Page 4 of Her Fake Island Wedding

Chapter Three

“I’m sorry,what?” Luke said eventually, clearly finding himself unable to add up the pieces to make any sort of sensible explanation.

Lucy rushed into a babbled explanation about her mother coming to visit and Lucy’s reasoning for producing a fake fiancé to get her mother off her back.

“I’ve heard worse plans for dealing with impossible parents, but actually going through with a fake wedding?” Luke looked sceptical.

“Well, that wasn’t part of the original plan, except then Bryce suggested it and Olivia sort of took over. She says she has a plan to redo the weddings section of the website, and if we’ll let you use the photos then you might be willing to go along and fake marry us.” Lucy looked at him hopefully. “Although I’d have thought you might want to hire models or something…”

“You two are both good-looking enough to be models,” Luke waved off that suggestion. “You look good together, actually.” He tilted his head, considering them. “So… basically we stage it just like a real wedding, take a ton of photos we can use for publicity purposes, and this has the side effect of getting your mother off your case?”

Lucy smiled hopefully and nodded, and Luke looked at Bryce.

“And what’s in this for you?”

“Helping out a friend… and pulling off a really epic hoax.” Bryce grinned, knowing that the latter comment would be enough to convince Luke he had no ulterior motives. Except, Luke was general manager for a reason, and part of that included great insight into people.

“Hm,” Luke said, his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t ask Bryce any more questions.

* * *

Lucy held her breath as Luke looked at them thoughtfully, his gaze moving from her to Bryce and back again. Leaning back in his chair, he steepled his fingers and said nothing for a long moment, obviously considering the plan for flaws. “You could fill in the actual legal paperwork required by law to get married in Australia, and show your mother a copy,” he suggested eventually. “It’s the Notice Of Intended Marriage form, which has to be filed a minimum of one month before a wedding and is then valid for eighteen months, but it’s not legally binding or anything.”

“That works,” Lucy looked at the calendar on his desk, counting days. “That would mean we could have the ceremony on the date Olivia suggested, the twentieth, two days before my mother leaves.”

“The only flaw in the plan is that I have to register an actual marriage within fourteen days, and if your mother happened to look up the records later she wouldn’t be able to find it. Though I presume you’ll have admitted to the prank by then?” Luke raised his eyebrows at her interrogatively.

“Sure,” Lucy agreed, though she hadn’t really thought through when and how she might tell her mother. That was a problem for Future Lucy, and in the present she had a fake wedding to plan.

“As long as you don’t sign the marriage register, it’s not legal, then.” Luke shrugged. “I can say all the usual words. I’m guessing you brought this to me rather than Mrs Heathers because you thought I’d be more amenable to the idea?”

“I don’t know her,” Lucy disclaimed, but Bryce chirped up again.

“It was my idea, and yes. She’s a dear, and she’s adapted really well to performing same-sex weddings now the law has changed, but I don’t see her being party to any deception. She’d do the marketing part of it but she wouldn’t agree to deceive Lucy’s mum, I think.”

“You’re probably right. She hasn’t had a break for a while… I might encourage her to take that whole week off,” Luke said with a little glint in his eye. “Just to make sure there’s no risk of anything slipping our which shouldn’t.”

He’d bought into the plan, Lucy thought with relief. “Thanks, Mr Collyer,” she said gratefully.

“Call me Luke.” He smiled warmly at her. “Just a moment and I’ll print this form off… get it back to me before five today so I can scan and file it, please.”

They waited while he clicked his mouse and tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and after a moment the printer whirred to life. Luke handed the still-warm pages over with a nod of dismissal, and they escaped his office with the papers clutched tightly in Lucy’s sweating hand.

“God, that was nerve-wracking!” Lucy sagged against the wall once they’d retreated back to the staff quarters.

“Luke’s very nice but I always get the feeling he can see right through me.” Bryce stuck his hands in his pockets and grinned ruefully. “Pity you don’t know him better. He’d probably be a lot more acceptable to your mum as a fiancé than I will be. Successful and all that, and I know girls think he’s handsome.”

“I s’pose,” Lucy said doubtfully. “Can’t say I noticed. I was too worried he was going to boot me out of his office with a flea in my ear. And my mum would never believe he was into me anyway; guys like that are never attracted to me.”

“Like that?” Bryce cocked his head curiously.

“You know. Mature. Confident. Responsible.” She grinned impishly. “I wouldn’t last five minutes with a boyfriend like Luke. I’d be putting itching powder or something in his shorts, trying to get him to loosen up.”

Bryce cracked up laughing.

“See! Even you recognise I’d drive him round the bend. No way would Mum buy someone like Luke was in love with me. I’m too dippy.”

“You’re not dippy.” He shook his head at her, still laughing. “You don’t get a doctorate in marine biology by beingdippy. You just have a slightly eccentric sense of humour, that’s all. It’s adorable.”

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