Page 22 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 22

SKYLAR

Ronnie: You’re not going home for Thanksgiving?

Sky: No

Ronnie: Is this because of Shoe Nation? I told you I didn’t agree to anything

O nly my brother would think my holiday plans revolved around him and his idiocy. Talking to a sneaker company had earned him yet another intervention by my father and me, but it wasn’t like I’d avoid my entire family just because I was pissed at him for refusing to listen to anything I said.

No, if I was going to avoid them, it was going to be because of the drama in my own life that I didn’t want to talk about. And I knew if I went home for Thanksgiving, all I’d do the entire weekend was defend myself against childish comments from Ronnie and concerned glances from my parents.

I had no idea what was in store for me in Maine, but it had to be better than that.

Sky: I’m sure you’ll have fun telling Dad that every couple of hours next weekend. Enjoy your holiday

Ronnie: Meeting the family though? With Ellis? Do I need to be actually worried about this thing with you two?

Sky: Nope

Ronnie: ‘Cause it’s nothing?

Sky: ‘Cause its nunya

Ronnie: Fine. Have fun. But remember to hold Cory’s hand if it’s icy. You don’t want him to fall and break a hip or anything

Sky: You’re a child

Ronnie: In comparison to your boyfriend, that’s true

Cory had gotten us a slot at City Hall the weekend before the holiday. I didn’t ask if he’d used his clout to do that, I just scrambled to get ready. He was set to pick me up for our appointment in ten minutes and I was pacing in my living room. When the knock came—early —I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I was nervous about the wedding, of course, but there was something else that scared me more; I had to tell him Elle knew.

Not strictly out of guilt, though I had plenty of that. But because I wanted her to be there. We needed a witness, and I wanted her to be it. Fake wedding or not, I needed my best friend there when I did this.

I opened the door slowly, forcing a smile onto my face. Not many men in my life made me feel the way Cory did, and when I saw him holding a bouquet of white roses and a bottle of champagne, my whole body felt light. Then I saw the look in his eyes, ardent and bright, and my heart squeezed a little tighter .

“Hello gorgeous,” he said, stepping into the small space.

“Hi,” I squeaked, my nerves on a level ten.

“You ready?” He dropped his eyes to my off-white dress, a pearl-edged band of lace around my waist and a V-cut at my chest that was sexy, but also demure. It was a last-minute snag at a department store, but I thought it looked pretty good. Cory’s appraisal told me I was right. “Jesus,” he sighed, setting the bottle down and scraping a hand along his jaw. “You aren’t playing, huh?”

“Well,” I looked down at myself. “I’m not sure this is what I’d go with if this was for real, but it’ll do.”

His eyes lingered on mine, a tiny smile playing in the curl of his lips. “What would you have, if this was your dream day?”

I laughed, brushing my hands down my skirt. “I wasn’t one of those girls who really dreamt of their wedding day, Cory. I was too much of a tomboy for that.”

“Come on, you had to think about it once or twice.”

“Sure. Maybe something simple. White dahlias and a string band. Nothing fancy though. The most important thing,” I paused, girding myself to get the words out. “Would be to have people there I loved and trusted.”

A shadow fell on his face, knowing that us getting married like this would mean I had none of that.

“Which is why I wanted to Elle to come.”

Cory stiffened. “Today?”

I nodded, swallowing before I got it all out. “I know it’s all fake, but I needed at least one person there that I really knew. Besides you.” I worried I was saying this all wrong, but Cory’s expression was so frozen, I had no idea what he was thinking. “I needed my best friend. So I asked her to meet us there.”

His voice was low, “You already asked her?”

I nodded slowly, watching the pieces fall into place. “She knows about us.”

It might have been shitty timing to drop this on my soon-to-be fake h usband, and I really hoped he didn’t change his mind. But if nothing else, we’d been honest with each other up until now, and I had to come clean before we got even more entangled.

“About everything.” He said it as a statement, the truth already on my face.

“Not in the very beginning, but after the fight. I needed someone to talk to.”

Cory was nodding, over and over, processing what I was telling him as his eyes floated around the room. Finally he sighed, saying, “Okay.”

My breath stuttered. “Okay?”

“I get it. And you trust her. So, okay.”

I thought he was stunned. Shocked into a daze or something, but then he smiled at me, a warm unfurling grin that settled my nerves better than coming clean had.

“So are you ready now?” he asked, his eyes shining with amusement.

I rolled my lips inward, a jittery giggle popping out. “Sure.”

“She’s meeting us there or do I need to pick her up?”

I reached for my cardigan and purse, letting the anxiety slip away. “Meeting us there. I told her if we didn’t show, it was ‘cause I’d told you and the wedding was off.”

He opened the door for me, his brow pinched in a frown. “You thought I’d call all this off ‘cause you told your best friend the truth?”

I shrugged. “We’d promised. You’d have been right to be pissed at me.”

A low, rumbling laugh tumbled out of him, startling me. “Of all the times you’ve pissed me off, this one is actually pretty forgivable.”

“Hey.” I elbowed him in the ribs, which only made him laugh harder. “I can still change my mind.”

He held up his hands in retreat as we went for the car, the roses still in his grasp dancing in the air .

“Those are pretty,” I said, looking at the lush white petals and catching a whiff of their perfume as I got closer to him.

“Fake or not, every bride needs a bouquet in her hands.” He held them out to me as we got to his truck and I took them, burying my face in their blooms like a kid.

“Thank you,” I muttered when I pulled them away.

“I’d have gotten two, if I’d known about Elle.”

“You’re really not mad?” He didn’t seem it, but I guess I’d been expecting a worse reaction.

He started the truck, carefully backing us up before he replied. “Not mad. It makes sense. I’m glad you’ve had someone to talk to about all this.”

“Thank you for understanding. She won’t tell anyone. We don’t have to worry about that.”

He gave me a reassuring grin. “I know.”

The drive downtown was quick, and we spotted Elle on the front steps, her eyes going wide when she saw me.

“Skylar,” she breathed, taking me in. She wasn’t acting, but if she was, she’d be winning an award. The sparkle in her eye was real enough.

“I’m glad you could be here,” Cory said, a friendliness to his smile that gave me new reason to think this wasn’t such a terrible idea after all.

She could see he meant it, grinning up at him when she replied, “I wouldn’t have missed it.”

When we got into the small room, there were a handful of benches lining the walls and a flower arch in the front that was a lot fancier than I’d been expecting, and for the first time I started to get nervous.

“You’ll stand right here in front of this podium,” the judge said. She was a tiny, older woman with purplish gray hair and a set of cat-eye glasses the shade of a California sunset in October. The bright orange was the only spot of color in the room, everything else shades of black, white, and gray. Including us .

“Did you prepare vows?” she asked cautiously.

My head swiveled to Cory so fast I had to pull the bangs out of my eyes. He shook his head, laughing under his breath at the shock on my face. “No, no vows.”

“Not a problem,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I have a few things with me for just such occasions.”

As she read from her little book, words like love and dedication , I kept my eyes on Cory. This was all fake and would be over in a year, but the way he was looking at me had my stomach filling with riotous butterflies. It was such a heady mix of anxiety and emotion, I nearly missed it when it was my turn to say, “Yes.”

When the judge asked whether we had rings, Cory pulled a small box from his pocket. “I’ve got them,” he said calmly.

He popped the box open to reveal a set of plain gold bands, one decidedly larger than the other. I was going to give mine right back to him after the ceremony so we could keep this thing a secret until I was ready. But even knowing I wouldn’t be wearing it for more than a few minutes, my stomach knotted excitedly as I offered him my hand. When the judge instructed and he slipped it on my finger, I was shaking. It was worse when I did the same to him, so after I was done, he took both my hands in his to steady them.

“By the power vested in me by Riverside County, and the State of California, I pronounce you husband and wife.” Her grin was wide and expectant as she looked between us. “You may kiss your bride, sir.”

Cory hesitated, his eyes on me for a long second while I stood frozen to the floor. But then a sort of heated affection bled into his gaze and he leaned down to place a delicate kiss on my lips, nothing like the one from the other night. This was reserved, careful even. And I could have sworn I felt him tremble when he cupped my cheek with his palm. He held himself there just a second longer before he pulled back to look into my eyes.

Elle’s tiny squeak behind us made us both turn around. She had th e roses clasped to her chest, beaming at me with glittery eyes. “Congratulations.” She handed me back the flowers.

“Thank you,” I said, practically rolling my eyes. It was as if she’d forgotten this was all fake.

But as Cory pulled me closer and placed a lingering kiss to the top of my head, I could sort of understand her confusion.