“It’s my money, I can spend it any way I want.”
“Are we about to have our first fight as a married couple?” I ask with a shaky laugh, still not convinced this is a good idea. Pretending to be married, well technically, we’re not pretending, but playing house with a guy like him is every girl’s dream. He might be closed off, might say the wrong things, but I am definitely not immune to his charm. This can go sideways on me so fast, go wrong in so many ways that I could lose something far more valuable than my trust fund if this goes off the rail.
“Come on,” he says, his voice softer. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right. We’re either all in or we’re not.”
“I guess I’m all in.”
“Okay, let’s get dressed, and go talk to the others. Then we’ll get you a proper ring.”
“Look at you, showing your true sides now that we’re married. If I’d known you were going to be such a bossy husband, I might not have married you,” I say and go perfectly still. Wow, I kind of like the sound of husband on my tongue.
He slaps my ass and I yelp. “Easy there, wife,” he says. “Or I’ll tie you up and show you just how bossy I can really be.”
I go still again and he laughs. “Oh my God, you like that idea.” I blink at him all innocent like. “I like you more by the minute, Kins,” he says and my stupid heart misses a beat.
“What’s not to like?” I say to cover that ridiculous emotional reaction. He smiles and is about to turn when I touch his arm. “Cason.”
“Yeah.” His eyes are warm as they narrow in on me.
“I really want to thank you for this. It means a lot.”
He makes a fist and nudges my chin. “Anything for a friend. Now come on. Let’s go shock our friends.”
We both dress and head down to the restaurant where we find everyone seated around a round table for brunch.
“About time you two got here. What’s been taking you so long?” Liam asks with a smirk and Cason rolls his eyes at his friend.
“If you want to know,” Cason says and pulls me in. “Kinsley and I got married last night.”
Gasps fill the room as all jaws drop to the table.
“Are you serious?” Nina, his sister says, as his best friend Cole opens and closes his mouth like he can’t find hi
s words.
Jules nudges Rider. “Catching the bridal bouquet works magic, huh?”
“Not really,” I say. “It was kind of a mistake.”
“Oh, another mistake,” Liam says and Cason casts him a glance that screams shut up all over it. I’m not sure what the two are talking about but when everyone around the two starts asking a million questions, I hold my hand up to quiet them and take a seat. Cason sits beside me and we flip over our coffee mugs. We stay quiet, keeping the gang in suspense as the server fills our cups and takes our orders.
“Spill already,” Nina says, leaning in all conspiratorial like, staring at her brother, her eyes big, like she’s eager to hear the details.
“Okay, we didn’t think it was real,” I begin.
“Elvis was performing on the street. Someone told us it was fake,” Cason adds. “Plus, there was tequila involved.”
“Lots of tequila,” I add.
“Yeah, I’m guessing you never would have done it otherwise,” Jonah, aka, the Body Checker pipes in, his wife Quinn smiling at us, like she knows a secret we don’t. Actually, many of our friends are giving us that same smile. What’s that all about?
“No, of course, we wouldn’t,” I say and Cason flinches, but when I angle my head his way, he’s seated and relaxed, sipping his coffee. I must have mistaken the flinch. He doesn’t want this to be real any more than I do. I mean, I don’t want it to be real, right?
Oh, crap.
“You’re getting it annulled then?” Cole asks.
“Not just yet,” Cason says. “We’re going to stay married for thirty days, I’m going to help Kinsley out with something personal, then after that, we’ll get it annulled.”