Page 82 of Always Been You

“Are we doing a group picture?”

“No.”

“Are we supposed to do another toast?” She and Ethan had given a toast at the private reception a few nights ago. Hers had gotten more laughs than his, but he’d definitely beat her in the sentimental department.

“No.” Ali shook her head.

“Then what’s he doing?”

Ali shrugged, the universal I-have-no-idea gesture. But Jess knew that she absolutely had an idea.

“So, first off I want to say a huge congratulations to Kade and Ali.”

Applause erupted from everyone gathered on the pier.

When the cheering started to subside, Ethan continued, “When I told them what I wanted to do tonight, they didn’t hesitate in giving me the okay. So thank you, both.”

The crowd around them all clapped as they looked between Kade and Ali.

Jess smiled, and spoke through her teeth as she asked, “Ali? What is going on?”

“You’ll see.”

Jess was about to demand she spill it when Ethan’s voice once again came over the loud speaker. “So, I’m not sure how many of you know that at the beginning of the summer, Jess and I started dating. And, sadly, we broke up about a month ago.”

The nerves in Jess’s stomach were full on raving with glow sticks and house music. She had no idea where this was going and she hated it.

“What some of you might not know is that we weren’t actually dating.”

The crowd looked at her and then back at Ethan. People looked as confused as she was. She continued smiling.

Jess squeezed Ali’s arm. “What is he doing?”

“Just wait.” Ali whispered.

He continued, “I asked Jess if she would pretend to be my girlfriend because there were certain people that I won’t name to protect the guilty, who were actively trying to set me up and I didn’t want to spend my summer on a dating show that I didn’t sign up for.”

Waves of whispers spread through the crowd and Jess heard the name “Needlepoint Mafia,” “Mrs. D,” “Mrs. Chen,” “Mrs. Weathersby,” and “matchmaking dons,” all mentioned.

“I told Jess that the reason I was asking her specifically was because I didn’t want to lead anyone on. But, I have a confession to make. That’s not the reason I asked Jess Myers to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

“The truth is, I’ve been head-over-heels, madly, crazy in love with her for most of my adult life.”

A round of “awws” and “how sweets” rippled through the crowd.

Jess couldn’t believe what Ethan was saying, and that he was saying it in front of the entire town. Her adrenaline was pumping so hard that she felt herself starting to float away. It was the trick that she’d learned when she was younger to avoid pain and stress. Her consciousness would drift away. But now, she pulled that sucker back into herself. She wanted to be one hundred percent present for what was happening.

“I know what you’re thinking, why didn’t I just tell her how I felt? Well, there were a lot of reasons. One of them being, based on our interactions up until a couple of months ago, I wasn’t sure the feeling was mutual.”

Everyone laughed and people looked at her like they all knew some inside joke about how Jess had treated Ethan.

“I wasn’t that bad.” Jess murmured under her breath.

“Yes, you were,” Ali responded flatly.

“So, I waited. And waited. And waited. I was always looking for the right angle, the right moment to make my move, and then I found it. My plan was to tell her my dilemma and ask her to play along. And my hope was that once we were in a fake relationship, she might see that we really belonged together. And guess what? For the most part, my plan worked.”

There were more “awws” and a spattering of applause.

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