I shift my eyes to Hess, wanting to hear the answer too.
“No, we haven’t spoken since the night I ended things.”
Why does knowing that make me happy?
“Wow,” Landon says again, but this time, there’s some laughter with it. “I feel like I’m being punked right now.”
“Don’t we all?” I grumble.
“I didn’t even know marriage of convenience happens outside of green cards or fiction.” I appreciate that Landon ishaving a hard time with the news. It makes me think he’s not half-bad. Someone has to be the logical person in their relationship, because we all know Selena won’t be. Love her to death, but she’s all whimsical and carefree.
She grabs my hand, pulling me to a kitchen chair. “I guess this means you can’t keep telling me what a mistake I’m making by getting married so young.”
“I can assure you, all my beliefs about the downfalls of marriage are still intact.”
“Yeah, but now I don’t have to listen to you.”
“You already weren’t.”
“Yeah, but now Ireallydon’t have to listen to you.”
Exactly what I was afraid of.
After the initialshock and questions about our surprise marriage, we head out to the back patio. The sun just set, and the sky is a mixture of orange and navy blue. Hess lights the fire pit, though it’s hot enough outside that we don’t need it for heat, and brings out chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows for roasting.
Landon casually holds Selena’s hand as we chat around the fire about their wedding plans. And for the first time, I feel like I’m getting a chance to know him. He graduated in accounting with the intention of becoming the CFO of his father’s luxury real estate group. He hated being an only child and wants to have at least three children.TheLord of the Ringsis his favorite book, but he loves the movie version even more. He’s a self-proclaimed nerd, but not in a demeaning way. More like he’s proud he’s obsessed with line graphs and waterfall charts. But the most obvious thing is how much he adores my sister.
Every time Selena talks, his eyes light up. It’s as if his entire world stops when she looks at him, like he’s as surprised as the rest of us that a woman as incredible as Selena would love him.
I’ve always thought—maybe not said out loud, but I’ve thought—that if you’re going to get married, you should choose a soft, innocent guy. They’re the ones that won’t break your heart.
I think Selena has found one in Landon.
That doesn’t mean I think their marriage will automatically work out. It just means she did one thing right when it comes to chasing the elusive fairy tale.
When our stomachs are full from too many s’mores, Landon stands, pulling Selena to her feet, and wraps her in a hug. “We'd better get going. You have a big day of shopping tomorrow.”
“Shopping?” I stand too.
“Yeah!” Selena rests her head on the side of his shoulder. “Landon opened up an account at Heritage Home for me so I could get things for our new house.”
“The furniture store?” I clarify with a little dread.
“Yes, isn’t that exciting?”
“Actually—” I begin my speech about what a red flag furniture accounts are, but Hess stops me.
“That issoexciting.” He drapes his arm over my shoulder, pulling me to his side while squeezing my shoulder with his fingers. Then his eyes drop to mine. “Isn’t it, Camila?”
There’s a war happening inside, intensified by the hammering in my chest. My head demands I say something quippy that gets my point across about the dangers of opening furniture accounts, but my heart wants to sit in the feels of Hess’s arm around me. In this instant, my heart wins out. I’m sidetracked by his scent, his strength, and the warmth of his body. Everything about his closeness feels protective and masculine—things I typically don’t like but could easily melt into now.
The hesitation in my reply opens the door for Landon to speak as he leads the way to their car. “I’m just excited Selena can decorate the house how she wants.”
It feels weird to walk with Hess’s arm wrapped around my shoulder, so I wriggle out of his grasp, putting a good four feet between us. He laughs like he knows he affected me and then shoves his hands into his pockets.
Once by their car, Selena turns to face me with a big smile. “This night made me so happy. I’ve always wanted to go on a double date with you, and it was so fun to tell you about the wedding plans.”
I don’t have the heart to tell her this wasn’t a double date, more like a homework assignment from my marriage counselor, but regardless, I’m happy she’s not angry at me for lying to her about the marriage. If I were in her shoes, it would take years and a lot of therapy sessions to get over it. But that’s what’s so great about Selena—she only sees the best in people.
