Misadventures of a Backup Bride

He doesn’t believe that for a moment, but that’s fine—for now. The public confrontation is over. The reckoning will come later. Soon. In fact, it’s possible he’ll even find some way to maneuver a word with us in private before we leave the hotel this evening.

When he sticks out a hand, Carson pumps it furiously. “You are.”

“Let’s dance, Daddy.” Kendra pulls on the man’s arm.

With a curt nod, Shaw takes his daughter’s hand and leads her onto the floor.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

Carson turns to me and cups my shoulders. “You all right?”

“Yeah. I handled him pretty well until you approached. The rest of his questions we’d planned for and I didn’t have to outright lie,” I whisper in his ear. “But the last one…”

“I know.” He brushes a kiss over my lips. “We should dance, too. Look like we’re having a good time. It’s probably the best place to have an uninterrupted conversation.”

“You’re right.” I follow him onto the floor and brush my body against his as he takes my hand, swaying to an Ellie Goulding tune that’s both haunting and hopeful.

I nestle closer and take a moment to close my eyes. My argument with Shaw was stressful, but being near Carson calms me.

“What did he say to you before I crashed the conversation?”

I fill him in with a shrug. “The truth is, I don’t think he’s a terrible guy. I think he actually means well where Kendra is concerned. But he’s going about everything the wrong way. Obviously, he’s used to telling people to jump and them asking immediately, ‘How high?’ When I didn’t follow suit, it frustrated him.”

“That sounds about right. I don’t think he means to be an asshole, either. He wants to take care of his daughter. After my last conversation with her, I completely understand why.”

“Yeah?” I look up into Carson’s blue eyes. I’ll never get tired of the view. “What did she want?”

“I think I told you that before you arrived, I called Kendra to tell her that you were coming here so we could figure out our feelings for each other. We never talked much before that. Our engagement was arranged before we’d barely met. Apparently, she thought I was determined to make her my wife. Now that she knows otherwise, she’s opened up about her own feelings. Tonight, she wanted to tell me about Brayden, the ROTC officer she met on Tuesday, and their ‘ah-mazing’ spontaneous date last night.”

I raise a brow at Carson. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Apparently someone has a video of them kissing…um, vigorously, in the parking lot. Everyone here probably already knew except me, since I’ve been too busy with you.”

“So she wanted to tell you herself?”

He nods. “In all honesty, I don’t care. I want her to be happy, of course. But I’m not sure she’s mature enough to know what will make her life sunshine and rainbows. She has the body of a woman, but when it comes to men, she’s like a child with a basket of toys, swapping one out for another on a whim. Brayden is probably just the latest. Though I will say, she sounds more interested in him as a person than she has the others I’ve overheard her mooning about.”

“The others?” My jaw drops. “Has she been dating the whole time you’ve been engaged?”

“Dating might be a strong word. But flirting would be fair.”

“Batting her lashes or actually getting to know them?”

“Probably both. I’ve never asked, and she’s never confided. I wasn’t even aware until recently that she’d lose her trust fund if she bailed on me.”

“Do you think she’s slept with other men?”

“That’s something I’ve never asked. If I had to guess? Yeah. I didn’t exactly discourage her from seeing her friends, going to parties, or any of the usual college antics.”

I gape at him. It’s terrible that neither he nor Kendra is devoted to each other in the slightest, but neither knows how to put the kibosh on their pending nuptials without losing everything they value.

“So she wanted to tell you about Brayden. Because she suddenly wanted your blessing? I don’t understand.”

“I think Kendra wants someone to confide in. She can’t tell her father that she thinks this one might be serious.”

“How can she believe that? She’s only known him for a couple of days.” Instantly, I realize what I’ve said. I press my lips to his ear. “I know that’s technically true of us, too. But…I think we’re different.”

He brushes his thumb across my cheek with a smile. “I think so, too. I’ll admit I’ve never heard Kendra as intent about a guy as she is about this one. Brayden doesn’t sound like her usual frat-boy crush, so maybe this is more than a flirtation or a fling. Anyway, she said that after watching you and me together as we walked in, she realized that—” He stops abruptly, frowns, pauses, and seems to regather himself. “Well, she suggested we work together to make everyone mutually happy.”

I frown. What did he not say? “To dissuade her dad from forcing you two to get married?”

“That sums it up.”

“Great. How did she suggest you two do that?”

“She didn’t,” he admits wryly. “She left it up to me to devise a plan.”

“Naturally. Do you trust her?”

“In a relationship?” He shakes his head. “But we have a common goal here, so in this case I believe she’s on our side.”

Carson knows Kendra better than I do, so I’ll go with him on this. But I still have to ask one question. “You didn’t tell her anything about…us?”

“Not a word. She’s not the malicious sort who would rat us out, but she’s not cautious enough to stay silent.”

I agree. “So now what?”

“We wait. We eat, drink, laugh, kiss, schmooze. And at the end of the night, I’ll confront Shaw.”

Chapter Six

CARSON

The next three hours pass in agony. I feel Shaw’s eyes on us every moment of this gala. He’s across the table from Ella and me during dinner. He’s beside me as we each wait for our turn to speak at the center stage podium about this great cause. He’s following us as we head to the bar for another drink, work the room, dance some more… Finally, I glance at my watch. It’s nearly midnight, and my prospective father-in-law is still giving us the critical stare.

When Ed Sheeran sounds over the speakers, I grab Ella’s hand. If the evening is going to end in disaster with Shaw refusing to believe that I have feelings for her, I don’t know what I’ll do next. If I sacrifice Sweet Darlin’, I’ll put over a thousand employees at five different plants out of work. I’ll fail in a task I studied to accomplish my entire academic career. I’ll end my late father’s dream.

But goddamn it, I want Ella. I want to be with her more than I thought possible. We could have something real and strong and lasting if we simply had better circumstances.

Since we don’t, I don’t know where that leaves us.

“Hey,” Ella murmurs softly, her fingertips caressing the back of my neck, drifting over my shoulders. “Are you all right?”

“Maybe.” I shake my head solemnly. “I don’t think Shaw is going to budge on the idea of marrying me off to his daughter for a stake of Sweet Darlin’, and I’m going round and round in my head.”

“About what to do next?”

I nod. “Kendra and I don’t belong together, and I’d like to spare us both the heartache. But I also know what my mom and stepdad would have said about the fact I’ve been lying to a man to whom I gave my word. I hate not doing the honorable thing.” I sigh. As long as I’m putting my cards on the table, I might as well show Ella the ones I tucked up my sleeve. “And now I’m worried about something else.” I cup her cheek. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Her face softens. “I don’t want to lose you, either. To be honest, I didn’t expect all the feelings…”

“Me, either.” I press my lips together in what I know must be a grim line. Everything about this moment feels

sadly inevitable. “I’m having these crazy thoughts…”

Her brow furrows in concern. “Like what?”