Page 21 of The Puck Decoy

Daemon clears his throat and nods his head outside, “I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready.” I must look confused because before I can even question him, he steps aside to reveal a white wedding car idling by the curb, and he pulls the keys from his pocket indicating he is the driver.

Josh really did think of everything, and as my fingers clutch around the bag in my hand that houses what I know will be the most perfect dress, I can’t help but feel bittersweet.

I might be marrying someone who doesn’t love me back, but I’m also marrying my best friend. A best friend who asks permission for your hand in marriage, and hunts down a dress he thinks will be the one, just to make me feel comfortable, and that’s worth more than any other kind of love.

Awedding day is something I never thought I would have. Once my dad’s affair came out, I always swore I would never get married, and since then I have kept that promise to myself. I have never led girls on, never had a girlfriend, and never let myself get into anything more serious than a few strung together one night stands. After growing up under the guise of my mother and father’s bullshit marriage, it’s not something I ever coveted for myself, yet here I am, standing before an aisle waiting for my bride to appear.

Planning a small wedding in an even smaller amount of time actually turned out to be easier than I thought, especially with all of the privileges that come with my last name. I blocked the wedding planner's number and spoke to a minister from out of town, paying him extra to keep quiet and get our license sortedin time for today. This meant that the only thing I needed to focus on was getting my mother and father out of their estate, which I enlisted my grandmother's help for. After some gentle name and event dropping, she has taken them out of town to a fundraiser, giving me the whole place to myself.

Knowing Hallie as well as I do, I know she is like me in many ways. She doesn’t like a lot of people, or being around huge crowds, and truly despises all of the attention being on her, so I knew a small wedding was the only way to go. With that in mind, and over a decade of friendship behind us, there was only one place I could think of that would be perfect to do this. Now as I stand under the two oak trees that used to form the goal on my makeshift ice rink at my parents’ house, I know I chose perfectly.

Long gone are the stones that used to make up our playing area, and in their place is a long black runner lined with white roses, a few petals leading towards me, and large black and white candles in glass cases on either side. Classy, elegant, and beautiful, just like the girl who is about to become my wife. The minister is to my right and a photographer to my left. I mean, what's the point of a fake wedding if there is no one here to document it? So all that’s left to do now is wait for her to show up. I sent Daemon with a car to pick her up a while ago with the instruction to get her here for six, just in time for the sun to set, which should be any minute now.

I’m also expecting Maddie, who is clearly running late, but when I hear footsteps on the other side of the outbuilding I know she must be here. So imagine my surprise when instead of my sister, I lock eyes with her boyfriend and the captain of my hockey team.

Nova fucking Darkmore.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap before I can help myself, because there is no love lost between either of us, nomatter what his relationship to my sister is, but of course all the prick does is smile as he strides towards me in a suit.

“Maddie invited me, I’m her plus one,” he shrugs casually, looking smarter than I have ever seen him, just as more footsteps sound out, only for Archer Gray and Alexander Reign to appear in his shadow, also in suits.

What the fuck?

“I didn’t give Maddie a plus one,” I grit, watching as my goalie and left wing walk down the aisle behind him. “And what the fuck are they doing here?”

Nova flicks his stare over his shoulder, smiling at his two best friends, before turning back to me. “They asked me what I was all dressed up for and then got sad because they wanted to come. What was I supposed to do, tell them no?” he asks, as he comes to a stop beside me.

“I don’t give a fuck what you tell them, but you three pricks are not invited to my goddamn wedding, go home,” I demand, as Gray and Reign fall in line beside Nova like some sort of fucked up groomsman party.

“Nova gives Maddie a plus one all the time,” Archer gleams with a wink. “It’s about time she returned the favor.”

“Careful now,” Nova warns, at the same time I seethe, “Gray, I swear to fucking god.” But of course all the bastard does is laugh.

“Come on, Peters, we can be witnesses for your little shotgun wedding,” Reign drawls, exuding the kind of energy only someone with his nepo net worth could. “So how far along is your wife to be anyway?”

I blink back at his casual accusation. “Hallie is not pregnant,” I respond with as much finality as I can muster, desperate for this conversation to be over and for them to fuck off.

Alexander wrinkles his nose in disgust. “If you didn’t knock her up, what the fuck are you marrying her for?” he asks, completely perplexed.

“Yeah, dude, do you have any idea how much pussy you are going to miss out on now?” Archer chimes in. “I mean, just last night I had this girl's lips wrapped round my cock, her mouth like a damn vacuum, and that was without my wingman here.” He nudges Nova with his elbow as he talks animatedly about his sexcapades.

“I am not your wingman,” Nova replies, picking something off the sleeve of his suit, before he sighs, “And leave Peters alone, he and Hallie have been secretly in love for years, it’s about time they made it official.”

My eyes collide with his and I see the truth in them, the truth I know Maddie will have told him, which means right now he just had my back over his friends, and I can’t even thank him.

Archer makes a fake gagging sound that brings both our stares back to him. “Fuck, dude, ever since you have been getting regular pussy you have become so fucking whipped.”

Nova and I both open our mouths to offer up another warning to him, but before either of us can say anything, my sister finally joins the fray.

“Sorry I’m late,” she gasps, trotting round the corner and down the aisle, making all of our heads turn towards her. “I had to make a pit stop on the way,” she explains, holding up the one thing I asked her to bring. “I even managed to get a blue one,” she laughs, passing it to me just in time for Nova to sweep her into his arms.

“You look absolutely stunning as always, Princess,” he drawls, stealing her response with a kiss that has me rolling my eyes as I turn away from them.

“You scrub up quite nicely yourself, Charmer,” Maddie gasps when she finally pulls free.

“I can’t wait to rip this—” Nova starts, far too loudly for my liking, and I cut him off.

“Nova, I swear to god, if you finish that sentence I am going to kill you and then myself,” I promise, as Maddie mutters a quiet apology, and Gray and Reign crack up in a fit of giggles. “If you’re all staying then pull it together, Daemon and Hallie will be here any second.”

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