“You cannot be for real.”
“I’m very much for real.” He pushes some of Janelle’s tulle off his lap, and I hate myself for once again noticing how large his hands are, especially when he stands and offers one to help me up. “Let’s do this and get out of here.”
I scoff and burrow into the sofa. “I’d rather stay in this room all night than face them.”
“I can carry you out if it’s going to come to that.”
“Ooh, like a real bride!” Janelle squeals.
I glare at her. “Don’t you start.”
But I’m reminded of how easily he lifted me into his lap last night, and the warmth of mortification I’ve been feeling shifts into a different kind of heat. He could absolutely carry me out of here if he wanted. And I’d let him.
“Ugh, fine!” I shove up from the sofa before my brain can make an unwise decision. “Let’s get this over with. How do you want to explain this situation?”
“Like I said yesterday, we can stick as close to the truth as possible. We hit it off recently and decided to get married.”
I roll my eyes. He’s a fool to think anyone who knows us well is going to believe that half-assed story. “We need actualdetails. Like dates and a timeline and—”
The door swinging open cuts me off. And then I’m staring at my mom and dad.
“Estelle Margaux,” Mom thunders as she strides into the room, and I know by the names she’s used that I’m in big, big trouble. “What in theworldis going on?”
Dad is a half step behind her, ready to back her up if necessary. He knows she’s got this handled, though. She always does.
I try to answer, but everything I want to say gets stuck in my throat, leaving me opening and closing my mouth like a fish. It’s Janelle who breaks the silence with the rustle of her giant skirt as she picks it up.
“That’s my cue to leave,” she announces, marching to the door. “Love y’all. No murders allowed on my wedding day.”
When she’s gone, the door clicking closed behind her, there’s nothing left for me to do except swallow hard and say, “I’m not sure where to start.”
“You can start with how you’re apparentlymarriedand how your father and I had to find out through the grapevine instead of you telling us yourself.”
“So, about that…” I wet my lips, searching for the right answer. “It wasn’t—I didn’t—”
“I’m so sorry about the confusion, Mrs. Baldwin,” Thomas cuts in as I flounder. “Our nuptials happened a bit suddenly, and we didn’t want to take any attention away from Janelle and Ron today. We also didn’t expect the news to leak the way it did. Stella certainly wanted to tell you both as soon as possible.”
Mom’s sharp gaze snaps to Thomas, who’s moved up beside me. “And who exactly are you?” she asks, voice so chilly that I shiver.
He offers her an easy smile and his hand to shake. “Thomas Maxwell-Brown. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Finally?” Mom repeats, ignoring his outstretched hand. “Considering my daughter has never mentioned you, I can’t imagine you’ve been waitingthatlong.”
Thomas’s hand drops, confidence shaken. Can’t even blame him since that’s Mom’s specialty. “I—well—”
I snap out of my daze as he fights for a reply. We can’t both be flailing here. “We’ve known each other for ages,” I blurt. I’m not sure where the lie comes from, but now that it’s out, I can’t stop. “We met the same night that Janelle met Ron. He was there too. Isn’t that right, Tommy?”
Thomas shoots me an incredulous look, and I swear I see him mouthTommy?before he clears his throat and shifts his tight smile back to my parents. “That’s right,” he corroborates. “We’ve kept in contact ever since.” He stops, thinking for a moment before his eyes widen. “As friends, of course. I knew she was in a relationship. I never—I never interfered with that.”
I’m burning up as I nod along. “Yep, just friends! But then when everything with Étienne exploded, Thomas was kind enough to reach out to see how I was doing.” I glance up at him, hoping he can read the panic in my eyes and pick up this awful improv where I’ve left off.
“Mm-hmm.” The sound is incriminatingly high-pitched. “I wanted to make sure she was okay, especially after that little video of hers went viral.”
I let out a laugh that’s more of a groan, hating him for bringing that up. “He’s such a good guy,” I gush, grabbing his hand and squeezing hard. I’m vindicated when I feel him wince. “Wedecided to meet up in Vegas right before Janelle’s bachelorette party and realized just how much we clicked. It kind of felt like fate.”
Mom stares at us, bewildered. She’s the one fighting for words now, because there’s simplyno wayshe believes anything we’ve just said. And despite her sparkling career in the courtroom, she seems lost as to what to ask us next.
“And that led to you two getting hitched?” Dad asks for them both, squinting as he struggles to piece it all together. “Seriously?”
