had a long day. Hey, since it’s basically dinner time, do you want to stop somewhere? We can just get things to go and you can bring something back for Kurt,” Tatyana suggests and I nod, realizing I am very hungry.

“Thanks for coming out today,” I finally speak.

“Of course, I love helping my best friend in all her schemes.” Tatyana is only teasing me but I groan. I feel bad. “Hey, do you think Kurt knew about this outing today?”

“I’m not sure, I doubt it. Oh, speaking of,” I say as I pull out my phone. I have a few missed calls and unopened messages from Kurt. It makes me smile seeing him reach out to me so much. I text him back saying I am on the way home and picking up dinner for both of us. He responds pretty quickly and gives me his order for the restaurant.

Tatyana and I chit-chat a bit while we wait in the drive-through. I make Tatyana let me pay for her dinner as a thank you for coming dress shopping today. She puts up a bit of a fight before she eventually gives in and hands over my credit card to the woman in the window.

When we get back to Kurt’s apartment, I hug Tatyana and thank her again. “Thank you so much for coming out and putting up with everything. I know you aren’t a huge fan of dress shopping but I am so glad you were there, especially when Callum showed up. You are literally a lifesaver. You are the best best friend I could ever ask for.”

“Oh, I know,” Tatyana comments, making both of us burst into giggles. After such a stressful day, it feels so good to laugh. “Okay, go bring dinner home for your man.”

“Thank you!” I blow her a kiss as I jump out of the car. She laughs and rolls her eyes at me but waits until I get inside the building before she drives off.

I greet the doorman, Marvin, and make my way up to the apartment. Knocking on the door as I push it open, I call out into the apartment.

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