A movement near the side entry of the church caught her attention. Chase rounded the corner, holding his phone, wearing a crisp, well-tailored suit. He spotted her and his mouth dropped open. His steps picked up until he stood within bouquet-tossing distance.
“You look stunning.” His appreciative gaze drifted from her head to her feet and back up again.
Stunning. No one had ever called Nichole stunning. Would Chase tell his real bride-to-be she was stunning? With the same awed wonder in his gaze? The same admiration in his voice? She’d never felt stunning until right now with Chase. She wanted to believe him. But so much was already pretend. And Chase excelled at the charade.
Nichole eyed him.
“Don’t you think you’re taking this fake marriage a bit too far?” he quipped, obviously amused. He tilted his head and propped his usual grin back into place.
Nichole pulled back. His grin blocked people out, including her. “It’s for Josie. She owns the Rose Petal Boutique. Her model... Never mind.” Nichole held out her hand, the one holding the calla lily bouquet, for Chase to help her up the stairs. She wanted to confront him eye to eye.
He tugged a little harder than necessary. Nichole swayed on her borrowed heels. The momentum carried her into Chase. She pressed her other palm against his lapel, stopping full body contact. Her heart collided against her ribs. But a worse wreck, like heartbreak, waited ahead if she started to believe her own press. “Why are you in a suit?”
His grin never slipped. “I have a photo shoot for the city’s athlete of the year award.”
“Congratulations. You look good.” Handsome even. Nichole curved her fingers into the soft wool fabric. “We have to come clean. Admit we aren’t married.”
“The media got the marriage piece, but not your identity.” Chase covered her hand with his, drawing her gaze to his face. “We have time.”
“Time for what?”
His grip tightened around her fingers. “Time to tell our families.”
“You mean tell them the truth.” Nichole clenched his hand to ensure he heard her. “That this is all one big mistake. A hoax.”
Chase accepted her grip yet never tapped out. “We tell them we’re married like we agreed last night.”
“That was before the media blitz.” Nichole smoothed her voice into patient and reasonable, the same tone she’d used to negotiate with her preteen son. “They’ll figure out who I am. It’s the right thing to do.”
Nichole tried to adjust her grip on Chase’s other hand. The bouquet interfered. The tall flowers reached between them as if growing from their joined hands.
Chase rubbed his chin. His gaze drifted over Nichole again, intense and mysterious.
She’d never trusted mysterious. Mysterious allowed for too many possible theories. Too many different assumptions. Too many opportunities to get hurt. She’d been drawn in by an enigmatic man once before and believed she’d known him. She had a broken heart to prove how completely wrong she’d been.
“You can’t see your face in that photo.” He reached up and pushed the veil over her shoulder.
His fingers never connected with her skin. His caress never fell against her arm. Still her breath caught and held as if waiting. Waiting for his touch and the warmth she knew would be there. A swarm of butterflies collided in her stomach as if lost. An insistent whisper of what if echoed inside her. “You seriously want to keep up this farce?”
“I got you something.” Chase reached into his pocket, pulled out a ring.
Not any simple ring either. Sparkling diamonds filled the platinum band that swirled like a halo around a large brilliant center diamond. The ring was vintage, stylish and flawless.
The sigh from her heart skimmed over her. That butterfly swarm flapped its collective wings. Her voice shook. “Now who’s taking this fake marriage thing a little too far?”
Chase slipped the elegant ring over her finger. “Now everything looks real.”
Nichole pressed her hand below her ribs, silencing those artificial butterflies. Today was make-believe. Just as her childhood dreams had proven to be nothing more than fantasies. Her gaze fixed on the ring. “It’s gorgeous. Exactly what I would’ve wanted.”
“Then it’s perfect.” Chase took out his phone, stared at the screen, then lifted his hand in a fist pump. “The coaching staff just congratulated me. With heart and happy face emojis. Everything is working.”
Nichole’s debate skills were not working. “We have to tell our families.”
“I’ll talk to my grandmother after the photo shoot.” Chase checked the time on his fitness tracker and frowned. “Timing is going to be tight. I’ll get takeout for her.”
This wasn’t a lunch date with his grandmother to catch her up on the good things in his life. It was a conversation where he fully intended to deceive his own family. He couldn’t possibly have an appetite. Surely, he’d choke on his lunch and his own dishonesty.
The idea of calling her own grandparents nauseated Nichole. Thankfully, her grandparents relegated their TV watching to game shows and DIY series. They’d even canceled the newspaper, claiming it had gotten smaller than a forgotten diary. But her grandparents had neighbors and friends, ones overly involved in worldwide gossip. The story would find its way to her grandparents’ porch soon enough. Nichole had to finish this photo shoot, change and phone her grandparents.
“I have car pool duty today.” She bit into her lip and failed to discourage her headache from thumping. “I have to tell Wesley.”
“I’m free all afternoon.” Chase glanced up and smiled. “I can go with you to pick him up.”
“We need a story,” she said. “Details. Everyone wants the details.”
“Those have to wait for our drive to Wesley’s school.” Chase tapped his watch. “I have to get to the photo shoot.”
“But you don’t know what I’ve already said.” This
