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Chapter 13

The Plan

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“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Conner asked me.

I was standing by my desk and punching my knuckles into my hip. I hadn't stopped since hanging up on Aubrey. “I'm—ow! Punishing my stupid ass for betraying me! I sat on my keyboard and sent our fake wedding invite to—ouch! To everyone I know!”

His eyes widened. He reached out, catching my wrist, stopping me from bruising myself further. “Calm down! It can't be that bad!”

“Five hundred,” I groaned.

“What?”

“I sent that email... to five hundred people, Conner.” I hung my head until my chin dug into my chest. Tears were burning behind my eyelids—I was furious with myself. “I never make mistakes like this! I'm so careful, I plan everything I do, and then I go and email five hundred people about my oncoming not even real wedding?”

“Hey. Hey!” He gave me a little shake. My eyes lifted just enough so I could see his serious, fierce expression. He looked ready to fight with me... or take on the world for me... and because of that intensity, I wasn't ready for what he said next. “It's our fake wedding. Have a little decency.”

Laughter exploded out of me. A few tears rolled down my cheeks. “Stop it, don't try and make me laugh. This is awful.”

His grip loosened on me, but he didn't let me go. His chest flexed as he leaned closer to me, pushing me against my desk, reminding me what we'd done just minutes ago. “We can fix this, Maya.”

“How? It's not just about the fact all these people—some of them nearly strangers to me—know about the wedding. I emailed people I consider very important to me. Aubrey, she's pissed, and she has a right to be. It looks like I went 'Oh, hey, no big but I'm getting hitched, just a heads up!'” I made a face, disgusted with myself. “If this were real...”

There—a deeper line crinkled up between his brows. I caught it, recognized it for what it was.

He didn't like me saying what we had wasn't real.

“I mean,” I said quickly, scrambling to explain myself, “If the wedding was real, not...”

“Us?” he asked, chuckling humorlessly. “It's okay, Maya. I know what you meant.”

His body was slumping in front of me. I hated knowing I'd done this to him. “Hey.” I tucked my hand under his jaw, copying how he'd forced me to look at him earlier. “Quit breaking the scene. Even if it's just us, we're supposed to be playing this out like it's real until I say the safe word, and I haven't yet. Got it?”

He squinted, like he was testing me, expecting me to backpedal because my request was super dumb. But he'd said the same stuff to me at my grandfather's farm. I knew he wasn't a hypocrite.

Conner took a deep breath, then hugged me tight. “I'm sorry your friend is hurt. We can fix this, though.”

“How?” I mumbled. “Ugh. I suck.”

“Make her your maid of honor. Let her throw you a bridal party and thank her profusely. Kiss her ass.”

“That might work. But it would be a lot of kissing.”

“You have my permission to kiss her ass as much as necessary... as long as it means you stop harming this one.” He gave my hip a squeeze, his eyes smoldering.

Throwing my arms around his neck, then my legs around his middle, I kissed him hard. “Deal,” I laughed. “My ass is in good hands.”

“I'll say,” he growled, palming my soft rear. “I'd love a round two, but you should probably call Aubrey.”

It struck me as surprising that he'd pick my friend's feelings over his own desires. He clearly wanted to fuck me. Ben wouldn't have spared a thought for Aubrey. He was always selfish.

“What's wrong? You're frowning.”

“I am?” I asked, climbing off of Conner. I gave my cheeks a light tap. “Forget it. I just had a weird thought.”

“I like weird.”