Page 4 of The Wedding Fake

“No, actually, but I went up a couple weeks ago and got fitted, so they don’t need me there until Wednesday.”

Damn. I could’ve done that too. I wanted to whine to Emily that she should’ve invited me along, but again, that was me being self-absorbed, and I refrained. “I should’ve done that. It stresses me out to use up all my vacation days in August. Now if I need a day, I’m screwed.”

“Your boss loves you, doesn’t she? I’m sure if you needed a day you’d be fine.”

Emily’s words were probably true, but that didn’t mean I was ready to let go of the worry that I would be trapped with no options later in the year. My therapist once suggested I was less aware of what triggered my anxiety than I thought, and while I generally thought she was right, it didn’t change how I felt in the moment.

“That’s true, I guess,” I said, but Emily could probably hear the skepticism in my voice.

There was gentle splashing as Emily continued talking. “If I were you, I’d be way more worried about Grant.”

A thousand possibilities filled my mind, one crazier than the next, but I still didn’t know what that could possibly mean. “Ethan’s brother? What about him is worrisome?”

Emily hummed softly—this was a sound I knew well. It meant Emily was deciding whether or not to spill a secret. “Em? What about Grant?” I repeated.

“Well,” she began slowly, “when I went home a couple weeks ago, I overheard Mom talking.”

I waited, but she was quiet for too long, and finally I pressed. “About what?” I asked. I’d been sitting on my couch, but now I was up, pacing the length of my small living room. It was nine steps each way. Emily hummed again. “Em!” I exclaimed.

“Apparently Mom and Nora think you and Grant would be perfect for each other, and they’ve planned some…” Emily trailed off, and I attempted to be patient and not scream. “I don’t know, like, meet-cutes for you.”

Meet-cutes? I’d already met Grant. I’d met Grant a zillion times and not one of those encounters had been cute. “They’re going to try to fix us up?” I whispered, horrified by what I was hearing.

Emily snorted softly. “I think they’re going way beyond basic fix-ups. Their scheming sounded next-level.” There was another series of splashes, but I ignored them, wide-eyed and speechless. Emily went on. “I told them you weren’t interested in Grant, but they seemed to think they knew better.”

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the anxiety that pressed at my throat. Of course they thought they knew better. Mom and Nora probably believed they knew my heart, my mind, and even my vagina better than I did. “They can’t set me up with Grant,” I said softly.

“I know, it’s crazy, but with you going solo to the wedding…”

Emily was right. There was no stopping them. “But I’m seeing someone.” The words flew out of my mouth before I had time to pull them back or, at the very least, think through the lie. Because it was a bald-faced lie. I hadn’t seen anyone in months.

“Really?” Emily asked, the word punctuated by one big slosh of water that suggested she’d sat up to hear more. I frantically tried to think of more.

“Yeah,” I lied, sure Emily would see through me. The words sounded unconvincing—I couldn’t seem to make my tremulous voice find the surety I would need to sell a lie of this magnitude. And this was big. If I was going to craft a lie this enormous and potentially humiliating, everyone would have to believe it, even Emily, who usually knew all my secrets. I would never live down the truth getting out. I inhaled deeply. If I was going to sell it, this lie needed details, and quick.

“I didn’t even know you were dating. Where did you meet him?” Emily asked, which seemed like a reasonable question, but I had no idea what to say. Shock had drained my creativity. There was no way I could invent a whole mystery man on the spot.

“In the building,” I replied as my mind filled with a real-life image. Hudson. I only knew his name from the multiple times he’d left a box in the vestibule for days. I had cursed the mystery Hudson North every time I passed the boxes, sure they would lead to a vestibule break-in, until one day I saw him grab a delivery and bring it to the elevator.

Hudson North. Irresponsible package receiver slash suspiciously attractive neighbor. You couldn’t trust a man that good-looking.

“Why did I not know this?” Emily asked shrilly. “How long have you been seeing him? Have you had sex?”

So many questions. So few answers. “Because it’s new, and no, not yet.”

“How new?” Emily demanded.

Really new. “Too new to bring him to a family wedding,” I stressed.

Emily snorted. “Well, you better either get serious or get ready for Grant Dupree, because Mom isn’t messing around. She wants you two at the altar next.”

3

HUDSON

Today’s dress was an airy sundress, although it was hard to admire her ass with the sweater she’d pulled over it. I’d never understand why women bothered to wear sweaters with giant, lacy holes. I asked Sammie once, but she scoffed and told me I was an idiot, which was not particularly helpful. Thus, I’d come to the conclusion these sweaters did nothing besides obscure a great ass.

Claire picked up her mail faster than I expected and headed for the elevator while I was still twisting the mail lock back into place and tucking the contents under my arm. I couldn’t help my interest in Claire, but I wasn’t a stalker. I had every intention of letting her slip into the elevator and disappear, but the moment before the door slid shut, all four of the Probst boys squeezed in with her. She shouldn’t be alone with those fuckers. Not even for sixty seconds. Adrenaline filled my veins, just like it did when I got called out to an emergency, and instinct took over. My strides lengthened as I saw her eyes widen and her body press against the back wall of the elevator.

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