Page 120 of The Fiancée Farce
“Tansy?” Gemma poked her head inside the room. “Can I—”
“No!” Katherine shrieked and scurried across the room. “You can’t come in here.”
Tansy rolled her eyes at Katherine’s antics. “It’s fine, Katherine. Let her in.”
Katherine huffed. “But it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.”
That was a silly superstition, one Tansy didn’t buy into. And from the look on Gemma’s face as she peered over Katherine’s head, she thought so, too.
“People have special first-look moments all the time,” Samina said, mercifully stepping in on Tansy’s behalf, sparing her from an argument. “Surely we can spare the brides a moment alone.”
Kat glanced at the smartwatch on her wrist. “It’s almost time anyway. We’ll meet you both in the vestibule, okay?”
Tansy nodded and stood as Kat, Samina, and a pouting Katherine left the room, shutting the door softly, leaving her with Gemma, who looked incredible in a blush-pink-striped, pleated ball gown with a draping sweetheart neckline and a thigh-high slit.
Tansy’s feet carried her across the room before she’d consciously decided to go to Gemma. “You look beautiful.”
“Me?” Gemma’s eyes rose, gaze meeting Tansy’s, somehow both searing and achingly sweet. “Holy shit.”
Tansy flushed and held out her hands for Gemma to take. “I’m happy I inspire profanities.”
Gemma’s laughter filled the room and made Tansy’s heart rise into her throat. “You inspire a lot more than that.” She leaned in, dropping her forehead against Tansy’s. Her breath fanned against Tansy’s lips, warm and peppermint sweet with just the slightest hint of champagne underneath it all. “Ready to get hitched?”
Tansy sucked in a shaky breath and nodded. “Ready.”
“You could stand to sound a little enthused.” Gemma huffed, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Youaren’t getting cold feet, now, are you?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. It’s just... there are a lot of people here.”
Gemma squeezed her fingers. “I’ll be right beside you the entire time. You sayI do, I sayI do, they pronounce us wife and wife, we kiss,boom, hitched. It’ll be a piece of cake, and after it’s all said and done, we get to eat cake.” Her smile went sly. “And if you get nervous up there, just picture me in my underwear.”
Laughter burst from between Tansy’s lips, louder than she’d intended. The knots inside her stomach didn’t disappear entirely, but they loosened, leaving room for something better:
Butterflies.
Gemma sobered, hands twisting in the tulle of her dress. “I did actually have a reason for wanting to see you before the ceremony.”
“You mean you didn’t just want to break the rules and give Katherine a case of the vapors?” Tansy teased.
“A happy accident.” Gemma laughed. “But no. I wanted to talk to you. About—well, it’s about our initial agreement, actually.”
A dozen worst-case scenarios flitted through Tansy’s mind, scenarios featuring—no. Her brain could be a grade A jerk. She trusted Gemma not to hurt her,period, but especially not at the eleventh hour.
“Okay.” Tansy nodded. “Is something wrong?”
Gemma laughed again, this time strained. She went to run her fingers through her hair, but must’ve thought better of it, her hand hovering awkwardly in the air for a second before she sighed and dropped it.
“I know the terms of my inheritance stipulate that I remain married for two years, but considering we’re together, it feels kind of silly to be planning for our divorce.” Her gaze rose, green eyes locking with Tansy’s. “I was thinking instead we could... play it by ear.”
“Play it by ear,” she echoed, voice fuzzy, the sound of her heartbeat in her head drowning out everything else.
Gemma nodded, eyes wide, waiting.
Butterflies had nothing on the—the fluttering inside her chest. “I’d like that.”
The widest smile she’d ever seen split Gemma’s face, the corners of her eyes crinkling as an exultant laugh slipped from between her lips. “Good.”
Tansy’s cheeks hurt from grinning.
