“He took me down a walking path that goes around the property and had views of the ocean …” I pause for a second. “And there were rose petals leading up to a wooden bridge.”
Note to self: make sure to tell him about the rose petals.
“And there were lanterns floating on the water under the bridge.”
And about the lanterns.
“It was magical.” I sigh, knowing I’m getting way too caught up in this fantasy. But I can’t seem to stop myself. “And as the sun was about to set, it was all low in the sky, and it gave the trees surrounding us this golden glow. It was like being in an enchanted forest. Just the two of us.”
“I can hardly breathe,” Raine whispers while my mother fans herself.
“And a string quartet was playing on the other side of the bridge.” Because why not? “And as they played, Carter dropped to one knee and …” I can’t bear to say the actual words, the words I wish he would say to me for real. “Well, I don’t want to tell you exactly what he said. Um, because it’s personal.”
I have to turn my face away a little because I almost convinced myself it’d all actually happened. I can practically see it in front of me—and the weight of the ring on my finger isn’t helping me keep my fantasy separate from reality.
“I’m crying. I can’t believe it.” My mother laughs, wiping a hand under her eyes.
I am such a terrible person for lying like this.
“Anyway, that’s how it happened.” I shrug with a way-too-sunny smile.
Which is when Sophie runs into the ladder I’m standing on and it tips to the side. The next thing I know, I’m falling.
And then landing in a pair of strong, familiar arms.
“Hey there.” Trent laughs, holding on to me. “We can’t have the maid of honor breaking an arm right before the wedding.”
“Thank you,” I can hardly breathe. My heart’s racing so fast. And it’s not because I am this close to Trent again. I’m still wrapped up in my engagement fantasy.
Trent pulls me in a little closer. “I’d catch you any day, Vale.”
“Hey!” Blake strolls into the barn with Carter beside him. “I freed your boy, sis!”
Carter’s expression changes from amusement to anything but when he sees me in Trent’s arms, and for a moment, he actually looks jealous.
But he isn’t, and he never will be, and I need to remember that.
So romantic.
Carter
I’m not sure how I feel about this.
No. Wait. I am sure.
I hate it.
This Trent—BTO—guy makes a big show of putting Vale down on her feet. “There you go. Safe and sound,” he says, yet he still holds her by the waist, and it’s a little too close for my comfort.
For the first time since we started this charade, I’m glad we’re supposed to be engaged. It gives me a legitimate reason to do what I’m about to do.
I take a few long strides toward her and possessively wrap my arm around her, pulling her close to me. “Can’t leave you alone for a second, can I?”
Fortunately, she places her arms around my neck. “No, you can’t, and you shouldn’t,” she says sexily.
But I see right through it. Both of us are not-so-subtly letting old Trent know he needs to back the fuck off, just for different reasons.
He doesn’t seem to get the hint though. He kisses the back of her hand and says, “I’ll always be here to rescue you.” Then, he tips his hat at her and goes back to whatever the hell he was doing before.
“I guess I missed out on all the excitement.”
Her smile goes wide. “You did actually. Before I fell off the ladder, I was telling everyone about the proposal.”
“Oh, Carter,” Mrs. Martin says, her hands folded and a smile on her face. “I love how there were rose petals and lanterns and the string quartet. So incredibly romantic.”
Of course, I’m thrilled she’s happy about whatever Vale told her, but none of that was in our prepared proposal story.
“It was all so romantic and spontaneous,” Vale gushes toward her mom as she grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly, letting me know to just roll with it.
“Romantic, yes. Spontaneous, no. I knew I wanted to marry you the first time I met you,” slides out of my mouth. It’s the God’s honest truth but not something I ever dared to tell her.
She looks at me, her head tilted in question. “Really?”
“Hey! Look who’s back!” Lakelyn says, causing Vale to turn her attention toward the barn’s entrance.
Lakelyn runs out of the barn and launches herself at her six-foot-five, three-hundred-pound fiancé, AJ Barnett.
“I hope this will be enough chairs, Mrs. Martin.” AJ gestures to the bed of his pickup truck. “I couldn’t fit any more.”
“That should be perfect, sweetheart. Thank you.” Vale’s mother strikes me as the polar opposite of her husband. She’s sweet, soft, and kind, and she has the sort of friendly, open smile that puts you at ease.
Vale takes my hand and leads me over to AJ—I’m sure to introduce us.
Just as she starts to open her mouth, AJ turns toward us, looks at me, and says, “You’re Carter Crawford, aren’t you?”
“Guilty.” I shake his hand.
“Carter is Vale’s fiancé!” Lakelyn says. “Isn’t that cool?”
“It is,” he says, but the smile doesn’t quite reach his dark eyes, and he quickly turns and starts unloading his truck.
And I guess I can’t blame him. I know what a guy like him goes through before the draft. I was going through it myself before I got hurt.
Vale pulls me aside as everyone else starts focusing on getting the chairs set up. “AJ acted a little cold toward you. Sorry.”
“I’m sure he’s just surprised that you are engaged. Like everyone else has been.”
“And I’m sorry about embellishing all the proposal stuff,” she whispers into my ear. I have to ignore the way her breath tickles my skin.
“So long as you made me look good.”
She giggles, leaning against me. When I stiffen, her eyes meet mine. “What?”
“Nothing. Just …” I glance around. We’re generally being ignored in favor of last-minute shower prep. “This is hard. Your family is nice. I feel bad, lying to them. And it’s hell, being this close to you.”
She stiffens before standing up straight and bolting backward. “Well, I’m sorry that I’m so unattractive.”
“I didn’t mean that—”
“Whatever. You agreed to this, and that means you have to at least pretend.”
“I know that—”
“But, hey, if it bothers you too much, I guess I could go hang out with Trent instead.”
I can feel my blood starting to boil over as Mrs. Martin calls out to us, “I nearly forgot my manners. We dragged you into setting up before you even had a chance to get settled. Vale, you’ll be staying in your old room. It’s all ready and waiting for you both.”
“You’re going to let us share a room?” she asks.