Page 64 of The Wedding Hoax

“I never said anything about you being helpless.” I chuckled. “I really don’t think that word describes you at all.”

It was the weekend before my mom’s surgery, and my nerves were totally shot. I was trying to put on a brave front for her sake, but I had a feeling she was able to see right through it.

It didn’t help that I hadn’t talked to Harry in days. We’d gone from short conversations to zero conversations, pretty much ignoring each other in the halls. The home had a certain coldness to it nowadays, something else I was hoping my mom hadn’t picked up on.

“I’m going to be okay, sweetie. You go out. Have a nice dinner.” My mom smiled. “And tell Ruby I said hello.”

I bent to kiss my mom on the forehead before I replied, “I will. Get some good sleep, okay? I love you.”

“I love you, too.” My mom motioned for me to get out of her hair. “Now, go! You don’t want to be late for dinner. It’s rude.”

I left the guesthouse and went straight to my bedroom closet. It didn’t take me long to change into a sleek velvet jumpsuit. It was a modern, sexy look that I didn’t want my mom seeing me in, especially since there was a deep slit in the front of it. I typically didn’t go for super sexy looks, but with the pregnancy, I knew that my sexy jumpsuit days were numbered, and I wanted to take the outfit out for one last ride.

Plus, since I was going out with Ruby, I wanted to at least attempt to keep up with her. Sitting across from a woman who looked like a supermodel was going to be hard enough, but if I didn’t bring my clothing A-game, it was going to be even worse.

Twenty minutes later, I was walking through the front door of the restaurant. It was an upscale place, with low lighting and chandeliers. When I said Ruby’s name to the hostess, she walked me to a table near the back of the restaurant, separated from the rest of the crowd.

“Of course Ruby got us the VIP treatment.” I laughed to myself as I took a seat. “Everything about that woman is luxury at its finest.”

I reached for a menu as I got comfortable, looking over dinner options that all seemed to be various French cuisine entrees. The restaurant also had a rather extensive wine list, right alongside the French food that I could never hope to pronounce correctly.

“Simone?”

Harry’s voice floated over to me. I looked up at him with shock. “Harry? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” He scoffed as he took his seat across from me. “What is this? I’m supposed to be meeting with Sean.”

“Wrong. I’m supposed to be meeting with Ruby,” I corrected him. “She said she wanted to catch up over dinner— Wait. I think she’s texting me right now.”

Ruby: Don’t be mad! Sean and I just wanted you two to squash whatever’s been going on with you.

Ruby: Your mom said you two haven’t been talking? We were just concerned. That’s the only reason we set this dinner up for you and Harry.

Ruby: LOVE YOU, PLEASE DON’T BE MAD

“Seriously?” Harry and I said the phrase at the same time. He’d been looking down at his phone, too.

“Did Sean just send you a text about what’s going on?”

“Sure did.” Harry scoffed again. “What? Do they think this is a movie or something? You can’t just set people up on a dinner date and hope everything works out for the best.”

“Oh. Sean called this a date?”

“Pretty romantic spot for it not to be.” Harry groaned. “But it’s not like we had a choice in having dinner here tonight.”

“It’s kind of sweet. Very annoying, definitely, but still sweet,” I replied. “So, what do you think? Should we try to get through dinner?”

“If we don’t, I’m pretty sure they’ll just set us up again.” Harry picked up the menu in front of him, but he paused to shamelessly look me up and down. “Uh, you look—is that what you were going to wear? When it was just you and Ruby?”

“Why? Do you think I brought a change of clothes just in case it was you instead?” I joked. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Harry O’Donnell, but I don’t plan every minute of my life around you.”

Harry grinned. “There she is.”

I almost grinned right back, but I fought against the urge. It was too easy to fall back into a pattern with Harry, and if I wasn’t careful, he’d be right back in my bed.

Which couldn’t happen under any circumstances. Not just because I was pregnant, but because it was obvious that he wasn’t looking for a real connection here.

Why would I let myself keep falling for someone if I was the only one with feelings?

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