Chapter 42
BODIE
I wanted to warn Lacey before she walked in on the spectacle Suzy had created in the sitting room. But unless I wanted to tempt fate and catch a glimpse of the wedding dress, I couldn’t very well get to her before she came downstairs. Which meant I was on my own with the taxidermist florist.
“What do you think?” Suzy stepped back to survey her handiwork.
Displays of silk flowers in every shape, size, and color rimmed the room. I shrugged. “Is this what you and Lacey talked about?”
“I did take some creative liberties.” She adjusted the ribbon stretching between two horseshoe-shaped floral arrangements. “I wanted to surprise her.”
“Oh, she’ll be surprised, all right.” I could absolutely positively guarantee that. I took a deep breath and headed back up the steps, hoping I could give Lacey a heads-up on the landing.
“I think it’s so romantic you’re wearing your mother’s wedding dress.” Samantha’s feet came into view through the ornate wooden railing, followed by Lacey’s heels.
“Thanks.” Lacey’s voice wavered, laced with emotion.
“Mind if we poke around the other rooms real quick before we head back downstairs?” Samantha moved down the hallway.
“Go ahead. I’m going to make sure the florist is set up.” Lacey made her way to the steps where I waited.
Her mother’s dress? She hadn’t told me she was going to wear her mother’s wedding dress.
Why the hell would she go and do a thing like that?
The gravity of what we were doing pressed down on me.
We might joke and smile and pretend that it was going to be a piece of cake—raspberries or not—to fake–tie the knot.
But I had to come clean with her. Tell her that real feelings were getting involved.
“Bodie?” Lacey met me on the landing. “What’s going on?”
I reached for her hand. “You’re wearing your mother’s dress?”
“Yeah.” She looked away, not willing or not able to meet my gaze. “It was free, and—”
“You don’t have to do this.” I put a finger under her chin, tipping her head up, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes glistened, shining with the threat of tears. “Oh hell, Sweets. We can stop. Just say the word and we’ll figure out another way.”
She wiped under her eyes, brushing off my concerns. “I have to see this through.”
“It’s not worth it.” I rubbed my palm over her arm. “Your mom’s dress? You need to save that for your real wedding. Don’t waste it on me.”
“Is that what I’m doing?” Her jaw set. “Wasting things on you?”
“No, I just mean—”
“I know what you mean. But I’ve got to finish what I started. Everyone’s depending on me. They need me to do this. My dad, the town.”
“What about you? What do you need?” I hadn’t planned on having this conversation. Not now, maybe not ever. Especially with a reporter and photographer roaming the floor above and a twisted kind of florist on the floor below.
“It doesn’t matter what I need.” Her eyes sparked. “Now, will you get downstairs and play the part of my loving fiancé so we can get this sham over with?” She brushed past me, heading toward the first floor.
I funneled my hands through my hair, wondering how I’d let it get to this. Why hadn’t I refused to go along with this crazy idea when she first brought it up?
Because I’d do anything she asked me. The realization coursed through me like a truth I’d always known and hadn’t been able to admit yet.
With Lacey, I was all in. Always had been.
I had to help her see this through. After the wedding, once things settled down, maybe then I could broach the topic of exploring the feelings I’d been having.
I almost laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Once I’d fake-married the woman I loved, maybe I could ask her out on a date.
“Bodie.” Lacey’s voice came from the lower level.
Suzy. Dammit. I hadn’t warned her about Suzy. Scrambling down the stairs, I steeled myself for her reaction. She stood facing the display Suzy had so carefully put together.
Hands on her hips, the toe of her sandal tapping on the refinished floorboards, Lacey turned to face me. “What are we going to do about this?”
I joined her, wrapping an arm around her waist to prevent her from launching herself at the colorful floral display.
“I wanted to incorporate everything we all love about Idont.” Suzy glanced over at us, a shy smile on her face. “I mean, Ido.”
“You’ve certainly done that.” Lacey’s voice came out an octave higher than usual. She moved into the room, fingering the petals on a cross-shaped standing display. “Is that a chipmunk?”
I glanced to the piece Lacey stared at. Some sort of furry creature tucked into the center of a heart-shaped wreath.
“Flying squirrel.” Suzy put her hands on her hips, beaming with pride. “Worked on that one myself.”
“We talked about tulips, Suzy.” Lacey rounded, her cheeks stained pink. “It’s a wedding.”
“A Texas-style wedding.” Suzy leaned over to grab a bouquet of flowers from the table. “Here’s your bridal bouquet.”
Lacey didn’t reach for it. As I waited to see what she would do next, I ran my gaze over the bright bouquet of flowers. Tulips of every color made up the large bouquet. Burlap and jute wrapped around the stems. That didn’t look so bad. Flowers were flowers, as far as I was concerned.
“Is that a spider in my flowers?” Lacey lowered her voice to a whisper. A pissed-off whisper.
“It’s just a tarantula. I put a scorpion over here. Wanted to reflect the area, you know.” Suzy offered the bouquet.
Lacey backed up, moving away from the flowers until she bumped into me. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. “I can’t believe what you’ve done with the place. You’re a miracle worker, that’s for sure.” Samantha’s feet appeared on the steps, followed by the photographer.
I wanted to pause time. I glanced back and forth from the horror on Lacey’s face to Suzy’s proud smile to the curious look on Samantha’s face as she came down the stairs.
“Is this your florist?” Samantha asked.
I glanced back to Lacey, whose shock had disappeared.
“Yes, she is. You’ll never find another one like her.” She smiled, took a step toward Suzy, and put an arm around her shoulders, propelling her forward.
I had to hand it to her—Lacey was a pro at masking her feelings.
She’d be able to convince anyone of anything she wanted.
It was a real skill. As Lacey chatted about how important it was to incorporate symbolism from the town and the region into our wedding, I considered what that might mean.
She could have been a professional actress with the way she could turn her feelings on and off.
Like a waterspout, she could turn on the tears and then, just as fast, she could switch to looking like the happiest woman in the world.
Or the most in love.
Panic clawed at my chest. What if that’s what she’d been doing with me? Two minutes ago I would have sworn on my own life that she had feelings for me. Feelings that went far beyond faking a wedding. Feelings that offered the possibility of a future.
But what if it was all fake? What if she’d been playing me just like she was playing the florist? Playing the reporter? Playing everyone in town?
“I’ve got to go.” I needed air. I needed space. I needed to put some distance between myself and Lacey.
“Everything okay?” Lacey reached out for me, concern evident in the crease between her brows.
“Got a lead on a case I’m working on.” I leaned forward, brushing my lips against her forehead. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
“You sure?” She pressed a palm to my chest.
“Yeah. I’ll talk to you in a bit.” I squeezed her hand, removing it from where it seared my skin, even through my shirt. “I’m sorry to cut out on you. Lacey’s better at answering any questions you have anyway.”
“Duty calls, we get it.” Samantha waved. “I’ll see you on the big day.”
The big day. I nodded. “See you then.”