Page 78 of Faking It with the Firefighter

“Do exactly what they say,” Blair commanded me. Her blond hair was in rollers, and her makeup had already been done for the “getting ready” content she’d filmed this morning. Apparently, she’d have to have that makeup removed and another face applied for the actual ceremony. She turned to thewoman holding a big, expensive-looking camera. “Make sure the lighting is perfect. This is my big moment, and I need to look my best.”

“Of course,” the photographer replied.

“Yesterday you ran off at the first sight of fire. That’s unacceptable, Victoria. I need your full commitment.”

The photographer, Victoria, lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Blair. I didn’t want my equipment to get damaged. This is my livelihood.”

“Your livelihood?” Blair scoffed. “How about me? How about my livelihood? You wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for me. Remember that.”

“That’s a little harsh,” I cut in.

Blair whirled on me. “Zip it, Compost Bin.”

I reared back. “Might I remind you that this gorgeous venue was made possible by me? I don’t appreciate the name-calling.”

“This is the least you could do,” Blair replied, then pranced away toward the exit. Victoria gave me a sympathetic look, then told me where to stand so she could adjust the lighting and take a couple of test shots.

We were in a big, light-filled ballroom that had been set up with an aisle and a ton of fresh flowers piled near the wall, waiting to be set up in bouquets at the end of every row of chairs. The walls were sandstone, and the rafters above were old wood, pockmarked and hefty and beautiful.

Sinclair might have been Enemy Number One in town, but he had good taste.

I looked up when Rex entered the room. He stood at the other end of the aisle, and although I was the one standing at thealtar, for a second, I imagined what it would feel like to walk down the aisle toward him.

The workers rushing around the room faded. Victoria’s shutter clicking became a distant, almost imperceptible sound. Rex grinned at me, then started a slow, step-by-step walk down the aisle, his hands clasped in front of his chest as if he were a blushing bride holding a bouquet of flowers.

I laughed. Warmth flowed through me, and Rex flashed me a grin like he felt the same. I’d never shared a wavelength with someone like this. A relationship had never felt so natural—and this one hadn’t even been real at first.

But it was real now. The thumping of my heart was real, and the way I wanted to scream his name from the rooftops was real.

“I was looking for you,” he said as he approached my spot on the altar dais. He climbed the three steps toward me and took my hand.

I rocked forward but stayed on my mark. “I’m not supposed to move,” I said, nodding to Victoria.

The photographer straightened. “No, this is good. Rex, you’re about the same height as Donny, right?”

“He’s an inch and a half taller.”

“Noted,” she said, and adjusted one of the big studio lights at the edge of the altar before checking her camera again. “Stand right there and face each other. Good. Now hold hands again. I want to make sure the framing of this shot is right.”

Slipping my hands into Rex’s, I gave him a smile that felt a little shyer than it should’ve. We weren’tactuallygetting married. But at the end of an aisle, in front of all those empty seats, with the smell of fresh flowers all around and thetowering ceilings above—it felt as real as my own wedding day, way back when. But better, because it was Rex in front of me.

The shutter of the camera clicked, and Rex asked, “You ready for round two?”

For a second, I thought he was thinking of marriage. Round two for me could be with him. Then I realized he meant Blair’s and Donny’s round two.

I nodded. “I asked Sinclair about his compost situation, and he looked at me like I was insane.”

Rex laughed, then tugged on my hands so I rocked forward a little again. I inched closer to him, and Victoria said nothing. “The cops are outside,” he told me.

“Already?” I exclaimed. “What happened?”

Rex laughed and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Just a precaution. I spoke to Bryce Lawson on the way in; he said the security team was already overwhelmed with people trying to sneak in through the perimeter.”

I held back my groan at the name of the guy who’d taken great pleasure in throwing me in jail the last time. “This is crazy,” I said, gesturing to the wedding at large.

“No, this is incredible, Abigail. I can’t believe you pulled this off in a day. This venue is better than the botanical gardens, and I know a big part of that is you getting this settled with Sinclair so quickly.”

I demurred with a shrug. “It pays to have contacts in this town.”

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