“What about the rest of the family?” Carter asks.
“There’s my oldest sister, Brooke. She’s married to Jake, who runs the car dealership, and they have four-year-old Sophie, who is the flower girl in the wedding. Second is Raine. She’s married to Seth. He oversees the farming, and they have twin babies, Skylar and Sebastian, who are just over a year old. Then, there’s me, Blake, and the bride, Lakelyn.”
“Big family.”
“Not as big as my parents would like. Prepare yourself to be asked how many kids we want and when we’ll start having them.”
“And what will we say to that?”
“Hmm. I suppose just that we’ve decided to wait a little while. Enjoy being together.” I look at him. “Is that okay?”
“Why not?” he says. “It’s not real anyway.”
I take in a calming breath and know I’m going to need to keep reminding myself of that all weekend. There’s no time to worry about it though since the car’s rounding the last bend in the road. The sight of the house kicks off a stinging sensation behind my eyes, like I’m about to cry.
“Here we are,” I whisper.
Gonna go wild.
Carter
It’s safe to say that Vale’s childhood home is nothing like I envisioned.
There is a fenced-off plot of land that stretches as far as the eye can see. The house does have the country charm I was expecting with a wraparound porch, but its architecture is more Southern plantation than Midwest farmhouse.
There are towering maple trees lining the drive and one with a tire swing in the front lawn.
Off to the right is a beautiful red barn, which seems to be the center of activity.
“The couple’s shower is taking place in the barn,” Vale explains. Her voice has a faint, faraway quality to it, like she’s saying one thing but deep in thought over something else.
“Are you okay, Vale?” I ask her, noticing how pale she looks.
She draws a deep breath, and I notice that her hands are trembling in her lap. I cover them with one of mine as I park the car behind a number of others.
“It’s a lot,” she admits in a soft voice. “I haven’t been here in so long. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to act?”
She looks at me, tears filling her beautiful eyes. She’s worlds away from the confident, sophisticated, sexy woman I know. I wish I didn’t want so badly to make her hurt go away. I wish every protective instinct didn’t roar to life inside me. But it does.
“You’re doing this for your sister,” I murmur, holding her hands tight. “You’re going to get through this because you love her. I’m not emotionally involved with your family, so right now, you have my permission to blame it all on me. Anything you need, I can take it. And I’ll be right beside you.”
“Thanks,” she says, pressing her lips against my cheek. “You’re one of the good ones, Carter. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
“You can get through this,” I mutter softly, but as we get out of the car, I have to wonder if I’ll be able to get through all this. It’s going to be way too easy for me to pretend like I’m in love with this girl.
Moments later, we’re surrounded by people.
“They’re here!” A younger brunette with blonde highlights throws her arms around Vale. “Thank you for coming,” she squeals, squeezing tight.
I’m guessing she’s the bride-to-be.
Two more brunettes follow close behind. They have to be her two older sisters. They definitely share a family resemblance.
Meanwhile, a bunch of guys are already shaking my hand, asking if we need help with the bags and whether we had any trouble getting in. I can hardly answer one before another asks a question.
“Whew!” A young man with the same good looks as the rest of the family whistles at the rental car we got at the airport—a Range Rover SUV. “Nice car.”
Vale gives the guy a hug and says to me, “This is my brother, Blake.”
Then, she introduces me to her sisters and brothers-in-law. Meanwhile, a little girl—who I assume is Sophie—runs circles around us, jumping up and down and shouting with excitement.
I should be used to this. My family is the same way.
But I have to pretend to be something I’m not—Vale’s fiancé.
Why did I agree to this again?
Oh yeah, because she was on her knees on my front porch. Because she looked so good. So sincere. And because I still love her even though she broke my heart.
“Sis, you’re looking good.” Blake slings an arm around her shoulders and steers her toward the barn, waving me on along with them. “BTO is gonna go wild when he sees you.”
“BTO?” I ask.
“Oh, sorry,” Blake says. “BTO is Big Trent Orlitz. High school friend of all of ours. Been calling him that for so long that, sometimes, I forget he has a real name.”
Trent. Is that the ex-boyfriend?
I can’t seem to help the jealousy I feel for any other man, going wild when he sees Vale.
But she isn’t mine. Not really.
At least, not yet.
I just have to keep my eye on the goal. And in this case, the goal isn’t what she thinks it is—signing AJ. The goal is getting through this weekend without my heart getting in the way. But I still want her. And I know that I probably owe her the truth.
CHAPTER FOUR
We’re engaged. Yay!
Vale
“Vale.” My mom just about smothers me the second I’m close enough.
I hate to admit it, but it feels good. I didn’t know until now just how much I’d missed being hugged by my mother. And I have to fight back the tears.
She’s hardly aged a day—or so it seems. There are a few more crinkles around the eyes, a little bit of gray at the temples, but otherwise, she’s the same sweet-faced, smiling mother I left behind when I decided to get the hell out of this town.
“Hi, Mom,” I manage in spite of the tightness in my throat.
“Look at you.” Her face is glowing as she holds me at arm’s length, looking me up and down. “You’re more beautiful than I remembered. You’ve been eating and taking care of yourself?”
“Of course, I have.” I roll my eyes.
“Mom, come on.” Lakelyn hugs me from behind. I think she was really worried I wouldn’t show up. She has no idea how close I came to backing out. “She just got here. You can’t hog her.”
My adorable four-year-old niece, Sophie, hops up and down next to me, curls bouncing. “I’m gonna be the flower girl!”
“I heard, sweetie! I can’t wait to see your dress!”
“It’s bea-u-ti-ful,” she says happily. But then she looks at me. “You’re my auntie, but Mama says you never come home. Is it because you don’t like us?”
I bend down next to her, my eyes filling with tears, knowing all that I’ve missed out on because of my father. “I love you. I’m just, um, really busy with my job.”
“Okay,” she says, smiling at me and apparently letting me off the hook. “You’re pretty. And I’m pretty too,” she says, twirling around and making the skirt of the dress she’s wearing fly around her. She looks at me and orders, “Spin.”