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"Hire additional people. There’s no way you can get everything accomplished on your own with such tight deadlines."
"I don’t allow just anyone to work on my projects."
"Surely, you must have worked with reliable vendors in the past? Get more of them on board. God knows, I’m paying enough for the blasted event."
"If attending your own wedding is such a chore, why don’t you cancel it?"
"And rob you of the chance to stage the ‘wedding of the century’?" He smirks, then tilts his head. "Of course, we could elope—"
"Not a chance. The press and influencers are expecting exclusives. To cancel it at this stage would be disastrous and—"
His grin widens. I squeeze my lips together. Damn, I fell for his stupid-ass comments again.
"We’ll need to do another rehearsal."
Instantly, the smile is wiped off his face. "No bloody way."
"Yes, bloody way. There’s a new bride on the block, buster. Hence, we need to rehearse again."
He squares his shoulders. "No fucking way am I walking down an aisle again—unless it’s the actual aisle."
"And even then, it’s not the actual aisle," I mumble under my breath.
"What’s that?"
"Nothing." I cough. "It’s not recommended to go into the wedding cold, without rehearsing it at least once."
"I’ll take my chances."
7
Liam
"So let me get this right, you and Lila are not getting married, but you and" —my mother turns to my fake wife-to-be— "I’m sorry, what’s your name, dear?"
"Isla." She holds out her hand. "Isla Bailey."
"Isla." My mother shakes her hand briefly, then pulls back. “You and Isla are getting married?”
We’re seated at the dining table in my mother’s house.
"Lila and I decided we weren’t suited for each other, after all. Plus, as soon as I saw Isla, I knew she was the one," I murmur.
My mother frowns. "So, while you were still with Lila, you were attracted to Isla?"
I hesitate. "I never should have proposed to Lila. I was marrying her for all the wrong reasons. Luckily, Lila realized it first and called off the wedding."
My mother’s eyebrows shoot up.
"And you accepted it?"
"I knew she was right. It was the correct thing to do."
"Hmph." My mother firms her lips.
I asked Isla to join me tonight for dinner with my mother because I wanted to see how she would handle it. Also, I wanted to test her. I didn’t think the person who’d be on trial would be me. I forgot how smart my mother is. She may not interfere with my life, but she knows me well. She knows how I hate being told ‘no'. Seems I’m going to have to convince her it was all for a good reason.
I allow my expression to soften with what I hope is a sentiment as close to love as possible. "From the moment I set eyes on Isla, it was like a thunderbolt. Now I know what the poets meant and what the philosophers hinted at. For the first time, I understand what it means to wake up in the morning and think of another person before yourself. "
