Page 112 of Pretend for Me

Palm threading through her hair, I cup the back of her neck. “Is it bad that I want to murder my best friend because you call him Big Daddy?”

Her hand drops to where my dick is springing to life. “Ah, but I know who the real big daddy is.”

“My dick is not sharing a name with Hudson Case, so think of something else. Now please, for the love of God, just kiss me.”

She closes the distance between our lips and my world rightens.

My heart settles back into a normal rhythm, full from the emotion of having her in my arms again. A woman I truly thought I’d lost.

She fought her demons and came back stronger. To be mine.

Piper moans as our lips fuse, and I part my mouth to let our tongues touch, taking her in deeper. Her body melts against mine and I tighten my hand around her hip to bring her closer. Her taste, her arms looped around my neck, and her sweet citrus scent are the heaven I could get lost in.

We’re completely immersed in the feel of one anotherwhen there’s another sharp knock on the door that forces us apart.

Piper’s stunned eyes look up at me. “Shit! I need to put on my dress!”

I smile, unconcerned, because time feels irrelevant when you have forever.

“I’ll let Brandy know to keep the guest entertained. Go get ready and don’t rush.”

Piper’s brows furrow. “Don’t rush?! Babe, our guests are waiting for?—”

I cover her lips with my finger. “The only person you need to worry about waiting is me. And,meri jaan, I’ll wait my whole life at the end of that aisle for you if I have to.”

Except, a moment later, there’s another knock on the door. It’s not Brandy, but someone from my security team who opens the door.

“Don’t mean to disturb, sir,” he says, looking perturbed. “But you both might need to come out to address a little problem.”

My hackles rise. “What is it?”

“Sir, a man who says he’s your wife’s father is here, threatening to go to the media with a photograph.”

thirty-eight

piper

Rehab Isn’t For Me

Iwas in a bubble for the past ten minutes. A serene and happy bubble with a man who will be my husband in less than an hour. For those few moments where I bared my soul to him, the world had ceased to exist. It was just Dev and me, standing on the brink of our future together.

I was miserable without him this past week. Even as I went through the motions—pretending to work, feigning smiles—I was dying inside. But that negative voice in my head that I’d coddled for far too long insisted I needed the whole week. It whispered that my agony was just a result of my “addiction” to Dev Menon and that I needed “rehabilitation” to take him out of my system.

By last night, I was jonesing so hard for him, I was ready to hook myself up to a Dev Menon IV drip and mainline him into my bloodstream. Turns out rehab isn’t for me, and I’m far better off being a junkie.

But now, as Dev’s hand finds the small of my back, the bubble bursts and reality comes crashing back.

My heart hammers as my brain tries to catch up with what I just heard.My father is here?

We hurriedly follow security out to meet the commotionoutside. My dad, drunk and combative, yells obscenities at the men restraining him while waving the photograph of me with Oscar and Mayer. It’s my worst nightmare—the reason I paid him off—come to life.

Dev’s dad, Rowan, and Hudson all glare at him disgustedly from a few feet away while Brandy tries to keep the guests in Claire’s rose garden, instructing the staff to keep everyone entertained.

“I have proof this marriage is a sham!” my dad spits, looking from me to Dev’s dad. “Look at this picture of this good-for-nothing daughter of mine. It’s clear she was cheating on your son. I’ll go to the press with this!”

Dev and I freeze, though I feel the heat and ire radiating off him. His body stiffens, every muscle charged to retaliate.

I step up, even as my body trembles from the shock of the scene, my eyes pooling with hurt and disbelief. Of course my useless piece of shit father would ruin the happiest day of my life. “You promised that if I paid you, I’d never have to see your loathsome face again.”

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