“So… um… you’re good?”
Holding the phone to her ear with one hand, she plucked at a loose thread in the knitted afghan on her sofa. Hesitating, she sighed. “Truthfully? I don’t know that any of us ever forget our first crush. But spending today with Nolan was okay. Better than okay. I had a good time, although the whole wedding planning experience was surreal.”
“How?”
“Because I was looking at everything as though I was actually planning. The flowers, cake, photograph plans. So it was all kind of real even though we won’t go through with the ceremony… making it surreal.”
“Did you get everything taken care of? With getting into the office, I mean.” Nancy snorted, adding, “That’s a stupid question. I know my brother, and he’ll have everything planned and coordinated perfectly.”
“Yeah, we’ll have a diversion right before the ceremony, get into the office, and then just slip out a side door. They’ll think we got cold feet or something. We gave the paperwork to them today, so it should just be a quick in and out tomorrow. Then, we’ll take advantage of the rooms at the casino. I figure Nolan can enjoy himself at the pool or casino while I start looking over the financial records.”
“That’s not a very exciting wedding night!” Nancy laughed.
The idea of a real wedding night with Nolan slammed through her for the millionth time. She had kept those thoughts at bay until they'd visited Cupid’s Chapel and had such a good time in Gatlinburg. Every time he held her hand, linked fingers, focused on her fully and listened as she talked, even wrapped his arm around her when they left the venue the second time… it had become harder and harder to pretend she wasn’t affected. Realizing she had gone quiet, she forced her voice to lighten as she rushed, “Yeah, I can only hope when I finally get married for real, my wedding night won’t be looking at financial records for fraud!”
Disconnecting, she tossed her phone to the coffee table and flopped back against the sofa cushions. Her thoughts tumbled around in her head as she tried to sort them. The irony was not lost on her that she spent two years in high school desperately in love with Nolan, dreaming of the day they might get married. She wrote his name in her notebooks, even scribbling her name alongside his as though she was already Mrs. Lynn Bell. She and Nancy used to look at bridal magazines, promising her best friend would be her maid of honor. Even after Nolan rebuffed her advances when she was sixteen, she’d been mortified, but her feelings only diminished slowly with age and time.
And now, today, with Nolan at her side holding her hand, she planned her fake wedding to him. She shook her head slowly. I must be an idiot—or a glutton for punishment—to have agreed to this assignment for Nancy.
Sucking in a deep breath, she planted her feet on the floor and stood. Grabbing her empty glass of wine, she rinsed and left it in the sink before flipping off the lights and walking back to her bedroom. Might as well try to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a crazy day!
8
Lynn stood in front of her mirror, staring at her reflection as she waited on Nolan to arrive. Her hair was curled a little more than usual, and the waves hung down her back as the front was gathered into a decorative clip. She had chosen her clothing with care, eschewing anything tight, wanting to appear bridal and yet be able to move around easily.
Her sundress was cream-colored, with decorative butterflies embroidered in silk. The bodice was fitted with lace straps over her shoulders. The multilayered skirt flared about her hips, hitting her just above the knees, giving her full movement to bend, squat, and run if needed. Run? God, I hope I don’t have to make a run if someone discovers me in the office! On that last thought, she glanced down at her shoes and wondered if she should trade them for white track shoes.
Her makeup had been applied with a light hand, although slightly more dramatic than usual. After flipping off the light in her bathroom, she walked down the hall and grabbed her overnight case. Stuffed with toiletries, a change of comfortable clothing, and her laptop, she set it near the front door just as the doorbell rang.
Throwing open the door, the smile on her face froze as she stared up at Nolan. As hard as it was to tear her eyes away from his face, she dropped her gaze slowly from his head to his shoes and back again. Dressed in a dark suit that fit over his muscular shoulders perfectly, a white shirt and navy tie, he was delectable. Clean-shaven, with his hair still slightly damp, her breath caught in her throat.
A memory slammed into her, one she hadn’t thought of in many years. She remembered when she spent the night at Nancy’s house and watched Nolan leave for his senior prom. As sophomores, she and Nancy couldn’t go, but as she stared at the vision of eighteen-year-old Nolan dressed in a dark tux with Rita fussing over him and Nick reminding him to drive safely, she’d promised that one day he would look just that way as he waited for her at the end of the aisle on their wedding day.
“Wow, Lynn, you’re gorgeous.”
Hearing his voice, she blinked, her gaze jumping back up to his face. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
They continued to stare at each other for a moment and then suddenly he jolted and glanced downward. “Is this all?”
It took her a second to realize he was indicating her overnight bag, and she jerked her head up and down. “Oh, yes. Um… I wasn’t sure what to take, so I made sure to have a change of clothes and my computer.”
“Sounds good.” He
