Page 15 of Fake Engagement with my Brother's Best Friend

She stands up, brushing imaginary dust from her dress, her smile never faltering. “Relax, Logan. I’m just making observations. But if you’re so sure everything’s fine, then there’s nothing to worry about, right?”

She walks past me, her perfume lingering in the air, leaving me standing there, seething. I watch her go, the tight knot of frustration in my chest growing tighter. She knows something—maybe not everything, but enough to make her dangerous. Now, with Grace already on edge, the last thing we need is Samantha stirring the pot even more.

Samantha’s perfume lingers in the air as she saunters away, leaving me standing there, seething. The knot of frustration in my chest tightens with every step she takes. I can’t let her walk away like this, not when I know she’s up to something. I catch up to her just before she reaches the exit.

“Samantha,” I call out, my voice low and controlled, but there’s a hard edge to it. She pauses, turning to face me with that infuriatingly calm expression.

“Yes, Logan?” she replies, her tone syrupy sweet, as if she’s just been having a friendly chat rather than playing her mind games.

I step closer, keeping my voice firm. “Listen to me. Don’t mess with Grace. Don’t mess with us. This is Emily and Joseph’s wedding, and I won’t let you ruin it over something so petty. Whatever you think you’re doing, stop. Now.”

Samantha raises an eyebrow, her smile never wavering. “Ruin the wedding? Logan, you’re overreacting. I told you, I’m just here to catch up, enjoy the festivities. I wouldn’t dream of causing trouble.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t believe you,” I snap, not bothering to hide the distrust in my voice. “So I’m warning you—stay away from Grace. Leave us alone.”

She tilts her head slightly, as if considering my words, but there’s a glint in her eye that tells me she’s not taking this seriously. “Relax, Logan. I’m not here to cause a scene. I won’t do anything to disrupt the wedding. You have my word.”

Her smile, her whole demeanor, doesn’t give me any confidence. I know Samantha too well, and I know when she’s lying. She might not plan on ruining the wedding outright, but she’s definitely playing some kind of game, and Grace and I are caught in the middle.

I watch her walk away, the frustration inside me boiling over. I need to find Grace, to make sure she’s okay and to figure out how to deal with this mess before it spirals out of control. But when I head back to our suite, the place is empty. The bed is neatly made, the room untouched since we left it this morning. No sign of Grace.

Panic gnaws at me, and I force myself to think clearly. I make my way to Joseph and Emily’s suite, hoping she might have gone there. I knock on the door, trying to keep the worry out of my expression when Joseph answers.

“Hey, man,” I say, forcing a smile. “Have you seen Grace?”

Joseph raises an eyebrow, glancing over his shoulder at Emily, who’s sitting on the bed, flipping through a wedding planningbook. “Nope, haven’t seen her today. Why? You guys have a fight or something?”

I hesitate, not sure how much to reveal. “Something like that. Just a little disagreement. She left early, and I can’t seem to track her down.”

Joseph chuckles, clearly thinking this is just a minor lover’s quarrel. “Don’t worry about it. She’ll come around. It’s probably just wedding stress getting to her. You know how it is for her, being maid of honor.”

Emily looks up from her book, her expression sympathetic. “Just give her some space, Logan. She’s probably just cooling off somewhere. You two will be fine.”

I nod, even though every part of me wants to keep searching until I find her. I can’t exactly tell Joseph and Emily the whole truth—not without blowing this whole fake engagement wide open. So I keep up the charade, smiling and thanking them before heading back out into the hall.

Inside, I’m anything but calm. I’m tired of this game, tired of pretending like everything’s fine when it’s not. Grace is out there somewhere, probably dealing with whatever crap Samantha threw at her, and I’m stuck here, playing the part of the clueless fiancé.

I pace the hallway outside our suite, running a hand through my hair in frustration. The longer Grace is out there, the more the unease gnaws at me. I can’t stand this feeling of helplessness, of knowing that she’s dealing with whatever crap Samantha threw her way, and I’m stuck here, unable to do a damn thing about it.

Just as I’m about to head out again, determined to find Grace no matter what, I hear the sound of footsteps behind me. I turn, and of course, it’s Samantha. Her heels click against the tiledfloor as she approaches, her eyes lighting up with that familiar, predatory gleam.

“Logan,” she purrs, stepping closer than I’m comfortable with. “I was just thinking about you.”

I stiffen, immediately on guard. “What do you want now, Samantha?” My tone is sharp, but she doesn’t seem to care.

She tilts her head, letting her hair fall over one shoulder in that calculated way she always used to. “I’ve been thinking… about us. About what we had.”

I grit my teeth, already tired of this conversation. “There is no us, Samantha. Not anymore.”

She doesn’t back off, instead placing a hand on my arm, her touch too familiar, too presumptuous. “I know things ended badly, but we had something special, didn’t we? Maybe we could… I don’t know, rekindle what we had. Start fresh.”

I pull my arm away, stepping back to put some distance between us. “Samantha, look, there was a time when we were good together—”

She doesn’t seem to hear me, or if she does, she’s choosing to ignore it. Her smile widens as if she’s just heard something promising. “So, you’re saying there’s a chance? Logan, we were great together. We could be again.”

I open my mouth to correct her, to make it clear that she’s completely misinterpreting what I’m saying, but before I can get the words out, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn, and my heart sinks.

Grace is standing a few feet away, her face pale, her eyes wide with something that looks a lot like hurt. She’s overheard everything—or at least enough to jump to the wrong conclusion.

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