Still, it makes my cheeks flame thinking about it, especially now that we’re alone in line. But it also reminds me that I owe Paul. After all, without him, none of this would have happened.
I check over my shoulder. Meghan still seems engaged in her conversation. I remember how the guys didn’t discuss the bet in front of her and think I should probably stick to that. But for now, since it’s just me and Paul… “Hey, I owe you a thank you, Paul.”
He glances at me, eyebrows lifted in confusion. “Oh? What do you mean?”
“Well, if it wasn’t for your and Luke’s little bet, I don’t know that I ever would have wound up here with him.” I glance down at the ring sparkling on my finger, aware that I need to tread carefully. I can’t let him know we only pretended to get married for the bet. But if he thinks that’s why we moved things along a little more quickly, well…
But when I glance back up, I find Paul frowning at me in the dimming evening light. “What bet are you talking about?”
“You know.” I wiggle my wedding ring. It sparkles in the distant bonfire light. “When you two bet on which one of you would get married first?” He opens his mouth, but I hold up a hand to stave him off. “Now, I’m not saying Luke and I wouldn’t have gotten married otherwise, of course. Just, I think having that bet in the back of his mind made him a little more open to the idea. We probably wouldn’t have gotten as close to one another as quickly as we did, otherwise.” Even if it did still take a whole year of me mooning after him at work for him to notice.
But Paul is still frowning at me, eyebrows knit in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Celia,” he says slowly, as though I’m the one acting crazy.
It sinks in, little by little. Slow enough that I feel crazy too, gaping at him as my mind whirs. “You mean…” I clear my throat. “You and Luke never, um… never bet that you’d get married before the other one?”
He shakes his head. “No. Sorry, Celia. Maybe you’re confusing me with another of his friends?”
But I’m not. I know I’m not. It’s the whole reason Luke invited me on this weekend. The whole reason he’s had me pretending to be his wife this whole time. It was all because Paul was here. At least, so he claimed.
What is going on?
13
I leave the drinks line, unable to pretend everything is normal. Vaguely, behind me, I can hear Paul calling out after me, asking if I’m okay. I just wave and shout over my shoulder that I’ll be right back.
I won’t be, though.
I stumble blindly through the sand, tears stinging at the backs of my eyes. Luke lied to me? This whole time, he’s had me acting up a storm, all for some bet he claimed he had. If that didn’t exist… why did he do all of this? Why bring me here?
Was he trying to get me to make a fool out of myself? Trying to push me, to see how far I’d let him go? Was he just taking advantage of me, the dumb office secretary who clearly had a huge crush on her boss?
I can hardly see anything; my eyes have blurred so much. I stumble along the beach wiping at them with my palms, but it doesn’t do any good. The tears just keep coming, as I imagine every terrible reason Luke could have for tricking me into doing this.
I hear footsteps, and I whirl around. I recognize the silhouette of the figure jogging toward me immediately. He’s impossible to mistake, even in the falling dark, even out on this dimly lit beach. “Go away,” I shout, before Luke has even reached my side.
I whirl back around and continue to stagger away. But it’s getting darker, and I can’t always see the dips and hollows in the shifting sand. I stumble, and almost fall, before I feel warm hands close around my arm and haul me back upright.
I brush Luke off with an effort. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Celia…”
I wrench my arm free from his grip and whirl on him instead. “Have you just been playing games with me? This whole time, has it just been one big mind game to you?”
He stares at me for a long moment, eyes inscrutable in the dark. Finally, he sighs. “You must have figured things out.”
Tears start to track down my cheeks. I’m powerless to stop them, no matter how much I hate to cry in front of him now. I rub at my eyes, my voice choked. “How could you lie to me like this? What were you trying to do, just humiliate me, see how much I’d do for you?”