I could barely catch my breath every time he drove into me, and I didn’t care. All I could focus on was the joining of our bodies and the way my heart fluttered wildly. When the dam finally broke, allowing the orgasm to wash over me, I was wrapped in pure bliss.
I could feel Briggs coming too, his erection pulsing inside of me. It was the closest to perfection that I’d ever experienced, and when it was over, Briggs collapsed on the bed beside me.
As he pulled me against him, just like last night, I had the vague thought that I should probably thank my mother for the happiness that I was feeling right now. I had fallen for my fake boyfriend, and that never would have happened if she hadn’t meddled in my love life in the first place.
I started to doze off when Briggs shifted, propping himself up on his elbow. He was looking down at me with such warmth and affection that I felt a swell of tender emotion. He brushed a strand of hair out of my face and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips.
“Good night, Sage.”
I smiled up at him, completely and utterly content. “Goodnight.”
I fell asleep quickly after that, and my dreams were a combination of memories and fantasy, all of it surrounding this budding romance. But when I woke up in the morning, I was disappointed to find myself in bed alone.
I glanced around but didn’t see a note left for me. So, I picked up my phone. I found a text from Briggs, sent about an hour ago.
Sorry I had to go, talk to you later.
The lack of an explanation wasn’t great, but the message was followed with a heart emoji that softened the blow considerably. Looking at the clock, I realized that it was already late in the morning, and I needed to get up and moving. I was supposed to be at the wedding venue in half an hour.
Rushing around the room, I pushed Briggs to the back of my mind as I started to get ready. Hair and makeup would be done on site, but I had to shower.
As I arrived at the venue, I went into the building where we were supposed to change into our wedding attire before photos. Walking down the hallway, I passed the closed door of the room where the men were doing the same. I felt a rush of excitement at the thought of seeing Briggs in a fitted tuxedo. I was sure that he’d fill it out well.
As I went to the bridal suite to join the rest of the women, I could practically feel the love in the air. It was part of being involved in the wedding of two people that were crazy about each other, but that kind of thing rubbed off on others.
I was definitely feeling giddy, and also hopeful about keeping Briggs in my life beyond this week. I wanted to make this fake romance the real thing.
CHAPTER14
Briggs
Ireally wanted to be present for this wedding, but my mind was over a thousand miles away—ever since I woke up this morning to the sound of my phone vibrating. Luckily, Sage was a heavy sleeper, so she didn’t even stir as I got out of bed and found the phone in my pants pocket.
It wasn’t good news.
Alyssa had been arrested last night. It turned out that my concerns about her sobriety were well-founded. She fell off the wagonagainand made the mistake of trying to buy heroin from an undercover cop. So, she was behind bars, and would be for a while. There was no way she’d be able to come up with bail when it was set.
Sam was with my parents. I knew he was safe with them, and probably didn’t even know what had happened to Alyssa yet, but my immediate instinct was to get to him. I’d even slipped out of Sage’s room and returned to my own to start packing.
But then I thought about Michael. I couldn’t bail on him, when he was counting on me to stand up at the altar next to him while he got married. Despite my urge to be with my son, I knew that a few hours wouldn’t make that big of a difference. So, I booked a flight right after the ceremony, letting Michael know that I wouldn’t be sticking around for the reception, and why.
I was standing near the altar, between the best man, Ben, and the other groomsman, Scott. I resisted the impulse to loosen my tie, not liking the way the itchy collar of the tuxedo felt against my skin. Suddenly, the music started playing and the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle.
When Sage appeared, she took my breath away. Her hair was half up, with white flowers at her crown, and the rest fell around her shoulders in big, bouncy curls. The lavender-colored dress was strapless and tight around her chest. It flowed like water to the floor, but each time she took a step with her right foot, I saw a flash of her leg because of the split in the side.
She was stunning.
Even when Faith appeared and the ceremony began, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sage. The vows and rings were being exchanged, but I couldn’t focus on that. My attraction to Sage had only strengthened since the first time I seen her singing karaoke. We had a bond now.
When the ceremony was done, and the couple were officially pronounced man and wife, we all walked back up the aisle. The happy couple were first, followed by the rest of us. We paired up as we walked. Ben was with the maid of honor, which meant that I was walking with Sage. I held my arm to her, and she took it, looking up at me through her long eyelashes.
“You look great today,” she said as we started to walk together.
“Funny, you took the words right out of my mouth.”
We’d reached the end of the aisle and everyone was heading to the reception area, but I pulled her aside. I needed to get going to catch my flight, but my plan was to tell her what was going on first.
“Listen, Sage. I need to talk to you about something.”