I was quiet for a moment. I’d never heard this part of Jett and Ruby’s romance. Yeah, Jett had a noticeable limp, but it never seemed to slow him down all that much. “You don’t look like a guy who’s exactly sad about that fate.”
“I’m not,” he said, his smile growing even wider. “I guess my whole point is that we don’t always know what we want until we get it. I think if you could manage to find that part of Lia that wants you to love her, and she knows you’re there to love her back, it might change everything for both of you. If nothing else, at least you’ll be able to say you tried.”
“Failure really is not an option,” I said gruffly.
I had no idea if there was a part of Lia that wanted me to love her, but I could sure as hell look.
“Then don’t fail,” he suggested.
“I don’t intend to,” I confirmed.
I’d already come to terms with the fact that it was Lia or no one for me, so I was going to be a guy who was literally fighting for his life, and I wasn’t planning on giving up.
Lia
“What in the hell am I doing?” I asked my friend, Ruby, in a moment of panic.
It hadn’t even been a full week since Stuart had left me at the church alone, and now I was just about ready to walk down the aisle again, with my best friend this time.
I had no idea how we’d managed to pull this whole thing together in less than a week, but I’d forever be grateful to Ruby, and to Zeke’s mother, Marlene.
Zeke’s mom had been elated when she learned that her son and I were getting married, and she’d taken the whole last-minute wedding thing in stride. If I didn’t already think she was an amazing woman—which I did—I’d at least be totally in awe of her organizational skills.
Zeke and I were getting hitched in a century-old chapel in Gig Harbor, a lovely town about an hour from Seattle, and the reception was taking place at the yacht club nearby.
Everything had come together perfectly, but the fact that I was actually marrying Zeke was still…surreal.
“You’re getting married to the right man this time,” Ruby answered as she smoothed down the skirt of my second wedding dress. “And you look gorgeous.”
I had to admit that I felt good as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I felt…like me.
“It’s a really nice dress,” I said as I looked at the deceptively simple, long-sleeved, ivory gown. My choice had been a style that cinched at the waist, and fell in curtains of silk and lace to my feet.
When I caught Ruby’s reflection in the mirror as she flitted around to arrange my dress, I added, “You look gorgeous, too.”
Ruby stood up straight next to me in her rose silk gown. “I feel like a princess,” she said breathlessly.
I shot her a tremulous smile. Oh, God. I really hoped I was doing the right thing. “I just feel so guilty,” I confessed. “You know this is all a ruse, but Marlene doesn’t. And she’s so happy.”
“Does it feel right?” Ruby asked as she fussed with the silver clips that were holding my curly blonde hair back from my face.
I’d decided to go without a veil since it was more my style.
“Strangely, it doesn’t feel wrong,” I told her. “I know that sounds weird, but I trust Zeke. I always have.”
“Then roll with it,” Ruby replied. “And stop feeling guilty. Zeke really wants this, and I think deep down inside, you do, too. I know you think this isn’t real, but there’s a marriage license that says differently. I think you’ll be happy together, Lia.”
“You say that like you think Zeke and I will stay married,” I answered.
Ruby shrugged. “Who says you won’t? Maybe you’ll eventually figure out that Zeke is the right guy for you. I think he always has been, but you just never noticed.”
“Zeke and me?” I squeaked. “That’s crazy. We’ve always been just friends. Guys like Zeke don’t marry women like me.”
Ruby gave me a disbelieving look. “Why wouldn’t they?”
“He’s rich, and he’s obscenely hot. Not to mention highly educated. He did the duel major at Harvard, for God’s sake. I graduated from high school, went to work at a coffee shop, and took part-time classes at a local college until I finally got an associate’s degree. Zeke is in control of one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. I’m not even remotely the woman for someone like him.”
Ruby pulled a face. “Please. Don’t start talking about a guy being out of your league. I’m a homeless woman who just got engaged to one of the richest men in the world. Sometimes those superficial things just don’t matter. It’s what’s in here that counts.” She thumped a hand on her chest.
She was right. “But you know we’re just friends.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Zeke has always looked at you like you were the only female who existed. If he looked at you as a friend, it was a long time ago. The guy adores you. It’s pretty obvious. Are you saying that you’ve never seen him as an attractive guy?”
“I did. I do. I just never thought about…him being mine. I admit, I was infatuated with him when I was younger, but even then, I wasn’t thinking he’d ever marry me.”
Ruby let out a playful laugh. “Well, you better consider it, because you’re about to walk down the aisle, and your groom looks a hell of a lot like Zeke Conner.”
“But you know it’s not for real.” Zeke was doing all of this for me, and I shuddered as I thought about just how much he was giving up to do this whole charade.
He’d flat out refused to do a prenup, no matter how many times I’d stomped my foot about it, stating that he trusted me over and over again. Not that I didn’t appreciate his trust, but the guy had a hell of a lot of assets at stake in this whole arrangement. Since my only plan was to pay him back and not rip him off, I’d finally let it go. It was one of those rare times when I knew he wasn’t going to compromise.
“We’ll see whether it’s real or not,” Ruby said cheerfully. “You’ve obviously never seen the way he looks at you. Try paying attention. You might find out you like it.”
Ruby never stopped smiling as she took my hand and led me the short distance to the chapel.
After handing me my flowers, she did her own walk down the aisle until she was standing across from Jett and Zeke.
I froze as I looked down the aisle. It was a sweet, cozy chapel, but that short aisle seemed like it was miles long. As I looked around the small venue at the family and friends who had come to see Zeke and I get married, I suddenly realized the gravity of my decision.