ChapterTwelve
Nine Months Earlier
Day 3: Operation Fake Relationship for Lena’s Wedding
Davis pulled at the jacket sleeves as he surveyed himself in the dressing room mirror on the men’s side of the upscale wedding boutique. The expensive suit looked all right. Marshall, Lena’s fiancé, wasn’t sparing any expense, even though it was his second wedding. Davis rolled his neck and yanked at the collar.
A three-thousand-dollar suit was the most expensive he’d ever worn, and yet it felt…wrong.
Tight.
The entire situation of faking a relationship to keep his real purpose in Kentucky a secret choked him. Shoot, his whole life didn’t fit him anymore. The more he tried to force himself into it, the more suffocated he felt.
He cleared his throat and closed his eyes, willing the anxiety that always buzzed along his skin to dissipate. It didn’t work … nothing ever worked. The nervous energy would build and build until it finally overloaded him, and he would explode.
Deep laughter and joking from Lena’s fiancé and others in the wedding party sounded from the opposite side of the thin door. The buzz skated up Davis’s neck and spread to his shoulders. Another breath in and slowly out. He would not ruin Lena’s wedding. She deserved this time to be full of happy memories, not worried that her friend, the one she was trusting to keep her stepson and sister safe, would blow.
The talking in the room shifted to calls of surprise. Davis snapped his eyes opened, his muscles tensing in anticipation of an attack. “Shhh,” sounded among the voices followed by quick rapping on his dressing room door.
“Davis, you decent?” Sunny asked, then whispered loudly to the others. “You didn’t just see me.”
He swung open the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She pushed her way in and slammed the door. “I’m hiding.”
The tension eased from his shoulders, and he leaned against the door. She held a to-go container with a large piece of cake in it. Her long, dark hair was haphazardly bundled in a knot on the top of her head. A gold dress draped over her tanned skin, making her look even more the goddess she normally was.
There was something about her that quieted the buzzing. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, even though he’d circled back to figuring her out repeatedly over the last three days they’d been in Kentucky together. He wanted to keep his distance, do the job, then get back to figuring out where he fit in with life. Yet, she kept leaning close, drawing him in, like they were co-conspirators or long-time friends, and he found himself not wanting to pull away.
She looked him up and down, patting his chest. “Nice. Not really you, but it’ll do.”
“What do you mean ‘not really me’?” His forehead furrowed as she dug a plastic fork into the cake.
“I don’t know. You just seem more the t-shirt and jeans type of guy. You know, more comfortable outside, working with your hands, than in a stuffy suit.” She took a big bite of the cake, her eyes rolling in her head with a groan. “Oh, man. You’ve got to try this.”
She forked him a bite and held it up to his lips. He held her gaze as he took the cake into his mouth. How could she think such a thing after barely knowing him? And why did her simple assessment of him fit better than any others he could come up with?
“Delicious, right?” She smiled up at him with an easy-going manner and something hard shifted inside him.
“Pretty good.” In truth, he hadn’t really tasted it.
“Sunniva Rebel, are you in here?” Sunny’s mom hollered into the room.
“Oh, nuts.” Sunny climbed onto the chair in the corner of the dressing room and ducked her head. “I’m not here.”
She wobbled, and Davis stepped close, placing his hand on her waist to steady her. She giggled, then pressed her lips together to keep quiet. Her effervescence bubbled over him, and he shrugged against the unfamiliar sensation.
“Why aren’t you here?” His whisper came out low and hoarse.
“I’m not trying on one more dress.” She braced her hand on his shoulder and leaned so her breath tickled her ear. “They always joke about Bridezilla, but Mom’s turned into Momzilla, and all her focus is on me today.”
“Why’s that?” Davis asked, looking up at Sunny.
“Who knows.” Her expression shifted, and the brightness shining from her dimmed. “Probably doesn’t think I’ll make the right choice…again.”
He didn’t like seeing her sadness. He doubted Sunny’s mom meant to single Sunny out. He’d overheard her talking to her husband about how she just wanted the wedding to be perfect for Lena. That didn’t mean her actions hadn’t hurt Sunny’s feelings.
“Don’t worry. You’re safe with me. Momzilla will never know you’re here.” He dropped his whisper even lower as Sunny’s mom started questioning the guys in the room.