Fake Engagement, Real Temptation

“For the love of all things holy…and pink,” Blake muttered to himself, standing at the front of the church, trying to strategize a way past the angry mob that stood between him and his best friend, Lane. After talking with Carrie earlier, it took several missed calls and a few texts to find Lane and talk strategy. He’d run around town looking for him and finally got intel that he was at the church. Where Carrie was supposed to be getting married today.

And judging by the look of people, not everyone had gotten the memo that the wedding was off. Which put Lane in the middle of the shit storm. That was so him. Damage control. What Blake would give to have Moses part that sea of pissed off people right now.

Judging by the endless waves of flowers lining the church pews, you’d think baby Jesus decorated from the Rainbow Brite collection. Nope, bride-to-be Carrie Morgan was the one who loved the color enough to clearly buy out every florist within the hundred-mile radius of Denver, Colorado. Only there’d be no wedding today, and Blake really needed to talk to Lane about his conversation with Carrie. He’d be damned if she left for Hawaii on her own.

Blake reevaluated the mob. He needed to get to Lane without hitting these people who were throwing anger bombs. Like great-aunt Mae yelling at Mr. Morgan about how her rotary telephone never got the message about the wedding being off.

He’d feel bad for Lane later, and the fact that he was currently talking Great Grammy Morgan out of having a heart attack from the distress of sweet Carrie calling off the wedding. Yep, Blake could help in other ways…just so long as it got him out of this church, away from all this love and marriage crap, and back to protecting Carrie. He’d get Lane on the plane with her, and then he’d return to his business. Where things were nice, safe, and predictable. Yeah, people went with him for an adventure, but it was always a fantasy. He’d never put anyone in any real danger.

This whole wedding day debacle just proved his point. You couldn’t open your heart to something real. Not without watching it suddenly die. But poor Carrie had opened her heart. He almost envied her for having the courage to take a chance.

Shit, we

re the walls closing in on him?

“Blake!” Mr. Morgan called. Lane and Carrie’s dad was yelling at him as he rallied around Lane. The man was like a father to him. With Blake having spent most of his childhood after his mom died at the Morgans’ house, he knew almost everyone at the wedding. Which was why he really, really didn’t want to go to the mob. He just wanted to get Lane on the airplane with Carrie.

But the particularly pissed off father of the bride—the guy who’d shelled out a pretty penny for these endless flowers, on top of God knew what else, only to not see his daughter walk down the aisle—called him over again.

Maybe if I slip through…stay near the window…I can head Lane off at the altar…

There. An opening. Like a running back, he broke hard right and hustled to his target, dodging all the family members he’d known since elementary school, and leaned in to Lane’s side.

“Did you talk to Carrie?” Lane said quietly into Blake’s ear.

“She’s not opening her suite door,” Mr. Morgan said, coming to stand by Blake and Lane. “I knocked and she isn’t answering. My baby girl is barricaded in there, isn’t she?” Mr. Morgan said, and Blake hated to see him worrying so much. The Morgans were his only family. And even though he hadn’t seen Carrie in over a year—his place out in the mountains kept him busy, and Denver was a shit shot most of the time—he still wanted to help.

“I just spoke with her, sir,” Blake said. “She’s doing all right.”

“See,” Lane said, as if reading his mind. “Blake fixed everything. Didn’t you, Blake?”

“Absolutely,” Blake agreed.

Mr. Morgan slowly nodded. “I’m going to find her mother and let her know our girl is okay. Thank you, Blake.” The old man touched him on the shoulder, then went off to find his wife.

Lane pulled Blake aside from the mob, which was firing questions left and right at him, and talked low so only he could hear him.

“Tell me the truth. Now that Dad can’t hear. What happened with Carrie?” Lane said.

“I convinced her to go on her honeymoon. She needs to get away from this. It’s clear she’s walking a fine line of devastation, and I think she needs to get that adventure.”

Lane nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. But she can’t go there alone.”

Now it was Blake’s turn to give the duh, moron face. “I know. That’s why you’re going with her. Keep an eye on her. Everyone wins.”

Lane dropped his head and wiped his brow. “I would. But I have a huge deal I’m closing this week. I have to be here.” He sighed hard. “But Carrie can’t be alone right now. That asshole wrecked her world.” He glanced at the ceiling. “I’ll figure it out. I’ll find a way to go and keep an eye on her.”

“No.” Blake sighed now. “I’ll go. You take care of the deal.”

Lane raised an eyebrow. “You’ll go? I don’t know. How’s Carrie going to feel about that?”

“She won’t even know I’m there. I do this kind of thing all the time.”

Which was true. He set up the adventures for his clients and then became invisible. Unless something went wrong.

Lane said, “I know you’ve got your own business to handle, though. You can swing it?”

Blake laughed and nodded. He was his own boss and didn’t have another client scheduled for two weeks. Fall was his busiest time, but winters were slow. And Carrie had opted for a December wedding. Nothing about this whole thing felt right.