Fake Summer Wife

“When do the toasts begin?” I asked Vaughan.

He checked his rather impressive watch. “Ten minutes or so.”

“Perfect. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I gave him a tiny kiss, which made his eyes sparkle.

I found the ladies’ room to freshen up and check my lipstick, which thankfully wasn’t smudged. I wasn’t really listening to the other woman in the washroom until I heard a shrill voice call out from within one of the stalls. “Marcy, are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, Jessica. Settle down. You said you didn’t want him anymore anyway,” came the patient reply from the adjacent stall.

“Yes, but I still wanted to keep the option open, you know?”

“Vaughan was never the type to go for your Vegas wedding idea anyway.”

“Who wouldn’t want to get married in Las Vegas?” Jessica protested. “Maybe not by Elvis, but in one of those huge gold and white venues.”

“Most people, actually,” the voice that must have been Marcy replied. “Besides, you’ve got Doctor Kershaw now.”

I heard a loud sigh. “Sure he’s rich, but I don’t know whether his salary is going to increase that much until at least ten years down the road. I don’t know if it’s going to be enough to give me my dream life, you know?”

“I think he has the most potential out of any of the men you’ve tried out over the past couple of years,” Marcy said.

“Did you see that strange woman Vaughan is here with?” Jessica asked.

I fixed my hair and got ready to run.

“She’s so unbelievably pretty,” Marcy gushed. “She looks a bit like that princess from…where is it? That country where everyone is gorgeous? Anyway, someone said that’s his new wife.”

Darting out the door, I heard Jessica shriek, “ Wife? What the hell?!”

I scurried back to Vaughan, grabbing us two fresh flutes of champagne along the way.

“I missed you,” he whispered, brushing his lips across the top of my hair.

“As always, the ladies’ room is gossip central,” I whispered. “Jessica is concerned that her doctor won’t be earning enough money for her imaginary perfect life, and her friend Marcy has informed her that we’re married. Jessica...wasn’t thrilled to hear it.”

Vaughan grinned so hard it was almost unsettling. “Wonderful. Now she will finally stop calling and emailing the company, I hope.”

“I hope so too,” I said, finally allowing myself to take a real mouthful of champagne.

The official ceremonies and toasts were all going smoothly and then much to my surprise the Mayor called Vaughan up to the podium. I had no idea that he was going to be speaking.

“I didn’t want to make you nervous,” he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek while everyone stared over at us.

As he strode to the front of the room, he was followed by the eyes of many women who were also admiring how unbelievably hot he looked in that perfectly cut suit.

“Don’t worry, this will be short, because I know we all want to get back to these incredible snacks,” Vaughan began, as people smiled appreciatively.

“I’d just like to thank the hospital

board for selecting a slightly smaller construction company, and giving us this opportunity. Every time we hit a snag or delay, we thought about how this city deserves incredible medical care. Whenever we put in overtime, or missed a family function, we did it so that this hospital could expand on schedule to meet the needs of this amazing community. I’d like to thank my entire team for doing the most important job we’ve ever taken on. And of course, I’d like to thank my lovely wife Claudia for supporting me through thick and thin.”

All eyes turned to me as Vaughan added, “That’s it, thanks for coming, don’t forget to hit the donation booth on the way out.”

It was downright weird to have so many eyes on me as Vaughan came back over to kiss me right on the lips. It was light and sweet, but told everyone in the room exactly who I was to him.

I flung my left hand around his shoulder to let the ring sparkle in the light. Since Jessica and Marcy were definitely staring along with everyone else, there’s no way they could have missed it.

The party picked back up again, and the conversation flowed more freely. I didn’t mind as much when Vaughan and I were separated, now that I had been chatting with people for a while.