Page 94 of Faking I Do
Jonah shook his head. “Yeah. But then I saw her coming toward me and everything faded away. It was like it was just her and me and we were the only two people in the world.”
“That’s beautiful, man.”
“You think so?” Jonah asked.
“Sure. You should put that in a love song or something.” I cracked a grin.
“Don’t try giving me shit. I’ve seen the way you look at Lacey.”
My stomach clenched. “Oh yeah, how’s that?”
“Like she’s it for you, dude. And you’re it for her.” Jonah adjusted his bow tie, winking at himself in the mirror.
More like she’s the sun and the stars and the moon all rolled into one, I thought. But I didn’t say that. I hardly wanted to acknowledge those feelings to myself, much less let anyone else know what kind of fucked-up feelings I was having about my bride.
My bride.
I was marrying Lacey Cherish today. Even though it didn’t count, even though we were both pretending, a part of me couldn’t believe my good luck. Even though it would last only for an evening.
“Is she ready?” I asked. Jonah had gone to check on things while I sweated it out, waiting for some signal that I should make my way to the garden.
“Just about.” Jonah fidgeted with my tie. “And damn, she looks fine.”
“I’m sure she does,” I said. I didn’t need Jonah to drive the point home. Lacey would have looked fine in a potato sack. She sure as hell looked fine in nothing at all. As I remembered the last time I’d had my hands on her, my pulse ticked up.
“I mean, really fine. Like if I weren’t already married, I’d give you a run for your money for her.”
I swatted Jonah’s hands away. “Are you seriously telling me on my wedding day that you want to make a play for my almost-wife?”
“What? Nah. Just saying she looks fantastic. You’re going to be one lucky bastard later on tonight, know what I mean?”
I closed my eyes for a beat, wishing for half a second that Luke was here with me, not this messed-up stand-in. When I got married for real, I’d want Luke by my side.
“You do know what I mean, right?” Jonah flung an elbow out, catching me in the side.
“Yes,” I ground out between clenched teeth. I didn’t need to be reminded of what ought to be happening on my wedding night. If this were a real wedding. And if Lacey were a real bride. And if I’d had the balls to tell her how I really felt. So many ifs.
Jojo knocked then cracked the door open a hair. “We’re ready for you, gentlemen.”
“Showtime.” Jonah clapped me on the back, having no idea just how accurate his words were.
I moved down the hall, casting a long look at the closed door to the bridal dressing room. What was Lacey thinking right now? Knowing her, she’d probably processed through today’s events and was already making plans for how to handle it when the article came out. With a final glance at the door, I headed down the steps and out into the bright May afternoon.
Lacey
I straightened my veil. “Are you sure this looks okay?” I asked.
“You look absolutely stunning.” Zina stepped behind me, meeting my gaze in the mirror. “Bodie’s going to eat his heart out.”
I let my eyes drift closed, imagining what it would feel like if I were about to walk down the aisle and marry Bodie Phillips for real.
“You sure you want to do this?” Zina asked.
My eyes opened wide. “Of course. We’re in the homestretch now.”
“What about tomorrow?” Zina slid a hairpin behind my ear, capturing an errant wave.
“Tomorrow’s a whole day away.”
