Page 91 of Strictly Pretend

I let out a breath, because I know this woman. She may be an angel but she’s also got a spine of steel. “Okay. But after that we need to come up with a plan.”

“What kind of plan?” she asks me.

“One where I get to see you more than once a week because I’m not doing this long distance.”

She runs the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip. “I can’t move to New York.”

Yeah, I know that. And on paper I can’t move out of New York. But something has to give. I can’t go back to the life I used to live. Not after I’ve seen how good life could be with her.

I kiss the tip of her nose, then her jaw. “We’ll work it out,” I promise. Right after I’ve spoken with my brothers. “Trust me.”

The corner of her lip quirks. “Strangely enough, I do.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

EMMA

“I, Cassandra Grace Elliott, take you, Derek Richard Sinclair, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forth.”

There’s a lump in my throat as she stares at her almost-husband, who’s also crying like a baby. Brooks slides his hand into mine, then leans across to kiss the soft skin beneath my ear.

“Can’t wait for that to be us,” he murmurs.

A weird jolt pulls at my chest. I know he’s just playing for the audience. At least I think he is. But it still feels like I’m in some kind of paralell universe anyway.

Cassie has gone for a traditional ceremony, mostly because she was wary of the vows Derek would write if he had to do it himself. Or rather, she was worried the best man would do it for him, which would have been carnage.

“If he tells me I’ll always be his second girl after Bess, I’ll kill him,” she said as Mia put the veil on her hair.

“Who’s Bess?” I asked, slightly concerned that Cassie was already being cheated on. And even worse, she knew it.

“His dog. His parents brought him over yesterday. She has him wrapped around her little finger, or she would if she had any. Around her toes. Whatever.” Cassie grinned at me. “Anyway, that’s what would happen and I’m not having that today.”

Bess is next to Derek’s feet as he leans forward to kiss her. She has a little bow around her neck, like she’s another groomsman. And sure enough when Derek’s lips press against Cassie’s, Bess starts to bark like there’s an intruder trying to break into her house.

I guess to her, there is.

The audience chuckles as she starts to jump up against Derek’s legs. He pulls his mouth away from Cassie’s long enough to give the dog a sharp command, and to everybody’s surprise Bess lays down on the floor and he goes back to that first married kiss.

She’s as good as gold as she follows them back down the aisle, along with the bridal party. Then the rest of us get up and follow them. I can feel Brooks’ warm palm against my back as we walk and as soon as we’re outside he grabs a glass of champagne for me, pressing it into my hand.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I ask him, smiling. “Because where you’re concerned I’m a sure thing.”

He brings his gaze to me. His eyes are amused. And I realize I like this side of him best of all. When he relaxes and lets himself smile. When he doesn’t look like he’s fighting against the world.

“I’m just trying to look after you,” he tells me. And it’s weird, because I can feel that in my bones. This man wants to look after me. I’m not used to it.

But I like it.

After we eat – barbecue again, of course – the guests spill out across the meadow. Brooks is my shadow, his hand alwayson my back, as he actually schmoozes his way through the afternoon and early evening.

Everybody seems to know him – or at least his family – and a lot of people make it their mission to come over and say hi.

“I saw your dad on the golf course last month,” an older man says. “He beat me, of course.”

Brooks rubs his thumb against my back. “He beat me a couple of months ago if it makes you feel any better.”

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