Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
If we cross that line, everything changes.
I couldn’t get Porter’s words out of my head. Everything had changed, but not in any tangible, measurable way. I felt different. When Porter had said that things would change, he meant we’d no longer be just friends. But I hadn’t realized that I’d change.
And I couldn’t even process the fact that he’d accepted me as his responsibility. I considered myself a strong, independent feminist of my generation, so why did my heart race and my breath catch when he’d said being with him meant I belonged to him. It was so caveman, it was ridiculous… but also hot as fuck.
What was even crazier was that I didn’t think this was just in-the-moment dirty talk. He actually believed it. This was part of the ancient male code Porter lived by.
I liked the feeling. Way too much. But these were the kinds of feelings that led to dangerous thoughts and daydreams. And when you were faking an engagement to your parents and eight million other strangers, the last thing you wanted to do was start believing your own lie .
Which was why I was hiding out at the corner coffee shop, watching the rain pour onto the pavement on the other side of the window. My phone startled me. I groaned when Mom’s face showed up on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Darling, where are you?”
“What do you mean? Did we have an appointment?”
“No, but I’m at your place right now with your betrothed and our wedding planner, and the blushing bride is nowhere in sight.”
What the living fuck.
And “my betrothed”? Who spoke like that?
“Don’t move.” I stood up, grabbing my bag. “I’ll be home in five minutes.”
Her voice sounded satisfied. “We’ll wait.”
I burst into the apartment and gawked at the intimate scene. On the couch, Mom and a petite Asian guy, who wore a lime green vest and matching bowtie, sandwiched Porter. A five-inch binder rested on Porter’s lap, and Mom and Bowtie leaned over his big arms as they all read together.
“Beth!” Mom didn’t hide her shock. “You look like a drowned rat.”
I didn’t doubt that. In New York, flagging a cab on a rainy day, was about as probable as winning the lottery. In my panic, I’d opted to jog through the rain. Now, my soggy ponytail stuck to the side of my neck, and I didn’t even want to see what my makeup looked like.
Porter evaluated me with interest. I couldn’t meet his gaze.
“What are y’all doing?” I tossed my jacket over a chair and stalked to the kitchen. I grabbed a clean tea towel to blot my face.
The three of them remained sitting and watched as I returned and stood in front of the couch .
“Darling, this is Roo, our wedding planner.” Mom patted his arm.
Roo offered me the top of his hand as if he wanted me to bend down and kiss it.
“Hey, Roo.” I awkwardly shook his limp hand. My eyes skidded over to Porter.
He looked miserable. Despite myself, laughter threatened to bubble out of me. I worked to remain composed. I needed to get this situation under control.
“Your fiancé is divine.” Roo grabbed my hand and studied the ring. “So is that ring.”
“Thank you.” I raised my eyebrows at Mom. “Would you mind coming and talking to me while I change?”
In the bedroom, I whipped off my wet shirt and dug through my dresser for something dry. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think we’re doing?”
“Mom, a wedding planner?”
“Do you really think that either of us can plan a wedding of this scale by ourselves?”
“This scale?”
“Darling, I’ve thrown some magnificent parties in my day, but a wedding of this magnitude is beyond even my capabilities. Roo is the best. He was part of the team that helped with the royal wedding. We’re lucky to get him at such short notice.”
I pulled a dry t-shirt over my head. “Royal wedding? Mom, come on. Porter and I are trying to get used to the idea of getting married. We want to take our time with this.” A long time. The longer I could delay setting the wedding date, the better off we’d all be.
“Beth,” her scandalized voice following me as I stepped into the bathroom. I winced at the mascara that smeared down my cheeks like sad clown make-up. “We don’t have time. Even Roo said he’d be challenged to plan a wedding of this size in twelve weeks.”
I pulled the towel down from my freshly washed face and stuck my head out the bathroom door. “Twelve weeks? ”
She had disappeared.
I stalked back to the living room. “Twelve weeks?” I put my hand on my hips. “Really?”
“It’s going to be perfect.” Mom looked at Roo, who nodded vigorously. “Plus that’s the only time we can book St. Basilla’s church. We lucked out due to a cancellation. That church is typically booked out two years.”
“Why do we need that particular church?”
“That’s the only traditional church that can accommodate eight hundred guests. Everything else is five hundred or less,” Roo explained.
“Eight hundred guests?” I turned to Mom. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Sweetheart, you’ve no idea how much stress Roo and I have had over the guest list. We were up all night. We culled over four hundred people from our original list, and it was agony.”
Eight hundred wedding guests.
“Porter and I want to have an extended engagement,” I said firmly.
“Porter already said we could proceed with that date, and Roo has already booked the church,” Mom pushed. “Now, sit down beside Porter. We have so many decisions we have to make.”
I cleared my throat and scorched my fake-betrothed with a look. “Sweetheart. Would you mind talking to me in the bedroom for a second?”
He unfolded himself from the couch quicker than I thought possible, handing Roo the binder. “Sure.”
The second the bedroom door shut, I turned to him and hissed, “Twelve weeks? Are you kidding?”
He put his hands on his hips and leaned towards me, equally emotional, “Have you met your mother? I’d rather negotiate with a Taliban terrorist than her. And don’t even get me started on Roo. The guy is like a dictator prince. ”
“But twelve weeks?”
He ran both hands through his hair. “You can change the date.”
“I tried, but you already agreed. You heard them. Roo already booked the church.”
“They ambushed me. I was in the shower when they came in. Not into your apartment either. Roo burst into the bathroom and started talking. What was I supposed to do?”
“You were supposed to hold the front.”
We glowered at each other. Why did he have to look so hot with his big shoulders and that sexy mouth? I remember what that mouth had done to me last night.
Fuck it.
I launched myself at him. He spun me around, pinning me against the door. I groaned as his lips captured mine.
“Sorry,” I moaned into his mouth, arching my back as his hands pushed up the back of my t-shirt.
“God, you taste as good as you look.” His hot mouth trailed down my neck. “Like rain and sex.”
“What are we going to do?” My fingers twisted into his thick, soft hair, and his hands reached under my butt, lifting me, so my legs were wrapped around his waist.
“We can fix this.” A big hand covered my breast, pinching my nipple through my bra.
“How?”
He ground me into the door. “I’ll tell your mom that we’re going to elope.”
I lifted my head. “You’d stand up to Mom for me?”
“Right now, you could get me to do pretty much anything.”
I laughed against his mouth. “Tell me you're sober.”
“Oh, I’m sober.”
Knock. Knock.
“Beth? Are you two finished talking in there? We have so much to get through,” Mom’s voice sounded on the other side of the door .
We froze
“Coming, Mom.” I slid out of his arms. “Are you ready?”
He winced and looked at the ceiling. “Give me a minute.”
I brushed my hair from my face. “Let’s go.”
He grabbed my hand and placed it on his monster hard-on that bulged in his jeans. “I don’t want to scare your mom.”