Page 104 of The Baking Games

“Can you believe we’re here? I mean us! Nobody would’ve ever predicted the Greene sisters would end up at a fancy NYC wedding with two celebrities.”

She smiles. “And all because you took a chance on yourself. I’m so proud of you, sissy!” She hugs my neck like she’s done a thousand times since I got home. I thought we’d never let go of each other at the airport that day.

“Have you gotten any responses from the colleges you applied to?”

“A couple, but let’s not talk about real life right now. Let’s immerse ourselves in this dream life while we can!” She dances away from me toward a crowd of people and waves.

“What are you doing, Sadie?” I’m genuinely confused about why she abandoned me beside the punch bowls.

“Have you seen my hippopotamus, madam?”

I would know his voice anywhere.

I slowly turn, and Rhett stands there wearing a tuxedo, generally looking like the hottest man on earth.

“Rhett? What are you doing here?”

“Um, I was invited, thank you very much. I did come in second on The Baking Games behind a seriously sexy redhead.”

I smile because I always smile around Rhett. “It’s so good to see you.” I step forward and hug him, pressing my cheek to his strong chest. Is it too much to ask to stay here forever?

He wraps his arms around me tightly. “I’ve missed you.” He says it so softly that I barely hear him.

I pull away and look up at him. “You have?”

“You haven’t missed me?”

“Of course I have! But you just said goodbye at the house like that was it. I figured I wouldn’t see you again.”

He looks truly shocked. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you were faking the relationship. Why would you need to see me after it was all over?”

He reaches out and puts his hands on my cheeks, cradling my face. “Sunny, haven’t you realized by now that none of that was fake?”

“What?”

“I wasn’t faking anything. Sure, I didn’t know how I felt when I originally asked you to pretend with me. But the moment we were chained together, I knew.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. He brushes his thumb across my cheek over and over.

“I knew, too.”

A smile spreads across his face. “So, you weren’t faking either?”

“No. Never.” My voice is shaking.

He pulls me back into him. “Thank God.”

“Wait,” I say, pulling away again. “What happens now?”

“Well, for one, we do this,” he says, pressing his lips to mine in the most passionate kiss of my life. Warm lips, frantic movements. Hands in hair. His hand on my lower back. So much is happening at once, and I’ve never wanted to crawl into another person’s skin like this.

Suddenly, someone clears their throat. We disconnect our hungry lips from each other and look sideways to see Sadie standing there, a knowing smile on her face.

“Excuse me, y’all, but did you forget this is someone else’s wedding?”

I laugh. “Rhett, meet my sister, Sadie.”

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