Page 28 of Never Been Worse

He shakes his head ardently. “Harper, I’m not making you share a bed. I’m sleeping on the couch.”

“Then we’ll make it work fairly. We can switch on and off. You take it tonight. Tomorrow, I get the couch.”

“No,” he says bluntly.

“Excuse me?”

“No. I’m not letting you sleep on the couch,” he says like it’s not up for discussion, putting his duffel bag onto a table and unzipping it.

“Wes, don’t be ridiculous?—”

“I have manners, Harper. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“I can’t in good conscience let you do that,” I say, turning to him with my arms folded across my chest. “I’m fine sleeping on the couch. We can take turns, it’s fair.” He stops what he’s doing, looking at me with tired eyes. We both took short naps on the plane ride, but considering it’s officially tomorrow in the Bahamas and yesterday was possibly the world's longest day, we’re both exhausted.

“My father would kill me if he found out I was making a woman sleep on the couch, fake wife or not.”

“Do your parents know? About this being…?” I ask because we never actually talked aboutwhowould know the truth. I didn’t tell my parents, but the truth is, they weren’t going to ask questions, so it was easier that way.

He shakes his head. “No, I just told them it was a whim.”

“They didn’t question it?” I ask, wondering if his relationship with his parents is similar to mine. He shakes his head.

“Hell no. My parents married after knowing each other for a month. They don’t have a single foot to stand on between the two of them.”

“A month!” I say with a laugh. “Was it a shotgun wedding?”

He shakes his head with a wide smile. “No, my parents are hopeless romantics. They say it was love at first sight.”

“And they’re still in love?” I ask, somewhat disbelieving. He nods fervently.

“Incredibly.”

“Is that what you’re waiting for?” I ask, my stomach churning with a hint of guilt and something else I can’t—or maybe don’t want to—pinpoint. “To find your one true love and settle down?” He stares at me for long moments, which starts to make me feel uncomfortable. “You know, when you get the chance?”

Finally, he nods. “Yeah. When I get the chance.” Another heavy beat passes before he claps his hands. “All right, enough talking about my parents on our honeymoon. Do you want to go down to the pool? I think Leo has tipped some people off to come take shots while we’re down there, and I could use a nap by the water.”

My eyes go wide at the thought, the reminder of the purpose of this “honeymoon,” but I straighten my shoulders and nod.

No matter how uncomfortable it makes me, I have to rememberwhyI’m here. It’s not to flirt with a hot rockstar, that’s for sure.

“Yeah, give me five,” I say as confidently as I can before stepping back, moving to my bag to find whatever swimsuit Ava packed me.

“Are you almost ready to go down?” Wes asks from outside the bathroom twenty minutes later.

I slathered sunscreen all over, tied my copper hair up into a high ponytail, and slicked on some basic makeup in an effort to not look like a disaster for the paparazzi. Now I’m standing in front of a mirror, fiddling with the thin strings of my bridal white bikini, knowing damn well Ava picked the tiniest thing she could find.

I don’t have any issues with my body, something that is a bit of an abnormality in the fashion industry, but I love it. She’s got curves and dips I love and does just about everything I ask of her with minimal complaints. I’ve never been self-conscious about how I look or anything like that, which is why, on any other day, this tiny bikini wouldn’t bother me at all.

But nowWesis about to see my body. Wes, who has probably spent time with some of the most gorgeous women in the world. Wes, who is now myhusband. Wes, who is going to act blissfully in love with mewhileI wear this tiny bikini.

You picked this out, didn’t you, Ava?

I send the text into our group chat along with a photo of myself in the bikini, and Ava replies almost instantly.

Ava

Jesus, Harp, give us a warning when you send the NSFW content!

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