Page 6 of The Fiancée Farce
Until now. UntilTansy.
Fate was funny that way. There Gemma was, minding her own business, crashing Tucker’s wedding, her greatest aspiration for the evening to cause a little ruckus, andbam! Tansy had practically landed in her lap, a perfect solution to an utterly fucked up—not to mention antiquated—problem. Gemma might not have asked for any of this, but as far as spouses went, she supposed she could’ve done worse.
Madison snatched a napkin from the table, cursing Jackie for her carelessness as she mopped Dom Pérignon from her décolletage.
Muchworse.
Granted, there was thetinydetail of Tansy telling tall tales, but lucky for her, that wasn’t a deal breaker. If anything, a knack for subterfuge was a point in her favor. Given the circumstances.
Most likely to distract from the scene unfolding, the DJ chose that moment to start up the music. Good timing.
She ran her fingers down the back of Tansy’s arm to her wrist. “If you’ll excuse us, I’d love a dance with my fiancée.”
Fiancée.That rolled off the tongue surprisingly well.
Tuning out the clash of voices, Gemma wrapped her fingers around Tansy’s wrist and tugged her out onto the empty dance floor. She stopped dead center and turned, dragging Tansy closer, hands gripping her by the shapely hips hidden beneath the sack Tansy apparently considered a dress.
Tansy’s hands hovered awkwardly in the air, uncertainty swimming in her eyes before she played along, resting her hands delicately on Gemma’s shoulders. Eye contact remained fleeting, Tansy’s gaze flitting between Gemma’s face and the space over her right shoulder.Skittish.Endearing as that was, if they were going to pull this off, they had a lot of ground to cover, and fast.
“Six months, huh? Where was I?”
Tansy blinked twice. “I—I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be.” Gemma laughed at the flush creeping up Tansy’s throat. The girl was honest to god blushing. How fucking adorable. “I’m certainly not.”
Sorrywas the last thing Gemma was tonight.
“What a nightmare,” Tansy muttered, blush deepening, inching its way up the sides of her face, the tips of her pert little ears turning fire-engine red.
“A nightmare?” Gemma quirked a brow. She’d been called worse, and by her family, no less. “Some might take offense to that.”
Lucky for Tansy, Gemma was practically impossible to offend.
Tansy’s eyes widened, her fingers tensing on Gemma’s bare shoulders before relaxing. “No.Notyou. I meant—”
“I’m teasing you, Tansy. Now, enlighten me... how exactly did we meet?” She paused, frowning as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Wehaven’tactually met, have we?”
It was possible they had, that Gemma hadn’t paid attention. Because if she had, she’d have certainly remembered meeting Tansy. A face like hers wasn’t one Gemma was likely to forget. Striking brows, dark and thick, framed eyes the color of the sky right before a storm. Maybe the color of the sea, placid water belying hidden depths.
Gemma snorted. She seriously needed to ease off the champagne if she was on the precipice of composing sonnets about a pretty stranger’s eyes. No amount of inebriation excused shitty clichés, even if she kept them to herself.
Tansy’s feet faltered, her steps out of sync with the music. “We haven’t.”
Just as Gemma had thought. “And yet Madison’s cousin believes we’re dating. Because that’s what you told her?”
“I didn’t.” Tansy cringed. “I mean, it’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Do you think you coulduncomplicate it for me? In, say, I don’t know... the next six minutes?”
A wrinkle that had no business being as charming as it was marred the bridge of Tansy’s nose. “That’s an oddly specific time frame.”
Gemma laughed. “I figure we have this and, if we’re lucky, one more dance before someone attempts to drag us off the dance floor.”
“Makes sense.” Tansy bobbed her head.
Gemma arched a brow, waiting.
Tansy jerked. “Right! I—I owe you an explanation. I do. It’s just—it’s a mess. And I never meant for any of this to happen, let alone to rope you in, but—God, I didn’t even know you existed. I mean, Iknewyou existed, obviously, but I never thought we’d—” Tansy cut herself off and took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s just rewind.”
