The Wedding Agreement (6 page)

Launch

“We don't
need
to get you a ring, you know?” As they walked through the parking lot, Alex kept his eyes fixed on the jewelry store ahead of them. It was the third one they'd gone to that afternoon. “It's a waste of your money. We've been to two other stores, and neither of them had one that looked like Quinn's for a reasonable price. Besides, Nina and Tessa are the only ones who don't know we're not really engaged. One's too immature to care about your ring, and the other one is seven years old.”

Cass laughed. “I think you're underestimating both of them. If I don't have a ring, none of this will be believable. We're planning a fake wedding; it has to seem realistic.”

Rolling his eyes at the irony of her comment, Alex held the thick glass door open for Cass so she could step inside. “Do you ever say things silently to yourself before you say them aloud?”

Cass whipped her head back toward him and shot Alex a smart-ass grin. “Chances are, we wouldn't be here if the answer to that question was yes.”

“Is there anything I can help you folks with?” Alex looked to his left to see a tall, thin, middle-aged man come out from behind the counter to approach them. “I'm Cameron,” he said, extending his hand toward Alex.

“Alex Walker,” he replied. “And this is my”—Alex clenched his teeth before speaking—“fiancée, Cassidy.”

Cass reached out to shake hands with Cameron. “I actually prefer Cass.”

“And I prefer Cassidy,” Alex said. After two hours of unsuccessful jewelry shopping, he couldn't help but find something to entertain himself with. “It's much more . . . classy.” Alex threw an arm around her. “Don't you think, honey?”

Cass plastered on a smile, which Alex was sure was as fake as their engagement. “Sure. Whatever you prefer. I aim to please.”

“Oh, that you do.” Then Alex turned to Cameron and chuckled, tapping his hand against the man's arm. “You know what I mean?”

Cass glared at Alex, putting a hand around his forearm. “Stop that, darling,” she said sweetly, her grip beginning to tighten. “You're embarrassing me.” Then she turned back toward Cameron, who had been looking nervously between the two of them. “We'd like to see some engagement rings.”

“Of course. Right this way,” Cameron said, as he led them past the cases full of watches.

“See, when Alex here proposed to me, he neglected to purchase a very important piece of jewelry first,” she added, narrowing her eyes at Alex playfully.

Cameron stepped behind one of the cases and
gestured to the rings inside. “That's actually more common than people think. A lot of men don't know what type of ring to get, so they propose first and then bring their fiancées in to look at rings. That way the woman gets what she likes, and the proposal still stays a surprise.”

Alex stole a quick glance at Cass, who was already focused on the jewelry. “Oh, it was a surprise, all right,” Alex said.

Cameron smiled. “Oh yeah? I love hearing great proposal stories. What'd you do?”

Cass propped an elbow on the counter and rested her chin on her hand as she looked to Alex with rapt attention. “Yeah, Alex. Tell him what you did.”

Alex swallowed hard, searching his brain for a creative idea. When he didn't come up with anything, he turned toward Cass, who was waiting for him to speak. “I think it's better coming from you, Cassidy. You're always such a great storyteller.” Alex wrapped his arm around her and squeezed, placing a soft peck on her forehead. “Why don't you tell it?”

Cass blew out a sharp breath that resembled a laugh and smiled. “Gladly.”

Cameron straightened, clearly expecting to be impressed. He probably heard about romantic proposals all the time. And now Cass would be forced to create one on the spot. Alex was going to enjoy watching her squirm as she tried to come up with a story worthy of Cameron's interest.

“Alex doesn't like to tell it himself because he doesn't like being the center of attention,” she began. Cameron smiled genuinely. “The first time I met Alex was when he plowed into me from behind.”

Alex nearly choked on a breath.
What the hell?

The corner of Cass' mouth turned up into a small
grin. “I was sitting at a red light, waiting for it to turn green.”

Oh, thank God she meant a car accident.

“Next thing you know, my face was smashing into the airbag,” Cass continued. “And glass was everywhere—in my hair, on my arms and chest. I met Alex after both of us were taken to the hospital. It was love at first sight. And that's where he proposed to me three years later.”

“It's true,” Alex said, shrugging. Though the story made him seem like a complete dick, it could have been worse. He shook his head slowly and put a hand on Cass' as he tried to look remorseful.

“That's horrible,” Cameron said. “You were both okay though, I guess?”

“I was perfectly fine,” Cass said. “Just whiplash and a few cuts. But Alex had some pretty severe injuries. He thought his name was Samantha for a while.”

Alex pursed his lips together before speaking. What the fuck should he say to that? “I thought my name was
Sam
. Not Samantha. My middle name's Samuel. I was just a little confused. It took a little while for my head to get back to its old self.”

Cass turned around, eyeing the other customers around her. She lowered her voice as she spoke. “Thankfully it didn't take as long to get his
other
head back to its old self.” Then Cass winked and tapped Cameron on the arm just as Alex had. “You know what I mean?”

Cameron's eyes widened and he let out a loud cough. “I'm sorry. What?” he asked as if he might not have heard her correctly.

Alex couldn't believe Cass would say something like that to someone she'd just met. This was a new low, even for her. “Cass,” Alex said quickly, hoping
his expression silently conveyed that the story had gone far enough.

Cass reached over to rub her palm on Alex's arm. “It's fine, sweetie. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's fully functional now. Contrary to popular belief, Cameron, you
can
break your penis.”

I will murder her.

“Anyway,” Cass added, directing her attention back to Cameron, who was still clearly in shock, “thankfully I was a surgeon at that hospital, so Alex—”

“You aren't a surgeon,” Alex interrupted.

“I said
was
,” she shot back. “Being on the surgical team just got too demanding, Cameron. Long hours,” she said with a huff. “Traveling to conferences, all of that research and publication. It's just too much for someone who's ready to settle down and start a family. Don't you agree?”

Cameron nodded.

“So now I teach organic chemistry at Johns Hopkins a few nights a week. But as I was saying, Alex got the best treatment available at my hospital. They were able to fix any abnormalities. His . . . anatomy looks almost completely normal now.”

Alex leaned his elbows against the glass case and collapsed his head into his hands. Thankfully, Cass seemed to be done talking for the time being, and Alex enjoyed the silence, no matter how awkward it was.

Finally Cameron spoke. “So, tell me about the proposal.”

Alex had forgotten that was even the point of the story.

Cass thought for a few seconds. Clearly she'd forgotten too. “Oh yeah. Well, three years later we went out to dinner for our anniversary. I got food poisoning and ended up in the emergency room with
dehydration a few days later. When Alex saw me hooked up to the IV and everything, I think it scared him. So he just popped the question right then and there.”

Alex lifted his head enough to glare at her. Clearly the penis story was not only embarrassing, but it was also unnecessary.
Well done.

“He proposed to me in the same ER where we first met. It was sweet.” Cass shrugged and then pointed to a ring in the case. “Can I see that one?”

*   *   *

A part of Cass felt a bit bad about embarrassing Alex like she had. But a larger part couldn't help but enjoy tormenting him every chance she got. Especially when he was such a good sport about it. He'd quickly recovered from Cass' tale and had given his opinion on a few of the rings. Since Quinn's diamond was square with some small stones on either side, Cass had chosen several rings to try on that looked similar enough to Quinn's that Tessa hopefully wouldn't notice the difference.

Cass slid the first one on her ring finger, letting herself adjust to the feeling of it. She held out her hand, admiring how the diamond sparkled on her.

“I like it,” Alex said as he leaned comfortably against the jewelry case to face her. “What do you think?”

“I actually think the band on this one's a little too thick. It feels”—she searched for the appropriate word—“intrusive.”

“Well, how much are you really going to wear it? I mean, you don't plan to wear it to work or anything, right?”

Cameron furrowed his brow, obviously confused.

“Don't be silly,” Cass replied. “I can wear it to work. It's not like I'm doing surgery anymore.”

“No, you certainly aren't doing any surgery,” Alex
replied. “Do you have a band that's a little thinner?” he asked Cameron.

Cameron handed two rings to Cass and placed the rest back in the case. “The others will be too big for your taste, I think. See how you like these.”

“This one's pretty.” Cass opened and closed her hand a few times. “And it feels comfortable. How much?”

“This particular setting is platinum, and the diamond is a little over a carat. The clarity is superb,” Cameron said. “This one is forty-two hundred.”

Cass winced at the price. “Do you have anything under two thousand? Maybe something that's less than a carat?” she asked. “And it doesn't even need to be platinum. Silver would be fine. No one will be able to tell the difference, right?”

Cameron's gaze snapped over to Alex and then back to Cass. “With all due respect, this a major purchase. It's a symbol of your love for each other. Most women don't want a silver engagement ring. We actually don't even carry any here.”

“Well, I'm different from most women.” Cass shrugged. “Material possessions aren't really that important to me. But I do recognize that a ring is a rite of passage. We're going to split the cost,” Cass said, motioning between herself and Alex. “But that's a little out of our price range. Still trying to pay off those medical-school loans on a professor's salary,” she added quickly. “Maybe you have a diamond that's a little more . . . cloudy?”

Cameron raised a brow. “I do have this setting in white gold. We could put a smaller . . . cloudier diamond in there. It would probably bring the cost down about fifteen hundred dollars or so.” Cameron looked at them expectantly, probably wondering if he had
had to listen to a story about another man's penis only to have them leave the store empty-handed.

Cass stared at the ring, trying to decide if it was worth the money to her. Sure, she had a well-paying job and
could
buy it. But now, with such a major decision staring her right in the face, she couldn't decide if she should go through with it. Maybe Alex was right about not really needing a ring.

“We'll take it,” Alex blurted out.

Or maybe he
wasn't
right.

“And put the whole thing on my card,” he said, handing Cameron his American Express. “No future wife of mine is going to pay for her own engagement ring.”

Campaign

Alex wasn't sure that taking Cass with him to pick up Nina was a good idea, but that hadn't stopped him from suggesting it. He had been momentarily surprised she'd agreed so readily until he remembered who he was dealing with. Cass always seemed to excel in awkward situations—always cool and confident in her own skin. It was probably what made her so successful at her career. While Alex also had a job that required him to have an unflappable demeanor, his calmness was completely external—a superficial layer he coated himself in. But Cass' assuredness seemed to radiate from within, emanating from her core. It was who she was, rather than a role she played.

Even as they drove to Tessa's modest bungalow about twenty minutes from his house, Alex gripped the steering wheel to keep his nerves in check while Cass casually draped an arm out of the passenger's
window, her hair blowing freely in the wind as she watched the scenery pass by, with a serene expression on her face.
Damn her.

Alex pulled into Tessa's driveway with a perfunctory “This is it.”

Cass nodded as she pushed open her door. “Nice place.”

And it was nice. The lawn was well manicured, the blue shutters vibrant against the white house, the flower bed lush with colorful flowers. Alex tried to tamp down the sudden feeling of annoyance. Tessa had never cared for their home like she obviously cared for this one. Or maybe the gardening was Pete's thing. Either way, Alex and Tessa's place had never been as inviting as this one, and it made him wonder if what he was seeing was the difference between a house and a home. He shook his head to clear the unwanted thoughts, thoughts he'd never had before, and ones he hoped to never have again.

They walked up to the front door, and Alex looked over at Cass. “You ready for this?”

Cass pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and shrugged. “Sure.”

Alex cast a quick look down at Cass' hand to make sure the ring was in place. He didn't want to walk into this charade and expose their lie immediately because they'd forgotten the hardware that evidently sold this whole farce. After confirming that it was there, he rang the doorbell.

The door flew open and revealed an excited Nina. “Hi, Daddy.” She wrapped her thin arms around his waist, and he hugged her tightly. When she pulled back, her eyes drifted to his right. “Cass! Hi.” And then Nina was hugging Cass, and Cass beamed at the attention.

Alex felt a swift pang of regret. No matter how often Cass reassured him, he still worried about how Nina would take the inevitable breakup that loomed over them. Because even though he was doing this
for
Nina, it would hurt her too. And seeing how warmly she greeted Cass made him concerned for just how hard his little girl would take the news when the time came. But he didn't have time to dwell on it long, because Tessa joined them.

“Hi, guys. How's it going?” Tessa smiled as she spoke, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. It was the kind of smile that was more indulgent than sincere, almost patronizing in its fakeness. But at least she tried. He could give her credit for that.

“Not too bad. You?” Alex asked.

“Oh, you know. Same old, same old.”

They both did that awkward nodding thing that people did when they'd run out of words to fill the silence.

“You have a beautiful home. I love all of the bright flowers,” Cass said.

“I helped plant them,” Nina chimed.

Cass' eyes widened. “You did? Well, you did a really good job. I thought a professional landscaper planted them.”

Nina's smile brightened even more. “Nope. Me and Mommy did it.”

“I'm very impressed.”

Nina gasped, eyes wide. “Maybe I can use some of them for your wedding.”

Alex couldn't keep the confusion off his face. “What do you need flowers for?”

“For me to throw down the aisle. I get to be the flower girl, right? My friend Jasmine got to be in her
mom's wedding. She got a pretty dress. I get a pretty dress, right?”

Alex didn't know how to respond. He mentally scolded himself for not anticipating this question, especially since Nina had already asked about dress shopping several times. But now that she'd directly asked to be the flower girl, how could he tell her no? Especially in front of Tessa. He knew it would only make it harder on her when he had to break the news that the wedding was canceled, but he found himself agreeing anyway. “Of course.”

“Yay!” Nina was bouncing with excitement.

Tessa was looking at Nina, her smile genuine. It remained firmly in place when she brought her gaze up to look at Cass and Alex. “Would you guys like to come in? Maybe we could sit and get to know each other a little.”

Tessa seemed to be extending an olive branch, but Alex couldn't help but be wary. It felt a little like he and Cass were Hansel and Gretel, and Tessa was trying to lure them into her lair with promises of sweetness, while her true motive was to cook them alive. He spared a glance at Cass to gauge her feelings about the invitation.

She shot him a placating smile. “Sure. That'd be great.”

Tessa pushed the door open wider as Nina bounced into the house. Cass and Alex lingered in the entryway as Tessa shut the door and turned to lead them through her home. They ended up in a cozy family room, Nina kneeling on the floor in front of the television, Pete sitting on the couch, thumbing through
Men's Health
.

How cliché.

Pete looked up as they walked farther into the
room, surprise clear on his face. He stood abruptly, dropped the magazine on the dark-finish coffee table, and extended his hand toward Alex. “Hey, Alex. Good to see ya.” Though he smiled, his staccato words revealed his discomfort.

Not that Alex could blame him. Alex had never been in their home before, and his interactions with Pete had been limited in the years Pete had been living with Tessa. The longest conversation Alex had ever had with the man was when he'd cornered Pete in the parking lot of the gym he owned, and Alex had told him in no uncertain terms that if Pete ever hurt Nina, Alex would do things to him that would prevent Pete's family from having an open casket at his funeral. And after waving around a file that detailed every recordable aspect of Pete's life since birth, Alex interpreted Pete's blanched face as evidence that the message had been received. The meeting had left their interactions even more strained than they would've otherwise been. A scared Pete was a law-abiding Pete. Not that the guy had more than two speeding tickets and one trespassing charge from when he and his buddies had broken into their high school as a senior prank. But still, a little fear never hurt anybody.

“Good to see you too, Pete. This is my fiancée, Cass.” Alex gestured toward Cass, who stepped forward to shake Pete's hand.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

“You too.” Pete's gaze swiftly tracked over Cass' body.

It might have been a professional hazard—a customary assessment any personal trainer would make of an obviously fit person—but Alex didn't appreciate it. He wrapped a proprietary arm around Cass'
shoulders and gave Pete a look that had him shrinking back slightly.

“Please sit. Can I get you anything to drink?” Tessa offered.

“No, thanks,” Cass responded. “I'm fine.”

“I'm fine too. Thanks.”

They all sat: Pete and Tessa on the love seat and Alex and Cass on the three-seater. The only sound was the cartoon warble of the television.

Cass looked at Alex, the slight flaring of her eyes letting him know that she was feeling just as uncomfortable as he was. “So, Tessa,” she started. “Alex told me you used to be a forensic accountant before helping Pete manage his business. That sounds really interesting.”

“Yes, that's right. I mean, I think it's interesting, but I always have been a bit of a math nerd.” Tessa let out a small laugh.

“Did you work for a firm or a government agency, or . . . ” Cass let the sentence hang there so Tessa could fill in the correct reply.

“Both. I worked for the government briefly after graduating, but it wasn't for me. I preferred working for a private firm because I just wanted to crunch my numbers and go home without having to worry about bureaucratic red tape. Though working at the gym with Pete is by far the best job I've ever had. What do you do?”

Alex suddenly felt a little guilty. Obviously he'd talked to Cass about Tessa, but he hadn't even shared the most basic information about Cass with his ex-wife. Not that he had reason to—he rarely talked to Tessa about anything other than Nina—but it still didn't sit right with him.

Cass didn't miss a beat though. “I'm a public relations specialist.”

Upon hearing Cass' answer, Pete sat up. “Oh wow. So you help people promote their businesses and stuff?”

“Basically. We help disseminate pertinent information between our clients and their target audience.”

“I'd love to pick your brain sometime. I'm in the process of turning my gym into a chain, and I'd really like some insight.”

Cass smiled. “I'll leave you my card.”

Alex knew from the hard set of Tessa's jaw that Pete would never be calling Cass. A fact that made him relieved. All he needed was for Pete, the solid block of muscle, to worm his way into the life of another one of Alex's girls.
Wait . . . my girl?
Though technically Cass was his girl. At least in this parallel reality they'd created.

“So, when's the wedding?” Pete asked.

Alex whipped his head toward Cass, then schooled his features to hide his panic.
Why didn't we talk about any of this before coming over here?
Alex suddenly felt like the idiot he was. What had he expected? That he'd shove a ring on Cass' finger and that would magically answer every marital question they'd encounter?
Yup, pretty much.
“We're still working out the details,” he finally answered.

“Oh.” Tessa sounded confused. “Well, have you started looking at venues?”

“We've been doing a little online research,” Cass offered.

“You two have been engaged for a few weeks, right? When we met you said Alex had just proposed to you the previous night.”

“Yeah . . .” Cass looked at Alex as though she were
trying to telepathically communicate with him. “We've just been easing into the planning.”

Tessa's eyes furrowed a bit. “Wow, most women can't wait to start planning. You have much more patience than I do—that's for sure. Are you going to hire a wedding planner or do most of the work yourself?”

“I'll probably do most of it myself. I'm kind of a control freak.”

“I want to help,” Nina called out. Alex had almost forgotten Nina was even in the room until she spoke.

“You do?” he asked.

“Yup.” Nina smiled broadly, and Alex was again hit with a searing bolt of guilt. How could he let his daughter help plan a fraudulent wedding? What kind of father did that make him?

As though sensing his mental departure, Cass swooped in. “Maybe you can help us look up a few places on the computer when we get to your dad's.”

“Awesome,” Nina exclaimed, before turning back to her show.

Alex wasn't sure whether to thank Cass for interjecting or strangle her for involving his daughter in this sham even more than she already was.

“Well, I'm interested to hear which place you pick. Do you have a preference between a DJ and a band?” Tessa's words sounded like friendly curiosity, but Alex recognized that gleam in her eye. She was suspicious. Whether that suspicion was about the veracity of the engagement or about whether or not the relationship between Alex and Cass would last long enough to make it to the altar, Alex wasn't quite sure. All he did know was that he didn't like it. Because at this point, the only thing worse than telling the lie to begin with would be Tessa
finding out
that it was a lie.

“I'd prefer a band.”

“Me too. We were definitely thinking band,” Cass agreed.

“Pete has some contacts with local bands. Don't you, honey? Maybe you can give them some names.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure. I have a bunch of contacts with local entertainment groups.”

Alex would rather pour rubbing alcohol into his eyes than have Pete do him any favors. And if the self-satisfied smirk on Tessa's face was anything to go by, she knew it.

“Great. Maybe we can talk about it when Pete calls me for PR advice.”

And with Cass' words, the smirk evaporated from Tessa's lips. Alex was tempted to add another diamond to Cass' ring for that.

“We'd better get going. Nina, you ready?”

“Yup.” Nina rose and skipped toward the front door.

The adults exchanged good-byes as they followed Nina. Alex picked up Nina's backpack, which was sitting in the foyer, and opened the door.

“Thanks for inviting us in. It was nice getting to know you a little better,” Cass said.

“Likewise. We'll have to do it again sometime,” Tessa replied.

Not a chance in hell.

Soon, Cass and Alex were in the safety of his car, Nina buckled up in the backseat. They sat in silence for about ten minutes, listening to Nina quietly sing along with the radio as she played with some kind of hand-held device.

“She thinks something's off, doesn't she?” Cass asked quietly.

Alex sighed. It shouldn't have surprised him that Cass had picked up on Tessa's thoughts, but it did.
The only response he could come up with was the simple truth. “Yes.”

*   *   *

Cass had left Tessa's Friday night feeling underprepared and uninformed—two things she detested. She'd hung out at Alex's a little afterward, surfing the Internet with him and Nina for venues. Together they'd made a list, but it still all felt surreal and abstract. Cass knew that Tessa had her doubts. She could tell by the way the woman reveled in stumping Cass, asking questions for which she guessed Cass had no reply. It would never happen again.