“Not close up. I’ve been meaning to take a look.” We didn’t rush our steps. Instead, we took the long way around the large estate, circumventing the guest house and following the row of decorative trees between the property and Zeke’s mansion next door. Although, as I said to Claudia, “I guess technically, you all kind of own all of this land together in a way, don’t you?”
“Sort of. In our minds, yes. On paper, my mom owns this property and Zeke owns his. We’re just glad Jaxson will have so much space to play.” Claudia waved her arms, her gesture encompassing both properties.
I surveyed the proposed play area. Oh man, I would have loved to have all this to myself when I was a kid. I had a knack for finding little things in nature that amused me, and there were tons of trees to climb in search of insects, rocks to pile up, sticks to poke into the ground and other gold mines of fun for any child. “He sure is one lucky kid.”
Claudia smiled fondly. “I prefer to think that we’re two lucky parents. Anyway, Jaxson is the cutest boy on the face of the Earth, and I’m going to talk about him all day if you let me, so you better tell me what’s on your mind.”
“It’s about Nate again,” I admitted, suddenly realizing that every time I had seen Claudia recently had been either to talk about Nate or go somewhere Nate would be. “Sorry. I probably talk about him more than you talk about Jaxon.”
“Not possible,” Claudia said promptly. “Besides, you were always there for me when I needed advice about Zeke.”
“This isn’t like that, though!” I protested. “This isn’t relationship stuff, it’s business. Seriously,” I insisted, trying to wipe that knowing look off Claudia’s face.
“The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And actually, I think I might already know what you want to talk about,” Claudia admitted a little sheepishly.
I shot her a glance as I pushed aside a reaching sapling so I could pass. “Fake wedding?”
“Fake wedding,” Claudia confirmed. “Sorry. Maybe I should have given you some warning.”
“No,” I sighed. “It was better for Nate to be the first one to mention the idea to me. It was just so weird… kinda surreal, you know.”
“Well, yeah. It’s a strange and complicated situation. What did you tell him?” Claudia asked curiously. “Zeke told me about Nate’s problem a couple of weeks ago, but he didn’t tell me Nate actually had to go through with the wedding until right before Nate’s party.”
“Wait a minute,” I said slowly. “Was that whole party to butter me up so I would have a better chance of saying yes?”
Claudia shrugged mysteriously. “Not thewholeparty. I think. I don’t really know, actually. But I can tell you that Zeke and I both got drunk that night on purpose.” She winked at me. “Did it work?”
I opened my mouth, but I had to shut it again to make way for the parade of emotions and colors that flashed across my face.
“I thought so,” Claudia said gaily. “Certifiable wingwoman here.”
“Oh my gosh, shut up,” I laughed, kicking a fallen pine cone at my friend’s sneaker playfully. “Yes, it worked. I had a verysatisfyingevening… if you must know. But can we get back to this fake wedding thing?”
“Of course, of course,” Claudia promised. “Was Nate as good as you remembered?”
“Claudia!”
“Sorry. Fake wedding. Honestly, I think it’s a good idea… but I’m sure you’ve thought about it and you must have some doubts if you came over to talk to me. What are you thinking?”
Relieved to be on a less embarrassing subject, I voiced my doubts. “Weddings are supposed to be such a wonderful and personal event, and I feel like I would be making a mockery of it if I went through a fake one,” I said. “Not a mockery of weddings in general, but of my own dream for a wedding.”
“You’ve been to so many weddings, though,” Claudia pointed out. “This one isn’t so different. You’ll just be wearing the white dress instead of watching someone else wear it.” Seeing I still wasn’t convinced, Claudia changed tack. “Think of it as a big party. All your friends will know it’s not a real wedding. You will have to kiss Nate, though,” Claudia mused. “Although I’m assuming that won’t be a problem after Saturday night.”
“Oh. My. God. You are impossible,” I groaned. I forgot my annoyance when I saw the gazebo, though. Vines twisted through its wooden frame, flowers surrounded it and a set of lovely outdoor furniture sat tastefully in the center of the structure. “Oh, this is so nice!” I exclaimed, sitting on one of the chairs and rubbing the comfy cushions. “I might come out here to work sometimes.”
“Good luck with that. The internet doesn’t reach back here,” Claudia said regretfully. “Making your phone a hotspot is always an option, though.” Claudia slipped off her shoes and sat criss-cross on the other chair. “But seriously, I think this proposal of Nate’s will really help your business, and it might even be kind of fun. His boss is sure to give him some time after the wedding for a honeymoon, and it would be suspicious if he didn’t go, you know? So you would score business opportunities, a big party with all your friends and a honeymoon with a billionaire. I’m really not seeing the downside here.”
A honeymoon with Nate! I hadn’t even thought of that. Of course, that would be expected of us as newlyweds. Where would we go? Across the country? Around the world? I had to reach out and rein in my imagination. I had work to think of, so I couldn’t just fly off into the sunset for very long. Still, I was sure we could work something out - something that involved beautiful scenery, good food and a night or two of privacy for Nate and I to have a repeat of that delicious evening we spent together.
“That is tempting,” I admitted.
“Tempting? Go for it, girl!” Claudia urged. “This is a great opportunity, both business and personal. You’re into Nate, aren’t you? And he’s obviously into you. Just have your fake wedding and go on your luxurious honeymoon, already. You could even call it a date.”
Finally, the warring sides of my mind formed a truce, and it was the side that stood for the fake wedding that stood victorious. “Alright, you convinced me.” Claudia cheered and clapped as I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. “I’m going to call Nate right now and tell him.”
“I’d better stay a minute just to make sure you don’t change your mind,” Claudia giggled.
Usually, I saved eye-rolling for men, but I sent one Claudia’s way as I called Nate. “Hey, Nate,” I said, a little louder than necessary for Claudia’s benefit. “Hey, I thought about your proposal, and I think it’s a great idea and that it’ll benefit us both.” I met Claudia’s gaze, and she raised an eyebrow and gave me a little go-ahead gesture. “But I have a condition. If we’re going to get fake married, I want to go on a fake honeymoon, and I want us to call it a date.”
Nate’s laugh was deep even over the low-quality phone speaker. “Sure. But I have a condition for your condition. Will you go on a date with me next week? I already planned to ask you, but you beat me to it.”
I giggled too, partially at Nate’s words and partially as Claudia stood up, patted her hair, dusted off her hands and walked across the lawn toward the main house with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “Sure. How about Wednesday?”
“Wednesday is great. Dinner?”
“Dinner,” I confirmed, a little blown away by how easily we went through that whole exchange. It was like we never stopped dating at all. “Now, let’s talk about this wedding. I looked up the mansion your friend owns, and I love it - it’s absolutely beautiful. I already have so many ideas about how to dress it up for a wedding, and I’m thinking about the color schemes…”
I went on and on, and I knew I was dominating the conversation, but I was genuinely excited now. I loved my job, and now that I had let go of my worries and fears, the prospect of designing a wedding almost purely to my own desires and standards appealed to me immensely. For once, I had the chance to make my own vision come to life. I didn’t intend to waste this chance, and somehow, I didn’t mind that I would be sharing it with Nate.
