The dogs sat at their feet, tails wagging expectantly.
Erin waved her hand at the dogs. “Go play.”
They ran off, nudging each other on the way.
“The training is going well, I see,” Brenna said.
“Since I moved in with Jason the two of them are the best of friends. And for some reason training two pups is so much easier. It’s like they try to one-up the other to see which one is the best dog.” She rolled her eyes.
Brenna laughed. “They’re both the best dog.”
Erin looked lovingly at both of them as they lay in the hallway wrestling over a toy. “I know.”
“I’m ready if everyone else is,” Honor said, keys in her hand. “And hungry.”
They headed out toward the city, stopping at their favorite pizza place. They’d been coming to Hideaway Pizza since they were little, and all three of them agreed it was still the best pizza in the city.
They ordered iced teas and looked over the menu. The one thing they couldn’t agree on was what type of pizza to order.
“Paradise Pie,” Brenna said. “I love the chicken and spinach and garlic.”
Erin shook her head. “Chicken Florentine. The pesto sauce with grilled chicken and mushrooms is the best.”
They looked to Honor, who sighed. “Why do I always have to be the tiebreaker?”
“Because you don’t care what we order,” Brenna said. “You like everything here.”
“That’s true. Then you’ll let me decide?”
“Absolutely,” Brenna said.
“Yes,” Erin added.
“Okay, fine. We’re ordering a small size of both.”
Brenna shook her head. “Ever the peacemaker, aren’t you, Honor?”
Honor beamed a smile. “I try.”
When their server returned, they ordered salads and Honor gave the pizza orders. They rehashed their meeting with the prospective bride and groom they’d met with tonight until the server brought their salads. Brenna grabbed her fork and dove in. She was so hungry and the salad was just what she needed.
“So, Brenna,” Honor said. “Finn tells me the two of you are engaged.”
Erin choked on her sip of iced tea, grabbed her napkin and wiped her mouth. “Excuse me, what?”
Honor continued, “He said you’re going to be engaged next week or something along those lines?”
Well, hell. She had meant to lay it out in more explainable terms. Damn that Finn anyway.
“Not really engaged. Just pretend engaged and only for four days.”
“Pretend engaged?” Erin looked at her. “What the hell is that?”
“Explain, please,” Honor said.
“You know I’m in Esther’s wedding next weekend. And now Allison and Mitchell are going to be there.”
“Right,” Erin said. “Continue.”
Brenna waved her fork in the air, hoping this would come out in a way that made perfect sense. “Anyway, I know Allison. She’ll be all over me about being single. I don’t want to deal with it—or with her—so I’ve enlisted Finn to be my fake fiancé for the duration of the wedding weekend.”
Honor and Erin stared at her and didn’t say anything, so she assumed they were in agreement. She went back to eating her salad.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Erin said.
“Why, Brenna?” Honor asked. “You don’t need to pretend to be engaged. Who cares what Allison thinks, anyway?”
“I don’t. Not really. I just want a hassle-free four days. They’ll think I’m engaged and Allison can go away and bother someone else.”
“Do you really think you’re less than because you don’t have a guy?” Erin asked.
“No, of course not. I’m doing great. I love my job. I have all kinds of things to keep me busy. My gardening, my books, genealogy research. I love my life.”
“Again,” Erin said. “Why do you have to pretend that you’re not complete without some fake fiancé?”
“That’s not what this is about. It’s about not being harassed by Allison, and by my ex-husband who’ll do anything Allison tells him to. Shouldn’t I be spared that annoyance?”
“You should be,” Honor said. “But you know we’ll have your back. We wouldn’t let Allison give you a hard time.”
“At the expense of the bride?” Brenna asked. “Allison is Esther’s matron of honor. We have to keep the bride happy, and me bitch-slapping the matron of honor won’t make Esther’s wedding the one of her dreams, will it? This is my solution.”
Honor looked to her. “You have a point. Not a great solution, but a point.”
“Well, damn.” Erin chewed thoughtfully for a minute. “Okay, your idea might be a dumb one, but I’ll support you.”
“So will I.”
“Thank you.”
Their pizzas arrived and they dug in. Brenna felt a lot better now that her sisters knew about her engagement arrangement with Finn, and that they supported her, even if it was reluctantly.
She’d still have to inform her parents, which she knew was not going to go over well. But her parents would go along with the plan, probably as reluctantly as her sisters had.
Erin picked up her phone and sent a text, then smiled when she got a ping in return.
“Jason said he’s jealous we had pizza.”
“But I’ll bet they had greasy burgers,” Brenna said.
Erin sent another text. It took a few minutes for Jason to reply, and then Erin nodded. “They did.”
“Just as good, then,” Honor said. “Nothing beats a great burger, followed by beer and pool.”
“We should go meet them and play some pool,” Erin said.
“Why would we want to do that?” Brenna asked.
Erin shot her a look. “Because it’s fun? Because Jason’s there and I might want to see him?”
Honor shrugged. “I like pool.”
Brenna rolled her eyes. “Fine. We’ll go.”
“Great.” Erin smiled. “But first I want to eat another slice of pizza.”
They finished eating, paid the bill and climbed into the car, then drove a couple of miles over to the pool hall and went inside.