Page 19 of Never Been Worse

“Oh my god, you two look so cute!” Stella says, clapping her hands excitedly.

The article’s title reads “Who is Wes Holden’s New Girl?” and is accompanied by a dozen other photos I didn’t notice were taken. Upon scanning the article, I realize it’s mostly speculation and locations, mentioning Harper’s name and Ava’s charity.

“Outlets are excited about this,” Leo says quietly to himself, scrolling on his ever-present phone, and I’m glad he seems more on board now. “We can definitely use this. I see the rumblings from her ex, but we can clean that up quickly.” Leo is scary good at his job, so seamless and effective, he can hide almost any scandal. “We can hold an auction for exclusive rights to the wedding photos and have the proceeds go to charity.” I nod, happy the money will go somewhere good. “Do you think we can swing next weekend?”

My eyes go wide with the nearness, though I knew aquickie weddingwould be close.

“You need a real wedding, ceremony, reception, and everything, so it doesn’t seem like a stunt.”

“I mean…if we have enough time to make it happen, I’m fine with next weekend,” I say with a shrug that is much more casual than I feel. I’m playing it cool, like this is all just some fun game or another spur-of-the-moment decision I’ve made, but I’m excited for this, to tie Harper to me for a while. She’s always so closed off, that I can’t wait to see what happens when I get past that.

“We all agree this is crazy, right?” Beckett, the most reasonable of all of us, asks.

“In this line of work?” Leo shakes his head but then pauses, staring straight at me. “But you have to keep it in your pants the whole time, Wes, however long we agree to.”

I roll my eyes. “No shit.”

For what might be the first time ever, Leo sets his phone aside and leans in, his full attention narrowing on me. Everyone takes note of this once-in-a-lifetime experience as Leo stares at me intently, like he’s a parent who knows his kid is about to embarrass the fuck out of him.

“I’m serious. I’ll be putting an infidelity clause in the contract both of you will sign, and it will be a huge issue if you break it.”

What Leo doesn’t understand is that I don’twantto hook up with anyone. I want the woman who took my breath away when I met her two years ago, the one who has been endlessly playing through my mind ever since. It’s why I suggested this and pushed for it. I saw an opening, and, as unconventional as it may be, I jumped on it. Being able to help her repair the reputation that asshat has given her and having a chance to divert attention from Stella and Riggs is just a bonus at this point.

“Personally, I think it’s cool!” Reed says, and Beck rolls his eyes. “Wes’s having a shotgun wedding just like Stella and Riggs. Maybe we can make it a thing. An Atlas Oaks tradition. Who do you think will be next, big guy? Me or you?” Beck glares at Reed, but he just smiles wider.

“I’m not having a fucking shotgun wedding,” Beck says, and then they all start arguing about who is going to be married next, but I’m busy staring at the photo Harper sent me—the photo myfiancéesent me—to care much.

NINE

HARPER

“You guys look so cute here,” Ava says, gasping as she scrolls on her phone while I fit the bridesmaid dress to Jules’s body as she stands in Ava’s living room.

Yes, a bridesmaid dress, because in less than a week, I’m having a not-quite-shotgun wedding to a rockstar to save my reputation, get some petty revenge on my ex, and help shift the focus from our friends.

The only requirement I had for this wedding was that my girls and I wear gowns made by me. With the short timeline, I went with simple, silky shift dresses for all of us with loose bows holding the nearly nonexistent back together.

It’s exactly what I’ve always wanted. Elegant and simple. Luxurious, yet approachable.

“What?” I ask, pins between my teeth as I focus on not pricking my friend.

Ava hands her phone to Jules, who gasps much the same way Ava just did, piquing my interest even more.

“Oh my god, you do! How did they get these pictures already?” Jules asks, and I stand, putting the pins into the pillow at my wrist. I grab the phone from Ava’s hands. Then I stare in shock at the photo on the tabloid website.

“Atlas Oaks Guitarist Reveals New Flame,”the headline reads. Below that, there are side-by-side headshots of me and Wes, mine clearly pulled from my barebones website, his I’ve seen a few times in various magazines and social media posts. Beneath that is a candid shot of Wes and me at the burger place he took me to after we made our agreement, my head tipped back as I laugh in my way-too-fancy outfit, Wes lifting a fry to his mouth and looking at me with an expression I hadn’t noticed before, a small smile on his lips.

The way he’s gazing at me makes my belly flip and scream a million things that simply aren’t true. Things that aren’t something Wes Holden would think about me. But still, it sells the exact story we’re trying to sell without even meaning to. He was made for this stealth fake relationship shit.

I wonder if he knew they were there taking photos, that our mission was already rolling, because I knowIdidn’t think that was the case.

Quickly, my eyes move to the caption.

Insider sources say Holden and Abbott have been dating for some time, laying to rest the rumors that she was chasing after her ex while he was having an affair with Clarissa Astor, heiress to the Astor fashion empire. Our sources also confirm Holden was at the police station when the gown designer was released two weeks ago after glittering Mr. Vaughn's lawn.

“The glitter was a fun joke that was taken too seriously,” Leo Moretti, a representative for Holden’s band, Atlas Oaks, told Fan Magazine. “That’s the problem with the world these days: people are too quick to judge, too quick to look for the worst in people. Was it the most mature act? Of course not. But there are much bigger problems in our world today than whether or not someone is putting glitter on their ex’s lawn.”

The date was a part of a charity auction, where attendees told us Harper overbid on the auction item with fervency. “It was like she didn’t want anyone else to spend time with her man. It was so romantic,” one attendee told our team.

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