Page 52 of My Horrible Arranged Marriage (Bancroft Billionaire Brothers #20)

ISAAC

I stared at the tux hanging on the back of the door.

I was about to say my vows. I was about to promise a woman my eternal love and devotion.

We were going to be spending the rest of our lives together.

At least, in theory. I wanted that. I did but I knew in the back of my mind, we were starting on a lie.

It would be a shaky foundation to build a life on.

And the lie was more than just my past. It was the entire premise of our relationship. I was tempted to run a hand through my hair, but I couldn’t. It was perfectly styled. Every hair was in place and ready for the millions of pictures that would be taken.

Last night, I had wanted to tell her. My chest ached with the need to unburden my soul. But I couldn’t do it. And she had looked at me with trust and love in her eyes. That was what kept me from telling her the truth. I didn’t want to hurt her.

She had given me trust I hadn’t earned.

“Fuck,” I muttered, grabbing the glass of scotch I’d poured twenty minutes ago but hadn’t touched. I knocked it back in one burning swallow.

This thing had started as a favor. A debt. When my father asked me to marry Hectar Duvall’s wayward daughter, I really thought it had been a joke. Like I was the guy to get anyone back on track. Make anyone respectable again.

I shook off the thought. I would tell her. I would give her the truth, and if she chose to leave my ass, I would have to accept it. If she was hurt, that was going to be on Hectar. He was the one that started this whole thing.

And I had gone along with it.

I shook off the thoughts and started to dress in the tux.

I was looking forward to the wedding. Mina had put in a lot of work to make it all perfect.

I couldn’t stop the smile at the thought of seeing her in the wedding dress, which she promised was going to blow me away.

She promised I was going to be really glad I chose her to be my wife.

Hell, I already was.

There was a knock at the door, and I turned just as it opened.

Kent stepped inside with his tux in a garment bag flung over his shoulder.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show,” I said, eyeing my brother with mock suspicion. “Figured you might still be sleeping off whatever it was you did after you left here last night.”

Kent rolled his eyes, hanging his garment bag on the closet door. “And miss watching you finally get shackled? Not a chance in hell.” He glanced at the empty scotch glass. “Starting early?”

“Just a little liquid courage.” I straightened my bow tie, which was already perfectly straight. “You know, I half expected you to call this morning with some elaborate excuse. Flat tire. Food poisoning. Sudden onset amnesia.”

Kent snorted, shrugging off his jacket. “I considered it. Had a whole story prepared about being abducted by aliens.”

“Naturally.”

“But then I realized,” he continued, unbuttoning his shirt, “that if I wasn’t here to stand next to you, you’d probably bolt at the last minute, and I’d never hear the end of it from Dad.”

I laughed, but it felt hollow. Kent didn’t know how close to the truth he was.

“Besides, Mina would hunt me down and kill me if I left you stranded up there alone. That woman is terrifying when she wants to be.”

I smiled despite myself. “That she is.”

Kent paused, studying me with a suddenly serious expression. “You okay? You’ve got that look. Cold feet. If you’re going to run, tell me now. I can move faster if I’m not wearing a tux.”

“I’m not going to run,” I told him. “Not a chance in hell.”

I was glad Kent was standing up with me.

“I know you didn’t pick a best man and you’d probably prefer it was Hudson, but?—”

He didn’t have to finish the sentence. We both knew why Hudson wasn’t standing up for me. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if Hudson would show up. He was pissed. Kathy was pissed. They didn’t understand. They believed this was a bullshit marriage.

They were wrong.

I shrugged. “Didn’t feel right. Didn’t want to drag anyone into it, honestly.”

“Right. Well…” He paused, then offered a small, dry smile. “I’m here to be dragged.”

“Thank you.”

Kent gave me a nod, then stepped back and adjusted his sleeves. “You look good. Nervous?”

“A little,” I admitted. “But not about her. Just everything else. I’m hoping no one gets too drunk and spills the truth before I have a chance to tell her in my own way.”

He arched a brow but didn’t press. That was the thing about Kent.

He could see right through me, but he always gave me space to figure my own mess out.

He didn’t need to know about the quiet dread crawling beneath my skin.

The way I hadn’t slept well last night. The fear that maybe, somehow , this perfect day wouldn’t end the way it was supposed to.

Kent got it. And he believed me when I said I loved her.

I did love her. She was my whole world and there was no way I was going to risk losing her.

Once we were married and she understood how much I loved her, I would tell her.

We would laugh about the situation because all it took was us meeting each other to fall in love.

We didn’t need a scheme. If our meddling fathers would have left shit alone, we would have found each other eventually.

That was what I wanted to say but I had a feeling it was going to take a little more convincing. Mina would be hurt. Angry. That was expected. But then I had to believe we would be able to laugh about it.

“I guess we better hurry up and get you guys married before she has a chance to change her mind,” Kent joked.

“That would be funny if it wasn’t actually a concern,” I said with a sigh.

We got dressed the rest of the way, putting on tuxes like we had done a hundred times before. Kent tied my bow tie after I messed it up twice. I fixed the boutonnière on his lapel. It felt easy in a way I hadn’t expected.

He helped me with my cufflinks. I wasn’t nervous, but I was anxious. I was so ready to put a ring on it.

“Shit. Did you bring the rings?”

I couldn’t believe I had forgotten the damn things.

He grinned. “Rings?”

“Kent, now is not the fucking time. Did you pick them up for me yesterday?”

“I was supposed to pick them up?”

He was joking. I could tell he was joking but I couldn’t stop the panic. He reached into the bag he brought the tux in. He produced a small black velvet box. “Relax, man. I got them. Took care of it yesterday like you asked.”

I exhaled sharply, taking the box from him and flipping it open. The two gold bands nestled inside were exactly what I’d picked out with Mina—simple, elegant, timeless. Her wedding band would sit perfectly against the engagement ring already on her finger.

“Thank you,” I said, snapping the box closed and handing it back to him. “Sorry for the mini freak-out.”

“Are you kidding? This is the most entertaining you’ve been in weeks.” Kent tucked the rings safely into his inner jacket pocket. “You were getting way too calm and collected. It was concerning.”

I glanced at my watch. Thirty minutes until the ceremony. Thirty minutes until I would see Mina walking toward me down the aisle. In less than an hour, I was going to be a husband.

“You know, for what it’s worth, I think you two are great together. Whatever brought you together, it worked out.”

“Yeah. It did.”

“Dad’s already downstairs schmoozing with the early arrivals,” Kent said, changing the subject. “And Hectar looks like he might burst with pride.”

Of course. His plan had worked perfectly.

We were walked out toward the ceremony site. The sky was golden. Everything looked like it had been dipped in honey. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was warm, but not hot. By the time the ceremony ended, it would be dark and plenty cool enough for dancing.

The Duvall grounds had been transformed. Flowers lined the aisle. Candles floated in glass cylinders, glowing softly even in the daylight. Most of the guests were already seated, chatting, smiling, craning their necks as Kent and I approached the front.

The arch was draped in silk and more flowers. The officiant stood talking with my father.

Everything was perfect.

All that was missing was her.

I looked up toward the house, waiting for the music to shift. Waiting for that moment when the crowd would hush and I’d see her walking toward me.

“Let’s hope the bride shows up,” Kent joked.

“Not funny,” I muttered.

The music played but it wasn’t the song that was supposed to be the cue for people to sit down. And then I saw Tori. Her eyes were wide and she was hurrying toward me.

It set my blood running cold.

“Fuck,” I murmured under my breath.

She reached me, breathless, and leaned in close. “She needs you.”

“What?” I asked, pulse jumping. “What’s wrong?”

“She didn’t say. Just that she needs you. Will you come?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Lead the way.”

Guests were already turning in their seats. Whispering. Wondering what was happening. Tori took off ahead of me and I followed. My heart was thudding in my chest.

Kent stayed behind. I heard him begin to talk to the crowd, doing his best to ease the tension. I caught fragments in my panicked rush.

“Nothing like building a little suspense, right?” he said. “I swear, you can hire all the wedding planners in the world, but something always comes up on the day.”

Some of the guests chuckled, but I couldn’t laugh. Because with every step closer to the house, dread sharpened in my gut.

She’d found out. That had to be the emergency.

This was it. The moment it all came crashing down. The arrangement with her father had been discovered. It had caught up to me. It was my biggest fear and now it was coming to life.

I followed Tori through the garden gate, past the fountain, and up the back stairs into Mina’s suite. My palms were sweating. My mind racing.

What would I say?

Could I fix it?

Would she even want to listen to anything I said?

Tori opened the door and gestured for me to go inside alone.

I stepped inside and saw her looking out the window. She was wearing a fluffy robe with “Bride” written in gold lettering across the back.

She turned and looked at me. Her eyes met mine. She was beautiful. Her hair and makeup looked perfect.

But that wasn’t what I was focused on. The expression on her face told me I was fucked. Everything I was afraid of bloomed wide in my chest.

“Mina,” I said, breath catching. “Talk to me.”

She didn’t say anything.

I walked toward her slowly, carefully. “Tori said you needed me. Is something wrong?”

“I needed to see you,” she said softly.

“Oh?” I squeaked out the word. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Maybe.”

“Tell me what’s going on,” I said. “You’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry. I just—” She paused, pressing a hand to her chest. “I was standing here, and everything was ready. Everything was perfect . And I realized I didn’t want to wait another minute to talk to you. I had to talk to you now. Before the vows.”

“Okay. We can talk. Anything you want. It’s not exactly traditional, but we’ve never been much for tradition.”

She hesitated, then stepped closer and placed her hands against my chest.

I touched her cheek. “You can tell me anything, Mina. I swear.”

I was saying the words, but I had a feeling I was supposed to be the one telling her something.

She took a deep breath. Every passing second was making my heart flip and flop and drop in my chest.

“I didn’t want to walk down that aisle and pretend like I was calm,” she said. “I wanted you to know that I’m a little terrified, and a little overwhelmed, but mostly I’m so in love with you , Isaac, I don’t know what to do with it.”

The breath whooshed out of my lungs. I’d been preparing for fire and betrayal. For anger. For the end .

But here she was, scared but glowing. Uncertain but still mine .

I wrapped my arms around her and held her close, resting my cheek against her hair.

“I thought—God, I thought something was wrong,” I whispered.

“No,” she murmured. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Not yet, anyway.