Page 23 of Fall to Me
I'm twisting the last strand of my hair around the big, barreled curling iron, when she asks, “So. You and Carter, huh?”
“Yep,” I say, bringing the iron down and letting the curl fall beside my face.
“I’ve been trying to convince you to give him a chance for months. Freakingmonths! You’re all like, ‘I don’t like him . . . blah, blah, blah,’ then you show up here married to him?”
“Yeah, well . . . I’m tired of my life being controlled by my past, so I decided, why the fuck not? And before you get all upset with Carter, just know it was all my idea. I’m the one who proposed. You think that man is gonna tell me no?”
Aspen’s eyes widen in surprise. “Okay first: that doesn’t sound like you at all. And second: I encouraged you to give him a chance, maybe go on a date with him, not run off and get hitched.”
“Aspen, I’ve always had this deep attraction to Carter that I’ve kept hidden from everyone. I realized last night, for reasons I won’t get into here, that he’s a good man. We may not have gone on a date by society’s standards, but with all the times we’ve hung out, I think it could be considered an equivalent. I’ve never had anyone pursue me like he has, and I’m pretty damn sure that I’m in love with him.”
Holy shit!
Why did I say that? I force my eyes not to widen in horror. Aspen’s worried expression doesn’t surprise me. She knows me better than anyone, and I’m pretty sure she knows what just came out of my mouth is a lie.
Her lips part to say something, but a knock on the door cuts her off. Thank God. Hannah stands from the pink sofa and strides to the door to answer it. She turns her head, making sure we’re all decent before opening the door a little wider.
Carter pops his head in. “Ten-minute warning. The helicopters are in route.”
“Time to put on your dress,” Katherine singsongs, her voice full of excitement as she glides over to where Aspen’s dress hangs.
My stomach does a flip the second mine and Carter’s eyes meet. The way he’s standing there, arms crossed against his chest, leaning against the door frame in that tux, reminds me of a cologne model, which makes me wonder, who’s building his brand?
You are not his real wife River. Why do you care about his brand?
A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure,” I agree, already standing and ready to bolt before I run my mouth any further and dig myself into an even deeper hole that I can’t crawl out of.
Aspen catches me by the arm as I pass her. “We’re going to talk about this when Cal and I get back from our honeymoon.”
I nod, but hopefully, she’ll be too busy to follow up on that. I trail after Carter out into the hallway.
“What’s up?” I ask, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.
He leans against the wall and shoves his hands into his pockets, and I move to the wall opposite him and mirror his pose with my arms folded against my chest.
“Hear me out . . .”
“Dangerous start.” My giggle carries down the hall.
He smiles back, but then his expression turns serious. “Your dad said something to make me think he’s suspicious, and if I know anything about our friends, they’re suspicious as hell too. If we want to keep this whole charade believable, like Teagan asked us to, we might need a few . . . coordinated moves.”
“Coordinated moves?”
“Exactly,” he says, looking a bit nervous. “Some subtle PDA.”
“Define subtle.”
“You know . . .” He scratches the back of his neck. “Hand on the small of your back. Whispers in your ear that make you laugh for no apparent reason. Maybe a kiss or two thrown in . . .”
“A kiss or two?!” My brows raise in surprise.
“Kitten, it’s gotta be believable.”
I groan, covering my face with my hands, “I can’t believe I married you.”
I feel the warmth of his body as he moves in close to me. Taking both of my wrists in his, he uncovers my face. His voice drops low as he teases me. “What a lucky man I am. I can’t believe you married me either.”
