 by Brenda Rothert.jpg)
Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 52813 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52813 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
What to do when things implode the night before the wedding and aforementioned dream girl asks you to stand in as the groom, though? Say yes, of course, and wing it. Don’t let it slip that you weren’t faking that kiss that left her dazed and breathless and definitely don’t mention that it’s no hardship at all to pretend she’s your wife for a weeklong honeymoon in Hawaii. And when you run into two of your hockey teammates at the resort, let them believe you lost your mind and married someone you’ve never even mentioned to them.
When she starts to have feelings for you, though? This part’s important—don’t, under any circumstances, confess that you’ve been in love with her for more than a decade. You’ll ruin everything.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Stella
* * *
“Stella, repeat after me.”
I nod, my heart racing. I’m going to nail these vows. I won’t miss a single word. Vow perfection right around the corner here.
“I, Stella McGovern, take you, Owen Hogan, to be my lawfully wedded husband,” Claire says.
I repeat the words. “I, Stella McGovern, take you, Owen Hogan, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”
“To ride and to blow, in richness and wealth”
I scowl at my best friend and maid of honor. “You’re an asshole. I’m going to punch you in the tit so hard it swells up and you have to walk down the aisle with imbalanced tits tomorrow. I hope you fall over.”
She shrugs, sitting down on the bed in our hotel room with her phone. “As long as Ben is the one who picks me up, I’ll offer up my tit in sacrifice.”
Claire and I met at our freshman orientation day at Michigan State University when both of us were lost, and from the day she first met my fiancé Owen’s identical twin brother Ben our sophomore year, she’s been trying to get him in bed. To no avail. Now that’s he’s Owen’s best man in our wedding, she’s like a dog with a bone.
“Ben’s not a one-night stand guy, I’ve told you that a million times,” I remind her.
“I’ll take Tyler or Amir.” She taps the tip of her index finger on her chin. “Or better yet, Tyler and Amir.”
“Amir is married.” I lean a hip against the console the TV is sitting on. “And can we possibly return the focus to how I’m going to get these vows right?”
Her expression softens. “Honey, you just repeat after the pastor. Why are you so stressed?”
“Ever since my asshole brother told me to make sure I don’t say ‘cock’ during my vows, I can’t stop worrying that I’m going to say it.”
Claire laughs lightly. “You won’t say cock. And even if you do, you’ll still be married to the love of your life at the end of the ceremony.”
I shake my head and pinch the bridge of my nose, wishing Owen was here to give me a hug.
“I want this wedding to be perfect for my mom.”
Silence hangs in the air for a few seconds. Claire knows better than anyone how hard I’ve worked to make the wedding special for my mom. Mom’s been fighting breast cancer for five years now and she doesn’t have much longer. Owen and I moved our wedding up from September to May after the doctors told us my mom won’t be here in September.
“Stella,” Claire says softly.
I wipe the tears from my cheeks and meet ger gaze.
“You’re marrying Owen. The boy who walked you home from the bus and carried your backpack every day since sixth grade. The man who drove ten hours after staying up all night studying for a law school exam to be in the front row at your grad school graduation next to your mom. As long as you’re married to him at the end, the wedding will be perfect for her.”
A sob escapes my throat and I bury my face in my hands. It’s been a year since I graduated with my MBA, but I’ve just been working part-time gigs so I can take care of my mom. The doctors told us she probably has around four weeks left, making my wedding bittersweet.
She’ll be there. My dad passed away when I was a sophomore in high school, so my dream of him walking me down the aisle can’t come true, but my mom will get to see me marry Owen, the boy she’s known since our family moved in a few houses down from his when I was eight.
“We’re gonna need lots of that eye de-puffing stuff before the rehearsal dinner,” I say, smiling even as I blot tears with my shirt sleeve.