Page 1 of Undeniable Love

Chapter One

“Why did I think this was a good idea?”

Sitting alone in the lavish dressing room that captured her reflection from almost every angle, Lucy Dawson felt like she was suffocating. She’d never been prone to theatrics, but right now, she was tempted to crawl out the window and escape before it was too late.

Letting out a shuddery breath, she murmured, “Okay, dramatic much?”

Still, on the other side of the door was a photographer, her team of assistants, and her fiancé, Blake. The wedding was three months away, but Blake had insisted on doing these formal shots of the two of them where he saw her in her dress for the first time. For some reason, he thought getting the “reaction” shot was artsy and they’d be able to look back on it fondly.

Fondly. Pfft. It was utterly ridiculous to her, because she believed it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding.

Staring at herself in one of the many mirrors, she frowned. The gown was not her style and felt a little too princessy for her. She’d wanted something simple and understated, but somehow Blake had convinced her mother that the gown should be big and lavish. Just thinking about the whole dress shopping ordeal made her groan. And because she didn’t want to make waves, she’d caved and gone with this monstrosity of a dress. There was a petticoat and hoops and lace and…pretty much everything she despised in a wedding gown.

If she were being completely honest, she was beginning to despise everything about the wedding, too. Nothing was going her way. Everything she picked, Blake vetoed, and if she argued about it, her mother or his would step in and tell her why she was wrong.

It seemed like this was everyone else’s wedding and she was just expected to show up, smile, and pretend like it was the happiest day of her life.

Only…she knew it wouldn’t be.

It couldn’t.

Somehow her life had gotten wildly out of control and Lucy wasn’t even sure how it happened. One minute she and Blake were casually dating, and the next, she was on the fast track to a circus.

“This dress could certainly serve as the big top.”

Honestly, she wasn’t in love with Blake. That was the sad truth. She’d accepted his proposal because…well…it was a way out of her crappy life. Growing up poor, she’d always dreamed of going to college, getting a degree, and moving away to someplace other than her tiny town of South Creek, North Carolina. With a population of under a thousand, it felt like the ultimate dead-end destination. All her life she’d wanted to leave, but things kept happening that forced her to stay.

Meeting Blake during a random trip to the Outer Banks with friends had seemed like fate was finally shining on her. Was he her type? A little. Was he the man of her dreams? In some ways. Was he her soulmate? Absolutely not. But only because she didn’t believe in that sort of thing. He’d pursued her and dazzled her with a life she never thought she’d have, and she got caught up in the fantasy of it all. So, if he wanted the big, over-the-top wedding, she’d do it.

No matter how much the damn dress irritated her and made her look like one of those Barbie doll cakes.

Picking up her phone, she glanced at the time and wondered why no one had come to get her. She was supposed to wait here until they were set up so the photographer—a prissy little thing who called herself Paris, no last name, just Paris—could catch Blake’s reaction. But she’d been sitting back here for almost thirty minutes and was ready to be done. She’d say they forgot about her, but considering this whole photoshoot was about her in this dress, that wasn’t possible.

Lifting the massive skirt, Lucy carefully made her way to the door and opened it, peeking out. The entire studio was quiet except for some music playing softly.

“O-kay…”

Stepping out into the hallway, she made her way toward the studio and didn’t see any of the assistants. All the lights were set up, but it was like they all went to lunch and no one bothered to tell her or ask if she wanted anything.

Which she totally did because she had been starving herself to get into this dress and, more than anything, she’d kill for a cheeseburger right now.

It was awkward maneuvering around without knocking anything over, but in the distance she heard Paris laughing in her office and made a beeline over to it. The door was closed and just as she raised her hand to knock, she heard another voice.

And then a moan.

Lucy froze for a moment because it sounded like Paris was going at it pretty hot and heavy with someone and it would be incredibly embarrassing to interrupt. Just when she was about to quietly turn and walk away, however, she heard…

“Oh, Blake! Yes! Right there,” followed by more moaning.

She stared at the door for a solid minute before it finally hit her what was happening. And another solid minute before she forced herself to move.

Then, with a calmness she shouldn’t have felt, Lucy made her way back to the dressing room where she stripped out of the dress and left it in a giant heap on the floor. For all its bulkiness, it had a zipper, and she could dress and undress without any help. Once she was back in her favorite jeans and pulled her sweatshirt on over her head—everyone had been appalled by her casual attire when she arrived—she slid on her Sketchers and smiled at her reflection.

“This is me,” she said confidently before mussing up her hair a bit. Grabbing her purse and phone, she strode from the room, eager to get to her car and leave. Unfortunately, when she turned the corner and went to make her way across the studio, Paris opened her door with a giggle as she straightened her skirt, followed by Blake.

What she wanted to do was pick up one of those expensive lights and throw it at the two of them, but she decided to take the high road.

Sort of.