The Wedding Hoax (16 page)

The DJ played the opening to their chosen first dance. Well, they hadn’t chosen it. The public had. And for some reason, they all thought “The Way You Look Tonight” was the perfect song for Cole and Daisy. The song was great for other couples maybe, but not for her.

“Is this song ever going to end?” she muttered as the DJ’s CD droned on and on.

He pulled back enough to look her in the face. “The bride usually enjoys her first dance with her husband, doesn’t she?”

“The bride is usually legit, too, but neither of those things are true for us. I can’t help it if I hate the tune our adoring public picked.”

He smirked, his grin lopsided and
über
cute. “You get the most adorable twinkle in your eyes when you’re drunk.”

She batted him playfully on the shoulder. “I’m not drunk. I’m tipsy at best. And you’re no better. There’s no way you aren’t feeling it after all those shots I saw you taking with your boys.”

“True. Any little tells on me that give away my intoxication that I should know about, so I can hide them better from you in the future?”

He must be drunk since we have no future.

“Only your wandering hands. You always get touchy-feely when you drink.”

Currently his hand had taken up residence on her ass. Good thing they were newlyweds and supposed to be all over each other.

He cocked an eyebrow at her and put on his sexiest, flirtiest face. “I don’t need alcohol to have wandering hands with you. Just the sight of you makes my hands want to wander all over your body.”

“Now I know that’s the alcohol talking since you haven’t tried to touch me in months, and we’ve been sleeping in the same bed.” She suddenly regretted resisting her feelings toward him all those nights she shared his bed. So much wasted time.

Right now, she’d give almost anything to be with him one last time before this whole charade ended. Sure, being with Cole again wouldn’t help her get over him any faster when their sham of a marriage was over for good. But after saying her fake vows, she knew without a doubt she’d already fallen for him completely, and nothing would change how much it would hurt to say good-bye. One more romp in the sack wouldn’t make her broken heart hurt more than it already would.

“The only reason I didn’t hit on you was because you’d made it perfectly clear you weren’t interested. I seem to remember some strict bedroom rules laid down by you. If you’ve changed your mind, say the word, and I’m all yours.”

I’m all yours… If only that were true…

Chapter Nineteen

Cole and Daisy completed each of the mandatory and absolutely obnoxious wedding traditions, including feeding each other cake, tossing the bouquet, and flinging her garter to his buddies. That last one hadn’t been a complete waste of time. He had gotten a glimpse of her silky-smooth thigh while he’d been between her legs retrieving the garter. But all it had done was whet his appetite to be between her legs again—this time, without an audience.

He whispered in her ear, “Let’s get out of here and go to our room.”

“It’s barely ten. We can’t leave now. The dance just started.” She tried to wiggle out from his arms, but he held her tighter, drawing her into his embrace, nuzzling his lips against the spot below her ear he knew made her melt like ice cream in the sun.

“We’re the couple of honor, and we can leave whenever we want. And I want you. Now.” His usual smooth, subtle seduction was thrown right out the nearest window, and he didn’t give a damn. He’d been resisting her for months, lying in bed beside her each night and never getting to be with her. Now they’d spent the entire day with their hands on each other, kissing and playing up their romance for their friends and family, and his resistance had weakened to nonexistent. He needed her. Tonight.

Goddamn it, he’d never wanted anyone more than he wanted her—his wife.

He laughed to himself.
My wife.
Fake wife, but maybe she could be a real girlfriend once their arrangement ended.

“No. We can’t. I won’t.”

“Yes. We can. You will. I know you want to. I know you want me. I can see it in your eyes.” He kissed her neck and felt her melt into him. Oh yes, he was winning her over to the dark side. She did want him.

“Cole, stop,” she whispered, breathlessly.

“Do you really want me to stop?” he asked, kissing a path to her jaw en route to her lips. Lips he couldn’t wait to taste again. Lips that he hoped would grant him access to the rest of her body. He could already imagine how wonderful wedding cake would taste on her tongue. “Say yes to me.”

“Yes.”

Blood rushed away from his brain at her consent, leaving him slightly light-headed. He took her by the hand, weaving through the crowd and saying quick good-byes. No one tried to stop them from leaving early from their own wedding. If anything, they encouraged them with whistles, catcalls, and congratulations.

Mason Bridgewater stood off to the side of the door near the bar. He fiddled with his mustache, then downed the rest of the amber liquid in his glass, looking far less enthusiastic than expected.

Cole pulled Daisy into the elevator, punched the button for the penthouse suite Mason had provided, and pushed her against the wall, pinning her with his body. He stroked his thumb along her jaw, forcing her head back so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. A reflection of his lust stared back at him as if he were looking in a mirror. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

“I never thought I’d find a woman in a white dress sexy as sin, but that was before I saw you in one. I’ve been dreaming about getting you out of this damn distraction all day.” He ran his fingers down her throat to the center of her cleavage, tugging gently on the fabric to pull it away from her skin. He peered down at the view of two soft mounds of flesh, rising and falling with her quick breaths, his own breath faster and harder than a moment before.

The elevator chimed, and he pulled her away from the wall, forcing himself not to sprint to the door of the hotel suite. His hand shook as he tried to jam the key card into the slot. The light flashed red, denying him access.

“Damn it!” he muttered, frustrated at his own sloppiness. This better not be a sign of things to come because he didn’t want to be sloppy with Daisy tonight, not when she’d finally shown interest in being with him again. Nope. He planned on giving her the best wedding night of her life.

Shit
. A fake wedding night. But at the moment, it didn’t feel anything less than real to him. He’d gone through the wedding motions all day, and tonight he wanted his wedding night, too. Even if it wasn’t real, it was with Daisy, and that sounded pretty damn good. He wanted nothing more right now than to get his fake wife out of her dress and into his arms.

He banged his forehead onto the door, forcing a deep breath into his lungs to steady his nerves and his thoughts. When he inserted the key card again, it worked.

Before the door had even closed behind them, he had her up against the wall, just how he liked her. He loved it when she was pinned between him and an immoveable surface. It gave him a rush to know that she felt all of him pressing into her, every last inch. When he forced his leg between her thighs, she arched against him like she always did, moaning as he put enough pressure against her center to make her squirm.

God, he loved this woman.

He stopped kissing Daisy and pulled back to look her straight in the eye. He held her hands in one of his above her head, while his other hand had been snaking up her dress. He let her go and cupped her face instead so he could look at her.

Did he actually love her? What that possible? He was only sure of one thing: now that their deal was over, he didn’t want his time with her to end.

A knock at the door dragged his attention away from his thoughts. Who the hell would interrupt the bride and groom on their wedding night? “Let’s ignore them,” he said, coming in for another kiss. The knocking intensified to a banging.

“Just answer it.” Daisy stepped away from his embrace, adjusting her gown to make sure she was still fully covered.

Against his better judgment he went to the door, prepared to ream out whoever was on the other side of it unless they had a very good reason for being there. Even if the hotel was on fire, he might still choose to fool around with Daisy instead of evacuate.

“Mason, what are you doing here?”

For the first time in memory, he looked nervous as he ran a hand through his gray hair. “Can I come it? It’s important.”

Cole allowed him in, then closed the door behind him.

“What’s going on?” she asked. The lust from a few minutes before completely gone, just like his hard-on.

“I have some news and I’m afraid you’re going to be rather displeased with me over it, though I must state I had no hand in it.” He faced them head-on. “The fake wedding was real.”

…

“The wedding was real?” Daisy asked, feeling light-headed and not from the alcohol or from Cole’s kisses.

“What the hell are you talking about?” The anger in Cole’s voice came through crystal clear even without a hint of yelling. He looked like a caged wild animal, searching for a way to break free.

“I don’t know how it happened exactly, but from what I was able to gather, the actor who was supposed to play your minister ate some bad shellfish at lunch and was indisposed in the bathroom. The church thought they were being helpful, and their minister, a real one, stepped in at the last second as a replacement.”

Mason paced the hotel room, looking increasingly distraught. “It was never my intention to have you marry for real. Never.”

“But who cares if it was a real minister. We have to agree to want to be married, right? Sign something legal and binding?” Cole looked frazzled as he paced the room, his facial features becoming more scrunched up with every passing second.

Daisy bit her lip. “We did sign something. That minister made us sign the marriage license in front of everyone. I figured it was a fake document. Holy shit, Cole, we’re married.” She giggled at the absurdity.

She’d wanted more than anything to get married to him for real and now she had. Somehow, she always believed she’d get married once, for love, forever. But after this fake wedding turned real, that was never going to happen.

And she had no one to blame but herself for agreeing to this mess in the first place. The ridiculousness of their situation made her smile. It was either that or cry again, and she was sick of crying.

“You think this is funny?” he practically spat out. “You think this is some kind of joke? Did you do this?”

The smile fell from her mouth. “Did I orchestrate the food poisoning of an actor so I could trick you into marrying me for real? Is that what you’re asking me?” Surely he wasn’t.

“Did you?” he demanded.

Tears stung her eyes as they crested her lids and spilled down her cheeks. Never would she ever accuse him of something so despicable. The fact that his first thought about this situation would lead him to accuse her made her feel sick.

For a second, she’d thought maybe they’d find a way to be together, as a dating couple, after their business deal was over and done with. How could she have been so stupid to ever think that maybe she could have a future with Cole when he clearly thought so little of her? When his first instinct was to attack her instead of lean on her?

“Screw you, Cole.”

“Daisy, wait. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

“You said it because you’re an ass.” She swiped at the tears staining her cheeks. “What the hell? One minute ago you’re ready to rip my dress off, and now you’re looking at me like I’ve trapped you. All because of some stupid ceremony? Really?”

“You know I never wanted marriage. I’m not like you, Daisy. I don’t believe in happily ever after. You knew that when we got involved again. Fake involved, whatever.” He focused on Mason again. “This can’t be real. This has to be a mistake. A practical joke, right?”

She sniffled and wiped her nose. She’d been stupid to think she would ever mean anything more than a business deal to Cole.

What was she going to do now? It wasn’t like she could stay here with him for the rest of the night. Not after all of this. But where would she go?

Anywhere he isn’t.

“You didn’t… I got here before…” Mason said.

“Before what?” she asked.

“Before we did it? Yeah. Thank God we didn’t consummate the marriage yet. That should make it easier to streamline the divorce. Right?”

Pain seared through her chest. “Yes, Cole. Thank God you didn’t do something stupid like think with your heart along with your dick for once. Whew. Really dodged a bullet there.”

Daisy pulled open the door to their wedding-night suite and let it slam behind her on the way out. She didn’t have a clue where she was going, but anywhere was better than trapped in there with her new husband who was already counting the minutes until his divorce. Awesome.

Really married or almost divorced aside, she was gone from his life. Forever.

Chapter Twenty

Cole stared at the wedding dress pictures spread on the desk in front of him. He was picking the ones that looked the best to go into the next issue of
Exclusively Yours
, but it didn’t matter how long he looked at them—none of them looked good enough. None of them compared to Daisy’s dress.

It had been two weeks since the fake-turned-real wedding. Fourteen days without contact from Daisy. Countless hours lying sleeplessly in his bed. Alone.

Two full weeks of misery.

When they’d been involved in their business arrangement, he’d sometimes longed for his old bachelor days again. He’d missed hanging out with the guys, drinking, partying, letting off steam after a long week. About halfway through their time together, he didn’t think it would be possible to miss anything as much as he missed the guys and the good old days of being a free man.

Now he was one again, and boy he was wrong.

Being without Daisy in his life left a void in his chest he hadn’t been able to fill.

He’d tried calling her, tracking her down, but to no avail. When he’d panicked that something bad might have happened to her the night she left him, he’d contacted Tonya, who assured him Daisy was just fine, on her own. She simply didn’t want to be found by him.

He’d lost her.

The only woman who’d ever really made him question what he wanted out of life. The only one who made him think that maybe there could be more to living than just one-night stands and short-term girlfriends. And yet he’d still freaked out like a rabbit in a snare when he’d learned his wedding to her had been real. His fight-or-flight response had taken over his rational thought, and before he knew it, he’d ruined everything he’d had with Daisy. Everything he wasn’t ready to see end.

That realization hit him in the gut like a sledgehammer even after two weeks of dealing with it. Would he ever feel like himself again, post-Daisy?

“There he is,” his father said, walking into the office without knocking. “I knew I’d find you here, working hard.”

Odd. His father had been almost as pissed at him since the wedding as Daisy had been, but for different reasons.

“You’re in a good mood. Decided I’m not a horrible son anymore? Or have you come here to try and preach to me about something else I’ve done wrong in my life?”

“The very opposite actually. I’ll admit, I wasn’t happy about this whole wedding fiasco of yours. I thought for sure you’d lost your mind once. And I was worried you’d made your choice concerning work and relationships. But then I saw the article this morning, and I knew I was wrong about everything. I was wrong about you.”

He tossed a folded-up section of newspaper onto the desk, scattering the photos of wedding gowns Cole had been studying. The bold black headline read: “Married for Money!” with a picture of them saying their vows.

“What the hell is this?” he asked, dumbfounded. How had the paper learned about their arrangement?

“I’d say it’s brilliant, that’s what.” His father beamed, practically the picture of a proud parent.

First time in history,
Cole noted with a stab of annoyance.

He ignored his father and skimmed the article. Actually, it was more like an interview. With Troy. Seemed his brother had accidentally found the contract Daisy had signed with Mason for the investment when he’d stopped at his future sister-in-law’s workplace and had decided to make a few bucks spilling the secret to the press. Good for him.

Shithead.

“That kid is more of a screwup than even you are. I have to admit, I’m strangely impressed he managed to figure this all out on his own and use it to his benefit. Well, not that he’s going to get a magazine, which I know he’s been dying for. But at least he got some money out of the deal, I’m sure.”

Cole finished reading the article then tossed the paper into the waste bin. “Well that’s just fucking lovely.” Sarcasm dripped out of him like venom.

“You better believe it is. I had no idea you could think so outside of the box. I never would have come up with a marketing scheme like this. I really didn’t think you had it in you.”

His father patted him on the shoulder, but he shrugged him off. He didn’t want his accolades. “I didn’t. It was all Mason Bridgewater’s idea. So if you want to be proud of someone, then I guess you better be proud of him.”

“Nonsense. It was you who saw a good opportunity and jumped on it.” He laughed. “But I have to admit, you had me worried for a while. I thought for sure you’d made the same mistake I had, trying to figure out a way to do more than you were capable of. Bentons aren’t cut out for anything more than work, and we certainly can’t add a wife into the mix. Not if we want to be successful at either one. I’m thrilled to see you made the right choice.”

Had he? Had he made the right decision by letting Daisy walk out of their hotel room that night? He’d been second-guessing himself ever since. He didn’t want marriage, but after this last two weeks alone, did he really want a future of one-night stands and meaningless girlfriends?

No.

“I don’t know, Dad. We weren’t like you and Mom together. It was different with Daisy. It was…”

Stable and predictable and everything I never wanted.

“Fake. A smart business tactic. A new and inventive way to market a wedding magazine,” his father offered.

Damn it to hell if Cole didn’t miss every single stable, predictable moment of their six months together.

“It was great.” He sighed, flopping back into his chair. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, and even less to his father, but it was true. Being in a relationship, even a fake one, with Daisy had been the best time he could ever remember in his life. He missed her.

“Goddamn it, Son. Just when I think you’ve finally grown up and become a man, you say something stupid. We are businessmen, not husbands. When will you realize that you’re not savvy enough to have both? Now maybe if you were some wiz at managing your time and balancing your life, maybe you could manage a steady girlfriend. But I guarantee you’d get bored of the same thing every night and then you’d stress yourself out looking for ways to cheat without getting caught. Trust me. You don’t have the stomach for that.”

Anger exploded in Cole’s chest. “Did you cheat on Mom?”

“I did what I had to do.”

“Jesus, Dad. No wonder Mom got rid of you.”

“I didn’t come here to talk about your mother. If you want to do that, hire a therapist, or better yet, go drinking with the boys and forget about it. Right now you need to focus on the best way to capitalize on this press with the magazine. Figure out how we can bend it to an angle that suits us.”

There was a knock on the door, followed by a voice he’d been longing to hear. “Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might want these as soon as possible.” Daisy walked across his office and handed him a large, thick envelope. The large, dark bags under her eyes said she hadn’t been sleeping any better than he had lately, but she looked more put together than he felt. At least a few times in recent weeks, he’d come to work with a tie that didn’t match his shirt or wearing sneakers with slacks. Aside from a smudge of eyeliner where she’d possibly wiped her eye, she looked just as gorgeous as he remembered.

“What’s this?” he asked, standing to accept the package.

“Divorce papers. I had Mason use one of his connections to fast-track them. It was pretty simple since there’s no property to divide or anything. I’ve already signed them, so once you do it, then we’re done. It’s over.”

“Why do you need a divorce for a fake wedding?” his father asked.

“You didn’t tell him?” she asked, sounding shocked. “Turns out the engagement was fake but the wedding was real. We’re married. At least until he signs those papers.” She turned to leave.

“Dee, wait.” He came around the side of the desk, reaching out to her. “Why haven’t you been taking my calls?”

“Take a hint, Son. Don’t embarrass yourself,” he said with a chuckle as if any of this was actually funny. “Besides, it’s for the better.”

“Dad, stay out of this.”

She stopped, her hand on the doorframe as if to steady herself. “I ignored your calls because we’re over. I only came here today to make sure you knew that. We want different things in life, Cole. It’s okay. Really. I don’t want you to try to be something you’re not just to be with me.”

His father nodded approvingly. “Smart woman.”

Cole ignored him. “But we didn’t even get a chance to talk this out. You left after the wedding before I could say anything.”

Daisy sighed. “Honestly. You didn’t need to say anything. Your reaction to the news told me everything I needed to know.”

“Son, do what’s right and sign the damn papers. You can be free today.”

Cole felt himself snap. “Enough! Shut up and let me talk to Daisy without your running commentary.”

“If I don’t give you my opinion once in a while, then all you do is make the wrong choices. You’re finally in a good place, and I’m trying to make sure you stay there and don’t go screwing it all up again.”

“He is not a screwup,” Daisy said, facing William Benton head-on. “I’ve known Cole for quite a while now, and I’ve never seen anyone who works harder than he does or who cares more about his business and his employees than him.”

“What do you know? You’re clouded by your emotions like every other woman.”

“You have no right to speak to her that way,” Cole said. He pulled back his shoulders defensively.

“You have no right to speak to either of us the way you are.” Daisy’s voice was calm and calculated. “I may be a woman, but I am also an accomplished wedding gown designer and business owner. I have never let my emotions make business decisions for me before, nor do I plan to let them now. I used to wonder why Cole worked so hard every day, but now I know why. He was obviously trying to impress you. Although why he would need to, I have no idea. You might be his father, but you’re also a jackass. Thank God Cole only got his good business sense from you and none of your other less desirable qualities.”

William scoffed. “This is what you’re trying so hard to keep? You have worse taste in women than you do in ties.”

Cole opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. “He’s not trying to keep me. And even if he were, there’s no future for us. Because he doesn’t want the same kind of future that I want, and I love him enough to let him be happy, which is more than I can say for you.”

“Wait a minute. You love me?” he said. His heart pounded against his ribs.

She shrugged. “Sign the papers. Good-bye, Cole.” And with that she walked out of the office.

He sank into his chair in a daze, still gripping the package of divorce papers in his hands.

She loves me.

The thought sent a spike of excitement through him. He’d known her feelings for him were stronger than what he’d said his were, but he’d never imagined she might actually love him. Was that really possible? After everything they’d been through together, after everything he’d put her through over the course of their two relationships, did she really love him?

“Get it over with so we can move on to other things.”

Cole set the package on his desk, unopened. “I think I’ll deal with that another time.”

“Deal with it now so it’s done. Nothing better for the soul than making a clean break. Take my word for it. Don’t drag it out. It’ll only get messier if you do. If she’s willing to part ways so easily, now’s the time to take her up on the deal.” He nudged the paperwork across the desk.

“I’ll sign them if and when I’m ready,” he said through gritted teeth. He wasn’t in the mood to be strong-armed by his dad. Again.

“Make it official, and I’ll give you
Prime Outdoors
,” his father countered.

“What?”

“That was the other reason I came here today. To give you the magazine you’ve been working for since I thought you’d proven to be the guy to run it. But if you can’t even sign your divorce papers, which should be the easiest thing in the world, well… Sign them and prove to me I wasn’t wrong about you. Prove to me you are committed to the magazine one hundred and ten percent.”

Finally, after all the work, he was getting the magazine he’d wanted all along. All he had to do was the one thing he thought he wanted—not be married to Daisy anymore.

Was that what he still wanted? He’d been so lost without her the last few weeks. Then she came into his office and she’d said she loved him. She’d even been ballsy enough to stand up to his father. No one had ever stood up to his father on his behalf before. Then she’d offered to give him what he’d always really wanted: his freedom, without commitment, without any kind of bargain.

And she did it all because she loved him.

What if he didn’t grant the divorce? What if he tried to work things out with her? What if he actually succeeded? Would he still want to be head of a magazine that would allow him to travel when it might mean leaving Daisy here?

“Get out of my office.”

Now it was his father’s turn to look confused. “Excuse me?”

“Get out. I don’t want the other magazine anymore. I don’t want anything else from you if it comes tied to my relationship or lack of relationship with Daisy.”

“Are you actually stupid enough to choose her over the future you’ve been working toward. Why?”

“Maybe what I want in the future has changed. Did you ever think of that?”

“But why would you throw away years of hard work for some girl? Some piece of ass you can get anywhere?”

“Because she will never be a piece of ass to me.” Cole laughed as a realization hit him. “All these years I thought you got divorced from Mom because business and marriage didn’t mesh together, like you’ve always said. But the truth is, Mom divorced you because you’re an asshole. You’ve always been an asshole, and you always will be one. But guess what? I’m not. I’m nothing like you. And I love Daisy. So if there’s even the slightest chance I might be lucky enough to win her back, then there’s no way in hell I’m signing these.”

He picked up the envelope of papers and shoved the whole thing into the shredder.