Misadventures of a Backup Bride

you to stay here with me.”

My heart is in my throat. I shouldn’t be surprised he feels this way. I probably suspected it deep down. Everything between us has been like lightning—fast and bright. We feel so right together. Meant to be. Which doesn’t make any logical sense because we only had our first real face-to-face solo conversation sixteen days ago. Should we even be talking about our future, much less forever?

“What would we do with the wedding? Continue the jilting as planned, then say afterward that we’ve decided to live together and figure it out?”

“We could do that.” He cradles my face in his hands. “Or we could go through with it.”

“Actually get married?”

His blue eyes soften as he reassures me with the adoration in his gaze. “Exactly. We have a wedding, a minister, your family, my friends, a valid wedding license… The details are done. I don’t know that we could have planned the event any better ourselves.”

We couldn’t have. I’m terrible at organizing such things, and despite the few things Kendra tossed in to needle Carson in the hopes he’d back out, everything is exquisite and elegant. It will be a wedding to remember, and Shaw certainly spared no expense. It’s a dream come true.

But I don’t know if it’s really real—or lasting.

“And you’re not saying that simply to pull the ultimate one over on Gregory Shaw?”

“What?” He jackknives up, nudging me to his side. “Is that what you think? Let me be clear. I love you. If I got to choose what happens tomorrow, I’d marry you and move you here with me so we could be together forever. But you have to want that, too. I can’t want it enough for both of us.” Suddenly, he’s on his feet and snatching a blanket from the back of a nearby chair. “I’m going to sleep in the office. I think you need the time alone to decide what you want tomorrow to be. Think long and hard, Ella. Because I’m playing for real.” He strides to the door. “Let me know what you decide.”

Then he’s gone, the click of the door the only sound to break the otherwise terrible silence. I sink to the mattress alone, in sheets rumpled by our lovemaking and smelling like sex.

He’s right. I need to make decisions. How far am I willing to go? How much will he break my heart if I say yes and this doesn’t work out? How much will I regret it if I don’t try at all?

I curl up with the sheets. Tears come. It’s going to be a long night.

Chapter Ten

CARSON

“Good morning. Don’t mind us,” Eryn proclaims as she bursts inside my apartment, clutching Ella’s keys, while I’m in mid-pour of my first cup of coffee. “We’re just barging in.”

Echo is right behind her, a long braid swinging over one shoulder, and wearing a smile. “Yep. We swiped her keys from her purse last night so we can kidnap the bride.”

Is she going to be my bride today? Or just an actress playing a role? I don’t know and I wish like hell I did. Last night, I left her to think. It was the last thing I wanted to do. When I brought up getting married for real, I’d hoped she would simply throw her arms around my neck with a squeal and say yes. Granted, it wasn’t the most romantic proposal ever. But I meant every word I said. I love that woman and I want to spend my life with her.

“Is she still in bed?” Eryn asks.

When I peeked in on her a few minutes ago after my restless night? “Yeah.”

“Go wake her and get her packed up,” the middle Hope sister tells the youngest. “I’ll make a plan with the groom.”

“Got it. She’d probably rather see my smiling face than your sourpuss scowl first thing in the morning.” Echo flashes her a cheesy grin.

“Ha. My guess is that you can’t get it done without me and you’ll need the big guns.” Eryn flexes her biceps.

They don’t look like big guns at all, and I try not to laugh at her gesture.

Echo sticks her tongue out and hops around to the bedroom, disappearing inside with a quiet stealth I hadn’t imagined from such a little ball of chaos.

“Coffee?” I ask Eryn.

“I’m good. You’re not going to fight me?”

“Depends. Where are you taking her?” Because I’m worried Eryn isn’t sold on me yet, and if she says she intends to take Ella back to Los Angeles, I will show her big guns—and one hell of a battle to go with them.

“The day spa. Sam let us borrow his rental. We’re making sure her hair, makeup, and nails get done before this evening’s ceremony. Since my mom and dad decided work was more important than their daughter’s wedding, she has no one but us to be her support system. She has no one else to get ready with or help her into her dress. And she won’t have anyone to walk her down the aisle.” Eryn bites her lip. “My sister basically raised us, and she would never admit it but she has difficulty believing people will be there for her, that they’ll put her first. No one ever has. She wouldn’t let me or Echo do that because we were her responsibilities.”

That tells me so much about Ella. She’s mentioned her situation with her parents in not so many words. I knew they were absorbed with work. I knew she cared a lot for her sisters. It didn’t occur to me that the emotional impact on her was so great…or that she’d have trouble believing I’m serious when I tell her I love her and will always be here for her.

She needs me to show her.

If she marries me today, she will have to sacrifice everything she knows, wants, and loves for something she’s afraid to believe in. She will have to trust in me—in the two of us—so utterly that she’s certain down to her bones.

Have I given her enough of myself for that?

“I understand. Thank you for making her situation clear to me.”

Eryn’s expression changes, actually softens. I sense that she doesn’t show many people her emotional side. I also sense her feelings run deep. “I’ve never seen Ella in love. I don’t know what’s really going on here. My older sister is a lousy liar—at least to the people who know her well—and she’s never mentioned the job she supposedly came here for, so I assume you have something to do with that. But let me tell you now, she really, truly loves you. If you’re just using her for some scheme, you’re going to break her heart and she will never trust anyone with it again.”

Damn, Ella’s middle sister is smart and has seen more than I hoped. I manage to keep my expression blank. “I very genuinely want to marry your sister. I’ve made that clear.”

“I hear the tone of your voice. You think the ball is somehow in her court.” She shakes her head. “It’s still in yours, pal. If you really love her—”

“I do.”

Eryn lets out a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing, her expression opening. “Then you need to find a way to make my sister say yes when the moment comes. Echo and I will get her ready and there on time. The rest is up to you.”

Message received loud and clear. Eryn is on my side…but only if I go the distance to prove I love Ella. I have to make the beauty I’ve only known for a handful of weeks believe that she is my world—now and always.

“I’ve got this,” I say, though I’m not sure how else to prove my love. “Thanks.”

She nods my way, then the bedroom door barges open. Echo emerges, carrying the newly altered wedding dress in a long gray garment bag, along with Ella’s suitcase.

The latter alarms the hell out of me. “You’re taking all of her things?”

“I don’t know what she’ll need,” Echo quips. “Besides, she insisted.”

My heart stops. Does Ella think she’s leaving me for good? No. She can’t. We’re not done, just getting started.

Eryn’s raised brow says, I told you so. Ella’s insistence underscores the fact that I have to step up my game. Echo looks guileless and unaware of the undercurrent in the room. “Why don’t you ladies wait for her in the car? I’ll send Ella down when she comes out.”

“Nope.” Echo shakes her head. “I’m not stepping a foot out of here without my sister. If we don’t keep her on schedule t

his morning, she’ll be late for all her appointments.”