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“Ooh,Four Weddings,”Shelby said. “I loved that show.”
I nodded as we walked out from under the tent and over to the tables where Beau and I had talked that day. “That andSay Yes to the Dress.Man, I wish Aria was here, speaking of those wedding shows.”
“I guarantee shows like that were a big reason she got interested in weddings,” Layla agreed. Then she grabbed Shelby’s arm. “Wait, would it be weird to go over there and say hi to her?”
The three of us turned to look at the small, white cottage that sat tucked into the trees on the corner of the property. Aria had lived there for years since it provided easy access to the venue for work, and Will had moved in after they’d gotten married.
The cottage was dark except for a small light in the living room, but I knew she’d probably done that on purpose so her house didn’t attract attention or show up too obviously in the background of wedding photos. Just when I was about to look back at Layla, movement caught my eye from one of the windows.That little sneak was spying on the wedding.
“Doesn’t hurt to ask,” I said with a shrug, laughing to myself. “Anyone have their phones on them? We should make sure we won’t disturb Oliver.”
We all looked down at our gowns with no pockets, then back up at each other with a laugh.
Layla wagged her brows. “Let’s just sneak over there and tap on the window. Not loud enough to wake the baby or anything.”
Decision made, we linked arms and made our way down the cobblestone path that led to Aria’s cottage. When we reached it, Shelby slipped up the steps and tapped on the front window before dashing back to us.
A moment later, Will opened the door, brow furrowed in confusion until his gaze landed on us. A huge smile split his face, and he shook his head, calling softly over his shoulder, “You win.”
“Of course, I win,” Aria said as she appeared at the door and grinned down at us. “I bet him you’d come over and say hi, but he thought you’d worry about disturbing us.”
“Ha, like we care,” Layla shot back with a smirk. Then she wrinkled her nose. “We didn’t disturb the baby though, did we?”
“Nope, he’s fast asleep.” Aria stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to her husband’s cheek, then slipped out the door and waved us onto the porch. When we were all seated on her adorable vintage furniture, she clapped her hands together in front of her chest. “How’s it all going?”
“Oh, it’s a disaster,” Layla said.
“Yeah, total mess without you,” Shelby added.
I shook my head at them and squeezed her leg from my seat next to her. “It’s amazing, A. You should be really proud of the staff for doing such a great job without you.”
Aria’s eyes got a little misty, and she waved her hand in front of her face. “Ah, sorry. Hormones.”
We laughed, none of us knowing firsthand what that was like, but it made sense.
“So, you don’t have anything interesting to tell me?” she prompted, looking between us like she was almost disappointed to hear how smoothly the event was going.
Layla gave me a pointed look. “Lyndi? Anythinginterestingto tell her?”
I bit my lip. So far, since we were at the wedding and there could have been people listening, I hadn’t wanted to tell Layla and Shelby that my relationship with Beau was just a sham.
But I should, right? I mean, we couldn’t exactly lie to our people just because we were lying to my entire extended family and, well, his dad.
What would a romance heroine do? I thought back to all the fake dating books I’d read, trying to remember how many of them had told their besties and how many had kept it totally under wraps. And despite the fact that Iwasn’theroine material myself, that clarified it a lot.
“I’m pretending to date Beau,” I said in a rush, wincing at Layla’s shocked face. “I know, I know, I told you it was real. But it’s not. But I mean, technically, it’s not a Mr. Fake Date kinda thing, so it’s unofficial. But it’s fake either way.”
When I was done rambling, Layla adjusted the top of her wedding gown like she was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Then she shook her head. “No.”
“No?” I asked, blinking at her like she couldn’t have just said that.
“No. You’re not doing this.”
I looked at Aria and Shelby, but they only seemed to be on Layla’s wavelength, which I still hadn’t wrapped my head around.
“What do you mean, I’m not doing this? Why not?”
“Because you’ve been in love with that man for a year now, and I’m not going to let you fake date him. You’re going to gethurt, Lyn.”
