Page 22 of Never Been Worse

“Good. Good. That was...that was good.” I step back and put a hand out to him to shake, like this is some weird business transaction.

He stares at me for a moment before he laughs loudly, his head tilting back, and I have to fight the urge to laugh with him. Then he moves forward suddenly, his arm wrapping around my back in one move and tugging me close, looking down at me with that panty-dropping smile I worry I won’t be able to resist.

“You’re so into me, little wife.”

“I so am not,” I say, aghast. “I have to go.” He just shrugs, stepping back and opening the door to let me leave, going with my insanity.

“I’ll be here whenever you’re ready to admit it.”

TEN

HARPER

Today is my wedding day.

I’ve had to repeat that sentence to myself over and over all day. None of it feels real, but as Ava brushes over my cheeks with blush once more, and I stare at the wedding dress hanging a few feet away, I know it’s the truth.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Ava says with a chuckle, standing back to take in her handiwork, her hand resting on her very faint baby bump. Stella came in an hour ago, and they squealed together about having babies around the same time. Sophie, Nate’s daughter and Jules’s soon-to-be stepdaughter, smiled and giggled, asking when Jules would give her a sister, which only made her blush.

It was another vivid eye-opener. A reminder of how my friends are progressing with their lives and doing the “normal” steps, but here I am, starting over.

Or, somehow even worse, starting a completely fake relationship just to piss my ex off and save my friends from losing everything they’ve worked for.

What was I thinking?For the hundredth time today, the anxiety that’s been living in my chest as of late tightens around my airways. When I said I was going to be more spontaneous, I don’t know ifthisis what I meant.

“Do you think it’s a bad idea?” I ask, as I look at Ava in the vanity mirror. I barely slept last night, though her master skills cover up any sign of that. This might not be a wedding for true love, but photos of it will be spread everywhere, and I don’t need everyone on the earth to see me at my worst.

“No,” she says quickly, applying a bit more blush onto the apples of my cheeks. “Not at all.” I look to Jules, the slightly more reasonable one.

“Jules?” I ask. “Doyouthink this is a bad idea?”

She shakes her head confidently and smiles. “I think it will be good for you. I’m just bummed we won’t get to see stupid fuckface Jeremy’s face when he realizes you’ve married into rock royalty. Do you think he’ll be able to listen to their music again without thinking of you?”

I think about that, knowing his entire running playlist is just Atlas Oaks and smile in bliss.

“God, that’s truly amazing,” Ava says with a giggle, fingers brushing over the gold W on a chain around my neck that Wes had delivered to our room this morning.

“And this is going to totally fix your media issues,” Stella says gently. “I mean, Leo is a mastermind. I don’t know how he does it, but he can spin absolutely everythingto look good. I mean, when Riggins told everyone Willa’s relationship with him was fake, he somehow spun it to make WillaandRiggs look good. No one even suspects it’s a trend of hers, dating for PR.”

“Yeah,” I say with a smile. She’s right, too. I’ve already gotten one of the clients who dropped me to reach out and apologize for believing what the media and Jeremy were spinning about me, on top of a few new inquiries.

If only I wasn’t still completely artistically blocked, things would be almost perfect. Instead, every time I stare at a piece of paper to try and create something new, I hit a wall. I’m hoping once the stress of the wedding is over, my mind will clear up a bit, and I’ll be back to normal.

Ava’s brows furrow like she’s noticing me mulling over something, and she opens her mouth to speak but is stopped when someone pops their head in.

“Are you all ready to line up?” the wedding coordinator asks, and we all look at each other and nod. We all stand while Jules grabs my bouquet and hers.

To make it seem less like a last-minute public relations setup, we are having arealwedding. In his planning, Leo went all out: a ceremony, the processional, professional photos, and a reception where only our closest of friends know the truth about what this marriage is. There are fifty or so people in attendance, but barely ten people know the truth. Everyone else thinks we’re just so crazy in love, we don’t want to wait.

“I’m nervous,” I whisper as Ava grabs her own bridesmaid bouquet, and Jules hands me mine.

Ava shakes her head with a smile. “No way. You know what I say,” she starts, but Jules continues the mantra Ava started years ago.

“Shoulders back.”

“Tits out,” I continue. and then Ava gives me a soft smile, her hand on my cheek.

“You were born for great things, Harper Abbott. Let’s go start your forever.”

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