Page 52 of Close to My Heart

“She’s just a flower girl. I’m glad she could be part of my day.”

“You have a couple more years before you have to worry about her dating,” Teddy said.

Ryder groaned. “I don’t want to worry about it at all.”

While my brothers ribbed Ryder about Faith dating teenage boys, I texted Sutton.

Am I going to get a picture of you wearing a dress?

Nope. That’s bad luck.

I resisted asking if that was the case when we weren’t engaged for real. In moments like this, it felt a little too real. Was Sutton trying on dresses and imagining herself walking down the aisle toward me?

You have to give me something.

The guys joked about protecting their nieces from dates, and I took advantage of their inattention to look down at my phone.

My phone buzzed with an incoming message and an image attached. It was just her foot peeking out from under the lace edge of her dress, toenails painted a pale pink. How could that image be so enticing?

You’re gorgeous. I can’t wait to see you walking down the aisle toward me.

My heart rate was picking up at the thought.

Careful. This isn’t real.

It was the reminder I needed because it was too easy to forget. She was hanging out with my sister and nieces trying on wedding dresses while I was bonding with my brothers. It was the perfect moment, and I wanted it to be our reality.

Jameson leaned over my shoulder to look at the image. “You don’t think it’s weird that your fake fiancée is trying on wedding dresses for real?”

I scrambled to get out of my messages without him seeing, but it was too late.

Jameson raised a brow. “That’s oddly intimate for a fake fiancée.”

Teddy gave me a look. “Fiona said the ring looks legit.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going to buy my fiancée a fake ring.”

Jameson leaned back on the cushions, cradling the bottle next to his thigh. “She’s your fake fiancée. Why would you need the rest of it to be real?”

I shook my head. “We need to convince her family that it is. This is the way to do it.”

Teddy scowled. “This whole thing sounds crazy to me.”

I sighed. “You don’t come from a family like Sutton’s. They don’t operate like normal ones.”

“Forcing someone to marry is practically medieval,” Jameson said.

“I’d prefer Sutton walk away from the whole thing.” That would be healthier for her, but now that we were going through with this relationship, I liked having her in my bed. I got up later than usual so I could revel in the feel of her in my arms.

Sutton never allowed herself to get that close to me during the day. And other than the kiss on New Year’s, she didn’t initiate contact. It made me wonder if she was protecting herself from getting hurt, or if she wasn’t feeling what I was.

I wouldn’t know unless I talked to her, but I needed more time to blur the lines, to mess up those careful boundaries she had in her head when it came to me.

“They’re the only family she has.”

Teddy cleared his throat, then said, “Maybe we can be that family for her. She’s always been a part of it.”

Jameson’s brow furrowed. “Is that a good idea when you’re just friends? What will happen when you meet the woman you fall in love with? She won’t want Sutton hanging around. No woman would.”

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