Page 76 of Faking the Pass
His brothers werereallygoing above and beyond in their collusion with this whole tall tale. Each of their toasts had seemed so sincere and had choked me up more than once.
Maybe they should have all gone into acting instead of professional sports.
During this whole time, I’d lifted my glass at the appropriate moments and had taken obligatory sips, but it had been a struggle not to get up and run off into the darkness.
If this had been real, I would have been the happiest girl in the world. I couldn’t adore Presley’s family more.
The dinner had been amazing. The setting was breathtaking. The flowers and the music and the intimate little chapel were all perfection.
But it was too much. I wasn’t sure I could take any more.
I was about to stand up and thank everyone then excuse myself to go back to Danielle’s room and change, when she rose from her chair, a shy expression on her face.
“I’d like to say a little word if it’s okay.”
I shot her a warning look to inform her it wasnotokay, but she ignored it.
“I want to thank you all for including me in this special day,” she said. “I have to admit I was worried about Rosie getting married this way… so soon after her wedding to the groom-who-shall-not-be-named fell apart. It’s certainly not theusualway things happen, but then Rosie isn’t the usual girl.”
She gave me a wet-eyed glance, and I willed her to stop there.
She didn’t.
“I’ve attended weddings that were planned for two years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Danielle said. “I think we all have. And then we hear about the divorces that follow six months later. In this case, I am not worried about that at all.”
Right. Because she alreadyknewthe divorce was coming. Why was she even making a toast?
Danielle continued. “She probably doesn’t remember telling me this, but when Rosie and I first became friends and we were sharing all our war stories, she told me about Presley.”
Oh no.
“You know your friends.” She looked around at the rapt audience who all nodded their heads.
“You know how they look and sound when something is important—and when it’s no big deal,” she said. “And Presley was clearly averybig deal in Rosie’s life. I could tell from the sound of her voice and the look on her face when she talked about him. I think she always carried a little part of him with her. Though they weren’t ready for things to progress back then, sometimes life has a way of working things out for you.”
I gasped in shock at her use of the same phrase Mrs. Lowe had said to me just a little while ago.
Both of them were wrong, though. Life wasnotworking out for me.
Life was the cruel bitch who’d served me up not one buttwofake weddings in a matter of weeks.
And now she’d sentenced me to fake bridal hell—because I had to make myself laugh and smile at all these lies. It was almost more embarrassing than being a runaway bride.
After everyone joined in Danielle’s toast, Presley got to his feet.
What washegoing to say? Probably some version of, “Well… I guess we’re married now.”
What elsecouldhe say?
His brothers started chanting, “Speech, speech, speech,” like a pack of middle school boys at an assembly.
The wine had been flowing pretty freely for a couple hours now.
Presley calmed the racket with a gesture before speaking.
“I have hands-down the best family in the world… though clearly Merc is getting a little blind in his old age.”
There was laughter and Merc yelled, “What are you talking about?” then squinted and feigned difficulty seeing.
