7. James
JAMES
“Alexa, turn up the volume.”
The sound of classical music increased. It was a calming backdrop to a morning that didn’t feel calm at all.
As piano arpeggios played from the custom speakers overhead, James stepped into his walk-in closet.
It was a feature he’d scoffed at when he’d moved into the penthouse, but it had proven very useful.
The walls were hung with suits — gray suits and black ones, tuxedos and casual numbers.
James owned other clothes, of course, from the shorts and T-shirts he wore to the gym to the slacks and collared shirts he wore on informal occasions.
He didn’t own a single sweatshirt or pair of jeans, though.
From a young age, he’d been taught to look put-together all the time, a lesson he’d carried with him through thirty-four years of life.
Today, only the suits mattered. He brushed through a few of his business suits before settling on the small section of suits he wore to cocktail parties and weddings. Weddings. The word made his stomach flip with nerves, because he’d be attending a wedding today.
His wedding.
It was all fake, of course. As he and Lauren had emailed back and forth, agreeing on a time for the ceremony and filling out the online paperwork, he’d managed to convince himself that the “wedding” didn’t matter at all.
But now that the morning of the ceremony had arrived, he couldn’t keep up the lies any longer.
This wedding did matter. It would change his life in ways he couldn’t yet predict or understand.
He wasn’t in love with Lauren. Of course not. But this day signaled a huge change in James’s life. An irrevocable one. After today, nothing would be the same.
The music built to a crescendo as James pulled a tailored suit out of the closet.
It was formal enough that he wouldn’t embarrass himself or Lauren, but not so formal that it would look like he was taking this too seriously.
He didn’t want Lauren to think he cared about this wedding, but he didn’t want her to think that he didn’t care, either.
“Get a grip,” James said out loud. He’d never worried this much about an outfit before. He felt like a tween preparing for a date at the mall. If his father could see him now, he’d scoff and roll his eyes. Or, worse, he’d just walk away, cold disdain in his eyes.
James got dressed, did his hair, and surveyed himself in the mirror. He looked like he always did, with his short brown hair combed into place, his brown eyes serious, and his clothes perfectly fitted. He didn’t feel the same, though.
After today, Lauren would be living with him.
Lauren, with her faint cinnamon-y scent.
Lauren, with her long curly hair that would probably catch on the back of the sofa or drift into his bedroom on an air current.
Lauren, with those blue eyes that sparkled and shone whenever she teased him.
Lauren, with her spirit and her dedication and her amazing ability to overcome any odds. Lauren, his rival. Lauren, his wife.
James had lived alone for the past fifteen years, ever since he’d gotten a single on the college campus instead of opting for a roommate.
He liked his space. He liked being able to do what he wanted.
He liked spending hours working, and he liked rarely sitting down for a meal, unless he was with a client.
What if Lauren disrupted the careful life he’d built for himself?
Hopefully, they’d both keep to themselves and follow the letter of their agreement. Even as James thought that, though, he knew he wasn’t being fully honest with himself. Part of him wanted things to change. If he didn’t, he’d never have asked Lauren to marry him.
James headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
His kitchen, like the rest of his house, was sleek and unadorned.
The countertops were gray granite. The cupboards were off-white.
When a repairman had come to fix James’s air conditioner, he’d asked if James had just moved in and hadn’t bought furniture yet.
James had been living there for five years at the time.
What if Lauren tried to change things? What if she brought in throw pillows or hung art? It wouldn’t take much before this apartment didn’t feel like his anymore.
James sighed. He was worrying way too much about something that hadn’t even happened yet.
He washed his mug and checked the clock.
It was ten in the morning. He’d been up for four hours, working out, doing a final tidy of Lauren’s room and office, then agonizing over his suit selection.
It was still a little too early to go to city hall for his eleven o’clock appointment, but he couldn’t stand waiting any longer.
James drove himself. Many people with as much money as he had hired drivers, but he never used one. He enjoyed the quiet and the feeling of control he got from being the one behind the wheel. It was one of the few times during his day that everything really felt under his control.
The drive to city hall didn’t take long. He passed wide roads lined with palm trees and caught sight of the beach from the top of a hill before descending into San Valentino proper. Some traffic slowed him down, but he still parked in the lot just after ten thirty.
San Valentino city hall had only been built fifty years ago, but it looked as historic and imposing as the Colosseum in Rome.
Since the town catered mostly to the very wealthy, it had enough money for regular renovations and upkeep.
The building was several stories tall, bracketed by columns (as many buildings in San Valentino were), and made from white marble that gleamed in the sunlight.
James strode up the steps and into the entryway, where he followed signs to the marriage registration office.
To his surprise, Lauren was already there.
She was sitting on a bench outside beneath a painting of a field of flowers, holding a folder on her lap.
When she saw James, she stood, setting the folder on the bench, and James’s jaw dropped.
Lauren was wearing white. Not a poofy, over-the-top wedding dress with a train, but a gorgeous lacy number that bared her shoulders, hugged her waist, and fell to her knees.
Her blond curls were pulled back in front by ornate silver clips and spilled over her shoulders, swaying as she moved.
She wore light makeup, just enough to enhance her natural beauty, and silver earrings.
Before, he’d always seen her in business attire.
Seeing her like this took his breath away.
She was, in a word, bridal. Gorgeous, too.
“Lauren,” he said, and her name came out like an incantation. “You look…” He trailed off. This arrangement was difficult enough without him calling her beautiful. “Nice.”
“Thanks.” Lauren blushed and looked down. “You do, too. I know this isn’t a real wedding, but I figured I should wear white anyway. You know, for the pictures.”
“Good call,” James agreed. He found himself suddenly unsure what to say. When he met Lauren, business rival, it was easy to banter with her. Now, face-to-face with Lauren, his bride, he was at a loss.
“Did you take the day off work?” Lauren asked.
“I did.”
“Good.” She grinned. “I didn’t. I did a full day of work before this. I’m happy to know I’m ahead.” She flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder in a familiar gesture.
With that, the interaction gained some sense of normalcy. “See, I thought the polite thing to do was to take a little time off. I suppose they don’t teach manners in Canada.”
“Usually, you tease me for being too polite because I’m from Canada. Now you’re saying I’m not polite enough?” She shook her head, her curls brushing her shoulders. “You’re slipping, Pembrook. You must be worried about today.”
James frowned. “Pembrook. That reminds me. Are you taking my name?”
Lauren snorted. “No way. I’m a Maddox for life, thank you very much.”
“Fine.” James raised his hands in surrender. “Forgive me for trying to make this believable.”
“Then you’ll have to forgive me for not being from the 1950s.” Lauren grinned, drawing James’s gaze to her pink lips. He quickly looked away. Seeing her like this was really messing with his head. They needed to get the ceremony over with as soon as possible so things could go back to normal.
Or, as normal as they could be when the two of them were legally married.
“Should we go see if the officiant can start early?” Lauren asked. She must be just as eager to get this over with as he was.
They registered with the receptionist, who said it would be just a few minutes.
They sat side by side in awkward silence until they both got out their phones.
James tried to distract himself with work emails and avoid feeling Lauren’s shoulder brush his on the narrow bench or smell the faint cinnamon scent when she moved.
Eventually, the door opened, and the officiant beckoned them into her office.
“Welcome.” She spoke dryly, as though she worked at the DMV instead of a marriage office. “I’m Justice Kowalski. Please have a seat.”
Exchanging glances, James and Lauren sat across the desk from her.
“City law requires you to have two witnesses,” Justice Kowalski continued in the same monotone. “I see you’ve indicated that the city should provide these witnesses. Is that the case?”
Lauren and James nodded.
“Very well. The two witnesses are here.” She gestured to a man and a woman sitting by the wall, who nodded.
James nodded back. He couldn’t help feeling that this would be a very disappointing place to get married for anyone who cared about that kind of thing.
The office was sparse and smelled faintly of menthol, the air was stuffy, and the justice clearly wasn’t very engaged.
At least this was all fake, so none of that mattered.
“Would you like the witnesses to take photos?” the justice asked.
“Yes, please.” There was a momentary pause in which James and Lauren handed their phones to the witnesses.
“Now I’ll need some signatures,” Justice Kowalski continued. She pushed two papers across the table and indicated where James and Lauren should sign. They did as they were asked. Next, the witnesses signed.
“All your paperwork seems to be in order,” Justice Kowalski continued dryly. “I’ll just run through the ceremony. James Pembrook, do you take Lauren Maddox to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”
The words struck James in a way he hadn’t expected. This all felt very real, all of a sudden. He glanced at Lauren, who looked at him with wide eyes. No matter how overwhelmed he felt, he couldn’t back out. Lauren needed his help, and he wasn’t about to admit to her that he was nervous.
“I do.”
“Lauren Maddox, do you take James Pembrook to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” Lauren agreed. She didn’t hesitate. There wasn’t even a hint of nerves in her calm tone.
“Very well,” Justice Kowalski intoned. “Do you have rings?”
Lauren’s eyes widened, but James pulled a velvet bag out of his suit pocket. “We do.”
“You may exchange them.”
James slipped the thin silver band onto Lauren’s finger.
His stomach flipped at the sight of the ring.
It had belonged to his mother long ago. The ring fit perfectly on Lauren’s slim finger.
Next, he handed her his ring, which she slipped onto his finger.
Her fingertips brushed the palm of his hand, cool and gentle.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. Pembrook, you may kiss the bride.”
James stiffened. He glanced at Lauren, who looked stiff, too. She didn’t meet his eyes. The calm she’d exuded until now was gone, and she seemed just as nervous as he was.
James should have seen this coming. Of course they were going to be asked to kiss as part of the ceremony. If they didn’t, it would look incredibly suspicious, and their marriage would be under scrutiny before it began. Yet he couldn’t kiss Lauren when she looked so worried.
“Lauren,” he said. She met his gaze and smiled slightly. Then she nodded. It was her silent agreement that this was okay.
“You may kiss the bride,” Justice Kowalski repeated, sounding a little annoyed now. James stood and held out his hand to Lauren, who took it. Her hand was small and warm in his. She stood, too, and faced him.
They were only inches apart. With her heels on, she was only a bit shorter than he was, but she was still forced to look up at him through her lashes. Her cheeks were pink, though whether that was embarrassment or makeup, James didn’t know.
Slowly, he bent down. He could almost hear his own heartbeat. He could almost hear Lauren’s.
She tilted her head back, and their lips brushed. They kissed for no more than a fraction of a second, a heartbeat, but it sent warmth spilling through James’s body. It barely counted as a kiss. It left him wanting more.
In that moment, he couldn’t deny that he hadn’t asked Lauren to marry him out of the goodness of his heart, or because he wanted to keep her as a rival. It had also been because he found her fascinating. He wanted her in his life in some way, even if this wasn’t quite the way he would have picked.
Then they broke apart, and James pushed that realization out of his mind. He needed to keep a professional distance between them, for both of their sakes. There was no other option. Lauren looked down, her hands dropping from his, as the justice sighed.
Just like that, they were married.