Page 25 of The Wedding Hoax

“Woohoo!” she yelled triumphantly as the freezing cold water splashed against us.

“Fuck! Simone!” I quickly sucked air between my teeth. “That’s so fucking cold!”

“But it’s good, right?” She sank beneath the waves before popping back up. “It’s so refreshing!”

“I think I’m going to freeze to death.”

“Come on. All you need to do is get used to the temperature.” Simone wrapped her arms around me, her chest pressed against mine. “Here we go!”

My eyes went wide as I realized what she was about to do. “Wait! Simone! No!”

But it was already too late. Simone and I were underwater together, her arms still wrapped around my waist, keeping me in place. When we came back up for air, we were both laughing like maniacs.

“I can’t believe you just did that to me!” I gasped.

“I can’t believe you didn’t see it coming!”

“Why would I have expected that? Who brings someone underwater like that?”

There was more laughter between us, even as Simone swam into deeper water. I followed behind her with a huge smile on my face, the previously cold water now feeling so welcoming and warm against my skin.

* * *

“Dance with me.”

Simone and I had just finished dinner. We’d ordered one too many shrimp skewers and one too many drinks. Still, Simone seemed eager to get on her feet afterward, her hips already moving in time with the music that was blaring from the band on stage.

“Dance with me!” she repeated, her hand reaching for mine. “It’s our honeymoon!”

“I don’t think you can use that one,” I said, even as I joined her on the dance floor. “I think that only works if it’s actually our honeymoon.”

“It might not be real, but it’s real enough to dance.” She rested her hands on my shoulders as she looked up at me. “Besides, we should have moments like this to look back on. Especially when your family starts asking us questions about what we did while we were here.”

“You’re right. This is good to have as a cover.” I placed my palms on either side of her waist as the song changed to a slower number.

We swayed back and forth to the melody, perfectly matching the song’s pace. Near the end of the song, I bent down to rest my forehead against Simone’s, our lips so close to each other it was dangerous.

It might not be real but it’s real enough.

I wanted her tonight, just as much as I wanted her last night. Maybe even more. I wanted to ask her if we could go back to our hotel room, if I could slip inside of her, if I could stay inside of her until dawn spilled in from the windows—

“I’m tired,” Simone whispered as she moved her forehead away from mine. “I think I’m going to head to bed.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“I mean it, Harry.” She held up a hand. “I just want to sleep tonight, okay? That’s all. Just sleep.”

“Okay, then. We’ll just sleep.”

I hoped to God she changed her mind.

10

SIMONE

“You look good in those sunglasses. You should get them.”

I gave Harry a thumbs-up as we shopped at an outdoor market near the beach in Malibu. I’d suggested the idea after breakfast, since I figured getting a good walk in might help with the hangover we both had from last night.

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