“Because deep down you knew he was a douchefucker, and you were never going to marry him.”
“Maybe. So let’s hear your guesses, ole wise one.”
“‘Happily ever after.’” He raised a brow in question.
“Nope. It’s cute but it’s overdone. Two more guesses.”
“‘Love never dies.’”
My head tipped back in a fit of laughter. “You don’t want to put ‘death’ and ‘dying’ in your wedding slogan.”
“Hmm ... one more guess.” He cleared his throat. “‘Forever with you.’”
“Damn you, St. James. You got one word.”
“Tell me.”
I sighed. “I don’t know why you even want to know.”
I suddenly felt self-conscious that I had a wedding song and wedding hashtag and no groom. How desperate was that? I’d picked both of them out a while ago, and it just felt like they fit the marriage I’d want to have someday.
And I’m a wedding planner, for God’s sake. This is what we do.
“Are you seriously going to weasel out of a bet? I thought you were a woman of your word.”
“I told you my name was ‘Dominique Venezuela’ when I met you,” I reminded him.
“Say it.”
“Why do you care?” I groaned.
“Montana, don’t make me force it out of you.” Before I could say another word, he had tipped me back on the floor and tickled me.
I hated being tickled.
I squirmed and laughed and shrieked. “Fine! I’ll tell you!”
He pulled back and reached for my hand, helping me sit forward. “That was ridiculous, by the way.” He added, “I’m waiting.”
“‘You, me, and forever.’” I tipped my chin up. It was a damn good saying, and one I wanted to embody in my future marriage with a man I’d never met.
“It’s better than I expected. A little corny, but I guess if you’re marrying someone, you’d be feeling corny.”
“Unless it was you, and then you’d be feeling horny.” I chuckled.
“Well played, Honey Badger.”
“So do you plan to be a bachelor for the rest of your life?” I asked, because there wasn’t anything we didn’t talk about anymore, and I wanted to know.
“Yes.” He set his brush down and leaned his back against the couch. “I had a horrible example, and statistically speaking, marriage is a bit of a crock.”
“You literally just insulted my entire livelihood.”
“I didn’t say weddings were a crock. I said marriage was.”
“Myles, that’s an ignorant statement.” I glared at him. “And you just invested in a wedding business.”
“Exactly. There’s a lot of money to be made there. Some people have two and three weddings. I’m investing in a booming business. People want to believe in fairy tales. I’m not investing in the success of the marriage. I’m investing in the fact that they’ll spend a shit ton of money on this one special day—regardless of the outcome, the math makes sense.”
