Moments later, we get to our feet and cheer as the new Mr. and Mrs. Price walk down the aisle. Normally, I love weddings. I’m a wedding planner, after all, but I can’t get into Connor and Jen’s wedding. So many things do not make sense at the moment.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming for Connor and Jen’s wedding?” I say to Declan.
“You never told me either,” he says.
“How do you know them?” I ask him.
“My brother works at the same fire station as Connor,” Declan says. “What about you?”
I ignore his question. “Who is your brother? I know a lot of guys who work at Fire Department Station 255.”
“His name is Ace Carter,” Declan says.
“Shit.” My voice is loud, but luckily, it’s drowned out by the noise of people chattering and leaving the chapel.
I know Ace Carter and his wife, Lexi. I glance at Declan. Yeah, the resemblance is not only there, but it’s quite striking. Why didn’t I see it before I stupidly suggested we get married?
The fog has cleared, and every sharp stupid detail of last night is etched in my mind. I even recall going to another bar in the hotel after the ceremony to celebrate. Then we’d staggered to Declan’s room and crashed there.
I’m pretty sure that we did not have sex. We were both so out of it that we couldn’t have managed even if we’d have wanted to.
Chapter 4
Declan
The reception is being held in a small ballroom within The Dash hotel.
“Good to see you here, Declan,” Brad says and claps my shoulder. Hard. I flinch. I should be used to it by now since I hang around my brother’s colleagues whenever I’m in LA. They are all burly and huge, not that I’m a wuss myself, but these guys lift weights and exercise multiple times a day.
I ask about his kids and wife. He hugs Marian, and she explains that Jason and his wife Brooke couldn’t make it to the wedding.
Now I know where I know Marian from. She must have attended one of the many gatherings that the firemen and their families have. Probably at my brother’s house or one of the other friends.
We select a table away from everyone else. It seems Marian has the same idea to talk as I do. On the dance floor, Connor and his new wife Jen are dancing to a slow song with their eyes only for each other.
I pull a chair for Marian, and she mutters her thanks. I admire her lush body encased in a gorgeous silver shimmery dress.
“We need to talk. You can’t just wish this away,” I say to Marian.
I don’t know how much of the previous night she remembers, but I remember plenty. We had drunk more than we should have, and before too long, we’d started exchanging confidences. She’d told me how all her friends were married and having babies, but she wasn’t interested in marriage. What she wanted was a baby.
I, in turn, told her my woes with my business. How close I was to bankruptcy. How I’d never failed at anything, and the thought of it petrified me and kept me awake at night.
I’d even told her about the trust fund. My brother and I are what is popularly known as trust fund babies. My grandfather left us a sizeable inheritance.
A glint had come into her eyes, and she had suggested we get married and solve both our problems. It had seemed like a genius idea at the time.
She flashes her gorgeous green eyes at me. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
“I don’t understand,” I say.
“We are going to get an annulment,” she says.
I inhale sharply. The last thing that I want is an annulment. I’ve had a bit of time to think through this marriage. Admittedly, it was a crazy thing that we did last night, but it could work in our favor.
“Let’s not rush into making a decision,” I tell Marian.
Her eyes widen, and she looks at me like I’m crazy. Maybe I am, but desperate times call for desperate measures. My business is laden with debt, and I have no chance of expanding. The only way I can save it is with an influx of cash.
I hadn’t thought about my inheritance before now because there was no chance that I would fulfill the conditions required to access it. One of the conditions is that I have to be at least thirty-five years old. That’s five years away from now. The other is that I should be married.
I have no girlfriend or fiancée, so there’s no chance of fulfilling the second condition. Now my circumstances have changed in a single night. I’m married, and I can access my trust fund, and with it, all my financial worries will be gone. I can concentrate on expanding my brand, Did you say Pizza?