Page 2 of Her Fake Island Wedding

Chapter Two

“Wait, what?” Lucy blinked, startled.

“Fake fiancé,” Cory smirked. “Just think how amazed your mother will be! She’d be completely thrown. Bet she wouldn’t hassle you at all.”

“Better yet,” Bryce put in, eyes beginning to gleam in the way Lucy had already learned meant he was formulating some prank or other, “when she arrives, you should totally tell her that you have the best surprise ever for her - you’re getting married while she’s here! You were going to wait, but since she’s here, the opportunity is just too good to miss!”

Everyone around the table, including Lucy, broke up laughing.

“Oh, man. Mum’s expression would beepic,” she said wistfully. “It’d all fall apart when I have neither a boyfriend nor a fiancé to present, though.”

“Why not? I’ll do it.”

She gaped at him.

Bryce grinned. “Most epic prank ever! C’mon, it’ll be fun. Mrs Heathers is a bit too stick-in-the mud to go for it, but Luke’s a registered marriage celebrant as well, for when she has her days off. He’ll totally play along, he could even fake up the registration and marriage certificates for you.” He was referring to Luke Collyer, the resort’s general manager.

“D’you know,” Lucy said slowly, “I’m almost tempted to go along with you, just to shut Mum up.” She looked thoughtfully at Bryce. They hadn’t really spent a lot of time together, but she knew he had a wicked sense of humour and loved pranks. He was certainly good-looking enough to make any girl’s heart flutter, with his height, bronzed tan and sparkling blue eyes, though his shaggy fair hair might need a tidy up. Or maybe not, she mused. It made him look even younger and more boyish, which would probably offend her mother even more.

“How old are you again?” she checked.

“Twenty-four,” Bryce said easily. “I can be your toyboy!”

Cory was roaring with laughter, Olivia and Nessa giggling as well, egging her on and saying she should do it. Olivia offered one of her rarely-used designer dresses from her days as a New York marketing guru to use as a wedding gown, and suddenly Lucy was in.

“If Luke’s up for it, I’ll do it,” she said decisively. “I’ll owe you though, Bryce.”

He grinned and gave her a cheeky wink. “I’ll think of some way you can repay me!”

She couldn’t help but laugh. No, she had no doubts about Bryce pulling off his part; he was a born actor and could easily have made his living on the stage or in front of the camera if he hadn’t been so in love with the ocean. He’d play the besotted fiancé to the hilt, and all she would have to do was worry about containing her laughter and not giving the game away to her mother.

“Are you really going to do it?” Olivia asked.

“If Bryce is really up for dealing with my impossible mother, yes,” Lucy declared.

“Charming impossible mothers is my speciality,” Bryce claimed, making her laugh again.

“Right… well, if you are, I might be able to help with some of the stage setting,” Olivia said. “We wanted to redo the weddings pages on the website anyway, and if you were agreeable to having all the photos used for that purpose, I could get you the photographer for free, and flowers. Might be able to talk Luke into giving you a table atLa Sirène.” She named the resort’s Michelin-starred French restaurant.

Everything was moving a bit fast for Lucy, as Olivia pulled out her phone and started booking things into her diary. “Whoa,” she protested. “I didn’t even ask Luke if he’d go along with the fake-wedding plan yet!”

“Then you’d better go find him, hadn’t you?” Olivia didn’t even look up from her phone. “When does your mother arrive?”

Recognising Olivia was in full-on marketing guru mode, Lucy sighed and gave up the dates.

“Excellent, we don’t have any weddings scheduled on the twentieth. I’ll get Terry and Jerome on the case.”

“Olivia, I really don’t need wedding planners!” Lucy protested, starting to panic slightly.

Olivia looked up. “Youmight not, but if we’re going to use this as a marketing opportunity, we’re going to use every resource the resort has.” She tilted her head, considering Bryce. “Including the hair salon… go book in for a haircut. I’ll get hair and makeup for Lucy arranged on the morning of the wedding…”

“Last chance to back out,” Bryce told Lucy jokingly.

“I think I should be saying that to you,” she pointed out. “There’s nothing in this for you but loads of hassle.”

He smiled, showing the dimple in his tanned cheek. “Hey. It’ll be fun. Come on, let’s leave Olivia to her plotting and go find Luke. We should probably emphasise the marketing aspects rather more than the prank part…”

“You’re not wrong,” Lucy agreed, giving up on her lunch. She wasn’t hungry any more anyway.

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