Page 93 of The Wedding Hoax

I took a moment to appreciate my mom’s outfit. She was wearing a purple dress with a matching shawl, the look complete with a set of pearls around her neck.

“Did your nurse help you get dressed?”

“Yes, but some of it I was able to do on my own.” She smiled. “I’m getting better, even if it’s only a little bit at a time.”

“That’s good to hear, Mom.” I smiled back at her. “But I still don’t know where we’re supposed to be going, so you’re going to have to fill me in.”

“We’re going to Harry’s birthday party.”

“Nope. No, thanks!” I chuckled, taking another bite of my apple. “But if you want to go, I don’t mind dropping you off. You can just tell his family that I said hey—”

“We’re going, Simi,” Mom pressed. “You need to get dressed so we can head over.”

“But we’re not talking to each other right now.”

“I don’t care. Grace invited us. It’d be rude not to show up.”

“But what if he doesn’t want me there?” I frowned. “I don’t think I could handle being kicked out of my own husband’s birthday party. The embarrassment would be enough to kill me.”

“Simi—”

“And what if I don’t feel like socializing? You know how nauseous I’ve been with the pregnancy. It’s probably safer for me if I stay close to a bathroom. You don’t want me throwing up all over Grace, now, do you—”

“Simone, go to your room and get dressed.” She shook her head. “I’m not going to talk to you about this anymore. The decision has already been made.”

It was no use arguing with her. She wasn’t taking no for an answer.

And she was right. I couldn’t hide from him forever.

“I can’t believe this is happening to me right now,” I murmured as I went back to my bedroom. I hopped into the shower, just for a quick rinse, then stood in front of my closet.

Harry’s birthday party.

What the hell was I supposed to wear? I didn’t want to dress too flirty, because he might think that meant I was already looking for the next guy to date. And I didn’t want to dress like I wasn’t trying to flirt, at all, because then he might think that I didn’t want him to even try to make a move.

“Simi! Hurry up, or we’re going to be late!”

“I’m coming!” I huffed out a breath before I pulled on a classy pale pink dress with embroidered sleeves. It was sleek and formfitting, but there wasn’t any cleavage and the hem of it nearly brushed against the floor.

Perfect.

* * *

“Whoa. What happened to the coffee shop?”

I was stunned as I stepped through its doors. The place had been completely transformed into some kind of wonderland. The usual overhead lights were turned completely off, with sparkling fairy lights hanging off vines all across the ceiling instead. Each table in the coffee shop had mugs on top of them, too, each one filled with scented candles that made the entire room smell like vanilla and cream.

“This is gorgeous,” Mom murmured by my side. “Have you ever been here before, Simone?”

My eyes welled with tears. “Yeah, Mom. This is where I met Harry for the first time.”

“Oh.” Her voice went quiet.

“I don’t think I can do this, Mom.” I wiped a tear away from my face. “I’m sorry. I’m just going to head back to the car. You can tell everyone I came, but I started feeling too sick to stay. Being here hurts way too much—”

“Simone?” Harry’s voice suddenly cut through my words.

I turned around to see him walking toward me. He was dressed in an expensive-looking suit, with an even more expensive-looking watch on his wrist.

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