Page 10 of His Curvy Catfish

Brayden sucked in his breath and looked away. He ran his hand over his mouth. It was clear the moment had been broken. Embarrassment and confusion washed over me.

“I understand that you’re probably disappointed to learn what I did,” I said. “I’m ashamed, too. I wish I’d had the confidence to come here by myself in the first place.”

“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s just…”

“What?”

He sighed. “Listen, we should probably end this now. There’s something you don’t know.”

“What is it?”

He shook his head. “Let me drive you back to your cottage. You’ll find out soon enough.”

***

The next day, I was still confused. I’d barely slept a wink. What had I done wrong? What had Brayden meant? However, given that Ace was scheduled to arrive any minute, and the rehearsal dinner was in less than an hour, I had no time to think anymore. I’d spent the day at the spa, getting an array of services from a facial, manicure, pedicure, and hair color and cut, and it felt like a whirlwind. I knew that had as much to do with my emotions as the activities going on around me.

I smoothed my skirt and paced back and forth as I waited in the lobby for Ace to arrive.

The doors slid open, and Brayden suddenly walked in. He was wearing a pair of gray dress pants, sport coat, and tie. My pulse quickened. Why was he so dressed up? Was he meeting a woman here for dinner? Maybe that was what he’d been trying to tell me—that he’d been seeing someone. That would explain why he thought our kiss had been a mistake.

His gaze met mine and he crossed to where I stood.

“Hi, Dani,” he said.

“Hi,” I said, confused. “What are you doing here? Are you meeting someone?”

“I am,” he said with a nod. “You.”

“What?” I asked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I’m Ace,” he said, wincing. “Ace was actually my nickname in the Air Force. The truth is that I catfished you. I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t understand.” I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

“I didn’t do it deliberately,” he said. “Wait, that’s not right. Yes, I used my brother’s picture and specifications instead of my own. My brother is Neil Porter. He’s a year younger than me, and he’s an actor based in Vegas. He has no idea that I pretended to be him on the App. I was embarrassed because of my scars, that’s why I didn’t put up a real photo. I haven’t dated at all since the crash. My former girlfriend broke up with me when I was in rehab. She just couldn’t handle it. I guess I thought lying was the only way I could get a date. Then, after I met you, I wanted to take it all back and figure out a way to get out of it without hurting you, but I couldn’t. I know it’s too much to ask you to forgive me now.”

I began to laugh and cry at the same time and flung my arms around his neck. “Oh, Brayden! Of course, I forgive you!”

He looked at me with astonishment. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” I nodded as his arms encircled my waist and a smile began to spread over his face. “Don’t you see? We’re peas in a pod. Of course, I forgive you, because otherwise, how could I forgive myself for not loving myself? There’s nothing wrong with either of us, but I think we both have yet to fully understand that.”

He began to kiss my face, covering my forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks, and lips with kisses. “My God,” he said. “I don’t know what brought you into my life, but the universe has blessed me with the woman of my dreams. I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes, you do,” I said in between kisses. “In fact, I was hoping to make a deal with you.”

“What sort of deal?”

I smiled. “I’d like to invest in your restaurant. I want to partner with you to advocate for eating in a way that supports the health of our bodies as well as our land and local economy. I want to be a spokesperson for body positivity and use my platform to work for change in our culture and our mindset about the definition of beauty. Will you let me join you? Can we work together?”

“Dani Lane,” said Brayden, pulling me tight against him. “If I hadn’t already started to fall in love with you, I’m falling head over heels now. I think this is a match made in Heaven.”

When he kissed me then, it was truly Heaven on earth and I knew that no matter what life brought from here, I’d never have to go through it alone again.

A Note From Annee

Thank you so much for reading my book—I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please consider taking a moment to leave a review. Not only do good reviews help increase visibility of books you consider worthwhile, but they also let hard-working authors know that their stories make a difference. If my books put a smile on your face, touch your heart, or make you think—well, that’s worth everything to me!

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