Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“She likes it,” Katherine said, tilting her head to the side.
“Yes,” I whispered.
Harmony buzzed around me, making notes about what would need to be taken in, pinned, and fixed before the wedding in a week’s time. Her assistant hastened behind her, making notes and adding pins to the dress where Harmony dictated.
“Hey, Harm, can we have a minute?” Katherine asked.
Harmony glanced up at Katherine. You’d never know by seeing them now, but they used to have the biggest rivalry. But since Harmony’s mom had married Camden’s dad, they’d really worked on their relationship. I liked seeing them getting along. And when they looked at each other, I saw that Harmony understood.
“Yeah. Take as much time as you need. Lord knows I have more work to do. Just don’t drink in the dress,” Harmony said. She winked at me. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
Harmony and her assistant walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Katherine tilted her head as she came to her feet, setting her champagne flute on a nearby table. “What do you really think?”
“I love it. You couldn’t have designed a better dress for me.”
“That’s who I am.”
I laughed softly and met her eyes in the mirror. She was still looking at me as if I was a mystery.
“What?” I asked cautiously.
“I thought this would be the moment.”
“The moment for what?”
“Where you ran.”
I stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, Whit. You don’t have to pretend with me. I know you for exactly who you are. I’ve been there through all your ridiculous stories. I figured at the end of this one, when it all came together, you’d do what you always do—run.”
“I don’t always run.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, no? Then, you didn’t move to California instead of dealing with Robert and Gavin three years ago?”
“Well …”
“Or disappear back to New York when your girlfriend of a year made one mistake in California?”
I bit my lip. “That was different.”
“It’s always different. You know you’re like this. I don’t even know why you’re arguing.”
“Fine.” I brushed my hands down the skirt. “I’m a bad girlfriend. I know that. I don’t want a relationship when it gets hard, and I won’t deal with bullshit. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
Katherine smiled, slow and dangerous. “And yet”—she gestured to the wedding dress—“you haven’t ripped the dress off of your body yet.”
I turned back to the mirror to catch my reflection. I couldn’t imagine stepping out of the dress and never wearing it again. It fit me as well as the diamond ring on my finger. As well as Gavin fit in my life.
“I like it,” I finally said.
“No, you like Gavin King.” She tilted her head. “Dare I say, you love him?”
I swallowed. “I … I don’t know. Do I? How do you know that sort of thing anyway?”
Katherine’s smile grew. “Because you didn’t deny it with every fiber of your being. You want to marry him in a week. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” I got out, my voice thick with emotion.
“This is your wildest story,” she said with a laugh as she took my hand. For that second, both of us dropped the bravado that held us up. “I’m happy for you, Whit. I wanted this for you. I wanted Gavin for you. He’s a good guy when he wants to be, and he wants that with you. I saw it before you ever did.”
I flushed. “Thanks, Katherine. For the dress. For … everything.”
“Thank me by getting married in a week and being deliriously happy. That’s all I want in return.”
I nodded and pulled her unceremoniously into a hug. She laughed and hugged me back.
“Don’t mess up the dress,” Katherine said but with no real bite.
“I’m getting married in a week.”
It felt surreal. I never thought the day would come. When I’d agreed to this fake marriage, I’d never once guessed it would turn completely real in the meantime. I couldn’t wait to tell Gavin on our wedding night.
PART V
GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES
29
WHITLEY
“You’ll say your I dos,” the officiant said from the front of the ballroom. “Then, you’ll kiss.”
I clutched the bridal shower bouquet that Cora had made for me tight in my hands until my knuckles turned white. Gavin stood across from me at the rehearsal for our wedding.
“Do we get to practice the kiss?” he asked with a mischievous smile on his lips.
Everyone laughed. Such a Gavin thing to ask.
He didn’t wait for a response, just pulled my face toward him and kissed me in front of our friends and family. Everyone inside the Percy Tower ballroom cheered.
I pulled back breathlessly. He pressed another quick kiss to my lips.
He stared down at me in awe and whispered, “Tomorrow, we’re doing this for real.”
“Yes,” I gasped.
“Then, you’ll be my wife.”
Wife.
In all the planning for the wedding, I hadn’t considered that word. Wife. And he’d be my husband. Oh my god.