Page 1 of Before You Say I Do
Chapter 1
Jordan Cohen shiftedher left shoulder a fraction of an inch. Then another. She couldn’t risk moving any more. Dammit, this wassuchan inopportune moment to have an itch between her shoulder blades. Standing at an altar in front of 120 guests, as the professional bridesmaid to her latest client, Emily.
“Do you take Max to be your legally wedded husband?” The vicar ran through his spiel.
Jordan clutched her maid-of-honour flowers that little bit tighter as she waited for the words to fall from Emily’s mouth. The itch suddenly left her mind. This was more important. She gazed at the side of Emily’s perfectly styled hair, the bride’s round diamond earrings glinting in the church’s mottled sunlight. Even Emily couldn’t fuck this bit up, could she?
A few seconds ticked by.
Then a few more.
Someone in the church let out an ill-timed cough.
Please, Emily.
Jordan switched her gaze to Max, the groom. She knew he was thinking exactly the same.
Heat crept up Jordan’s back, then her neck. She stroked the back of Emily’s arm lightly with her fingertips.
“I do,” Jordan muttered, just loud enough for Emily to hear, but quiet enough that Max wouldn’t think Jordan wanted to marry him. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Emily and Max were perfect for each other. Not so much a love match, more a biological clock match.
Emily flinched, turning her head.
Jordan scrunched her forehead and nodded towards Max, hoping this conveyed to Emily how much shereallyneeded to answer this question. It was all part of the getting-married deal. Jordan had presumed Emily understood that. They’d practised walking, smiling, posing, and even breathing, but they’d glossed over the bit where Emily had to say “I do.” Now, Jordan could see that might have been an oversight.
Emily held her gaze, before turning back to Max and the vicar.
The vicar gave Emily an unsure smile, tilting his head to offer reassurance.
Jordan gritted her teeth.
Opposite Emily, Max mouthed the words at her.
Finally, after a few more agonising seconds, Emily took a deep breath and opened her shiny pink lips. “I do,” she said, her voice ringing out loud and true. Almost like she meant it.
Relief flooded Max’s face.
A collective exhalation of breath sounded from the wedding guests.
Jordan’s shoulders unclenched.
She’d done it. Got Emily to the altar, allayed her marriage fears, and kept her from drinking too much champagne while she had her make-up done. Emily had committed to Max. Which is what Emily’s family had tasked Jordan with doing four weeks earlier. Her fee for being Emily’s fake bridesmaid wasn’t reliant on getting her to the altar, but it certainly made the final invoice a hell of a lot easier to send.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride!” the vicar said.
Jordan snapped back into the present. She slapped on a radiant smile for the camera, one that told the world this wedding had been a cinch. Then she swished her shoulder-length blond hair, stood up straight, and smoothed down her light-green bridesmaid dress like it was the best thing she’d ever worn.
It wasn’t. It was shapeless and made her look like a stick of celery.
Jordan couldn’t wait to get it off, change into her jeans and head down to her local for a glass of sauvignon blanc with friends.
However, that was still in the future. At least eight hours away. First, she had to get through the wedding dinner, the speeches, and the dancing. But at least the end was in sight.
As Max leaned forward and took Emily’s face in his hands, Jordan allowed herself a proper smile. Sure, she might be cynical when it came to love, but this part always filled her with hope. Marriage was the start of something, a blank page in a relationship. Even for Emily and Max.
The happy couple kissed, and the wedding guests clapped their approval. Jordan glanced across at the best man, Rob, who gave her a dazzling smile. She hadn’t met Rob before, which was unusual. Perhaps he was a professional best man, too. Max had told her that Rob was looking forward to escorting her down the aisle and accompanying her on the dancefloor later, as was tradition. As Rob’s beam turned into a suggestive wink, Jordan kept her smile fixed in place. Inside, her heart rolled its eyes.
Now she had another thing to add to her to-do list.
