Page 45 of Fauxmance

"Don't push it," he muttered.

Cole grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "Thanks again, Magnolia."

I shook my head with a smile. Why was he thanking me? Finally, I knew why Hayden was here. It had next to nothing to do with me and everything to do with Cole. They were besties, and despite his aversion to weddings in general, he'd come to this one. I'd only known Hayden a short while, but I knew he'd never have been able to let his best friend down. He was a good egg.

As I went to stand in line with the other bridesmaids, Izzy threw me an impressed look.

"New boyfriend, huh?" she said. "I approve."

I gave a shrug, still uncomfortable with the whole "boyfriend" label.

"He's gorgeous, Maggie," Veronica whispered.

"A 10 out of 10," Vivian agreed. "How on Earth did you get Hayden Davenport here?"

"Half the girls in Gamma Pi were in love with him. I'm sure of it."

"More than half," her sister added.

"Forget all that. Where did you find him?" Sariah asked. "And where can I get one?"

In the elevator, between my therapist's office and the lobby, I thought but didn't say. This was surreal. I didn't want to accidentally wake myself up in case it was a dream. I chose to play off their comments instead.

"You guys are too much," I said on a laugh.

"No really," Sariah said. "How did you twomeet? Until yesterday, weren't you still with Sean?"

Izzy scoffed. "Sean who?"

The other girls giggled, and as we looked to the front of the room, my eyes shot to Hayden. He was currently chatting and laughing about something with Cole. I honestly couldn't blamethe girls for their reaction. Hayden was gorgeous, no two ways about it. I thought he'd looked good in his leather jacket, but put him in a suit, and it was the thing dreams were made of.

Broad shoulders hugged perfectly by his black suit jacket, a pristine white button-down tucked into dress slacks that fit his tall six-foot-two frame like they'd been made for him. The two top buttons strategically left open, revealing a neck that begged to be swooned over.Sean who, indeed.

Before I could say a word, tell them that it wasn't anything serious, Hayden was just doing me a favor, a song began playing, and we all stood to attention. Jasmine had picked this song for the bridesmaids to walk down the aisle to.God Only Knowsby The Beatles. That was our cue.

"We'll talk more later," I whispered. "Right now, let's make sure Jas has the best day ever."

The four of them nodded, and we started our little procession to the dais. First to walk were the twins followed by Izzy, Sariah and finally me. I made sure to smile at the guests and walked in time with the music, gliding likeMrs.Wheeler had taught us. The only time I stuttered a step was when my eyes met Hayden's. He was staring right at me, and it looked like he was fighting back a grin. I lifted a brow and kept pushing forward. If Hayden thought he could intimidate me with his rockstar good looks, he had another thing coming.

I made it to the front of the room and took up my position opposite the groomsmen. Hayden, who was standing right behind Cole, gave me a nod of approval while silently clapping, and I fought not to laugh or roll my eyes.

Mom caught my gaze a second later and mouthed something. I shook my head slightly and watched as she pulled a piece of paper out of her purse. A moment later, she pointed to Hayden and held up the paper she'd written on.

Elevator?

A blush suffused my cheeks as I dipped my chin. Yes, Hayden was the guy from the elevator. The one who'd given me a kiss that kept me up last night. The one who was, at this moment, watching Mom as she gave me a big smile and thumbs-up. My blush turned brighter, and I tried to melt into the floor, but unfortunately I stayed solid.

The music changed a moment later.

My embarrassment from a moment ago forgotten, my gaze went straight to the top of the grand staircase—and there she was.

Like something out of a fairytale.

Jasmine.

My sister, the most beautiful bride I had ever seen, the very picture of happiness.

I sucked in a breath, and I wasn't the only one.

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