Page 10 of Her Fake Island Wedding

Chapter Six

“Breathe,” Bryce nudged Lucy in the ribs lightly. “You’ve gone white as a sheet.”

He was holding her hand, as usual these days, but this time she was clinging to it like a lifeline, because at any moment her mother was going to walk through the sliding doors from the airport’s secure area and see them together, and the charade would begin in earnest.

The last two weeks had flown by; Lucy had a much greater sympathy for women who turned into bridezillas when things didn’t go exactly to their plan now. On such short notice, Olivia, Terry and Jerome had pulled together an absolutely breathtaking plan for a wedding, but multiple things still had to be changed due to unavailability or expense. Lucy had just shrugged and rolled with the changes, but she could imagine how a girl who had her heart set on something could easily get upset and overwhelmed by it all in the run-up to the biggest day of her life. Especially if she had family who were bringing pressure to bear as well.

“Your mum’s flight is starting to clear now,” Rosie noted. Standing just in front of them, she was helping to greet the guests incoming to the resort along with Jill, the guest relations manager. Lucy didn’t know Jill well, but the other girl had stepped up to do her part in the charade as well, upgrading Lucy’s mother to a premium guest suite rather than a standard resort room and sending a request to Housekeeping to have a welcoming basket placed in the room.Mother of the Bride, the card tucked into the beautiful arrangement of fruit said, and there was champagne in the bar fridge too.

“Oh, God.” Lucy’s hands were cold and clammy, but Bryce didn’t try to let go. He squeezed comfortingly on her numb fingers instead, trying to warm her.

“Easy. It’s all gonna go fine. She won’t see anything past that sparkler on your finger.”

Which was yet another thing Lucy had to worry about. She’d tried to pick out a plain, simple ring at the resort jeweller. They’d had other ideas, and since their jewellery would feature prominently in the marketing photographs, she didn’t really feel able to say no. Especially once they’d assured her their insurance would cover her in the case of loss or damage.

Consequently, she was wearing a spectacular princess-cut, two-carat diamond solitaire that would have cost Bryce about a quarter of his annual salary, if he’d been paying for it. She’d pointed that out, but Bryce had decided for reasons of his own to accompany her to the jeweller and he’d cut off her objections with a few simple words.

“I’d spend a lot more than that if I was lucky enough to find a woman as amazing as you who was willing to marry me.”

The words had made her feel warm all over, especially combined with the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke them. Every time she saw the glint of the diamond, she remembered the way Bryce had called her amazing.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back, and that warm glance between the two of them was the first thing Justine Manning saw as she walked through the sliding doors.

“Lucy!”

Her mother’s welcoming call made Lucy startle and look away from Bryce, her cheeks flushing. “Mum,” she said with a smile.

“Holy shit,” Bryce said as she stepped forward, “that’syourmother?”

Lucy knew exactly what he meant. Justine Manning would be fifty-three in a few months, but she looked to be in her mid-thirties at most, a stunning, model-tall, raven-haired beauty who turned every male head in a three-block radius. She looked like Lucy’s taller, more glamorous older sister, perfectly made up with not a hair out of place even after flying halfway around the world.

“Darling, you look marvellous,” Justine said in the plummy, upper-class accent Lucy had made a conscious decision never to sound like. “Love the tan! And who’s this gorgeous young stud? Brought him along to carry the bags, have you?” She skimmed her eyes up and down Bryce’s tall, muscled form in a blatantly sexual appraisal that made Lucy grit her teeth.

“Surprise,” Lucy said with a grin. “This is Bryce. We’re engaged.” She waved her hand, making the diamond flash glints of multicoloured light.

For the first time in her entire life, Lucy saw her mother rendered absolutely speechless.

Bryce took that as his cue and stepped forward, extending a hand. “It’s lovely to finally meet you, Mrs Manning. Lucy’s told me so much about you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Justine finally recovered enough to say, taking his hand. “Engaged? But why?”

Bryce blinked. “What?”

“Why areyouengaged toLucy? You gorgeous young thing, you could have anyone!”

Behind her, Lucy heard Jill and Rosie gasp in outraged unison. She had indeed told Bryce a lot about her mother, though, including a pretty accurate prediction of exactly what Justine might say when they dropped the bombshell. Bryce just raised his eyebrows and looked amused.

“That’s a good one! I’m lucky Lucy bothered to look at me twice, Ms. Manning.”

“You must call me Justine,” she said after a brief pause. “Well. This is a surprise, but a pleasant one. When are you two planning to get married?” She gave the handle of her suitcase to Bryce as he gestured towards it.

“Well, that’s the second surprise,” Lucy said, taking a certain malicious delight in the way Justine’s eyes narrowed, anticipating another bombshell. “It’s a week on Friday.”

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