A Wedding to Remember: Switched at Marriage Part 1 (7 page)

"It's a Pomsky!" Kayla's eyes lit up, like this was a most wonderful thing.

I loved her excitement about it.

"Oh, heavens!" Debbie didn't sound happy. "A Pomsky! You've
always
wanted one." She muttered something about underhanded dealings and tempting her daughter with a dog.

As if my billions had been nothing at all. Or my lovable, hot self. But the dog, she was the instrument of all temptation.

"She's incredibly cute," Kayla cooed to the dog, the way I wished she would coo to me, while she stroked Data's chin. "You'll love her. She's small, even for a Pomsky. Completely huggable. I think I'll put her in a purse." She grinned at me.

"You will not put her in a purse. She's not all
that
small. She's still growing. She'll get bigger," I whispered to Kayla. "The breeder assured me she'd be on the large side. For a Pomsky." I was defensive as hell. As if my manhood had been attacked. I'd really thought she'd be bigger.

Kayla raised an eyebrow and whispered back to me, "Size issues? Really?"

"Size matters," I muttered. I didn't want her thinking I didn't, cough, have a manly dog.

"We'll see you Friday," Debbie said.

K
ayla

I stared at Justin. "Impressive acting skills. Nice delivery on the professions of love. Even I almost believed them. My parents were fighting it, but I think they were a little taken in, too. Just don't overdo it. We don't want my parents loving you too much. Or things to have to go too sour in a year. We want an amicable divorce. That was the agreement.

"The less explaining we have to do then, the better. If a man loved me as much as you just professed to, why would I ever leave you? See my point?"

His face was a mask. "Sorry. I got caught up in the moment. I'm used to saying what I have to in order to get what I want. You learn a thing or two from running a business—mainly, tell your clients what they want to hear."

"You mean lie?" I pointed at him.

"Lie? Everything I said was the truth—I will be a good husband to you. For as long as we last."

I tilted my head and shook it. "And all that about love?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Just a stretch of the truth. My gut said to do this fake marriage."

"Whatever you say. But now that I've seen what a smooth liar you are, I'm not going to trust a thing that you say." I gave him a playful punch in the arm and hit rock-solid muscle.

Just then my phone buzzed in my hand. I glanced at the screen. "It's Britt! She's trying to FaceTime me. You remember Britt? My best friend? I have to get this. Just stay out of the picture." I handed him the dog and slid to the far side of the sofa away from him. I picked up the call with a smile plastered on my face.

Britt's face smiled back at me. "About time!" Excitement made her even more animated than usual. "How could you run off and get married without me! I can't believe you broke the deal we made when we were freshman. In high school. You remember the one—maids of honor at each other's weddings."

I grimaced. Guilty as charged. "Yeah, I know. Sorry. That was crappy of me. Things moved"—I slid a sideways look at Justin—"too fast to get you there in time. If it's any consolation, I missed you!"

"I certainly hope so! We didn't even get to do a wedding Pinterest board together." Britt studied me, looking like she was trying to figure out what to say. "Did you
really
marry geeky Justin Green?" She sounded more concerned than judgmental.

Beside me, Justin pointed to himself and whispered, "I'm right here. Let her know I'm here."

Out of view of the camera, I made a cutting motion, meaning for him to shut up.

"I knew you were upset about Eric moving in with Jessica. I can see how you'd want to spite him. But, Kay, you've dated some
really
hot guys. Including Eric. He was a douche, but he was still hot. Money aside, Justin Green? Really? That just doesn't seem like you. He's not your type." Her brow furrowed, like she was worried about me. "Do you love him?" She sounded as if she couldn't believe I did.

Justin slid up behind me and tried to get into the picture. I blocked him and scooted so he was out of the frame. I had to convince Britt that this sham marriage was what I wanted. Which wasn't easy. I hated lying to her.

"Of course I do!" In a platonic way. "He's…" I glanced at him again, trying to come up with some good points.

He looked too hopeful as he waited for me to rattle off his many wonderful attributes like a happy, besotted bride should. But I was still drawing a blank. He made that rolling motion with his hand that meant,
Get on with it
.

"He's hotter than he looked, Britt."

That got Justin to back off. He pulled back and grinned at me when I gave him a sidelong look. Then he did that peacock guy thing of making a muscle again.

"Hotter than he looks?" Britt's furrow deepened. "What is that supposed to mean? I was expecting something…a little less superficial."

I blushed and my heart raced. Sweet Britt. She always wanted the best for me. "Looked. Hotter than he
looked
. It means he's gotten hotter since college."

"Or you've gotten more desperate."

"He's definitely gotten hotter. You wouldn't recognize him now." Damn, I was going to have to work a makeover miracle now.

Justin tried to angle his way into the picture again. "Give her a chance to see my hotness." He tried to peek around my shoulder. When I wouldn't let him, he lifted the hair on the back of my neck and nuzzled his bearded face into it, tickling me.

I laughed involuntarily and scrunched my shoulders to fend him off. At the same time, my skin prickled with awareness of him.

"Is he there?" Britt gave me a dark look. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry. He's not
supposed
to be here." I glared at him and pushed him away.

He laughed in response.

"I heard that laughter. Put him on!" Britt pointed into the phone. "I want to see this hotter-than-he-looked billionaire husband of yours."

"He can't come to the phone right now."

"He's indisposed, is he? He's sitting right behind you. I got a glimpse of the top of his head."

"He can't come to the phone," I repeated.

She gave me her piercing, thin eyes. "Is he naked? Did I interrupt something?" She gave me a knowing, lewd look.

I sighed. "He's not naked. He's busy minding his own business." I brushed him away with my hand.

"He'd better not be too busy to meet me and the rest of the gang. Soon." She pointed into the phone again. "Hear that, Justin? I know you're listening. Put me on the calendar.

"And you." She pointed directly at me. "I'm going to get all the down and dirty details. When he isn't listening in." She laughed and glanced to the side suddenly. "Oh, crap! Here comes my boss. Gotta run. See you two glowing newlyweds soon. Newlyweds! That's so crazy." She shook her head and she was gone.

I turned and made thin eyes at Justin, imitating Britt. "What was that about? I told you to let me handle this."

"Henpecked already?" But he was grinning. "I did so well with your parents, I thought I'd help out with your friends." His eyes danced.

I couldn't help smiling. "You're enjoying this
way
too much. You must not get out much."

"A guy
should
enjoy his honeymoon."

I shook my head and laughed. "Honeymoon! Is that what this is?" Then I had a pang of anxiety. "Everyone will expect a honeymoon. Why aren't we on one?"

"Had to be postponed until after the latest bushfire with Flashionista."

"You have an answer for everything."

"This one's the truth. One thing you'll learn about me, Kayla. I'm a workaholic."

"So that's why you haven't found anyone to spend your money on before." I smiled back at him and assessed him. Could I really make him hot?

"Uh-oh!" he said.

"What?"

"You're biting your lip. You only bite your lip when you're thinking up some kind of trouble." He took a breath. "You did in college, anyway."

"The things you notice about me are so sweet." I studied him some more and reached out and stroked his beard. "Huh. Surprisingly soft."

"Does that mean I get to keep it?"

"Not a chance." I took a deep breath. "Grab your phone. Your parents are up next."

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, turned it on, and began typing, his thumbs flying.

"What are you doing?" I tried to peek at his phone.

"Telling my parents."

"You're texting them?" I couldn't believe him. "You can't text them news like this." I reached for his phone.

He was too quick. And I was too late. Damn those flying thumbs.

He hit send before I could stop him. "Done." His winning grin was cute, though.

His phone buzzed almost instantly. "Incoming! See? No problem. They're thrilled."

"Or royally angry."

He read the messages silently and smiled at me. "They're both out of the country on business. But even given the time zone differences, they responded immediately. Like I said. They're thrilled. They've heard the news. They appreciate me confirming the validity of the stories. And they send their congrats. They'll see us at the earliest convenience when they're both back in town."

"When will that be?"

He shrugged. "They're not around much. If we manage things right, we could conceivably go the entire year avoiding them." He grinned.

"You're evil."

"Only when I want to be."

"And now I see where you get your stunning social skills."

He looked a bit crestfallen.

"Sorry," I said. "That was mean. Every family has their own behavioral standards. Yours are just a bit…different from most people's." I took a deep breath. "Well, that went well, then, right?"

"It's pretty typical for them. They're used to me going my own way and doing what I want. They haven't been able to stop me since I was about two. We're grown people, Kay. We don't need our parents' approval."

"True," I said. "But I love my family. It makes life easier if they're happy for us."

I tapped the arm of the sofa. We had a lot to do and deal with. My com training was coming out. "Now that we've told our parents, we need to issue an official statement to get the press off our backs. After that, we both need to post the good news to our social media. It will look better for us if the official announcement comes first. Then my friends won't accuse me of making this up and faking it as a joke." I sighed. "This faking is exhausting."

"I don't want you worn out around me." Sweet sincerity, thy name is Justin. "Let's make a deal—you
never
fake things with me." His eyes were dark and serious.

"Never?"

"Not even once."

"May I remind you, never is a long time."

"Not an issue." He sounded too supremely confident.

Which got my hackles up. Me? Competitive? Never. Oh, wait. Never was a long time. "Not even to spare your feelings? Not even orgasms?"

His eyes lit up. Why did I insist on flirting with him? He was so easy to be around and joke with. And I think I wanted to see a hint of that old spark he'd had for me in college. Maybe it was cruel of me. Maybe I was a jealous bitch for not wanting men, him, to forget me. Or maybe I was just human.

"Especially not orgasms." Damn that sexy voice of his. He was flirting back. "If we ever sleep together"—he may as well have said
when
—"you won't have to fake it."

"Braggart. That's too bad. I do a mean
When Harry Met Sally
imitation. Want me to show you?" I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. "Oh, oh, oh—"

He covered my mouth with his hand. "No thank you."

I pushed his hand away. "Too bad." I laughed. "The neighbors will be expecting to hear those kinds of noises. That and bed thumping. We're supposed to be young, horny newlyweds."

"This place is sound insulated. The neighbors can't hear us."

"Again. Too bad." I Googled "sample wedding announcement wording. Celebrities."

Justin leaned over my shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Getting ideas for our announcement." I grimaced. "We love each other a lot so we finally tied the knot," I read aloud from a website that gave examples of wording. "Bad rhyming couplets. No." I shook my head and shuddered. "Just
no
."

"I like it." He nudged me with his shoulder. "It's cute. It's perfect. It's concise." He wiped a fake tear away. "It brings tears to the eyes."

I rolled my eyes. "It brings tears, all right. You'd better be teasing. If you aren't, I'm tearing up that document I just signed and the deal is off for lack of taste."

His answering laugh was deep and rich. Sexy the way it rolled up from deep inside him. I ignored the way the sound of it made me smile and began composing.

For Immediate Release

Billionaire entrepreneur Justin Green—

He was hanging on my shoulder, reading over it. "FYI. My middle name is…Arnold." Justin cleared his throat, obviously exaggerating his embarrassment.

"What?" I stared blankly at him.

"Are you going to make me say it again?" He sighed dramatically. "Arnold. My middle name is Arnold. Lame name, I know. I think my dad was a fan of the golfer. I was a tiny, sickly preemie. He didn't see me playing football, not even in the peewee league. He was hoping I could make it on the links." His last sentence was laced with innuendo.

What was a girl to do? I flirted back. Because it was safe and easy. And kept the tension at bay. "Can you…make it on the links?"

"I don't know. I haven't tried. We could try together."

I laughed. "That was the worst come-on in the history of come-ons."

He shrugged. "We're married now. The romance and the trying to impress is over, baby."

"That's what you think." I didn't know why I said that.

His eyes lit up.

I hadn't meant to give him false hope. "So? Can you? Golf?"

"Not well."

"Too bad. I'm pretty good, actually." I winked.

He cleared his throat and pointed to my phone, reverting to the original topic. "You saw my middle name on the marriage license. It probably just slipped your mind. People will be expecting you to know it. It's standard to put it in wedding announcements and invitations, isn't it?"