Page 44 of Bridesmaid By Chance
“Noooo,” he groans out, dragging his hands over his face. “You fucking idiot. Out of all the stupid things we have done collectively, you and me, this has got to be the cream of the crop, the most idiotic decision either one of us has ever made.”
“I know.” I hang my head. “For what it’s worth, I said no to her several times.”
“Oh wow. Should I tell the town crier? Throw you a fucking parade?” In a whisper-yell, he says, “Hear ye, hear ye, Hudson said no to her several times; let’s all praise his fortitude.”
“I don’t need your sarcasm right now.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t need your stupid-ass decisions right now. Christ, man. Why her? You know how protective Jude is. And he’s…he’s our brother-in-law, our business partner.”
“I know who he is, okay? It’s not like this is forever. It’s just until, well, until the property purchase is over.”
“Uh-huh.” He nods, his tongue poking at the side of his cheek. “And when Archie later invites you and the wife over for dinner, what are you going to do?”
“Pay her to come to dinner.”
“Jesus Christ.” He shakes his head and then stops. “Hold on. Did you pay her to be your wife?” I wince, and he shoots straight up from the table. “I…I can’t handle this.”
“Sit the fuck down,” I say through clenched teeth.
He sits and then practically lies across the table to get as close to me as possible. “You fucking paid her?”
“It was her idea. She needed the money to put a down payment on their house that they love, and she told me she would be the bridesmaid Sheridan needs and she would marry me. This was after I fired her of course.”
“You fired her?” Hardy’s eyes nearly pop out of his head before he sinks low in his chair. “This is too much. Way too fucking much. What the hell happened to you? You used to be smart.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” I twist my water glass on the table. “She slept at my place last night.”
“Of course she did, because might as well keep digging your grave deeper and deeper.”
“We didn’t do anything, but Frederick thought it would be best if we treated this whole thing like a real marriage, so he wrote it in the contract that she was supposed to live with me and treat me as a real husband.”
“That’s just great. Wonderful actually. So excited to see that you’re treating Jude’s baby sister like a mail-order bride because your lawyer told you to. This isn’t going to backfire at all.”
“It’ll be fine. And I’m making sure to treat her like my wife, with care and sensitivity. She’s going to live like a queen—anything she needs or wants, it’s hers.”
He studies me for a moment. “Are you looking for an award? Because you’re not going to get one from me. When Jude finds out, he’s not going to care about that shit.”
“He’s not going to find out,” I say, trying to convince myself as well. “As long as you don’t say anything to Haisley or Everly.”
“You think I’m going to keep this to myself? You’ve lost your fucking mind. No way I’m keeping this from Everly.”
“Hardy,” I say in a stern voice. “Jude and Haisley can’t find out. Which means you can’t tell Everly because she’ll tell Maggie, who will tell Brody,and that motherfucker can’t keep anything to himself. He’ll end up posting on his social media about it because he’s such an idiot.”
“I agree, Brody is an idiot, but dude, you’re leading in that category right now. The gold medalist with no one coming even close to challenging you.”
“I’m being serious. You can’t tell anyone. If this is going to work, we need to keep it sealed.”
“Then why the hell tell me?”
“Because I’m going to need to consult with you when I’m in London. You’re going to need to know that I’ve taken a wife.”
“Taken a wife? What are you living in, the 1800s?”
Exasperated, I say, “Please just tell me you’re not going to say anything to anyone.”
“I’m telling Everly, but I’ll swear her to secrecy. She’s good at keeping secrets. She didn’t tell me about the crush she had on me for a long time. So I know she can hold out.”
I roll my eyes and then point at him. “If this gets out, it’s on you.”
