Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
In all of the planning, I’d forgotten the most terrifying aspect.
I would have to tell Emma that I was getting married.
She and I didn’t see each other that much these days, considering she was working her ass off to be able to afford life just like I was, but we still called to catch up.
And I knew she was going to lose it when she heard I was getting married to a man who’d hurt me all of those years ago.
With shaky hands, I picked up my phone. Though we hadn’t hammered out the fine details, we did have a day in mind for the ceremony, and I knew I couldn’t delay this anymore.
Not without her coming and making a scene of it.
“Hey,” Emma said. She sounded like she was in a good mood. “Where’ve you been? I haven’t heard from you in way too long.”
“It’s only been a week.”
“Still, usually I’m the one doing something stupid and ghosting you while I do it.”
“I’m not immune from being stupid.”
“Oh yeah? Name one thing you’ve ever done that is worse than the time I accidentally flooded my apartment.”
“I actually have one,” I said with an awkward laugh. “I’m getting married in a week.”
“What?” Emma said. “Are you being serious?”
“Very.”
“How? Who? ”
“Levi Hensen. We reconnected recently.”
“You have to be pranking me right now because there is no way you’re marrying Levi Hensen .”
I closed my eyes. This was why I dreaded telling her. Rule number one of fake marriage was not to let too many people know it was fake. I loved my sister, but she wouldn’t hesitate to snap at Calvin about me marrying someone because he was such a bad brother, especially when he invited her to one of his bullshit parties.
I’d already taken a risk with telling Riley, but Lily had trusted her enough to tell her about her books recently, and no one knew.
Emma wasn’t like that.
I needed to do this without messing it up, and while I loved her, she was sometimes a loose cannon. Once it was over, she and I would have a laugh while I told her everything.
“They say love happens fast. And you know I’m a romantic.”
“Sure, but not a get-married-in-a-week kind of romantic.”
“I’ve been talking to Levi for a while, actually. We just decided to make it official for ... other reasons.”
Me not having money.
Levi hating Calvin.
Calvin trying to take the house again.
“Wait, you always have some secret guy you’re messaging. Was that Levi?”
Oh, God. V. It was wrong on so many levels to use him for this, but he was the out I needed.
V was not Levi, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t want to be associated with the guy who broke my heart, but I needed to cover my ass with my perceptive sister.
“Yeah, that was him.”
“Huh,” she said. “Did he apologize for that thing he did?”
No. “Yeah, of course he did. It was one of the first things we talked about.”
“So is this like a shotgun wedding because you’re pregnant or something?”
“No!” Being pregnant would have meant having sex, and I definitely didn’t need to be imagining sleeping with Levi. “We just didn’t want to wait any longer.”
“And where is this wedding?”
“At Gram’s house.” I said it without thinking and regretted it the second it came out of my mouth. I hadn’t talked to Levi about where we would get married, but he’d sent me a list of places he liked. And they were all way nicer than my house.
“Really?” she asked. “You did always want to have it in her backyard.”
“Yeah. And my future husband is supportive. Because why wouldn’t he be?”
“Exactly,” she said. “Are you sure about this? You sound ... weird.”
See? Too perceptive.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just stressed with wedding planning.”
“You could have given yourself more time.”
A half-strangled laugh escaped me. “Come on, it’s me we’re talking about.”
“Fair enough. Plus, I get to see Levi in person and be sure his intentions are pure. I’ll definitely be there.”
“Really? Can you get it off work?”
“Let me worry about that.”
“But you work retail.”
“And I can still take time off for my sister’s wedding. I’m not missing this.”
I winced. I had hoped she would.
“Is our family invited?”
“Calvin’s been an even bigger ass since he took over the company, so he isn’t invited, but Mom and Dad are.”
She hummed. “Good choice. I think Calvin shouldn’t be invited to most things.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but bit my tongue before the words could come out.
“Wait a second,” she said. “You’re being quiet. This is usually when you say he’s a part of the family.”
“I’m not his biggest fan right now, so I won’t be doing that today.”
“What did he do?”
“He fired me the day he became CEO.”
“ What? ”
“Yep. Same day and everything.”
“But it’s the family company.”
“Yep.”
“Dad gave you that job.”
“Apparently, he was in support of firing me too.”
“That dick . Wait—is this why you’re marrying Levi?”
“What? Why would I?—”
“Health insurance, Amy. Are you marrying him for the health insurance?”
“Well, yes.”
Mostly.
“That makes more sense. So you were seeing each other and this was the final straw?”
“Yep. That’s exactly what happened.”
“I get it. American healthcare is the reason a lot of people get married, actually. And you need it way more than others.”
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “I do. But can you keep the reason why I’m getting married out of it? The last thing I need is Mom and Dad telling Calvin.”
“I’ll try. Just keep me away from them at the wedding. Or maybe I’ll stay away on principle. Either one sounds fun.”
I rolled my eyes, but then they caught on movement outside. A car pulled into my driveway. It could have been someone turning around, but my house was too deep in the street for that.
I got up to look closer and recognized the car. It was Levi’s.
“I need to go,” I said. “My—” I nearly choked on the word. “—fiancé is arriving.”
“Don’t let me keep you,” she said. “Hope you get laid tonight.”
“ Emma! ”
“What? You deserve it! Have fun!” She was gone before I could sputter anything else.
Levi was now walking up the path, and I let out a groan and opened the door before he could knock. “What’re you doing here?”
“I didn’t even get a chance to knock.”
“I keep an eye on everything,” I said, crossing my arms. “Now, what do you need?”
“We have more wedding details to figure out,” he said. “Namely, the venue. And I brought dinner to hopefully get you to talk about them.”
I eyed the bag of food. “What did you bring?”
“Not hot chicken,” he said. “It’s just burgers from a food truck nearby.”
“That does sound good.” I opened the door wider. “Thank you for bringing food, by the way. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your message about the venues. We’ll figure it out tonight.”
“I can only hold off my mom and stepmom for so long,” he said as he walked in.
“It’s a bit messy,” I rushed to say as his eyes trailed over every inch of my space. It wasn’t that bad, but this would not be how I would let a visitor see it. I was already aware that the old yellow paint and scuffed-up floors didn’t make the house look the best, and the dishes on the dining room table and the notebooks filled with plans for the next week didn’t help.
This time, I also had wedding decorations scattered throughout the house. Lily had given them to me, and I’d put them in a pile and told myself I would deal with it later.
But this was home. My home, and I was defensive of it.
“Come on, it’s not that bad,” Levi said. “This feels more like a home than my apartment does.”
“Really?”
“There are some spaces that I can tell hold a lot of happy memories. This is one of them.”
“This isn’t even the best part,” I replied. “You should see the backyard.”
I grabbed a sweater hanging on the armrest of the couch and took him to the back deck.
The door squeaked open, revealing the huge backyard. With a flip of a switch, lights came on and illuminated the area. When I was a kid, I would pretend my wedding was happening out here, using a teddy bear as my groom.
Not as much had changed in my adult life as I had hoped it would.
“This is beautiful,” he said.
“It’s one of my favorite places. When Gram was alive, we’d have dinner out here when the weather was nice. I love it here more than my own room at my parents’ house. It’s why I ...” I trailed off.
“It’s why you can’t lose it.”
I looked at my feet and cleared my throat. “Exactly.”
“Then I’m going to make sure you never do.”
“It’s always a risk when I pissed off Calvin so much,” I said. “He got the house at first. I’ll never know why, but he did.”
“Were he and your grandmother close?”
“Not at all. They didn’t really talk much. He had Mom and Dad, and I had her. Maybe she regretted it in the end and wanted to give something to him.”
“He didn’t deserve it,” Levi said firmly.
I shrugged. “Still. It’s his. And if he finds out, he could take it.”
“You said you stole it from him. How?”
I perked up. “You remembered that?”
“It’s not every day someone says they stole a house.”
“It sounds cooler than it was.” I lowered my voice as if someone could overhear. “I found a different, older version of Gram’s will. It was written out that I would get the house and I . . . changed the date to be more recent.”
Levi stared at me for a long time before speaking. “That’s . . .”
“Terrible of me, I know.”
“No, smart of you. He wouldn’t have cared about the house.”
“Exactly,” I said.
“How long ago did you change the will?”
“Over two years now. He already took me to court for it.” And I had the bills to prove it. I didn’t know how I’d made it through probate court and won, but I didn’t want to question it.
“Then you have two things in your favor. He took you to court and you won, and the statute of limitations has expired. It’s two years.”
I wanted to be relieved, but I was sure Calvin knew all of this.
And now he was buying and demolishing houses in my neighborhood to get it anyway.
“He’ll find a way.”
“Asshole,” Levi muttered.
“Man, you still really hate the guy.”
“I have my reasons.”
“So do I, I suppose. Do you want to see the house he’s getting demolished? We can go out to the front.”
Getting away from the glow of the lights would be a good idea. I was connecting with Levi—which wouldn’t end well for me.
“I’ll see it later. I like talking here,” he said. “Besides, I have something I need to talk to you about. I checked my credit card statement?—”
My cheeks grew hot. “You told me to spend what I wanted.”
“And I haven’t seen you buy a dress yet. Only books and something from a thrift store.”
“My dress? I got it.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“It’s from the thrift store.”
Levi sighed. “I told you that you don’t have to cut costs.”
“I didn’t. Lily and I went to a really nice place, but none of the things there were me . The one I found is incredible.”
“And you’re sure it’s what you want?”
“Hang on, you’re grilling me because I didn’t spend more ?”
“You should use the benefits of this marriage to their fullest potential.”
“And I am. The pile of books on my bookshelf thanks you.”
“So, you’re happy?”
“Very.”
“Good. Because that’s all I want for you.”
My cheeks flushed and I hoped he didn’t notice in the dim lighting.
“You’re really good at this fake-husband thing,” I said with a laugh. “Did you take acting classes?”
“For ten years.”
“Really?”
“No,” he said as he chuckled. “I’m just doing what any man should do.”
“And yet a lot don’t.”
“I’m not most men,” he said. “I have no problem doing that.”
Wow. His acting made my chest way too warm. He had a very bad habit of turning my snark into a way that made me blush.
I needed to get down to business anyway.
“T-there was a reason I didn’t respond about the wedding venue,” I said.
“And what was it?”
“I want to have it here,” I replied. “In the backyard, actually. I could decorate it and make it really nice.”
His eyebrow raised and my heart skipped a beat. I wanted it here, so much so that I didn’t know what I would do if he said no.
“I’ve always pictured myself getting married here,” I rushed to explain, “and I can’t see myself doing this anywhere else. A-and it would make Calvin really mad. Like so mad that it’s here, since he lost out on it?—”
Levi’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Amy, breathe.”
“But—”
“We’ll have the wedding here.” The words came so easily, and my entire body loosened. “Whatever you want is what you’ll get. And if this is it, then nothing would make me happier.”
“I thought it would be too basic. You’re this rich guy with probably very nice taste, and I want to have a wedding in my backyard.”
“You forget that I like simpler things too. This is a gorgeous house and you’re lucky to have it.”
“Luck, and casual will forgery.”
“You worked for it and we’re going to enjoy it. The wedding is small anyway.”
“Good, then I guess we can go back inside and eat. I think my relief is making me hungry.”
“Before you go ...” His hand, which had still been on my shoulder, slid down to my elbow. “I have one other thing to do.”
“You do? And it can’t be done inside?”
“Not really. This is your favorite place, right?”
“It is.”
“Then indulge me for a second, okay?”
I nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box.
“Oh, is that?—”
His finger landed on my lips, stealing my question. “Remember what I said about indulging me?”
I nodded slowly and kept my mouth shut.
Levi’s eyes roamed over my face before he took a shaky breath. I opened my mouth to tell him he didn’t have to do whatever he was planning, but then he did something so shocking that I lost the ability to speak.
He got down on one knee and opened the box.
My heart stuttered and it felt like time slowed. The ethereal glow of the lights glittered both on the stunning ring and in the sea of his eyes.
“Amy Willard, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
In that second, it all felt real. This wasn’t a sham marriage—it was one between two people who wanted to be married. If I had been on the sidelines, I would be cheering us on.
But this was happening to me .
“W-why are you doing this?”
“You deserve a real proposal. No matter why we’re marrying.”
My throat closed up. He didn’t have to do this—coming all the way over here and asking me to marry him. He could have given me the ring on the day of the marriage and moved on.
Lines were blurring, and for a moment, I imagined this was a real proposal.
I could only nod, then he stood and slid the engagement ring onto my finger.
It was a perfect fit.
Looking up at him, his smile was soft. This felt romantic in a way nothing else had. That was the only explanation for what I did next.
I kissed him.
No one had ever applauded me for my good decisions, yet here I was on my tiptoes with my lips pressed against his. He didn’t move; he was completely stiff against me.
I pulled away with a sinking feeling in my gut.
“S-sorry,” I muttered. “I thought ... You said to indulge you.”
What had I been thinking? That this was real? That we could kiss and it’d be fine? That he wanted that sort of indulgence?
“I did say that.” His voice was low, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “And we need practice.”
“W-what?”
“For the wedding day. We want it to look natural.”
I had to clear my throat. “Yeah. We wouldn’t want anything to go wrong.”
His hand brushed the skin on my cheek. “Call me a perfectionist.”
I could only nod and pull away.
At least he wasn’t being rude about it.
Levi’s hand moved to my chin and made me look at him again. “The problem is ... I don’t think that was enough practice.”
I only had time to blink once in shock before his lips returned. At first, it was a light brush of a kiss, but then he pressed in harder. I sucked in a sharp breath when I finally returned the gesture.
He was just as incredible as he had been all of those years ago. Never staying still, his mouth worked against mine in a way I wanted in other places.
His hands moved to my hips and he pulled me close. The kiss could have lasted forever or for mere seconds. But just like when he’d been down on one knee proposing, time felt weird.
When he pulled away, his eyes were locked intensely on mine.
“Was that enough practice for you?”
I nodded, though my body begged for more.
I had just enough self-control to cut this now, it seemed. If I let it continue, then I’d take him to my room and let him do whatever he wanted to me, and that was a complication I didn’t need in this fake marriage.
As hard as it was, I needed to keep my head on straight.
His hand traced my cheek. “One thing’s for sure. We’ll have the perfect wedding kiss.”
Oh boy. I’m in more trouble than I thought.
“Yeah,” I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. “The line of people getting into marriages for revenge will be coming to us for advice.”
I stepped away to put some healthy distance between us.
“We should eat before the food gets colder than it already has.”
Levi gestured for me to go ahead, and I tried to calm down as we walked.
I’d just kissed Levi. For no reason. Sure, I could say it was practice. Maybe he thought it was. But the reality was that he’d done something so sweet and romantic that I did it because I wanted to.
And that wasn’t my best idea.
I mechanically sat at the table, grabbing the Styrofoam packaging and taking a bite. I didn’t even taste the food. I was too busy replaying the kisses over and over in my head.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be so quiet.” Levi’s voice was soft, and when I finally looked up, his eyes were firmly on me.
I didn’t want him to know how hard I was thinking about what had just happened, so it was time to divert. “As hard as it is to believe, I do think sometimes.”
“Why would that be hard to believe?”
“Just an observation people usually make. I can be a little impulsive.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not thinking about things. You do what you want. A lot of people have secret agendas. It’s nice that you don’t.”
Secret agendas. Like he had with Calvin? Sure, all of it was a secret. This was for revenge, after all. But he had to have other tricks up his sleeve, something he was going to do to make Calvin pay for what he’d done.
Levi always had in the past.
“You’re quiet again,” he commented.
“I have a lot on my mind,” I replied. At his raise of an eyebrow, I added, “Planning a wedding in only two weeks is a whirlwind. And on top of that, I told my sister today.”
“Was she mad?”
“Curious, but not mad. Why do you ask? Was your family angry?”
“They were.”
“That’ll be fun to deal with at the wedding. Hopefully, I can smooth it over and be normal enough?—”
“You don’t need to smooth anything over. The only reason they’re mad is because they didn’t get to meet you.”
“Meet me? Why would they be mad about that?”
“They care about me. A lot. Especially after ...” He trailed off and then shook his head. “I have a habit of making problems go away, and that includes any of mine. It drives them nuts. So when I suddenly announced that I have a fiancée, you can imagine how they reacted.”
“Well, it is sort of shocking. But at least they care about you.”
“I’m lucky to have them. And you will be too.”
“They’re only gonna know me for a little while. I’m not getting attached.”
“We have no idea how long this thing will go on for, and judging by what Calvin is trying to do with Leviathan, it might be?—”
“What’s Calvin doing to your company? Other than stealing doctors and the ads.”
Levi paused and his shoulders tensed. “It’s ... just that.”
“Hm, try again. I can tell when people are lying.”
“And I can tell that boring office talk doesn’t interest you.”
It was a good response, and if I hadn’t just reminded myself about his possible secret agenda, maybe I would have taken it.
But if I didn’t know how bad Calvin was making things for Levi, then I didn’t know how bad the revenge could be. Or how swept up into it I would be this time.
“Anyway,” he said pointedly, “I’m just trying to say that this doesn’t have an end date.”
“Nice diversion,” I replied. “Consider it a wedding gift that I don’t dig further.”
“That’s a nice gift.” He took another bite.
I did the same, but I knew I wouldn’t be letting this go. I wouldn’t be caught like I had been all of those years ago. I was going to figure out what was happening with his company.
And then I’d figure out just how hurt I would be in the end.
Levi left after we finished the food. Once I was alone, I pulled out my phone and tried to think of a way to connect with his coworkers.
I despised the idea of social media, but I despised getting the wool pulled over my eyes even more. I made a quick profile using an old picture I had on my phone, and then found Levi, then his coworkers. I sent a friend request to the first one I could find, which was Sally, and then leaned back on my couch.
A few minutes later, I got a message from V.
V
I’ve been a bad book club member. I haven’t read in a week.
Same. I can’t focus on it. At least our reading slumps are the same?
One of us can see the positives. How are you?
I tapped on my phone, unsure of how much detail I should go into.
Oh, you know. Making bad decisions one at a time.
Can they really be that bad?
I don’t see how they can be good. But I’m doing it anyway.
Does what you’re doing help you?
Yes. In the short-term. Maybe the long-term. It’s not that, honestly. It’s that I’m gonna get hurt in the end.
This could be the time it doesn’t end that way.
I wish. But no. It’s fine, though. I’ve dealt with it once and I can deal with it again.
The only thing you deserve to be dealing with is how good your life is. I’m sorry it hasn’t turned out that way.
It’s okay. At least I met you in the end.
And that was true. I had a friend. I had friends . Even if this thing with Levi blew up in my face, I’d have them.
I’m glad I met you too. I’ll try to talk to you more. I’m sorry I’ve been so MIA.
It’s really fine. I have been too. We’ll catch up on all of it once life slows down.
And I almost couldn’t wait for it. I wouldn’t miss being broke, but once this was over, maybe I should tell him we should meet in person. I may not know what he looked like, but I knew how he made me feel, and I wanted that in my life.
I needed it.
And the idea of finally getting to know my little pen pal made all of this just a little more worth the heartbreak.
Because when it all ended in fire and pain, I would finally invite V into my life.
Where he belonged.