Fool for You (Southern Bride 7)

“Some press? I’d say you’ve gotten more than some,” Hailey mused.

Paislie leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I don’t know, Emmerson and Landon. What if you get caught in a lie or someone figures it out?”

Emmerson sighed. “The only people who know it’s a fake engagement are sitting at this table. For years, everyone has been talking about Landon and me being a couple. Maybe now that it’s out there, they’ll stop being interested in when we were finally going to admit it, and they’ll move on.”

I nodded in agreement. “I’m not going to lie and say I won’t be upset to be off the market for a bit.”

“So while you’re in this little fake engagement, you don’t plan on dating anyone?” my father asked.

My throat suddenly got thick, and I fought to form words. I had never in my life lied to my parents.

“No, we’ll be dating,” Emmerson answered with a huge smile. “Each other, just not how everyone thinks.”

I looked at her and smiled. She had told the God’s honest truth, and I think I fell a bit more in love with her right there.

“Well, I hate that you two got yourself in this pickle, and a part of me is screaming that something bad is going to come out of this,” my mother said.

“Mom, you worry entirely too much. Besides, think how fun it will be to plan my wedding, and now we’ll get to pretend-plan Emmerson and Landon’s too!” Hailey said with a wide smile.

Paislie and my mother both frowned.

“We have to plan a fake wedding?” Malcolm asked.

“Well, not really,” Emmerson answered. “I was thinking that it might be fun to have Landon and me do a cake tasting or venue shopping and do like a diary of sorts on my Instagram. It would give my followers a bit of a different perspective on wedding planning, like Landon said. If they think I’m the bride and not just the planner, I’ll be able to connect with them more.”

For a moment, I swore Emmerson actually sounded excited about all of this.

My mother shook her head. “I don’t know…”

“Don’t worry, Addie, Landon and I will not ask any of y’all to do anything that would be deceitful.”

“And what happens when people back home ask us about it?” Malcolm asked.

Emmerson shrugged. “It’s simple—just say something about how we’ve always been two peas in a pod. Or how it’s no surprise it would happen, considering it’s Emmerson and Landon. You don’t have to say what the it actually is.”

Malcolm raised one brow as he stared at Emmerson. “That’s still lying, sweetheart.”

All she did was shrug. “I don’t see any other way, Daddy. And like I said, we are dating, just not how everyone thinks.”

Malcolm let out a long sigh. “Unfortunately, I agree. You two dug yourselves into this mess, and it will be interesting to watch you climb out of it.”

My father grinned as if he knew something the rest of us hadn’t figured out yet.

Emmerson and I exchanged a look. When she smiled weakly at me, I reached over and took her hand in mine. “It’s all going to work out just fine. You’ll see.”

I wasn’t exactly sure who I was trying to convince. Myself, Emmerson, or the rest of the table.

After our parents excused themselves for the evening, Hailey and Mike invited us to go out with them. I wasn’t really been in the mood, but I also wasn’t thrilled about the idea of going back to my hotel room and sitting there alone, either.

“So this is the Container Bar, huh?” I asked as we walked up to the popular nightclub on Rainey Street. They had taken shipping containers and stacked them to make a two-story bar.

“This is it! One of my sorority sister’s boyfriend is the DJ here,” Hailey shouted back at me and Emmerson.

“Did you get any of that?” Emmerson asked.

I shook my head and took in the different containers that made up the bar. “I see where it gets its name,” I said with a grin.

Emmerson giggled, and I laced my hand with hers. Mostly because I didn’t like the way guys were eye-fucking the hell out of her.

We ordered our drinks at the bar and then followed Hailey and Mike outside to the courtyard area where the DJ was set up. The entire courtyard was surrounded with stacked containers except for the back area where a building sat. It had ‘Restrooms’ written on the front, with a giant painted rooster on one side and a cat on the other. I shook my head and laughed.

“Nice restrooms. Love the whole cock and pussy reference,” Emmerson said with a laugh.

A large dance floor sat in the middle of the courtyard and was packed with patrons. It was late and the bar was only open for another hour and a half, and I was stunned to see this many people still here. I glanced up at the second floor to see some people standing behind glass windows and others out on patios looking down at the dance floor.