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“We decided not to make it a big thing since our history was so far behind us. And that was my first mistake.” His eyes drop to me now and the affectionate look on his face is so convincing even I believe it. “I should never have assumed that I wouldn’t immediately fall in love with Nora all over the second I saw her again. I should have been open with Nicole and the agency in anticipation of needing to spend the rest of my life with this woman.”
My lips part and I breathe deeply as my eyes search Derek’s face. He looks so genuine. So heartfelt. Why does it feel like he’s telling the truth right now?But no.That’s absurd. Just last night he was firingme. Wanting space from me. Hate or not, he didn’t want to spend another day in my company.
No one interrupts Derek. “When we were both honest with each other about our feelings, one thing led to another, and we decided we couldn’t go another hour without making it official. It’s not a fluke, or an accident, or something that’s going away. We are married now and not ashamed of it.”
Good lord above, what a convincing act.I try not to let my shoulders sag at that thought. Which, hello, is ridiculous because I don’t even want a relationship with Derek!Do I?Honestly, I’ve been so full steam ahead on my career that I haven’t even stopped to consider that maybe I am ready for the next phase of my life plan. Maybe I can balance all this time.
Ah.No. What’s happening to me? I can’t entertain the idea of a real relationship with Derek. When we talked everything out before this call, we decided we would stay married only long enough to settle everyone’s feathers and then quietly divorce and not make a big fuss. That it would be a marriage in name alone—and fake as the plastic plant in my office. (Real plants don’t grow in there from the lack of sun.)
Joseph sighs deeply and I’m on the edge of my seat for his answer. He opens his mouth to say goodness knows what after that epic speech from Derek, but Nicole finally breaks her silence and talks before he can.
“You know, Joseph, I was just thinking…” Her red lips tilt in the corner into the most conniving wonderful smirk I’ve ever seen. And if I’m not mistaken, there’s a sparkle of pride in her eyes too. This was the sort of plan she was hoping we’d make. “If this marriage is real and they plan on making it last for the long haul, this could be really good exposure for the agency.”
The crease between his brow craters. “Wejusthad a meeting about how big a problem this was going to be.”
“Yes, well, that was when we expected them to get the marriage annulled immediately. But a marriage based on love and commitment is a completely different story.”
My heart is on a white-water rapid. Am I losing my job or not? It sort of feels like not, but also like a very intricate web of lies is being strung out in front of me, and let me tell you, I am not good at lying.
Nicole steeples her fingers in front of her (her nails match her lipstick). “I say we get out in front of this and release a statement in support of their relationship immediately. No apologies. No hints of a mistake, because”—she pauses meaningfully and grins like a sly cat—“because this wasn’t one, as they’ve just confirmed.”
The odd thing is, something real and honest in me truly doesn’t think it was a mistake. And that’s got to be bad, right? In what world is something so messy a good decision?
“In fact,” Nicole continues, “I think I could pull some strings and turn this into something great if they’re up for it. I have a good friend atCelebrity Sparkmagazine who dies for stories like this. I say we put Derek and Mac on a plane tomorrow for…I don’t know, a resort on the beach somewhere to celebrate their honeymoon for a week or two,” she says flippantly. “We can letSparkcover the story of their whirlwind romance and direct the narrative in the direction we want it to go. A powerhouse couple or something.”
This time, my hand moves to Derek’s thigh that’s still paper-weighting mine, and I grip it out of terror. This is not good. Not good at all. Derek and I can’t go on a honeymoon. We’re not really married!Oh god, I’m committing fraud!Can I go to jail for this? Actually, I might be thinking of obtaining a green card. Different situation.
Derek’s hand covers mine, and we’re an absurd Jenga of limbs. He’s as relaxed as if we’re sitting in the movie theater watching acompletely fake scenario unfold that has nothing to do with our very real lives. Still, the warmth of his hand is reassuring.
“You really think this is a good idea, Nicole?” Joseph asks.
Nicole tips her eyebrows in amusement like she knows any idea she comes up with is gold. “It’s a fantastic one. I predict it will make a cover story forSpark,and even bring in new endorsement deals for Derek once it shifts the spotlight off his recovering injury and onto what a romantic he is—because the public loves nothing more than seeing a man devastatingly in love. Just ask my client Nathan. I had him and his now-wife Bree do something similar a few years ago and it brought loads of attention to him. And as for you, Mac, it could re-establish your professionalism before any unsavory narratives circulate about you. It’s a win-win for all of us.”
Derek was right. This is really going to work.
“Now the question is, Mac…are you okay with having a very publicized honeymoon? I don’t want to force something on you that you’re not comfortable with.”
I take exactly two seconds to respond. But you better believe that in those two seconds, I have entire days’ worth of overthinking. I stalk through a maze of possible solutions to get out of this mess and hit a dead end every time. I’m out of options.
If I want to keep my job, I have to stay married to my ex.
“I’m in! Let’s do this Hokey Pokey.” Everyone blinks at me. Everyone but Derek, who is staring down at my hand on his leg with a look I can’t decipher. “And by Hokey Pokey I mean please do contact your people atCelebrity Spark,and Derek and I will show up wherever they need us to.”
Nicole nods once. “Good. I’ll be in touch.”
She ends the meeting, and me andmy husbandare immediately swamped in overwhelming silence.
Buckle up, Nora, you’re going on a honeymoon with your ex.
As a pro athlete, I have punished my body plenty of times. I’ve pushed it to the brink of physical failure—including playing a game hours after a stomach flu. But I’m not sure I’ve ever felt as beat as I do now after waking up massively hungover, married to my ex, and then having to spend hours frantically shopping around Vegas because we didn’t pack enough clothes for a spontaneous honeymoon to Cancún, Mexico.
Nicole’s friends atSparkwere very excited about this scoop, and they said it would pair perfectly with a promotion they were already set to run with a ritzy resort.
The plan is for me and Nora to love each other all over this resort andSparkwill photograph it.Damn.That didn’t sound right. Essentially my and Nora’s honeymoon will be sponsored by Nirvana—anew luxury resort in Cancún. We’ll eat at their restaurant, lounge on their beach, swim in their pools, and do a few resort activities—basically, say cheese for ten days while wearing a bathing suit and then make it home a few days before training camp begins.
We landed around ninep.m.in Cancún after five hours of theworst turbulence I’ve ever experienced where neither one of us slept a wink and barely said two words to each other. And then there was gridlock traffic leaving the airport (because of course there would be traffic at ninep.m.on a Sunday night because that’s the way things go when you randomly wake up married one day to the person you were trying to never see again).
And to top it all off, Nora is being strange. Well, stranger than normal. She’s dancing around me like I’m a human grenade. However, to be fair, I can’t decide how to act around her either. What the hell are we now? And how are we going to survive for ten days like this?
