Page 13 of Her Billion Dollar Groom

I force a smile onto my face and then stare down the endless aisle to where Eliza is waiting for me, and my heart stops all over again. I hadn’t properly thought out the details of all this when I suggested it. If I had stopped to think, I probably wouldn’t have said anything.

This is the most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done in my life, and seeing it come to fruition makes me feel like I’m living in adream. A really frightening dream. One which has consequences I could never foresee.

When I said,marry me,the marriage part was all I was thinking of - the part that comes after all this farce. The idea of us being seen together in public as a couple, the idea of Eliza talking about me on her socials to boost Handshake. I’d forgotten that a part of this would be awedding.

I hadn’t realized that we would commit to the lie enough for her to be wearing white, but she’s wearing a dress that looks like silk has been wrapped around her, and drapes off her shoulders, flowing over every curve, swirling around her ankles like water. Around her throat is a silver necklace with a sapphire pendant sparkling like her eyes. Her hair cascades around her face, not a strand out of place.

There’s not a single aspect of her appearance that hasn’t been meticulously thought out and crafted.

It’s not an exaggeration to say she’s the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.

I have to fight to stop my mouth from dropping open, though I suppose that wouldn’t be an inappropriate reaction. Even though I’m wearing a designer suit, I still feel completely underdressed.

My feet are itching like they’re trying to tell me to run now, to get far away from here and put an end to this delusion before it can spiral further out of control.

Then Eliza’s eyes land on me and her smile warms up like it’s the first genuine expression she’s had on her face all day. In that moment, I know I can’t back out.

A million people are here to watch us, and I can’t let her down now. I promised that I would help her, and though this is one of the most ridiculous schemes ever cooked up by the human mind, I’ve committed to it now.

To shame her in front of all these people by leaving her at the altar… it’s not something my pride can allow me to do.

No matter how much I don’t deserve to be in this position, Eliza is relying on me now, so I force a smile onto my face and take slow, deliberate steps down the aisle. I’m only looking at Eliza, focusing on what I have to do, letting every other noise fade out into the background. Nothing matters but her.

The officiant smiles when we both settle into our places. “Friends and family,” he booms in the kind of voice that suggests that this is a speech he’s given a thousand times. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the love and union of Jason and Eliza.”

If I wasn’t committed to my dignity, I would turn into the crowd and yell at the photographers to shut up. All I can hear is the snapping of their shutters and the sound of my heart racing in my chest.

The ceremony goes by in a blur. We’ve chosen to make it as simple and fast as possible, and I barely hear my own voice as I repeat the vows — to have and to hold, until death do us part. When Eliza says the words to me, the entire world narrows down to a pinprick like a spotlight shining over us, making the rest of the room vanish.

“Do you, Jason Burroughs, take Eliza Holt to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” I whisper, my voice catching in my throat. I swallow hard, then repeat slightly more loudly, “I do.”

She stares into my eyes, and I can’t quite decode her expression, whether the fond smile she’s giving me is real or something she’s constructed for the cameras.

“And do you, Eliza Holt, take Jason Burroughs to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” She grins.

“Then I pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant says, beaming, and I wonder what he thinks of all of this, whether he realizes that this isn’t some predestined-love story but a sham. “You may kiss the bride,” he says to me, and I realize that I’d forgotten this would be part of the ceremony too.

Eliza doesn’t seem fazed. She juts out her chin and waits for me to make the move.

It takes all I have not to apologize to her.

I take a steadying breath, letting her lean to take the lead. Her eyes lock onto mine, and my entire face flushes a hot red. “Make it a good one,” she whispers, and then our lips press against each other and a floodgate inside my heart opens. One that I hadn’t even realized was closed. One that sounds like fate screaming at me, trying to tell me something that I don’t want to hear.

CHAPTER 10

ELIZA

When I was a kid, it was every little girl’s dream to have a big wedding. You plan it all out at school; the boy you’ll love, the dress you’ll wear. You assign all your friends as bridesmaids and promise them that when you do get married, they’ll be there.

It’s funny how when you’re young, you have no idea how life is going to go at all.

My dream wedding, when I was about seven, was in a fairytale castle. I would wear a big meringue dress and a veil so long that I’d have to have two or three people following behind me to carry it.

And the man I would marry would be square-jawed and handsome, tall with dark eyes, and with big, strong hands and broad shoulders. That real classic film star type. I didn’t have a lot of imagination as a kid, and the more of that type of man I’ve met in my life, the more I realize I don’t like them at all, even if they are attractive.

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