Page 26 of The Pucking Fake Marriage

She confirms it a second later.

“We got married in Las Vegas,” she says.

EIGHT

A MARRIAGE OF INCONVENIENCE (CHARLIE)

The worst is finally over. Now all I can do is wait.

Hopefully for the earth to open up and swallow me whole because this is quite literally the most mortifying experience of my life.

I’m too scared to look up at Ken and see the reaction on his face, so I focus my attention on his feet. He’s pacing.Walking up and down the length of his living room, periodically disappearing from my view. Rage is brimming from his every pore, hot and barely restrained.

This is bad. Really bad.

For a second, I regret coming to confess. I should’ve ignored Haley’s advice. I told her that I’d rather die than do that, and I meant it. But seven days later, Haley was still moping around our apartment because she had nothing to do. I’d also fielded three calls from my mom and one from my dad. I realized that this is not just about me. I’ve got people counting on me.

I can’t let them down.

So before I could talk myself out of it, I got a cab and came over here. I had to call Ken’s mom for his address,which was an awkward conversation. At the very least, I wasn’t dealing with disappointing her, too.

Well, not yet.

And now I’m here. Watching Ken take in the news that he’s a married man.My husband.It’s hard to predict what his reaction is going to be. There’s a disconnect between the Ken I knew and thisKen. Sure, the teen Ken surprised me at times, particularly at the end of our friendship, but I still knew him inside out. Enough to have a firm idea of what he’d say if I ever put him in an awkward situation.

But this man, the one who had me beg him to fuck me, and thenleft me wanting for no apparent reason, is unreadable. He could do anything, and I still wouldn’t be surprised.

“You came to Las Vegas to trick me into marrying you.”

My head shoots up. His eyes are red-rimmed, and there’s a distant look in them. I’d pored over hundreds of pictures and videos of Ken when I was hatching my plan. I’ve seen that look before. Many times, in fact, when Ken’s playing hockey.

It’s the one he wears when he’s about to attack.

“Yes.” There’s no use sugarcoating it. Not when I still need his help.

He comes closer, stopping in front of me so that there’s barely any space between us. His anger burns off him and makes my stomach crumple.

“I’m going to take a guess and say this is about saving your restaurant.”

It’s my turn to be thrown off course. “How do you know that?”

His upper lip twitches unpleasantly. “Because you don’t give up anything without a fight.If you were willing to find me, then trick me into marrying you, you saw yourself reaping a benefit.”

His tone is smug, self-assured. He sounds like he knows me better than Iknow myself. I hate that.

Mostly because it puts us on unequal footing. Ken is unpredictable, and yet, he’s still able to read me like an open book.

“I didn’t marry you just to save my restaurant.” It’s the truth, but I only mention it as a weak attempt to stamp down his smugness.

He cocks his head to one side, his blue eyes gleaming. “No, of course you didn’t. No doubt there’s a virtuous or noble reason in there somewhere. But it doesn’t change the fact that you tracked me down because you wanted to use me. Your virtuousness and goodwill don’t extend to me, do they?”

My cheeks burn with a mix of guilt and embarrassment. “Are you saying I took advantage of you?”

“Haven’t you?” He crosses his arms, his blue eyes narrowed to slits. “You literally fucked me because you were dead set on saving your restaurant.”

My cheeks burn even brighter. “You liked it.”

He curves his head over mine, almost eliminating the tiny space between us. “Doesn’t excuse that you played me.”

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