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“I’ll let Mari take over.” Her eyes glinted as she smoothed her skirt.

“She’s been begging me to let her take your wedding since you showed up in the office.

But hey, maybe you’ll marry her and your little scheme will be true.

You really will marry the wedding planner.

She’d love that.” She pressed a finger to her cheek and tapped it twice as if she were pondering something.

“In fact, that’s probably a great idea. I won’t have to deal with her 10am drinking, or her hangovers, and you’ll never have another boring night of your life. ”

“Maybe I will.” I stuck my hands in my pockets, tilting my head. “She seems very fun. Was showing me some of the yoga poses she’s learned. Very… bendy.” I enunciated the word smirking at her.

Instead of glaring at me like I thought she would, she shrugged with an evil look in her eyes. “Oh she is. You may want to pick up some chafing cream though.” She crossed her arms. “Mari is insatiable. You’ll never sleep again.”

“Good.”

“Good.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

But it wasn’t her best friend I was picturing hours of mind blowing sex with.

Shit.

When was the last time I got laid? Maybe I needed to take care of that before continuing to work with the ice queen wedding planner.

She looked like she was considering additional methods of torture when Ms. Windsor’s assistant appeared.

The cheerful young woman seemed immune to her boss’s stiff edge.

“I’m Missy,” she introduced herself with a bright smile. “I’ll be showing you the grounds and discussing package options. Don’t mind Ms. Windsor.’”

The tour was actually pleasant, despite Anica maintaining a careful ten inches of space between us at all times. The Rhodes Estate was objectively stunning, with its manicured gardens, crystal-clear lake, and various reception spaces that managed to be both grand and intimate.

I watched Anica more than the venue. The way her professional mask slipped when she saw something that particularly impressed her. The quick notes she took on her tablet. The gentle slope of her neck as she tilted her head to examine architectural details.

When we reached the garden pavilion where my grandmother had exchanged her vows, a strange tightness crossed over my chest. The white marble structure overlooking the lake was exactly as she’d described it in the moments she spoke of her wedding day.

“This is it,” I said quietly. “This is where my grandmother got married.”

Anica looked at me, and for a moment I felt utterly transparent. “It’s beautiful,” she said simply.

“Yes,” I agreed, not entirely sure we were talking about the pavilion.

The spell was broken when Missy launched into details about setup options and maximum capacity. By the time we finished the tour and completed the preliminary paperwork, it was nearly noon.

“Ms. Windsor will be in touch to discuss final details,” Missy said as she walked us back to my car. “Congratulations again on your engagement! You two have such great chemistry. I can totally see why you fell for each other.”

Anica managed a smile that only looked slightly like she was passing a kidney stone. “Thank you for your help.”

The moment Missy was out of earshot, Anica turned to me, arms crossed. “That was the most unprofessional experience of my career, and I once had to wrangle a drunken groom out of a fountain while he was wearing nothing but a bow tie.”

“Sounds like my kind of party,” I quipped, opening the passenger door of my car. “Get in. I’ll drive you back to the city.”

“I have my own car, thank you.”

“Which you’ll need to leave here since you’re now officially my fiancée and it would look suspicious if you didn’t ride with me,” I pointed out. “I’ll have Erika arrange for someone to bring it back to your office.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but saw the logic in maintaining our charade. With reluctance, she slid into the passenger seat of my Aston Martin.

As I pulled away from the estate, I could practically feel her fury radiating across the center console. It was strangely exhilarating.

“Like I said before, you had no right to put me in that position,” she said finally, breaking the tense silence.

“I can think of a couple other positions we could–Ow!”

Anica punched me in the shoulder. “You’re despicable.”

“It worked, didn’t it? We got the venue,” I said, rubbing my shoulder and driving with my knees. She hit hard for a small woman.

“That’s not the point and you know it!”

“What is the point, then?” I asked, genuinely curious. “The end result is exactly what we wanted.”

“The point is consent,” she said, turning to face me. “You don’t get to make unilateral decisions that affect me without my input.”

“You’re right. I apologize for not consulting you first.”

She blinked, clearly thrown. “Well... good. Don’t do it again.”

We drove in silence for a few minutes, the tension gradually dissipating.

“For the record,” I said as we merged onto the highway, “I would never propose in a public place. Too cliché.”

She cut a quick glance in my direction, curiosity peeking through before slipping back behind her usual mask. “Where would you propose, then? Hypothetically speaking.”

I considered the question more seriously than I probably should have. “Somewhere meaningful to the relationship. And private. Grand gestures are for people who need an audience to validate their feelings.”

“That’s... surprisingly thoughtful.”

“Don’t sound so shocked. I have layers, Ms. Marcel.”

“Like an onion?” she asked, the corner of her mouth quirking up.

“Like a very expensive, very complex pastry,” I corrected. “With excellent taste in cars and wedding planners.”

She rolled her eyes, but the hostility had left her posture. As she gazed out the window, I allowed myself another glance at her profile. The elegant line of her jaw, the curve of her lips, the way her dress had ridden up slightly to reveal more of her toned legs.

This was going to be a complicated three months to say the least.