13. Sutton
Chapter thirteen
Sutton
“You ready?” Sebastian puts his SUV into park on the street in front of Wes and Hadley’s new house.
I swallow, my stomach doing somersaults.
It’s only been a little over forty-eight hours since Sebastian and I agreed to get married, we’ve already signed the paperwork his lawyer drew up for us, and now we’re about to tell everyone about said marriage.
I know this is for the best, and I also know that our friends won’t judge us, but that doesn’t make it feel any easier.
I rest a hand on my stomach, still unsure of whether I’m going to tell them I’m pregnant.
Probably better to wait until I’m past the first trimester, and besides, it’s not as though I’m really showing since I’m only ten-and-a-half-ish weeks along.
It mostly looks like I ate a big meal and am bloated.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Let’s do this.” I unbuckle my seat belt, open my door, and meet Sebastian in front of the car.
He holds out his hand, and I take it, tangling our fingers together. He squeezes it gently, giving me a small smile that says I’ve got you and you’re not alone. I swear my whole body tingles, and I can’t figure out if it’s from the contact, the silent support he’s offering, or pregnancy hormones.
“Finally,” Hadley announces, opening the door before we have a chance to knock. I have a feeling she was watching for us out the window. “I didn’t think you guys were ever going to come inside. What are you—oh, this is new.” Her eyes get wide, and I know she’s clocked us holding hands.
“Hi, Hads,” I say as we hug.
“Hiya, Hadley,” Sebastian says.
“Hey, guys.” Wes ambles over, wrapping his arm around Hadley and holding out his hand first to Sebastian then me.
“Come in. Come in.” He moves back, bringing Hadley with him, giving us room to walk inside their house.
“You’re the last to arrive.” He gestures for us to follow them farther into the house.
“No one’s making any bets are they?” Sebastian asks.
I dart a look at him, my eyebrows raised, but he simply shakes his head.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Wes says with a wink.
Yes, actually, I would.
When we step into the living room, we greet everyone with more hugs and handshakes. I peek in at Madison and Hunter’s son, Tate, who is fast asleep in the pack and play that’s set up in the corner.
“I just saw him, and he’s bigger already,” I tell Madison.
“I swear he’s going through a growth spurt. We had to put him in bigger clothes because the six-to-nine-month outfits were already too small,” she says.
“Little man’s growing up so fast. He’ll be skating before you know it,” Sebastian says.
Madison chuckles. “He’s not even walking yet. One thing at a time.”
Sebastian grins, shaking his head.
“So, what’s going on?” Holt asks.
I fiddle with one of my rings as our friends take seats on one of the couches or the floor then give us their full attention.
“We have something to tell you,” Sebastian says, coming to stand next to me. He squeezes my hand before focusing back on our friends. “But it can’t leave this room.” He pauses, for dramatic effect I guess, before saying, “We’re getting married.”
The room devolves into everyone talking at once.
“Hold up,” Hunter says, in what I imagine is his captain’s voice, putting his hand up, and the room goes silent. “What the actual fuck?”
“Language,” Becca hisses, pointedly looking over at Hazel who is climbing all over Wes.
“Sorry. What the heck, guys?” Hunter asks. “Care to explain?”
“Is this an elaborate joke?” Elias asks.
“It’s not real,” I blurt out. “I mean it’s real but not real.” I fidget from side to side, twisting my ring. Why did I think this was a good idea? My hands start sweating. What the fuck was I thinking? This is a crazy idea.
Sebastian puts his arm around me, squeezing gently, and the voices in my head quiet down.
“Sutton’s grandmother left her a large inheritance, but she needs to be married to claim it, and it’s got an expiration date, otherwise it goes to her father. Who’s a jack …” He pauses, glancing over at Hazel before saying, “Butt. So, I volunteered to help.”
“What can we do to help? What do you need from us?” Wes asks.
“Yeah, what can we do?” Hadley repeats.
I blink back tears. Of course our friends are supportive and willing to jump in and help.
“Thank you for the offer.” I look at each of them in turn. “We’re planning to get married over the break, but aside from that, we’re not sure. We wanted to do something small to make it believable, but nothing fancy.”
“I’d love to make you a cake,” Madison says.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to.” I shake my head. “I don’t want to put you out.”
“Please, you’re not putting me out. I haven’t been doing as much baking since Tate was born, my assistants do most of it now, so you’ll be doing me a favor and helping me scratch the itch of getting to create in the kitchen again.”
I chuckle. Can’t argue with that. Plus, all of Madison’s cakes look beautiful in the pictures I’ve seen, and from what I’ve been told, they taste just as good. “I’d like that,” I concede. “But only if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“I don’t,” Madison says.
“Good, that’s settled. What else?” Hadley asks.
“Do you know where you’re going to get married?” Wes asks.
I trade a glance with Sebastian. “We’re not sure.”
“You’re more than welcome to get married in our backyard,” Wes offers.
“Or ours,” Hunter says.
“Or ours,” Holt adds.
I smile. “Thank you.” I look over at Sebastian. “We’ll talk about it and let you know.” He nods.
“We’ll go shopping for a dress with you,” Becca says.
“Oh, that’s too much.” I wave her offer away. “I’m sure I have something in my closet I can wear. Besides, you all are busy.”
“I think you should take her up on the offer,” Sebastian says. “It’ll be more believable if, or should I say when, pictures get out.”
I bark out a laugh. “Believable? I think the most unbelievable thing is us getting married.”
He jerks backward, his smile faltering, and I take a step away from him. This was such a bad idea. Everyone is putting so much thought into it, and it’s fake. It’s too much.
“I’m sorry, I need a minute.” I don’t wait for an answer before bolting out of the room.
Sebastian finds me a few minutes later, standing in the kitchen staring out the window, watching Daisy, Wes and Hadley’s dog, lying in the sun.
“Hey, love. You alright?”
I shake my head. “This is completely ridiculous. No one’s going to believe it.”
He steps closer to me, opening his arms, and against my better judgment, I step into him and allow him to hold me. He runs a hand over my back, and I let out a shuddering breath. All the anxiety and nerves leave my body as he holds me.
“We only need your grandmother’s lawyer to believe it, and he doesn’t know us. He doesn’t know whether or not we’ve been dating for a while.”
“Everyone’s going along with this whole crazy thing.
They want to organize a wedding for us. I was going to wear a random dress from my closet, buy a cake and champagne from the grocery store, find a place we could rent, and ask our friends to just show up.
And now they want to go shopping for a dress for me, make us a cake, go all out. ” My voice pitches up at the end.
“If that’s not what you want, I’ll tell them no, but I think it could be fun to have a party with our friends. We haven’t had one of those in a while, not since Brody and Aubrey’s wedding.”
Part of the wall around my heart starts to crack at his words.
Hell, it already had cracks in it, they’re just getting bigger, and that’s scary as hell.
I shouldn’t want this with him as much as I’m realizing I do.
This marriage is fake. We’re helping each other out, as friends.
We can never be anything more. Especially since he might be leaving.
I chew on my bottom lip. This might be my one shot at getting married. Maybe I should make it the best it can be with such short notice.
“I think I want to do what they’re suggesting, have an actual wedding.” I peer up at him through my eyelashes, and I swear I see something flash through his eyes, but then it’s gone.
“I’m good with that, love. Whatever you want. If it gets to be too much, you tell me, and I’ll take care of it, of you.” The last part comes out in a whisper, and I wonder if I imagined it.
“Thank you. We should probably go back in there.” I step out of his arms, and he lets me go.
“One more thing.” He fishes in his pocket and takes out a small ring box. My breath catches as he opens it and turns it to me. “Will you marry me, Sutton St. James?”
“You shouldn’t have.” I gaze down at the princess cut diamond nestled in the box. It’s beautiful. It must have cost a fortune. But I can’t wear it. This is fake.
“But I did.”
He takes the ring out of the box and holds it out to me. Against my better judgment, I let him slip it onto my finger. It’s perfect, and it fits perfectly. How did he manage that? Because he sees you. He knows you.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you. I’ll keep it safe until this is over.”
“I trust you.” He leans over and kisses me on the forehead. “Come on, fiancée.”
He leads me back into the living room, where our friends are in full planning mode.
“So, what kind of dress were you thinking?” Madison asks me a few days later at lunch.
“Are we thinking traditional or nontraditional?” Becca asks, leaning forward.
I fiddle with my fork, pushing around the last of my pasta salad. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“I need the rest of the details. When Mads called me, she only told me we were going wedding dress shopping,” Aubrey says. Her husband, Brody, is one of the Storm’s assistant coaches and a former player who retired a few seasons back.
I fill them in on everything with the will, including how I’m going to inherit a hotel chain located in Florida.
“And your father wants the hotels?” Madison asks.