Chapter Three
Vivien
“Oh my goodness, you are so pretty. Caleb is so insanely lucky,” Piper squeals, throwing her arms around me. I gasp, trying to catch my breath. “And your hair is truly red, so you must give him some real shit. Good for you.”
“Sweet girl, be nice and don’t make her run from my cousin. It’s the first time he’s had a girlfriend.”
“Look who’s teasing now,” I reply, sticking up for Caleb. He pulls me from Piper’s hold, and I press against his side. He squeezes me tightly around my waist so our bodies fit snugly against each other.
“Don’t listen to them, Viv.”
“It’s okay, Caleb. If she’s no longer interested, I’m totally single,” a handsome gentleman in the same shirt as Caleb says.
A low growl rips from Caleb. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll beat you to death and feed you to the sharks and use you as an experiment. Although they don’t like the taste of humans, the ones in the open ocean aren’t that picky.”
“Damn, chill. I was only goofing off.” He puts his palms up. Caleb relaxes for a moment. The man focuses on me again and adds, “I’m Ryder by the way.” He gives me a wink with a twist of his lips.
Caleb’s face hardens, but then Sam chuckles and says, “My cousin is a little crazy about his girl. I forgot to tell you guys, so it’s best you know to back off.” The groom claps Caleb’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze.
“I could use a drink,” I say. This is going to be one of the longest weeks of my life. I thought all the years of college finals were brutal, but I haven’t prepared for playing the role of a fake girlfriend before.
“Oh, me too,” a beautiful woman says. “I’m Cora.
I’ll be walking with Caleb. It’s nice to meet you.
” She sticks out her hand for me to shake, and to save face I do the same, but my jealousy is barely hidden under the surface.
She’s absolutely breathtaking, taller, slender, with perfectly tanned skin that has known the Florida sun, whereas my skin is used to the Midwest seasons and plenty of sunscreen.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” I look for Caleb over her shoulder, but he’s already a few feet away huddled with the guys.
His wide and genuine smile that rose to his eyes as he laughs with them.
The slight crinkles at the edge of his lips adding to the overall handsomeness of his chiseled jaw and rugged face.
“So you know the guys will be having the bachelor party tomorrow, and us girls will be hitting the club. Please tell me you’re coming,” the bride says.
“I don’t know. I’m not up to strip clubs or anything.” I’m not going to tell them that I’ve never been with or even seen a naked man.
“We’re not going to a strip club. Piper would freak, not to mention Sam might kill any man who dares take his clothes off for his wife. We’re going to a dance club.”
“Oh. Um, I suppose I could go.”
“That’s great,” Piper squeals and tugs on my arm.
“We need to get some lunch and do some shopping. Tell Caleb goodbye. It’s girls’ day.
” She waves at them, but Sam stops her and drops a deep, passionate kiss before pulling away.
I hold back the sadness that tears through me because I’d love for Caleb to give me the same growly, possessive kiss goodbye.
We shop for several hours, and I spend several hundred dollars that I hadn’t planned on spending. Still, when I get back to the hotel, I have a hot dress for the bachelorette party.
“Did you have fun today?” Caleb asks as I enter the hotel room. His voice is cold, indifferent as he reads something on his tablet.
“Yes, I did, but I’m so tired.” I excuse myself with a yawn and walk toward the bathroom.
Briefly his eyes meet mine and I wonder if he’s going to say something else. “Yeah, we should get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a busy day.” I suppose not. I nod and then close the door.