Page 92 of Pretend for Me

This time Iactuallyroll my eyes.

Me

How about just Piper? And you’ve never told me whatmeri jaanmeans.

Dev

You’ve never beenjustPiper,meri jaan. They need to get used to calling you Mrs. Menon since the wedding is less than two weeks away. Ralph just texted me to tell me you’re at the hotel. How do you like it?

His first comment has me smiling as I get on the elevator, escorted by someone from the hotel staff.

Me

You keeping tabs on me, Lex? This hotel is stunning. Although, you really didn’t have to do this. The boutique would have been just fine for a dress fitting.

Dev

I didn’t want your day to be “just fine”. I wanted you to remember it. Which reminds me, don’t hand them your credit card. Everything, including the dresses and accessories you pick, have already been paid for.

Me

I am very much capable of paying for my wedding dresses, Mr. Moneybags.

Dev

Happy to hear that, but when it comes to you and me, I’ll always be the one to pay. It’s not up for debate.

Me

Maybe I like debating with you. Maybe I like getting under your skin.

Dev

I can find a few other ways for you to get under me. Have you gotten to the penthouse yet?

The doors to the elevator open and my breath halts inside my lungs as the woman from the hotel staff ushers me in. My Chuck Taylors nestle into the plush white rug as I step into the penthouse suite, taking in the views of the city and the bay from the panoramic windows. The distant hills peek out from beneath the fog as the mid-October sunlight washes over the room, making the chandeliers sparkle.

“Holy shit,” I breathe. “This is . . .”

“Quite the view, right?” the lady asks with a knowing smile, but her voice is drowned out by my friends’ greetings as they rush off their chairs toward me.

“Piper!” my mother says, gathering me in a hug. Her eyes are already glistening, and I haven’t even tried on a dress. “Oh, sweetheart. I couldn’t sleep all last night, imagining you in the dress you’ll pick.”

I hug her back, holding on to her a moment longer and reacquainting myself with her familiar scent. “Well, don’t you go nodding off on me now. I need your opinion onwhat to choose.”

She chuckles, taking a step back so I can hug the rest of the group.

Shayla is next, my beautiful sister-in-law, with her signature asymmetrical bob, her huge hoops, and those stars tattooed behind her ear. She’s as petite as me, but where I get winded from clicking the TV remote, Shay’s a yoga and Pilates fanatic. I’ve heard she runs six miles a day too, which, even the thought has me wanting to strap myself to the nearest comfy couch.

I give her a long hug, and when I pull back, she’s dabbing the corner of her eye with a finger.

“Not you, too,” I whine. “Is there something in the air inside this suite?”

Shay chuckles. “I can’t help it. Weddings make me emotional. Or maybe it’s the post-baby hormones.” She gives me a sincere smile. “We’re just so happy for you and Dev.”

A twinge of guilt threatens to surface. Until recently, I’d been uneasy about my family not knowing the truth about mine and Dev’s arrangement, thinking the urgency of getting married on a short timeline was due to his mother’s health. But somewhere over the past couple of weeks, that guilt has faded, replaced by genuine excitement right alongside them.

Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that Dev and I got my family together on a FaceTime call last week and he met everyone, including my brother. Rowan liked him immediately, and that’s saying something because even though he’s my younger brother, he has protective, older brother qualities. The conversation just seemed easy, like Dev was already part of my family.

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