Page 34 of The Wedding Fake

“I’m not a perv,” I groused. “And you’ve talked about my posts before, so I know you’ve seen them.”

“Only when my friends mention something,” Sammie said.

I grinned wolfishly, just to annoy her. “Your friends follow me?”

“Ugh, see? You are a perv. Let me see the picture.” She held her hand out, but Mom tutted again, intercepting the phone so she could see Claire.

“Oh, she’s pretty, Hudson,” Mom said, looking for a long minute before handing the phone to Sammie. I knew Claire was beautiful, I didn’t need anyone to tell me that.

“She is,” Sammie agreed. “Try not to screw it up.”

I scooped myself up some salad, not bothering to tell either woman that I already had.

16

CLAIRE

My mother and sisters had gone shopping, but I didn’t feel like going with them. I didn’t feel like doing much of anything, which is how I found myself alone in my childhood bedroom, holding a phone that was turned down so low I could barely hear it, watching and rewatching Hudson’s videos.

I couldn’t help but feel like a hypocrite. On one hand, I’d pushed Hudson away for making these videos, while on the other, I couldn’t stop watching them. The videos were a taunt—a tease—but I’d had a taste of the real thing. I knew what it was like to have that impish grin or smoldering gaze pointed in my direction. Hell, I knew the spring and give of his lips. I also knew I should stop watching, but I couldn’t.

Of course, it wasn’t the videos themselves I was opposed to. He wasn’t a stripper—the videos were, by all accounts, tame.

What bothered me was the purpose of the videos. They were obviously made to attract women, women who would slide into his DM’s one day and probably his bed the next. I’d been there and done that. I’d fallen for a man, pictured myself in one of those perfect white dresses, walking down the aisle to meet him—all while he’d been filling his time and his thoughts and his bed with other women. And as smart and as logical as I was, I couldn’t deny that I’d been easy to fleece. It was the same reason my mother thought it would be simple to foist Grant upon me. I wanted love. I wanted that happy ending. And, historically, I’d been willing to turn a blind eye to every red flag that should’ve saved me.

I dropped my arms out to either side, laying tired and splayed, the phone still clasped in one hand. I wasn’t looking for a relationship with a man who was playing me with one hand and playing the field with the other, and as much as my foolish heart had begun to hope otherwise, Hudson was exactly one of those men.

A text dinged and I nearly dropped my phone as I sat up, hurrying to swipe away all evidence of the cyber-stalking I’d been doing.

Emily: You dodged a bullet. This is so boring. They’ve got me shopping for headpieces. Who wants to wear headpieces??????

I shrugged at the phone, not having strong feelings on the subject.

Emily: What happened with Hudson?

Another shrug Emily couldn’t see. Nothing had happened with Hudson. He’d been gone all day, and though I wanted to believe Hudson spent the whole day with his family, doubt had crept in. Doubt that started as a tiny ember hours earlier and had slowly burned in my gut all day. After I’d rejected his advances, had Hudson met up with someone else? I didn’t want to think about it, and I really didn’t want to think about the disappointment boiling in the fire currently consuming my heart.

Claire: He’s at his parents’ house. We haven’t talked.

But what if he wasn’t at his parents’ house?

I shut the thought down quickly. If he wasn’t at his parents’ house, it was of absolutely no concern to me, because we were nothing more than a couple of people pretending to be in a relationship. I groaned loudly, wondering what on Earth I’d gotten myself into.

The phone rang in my hand, startling me, but it was only Emily, and I swiped to answer. “Hey. I thought you were shopping for headpieces?”

Emily grunted. “They still are. I offered to go get coffees for everyone because I thought I might scream. I’ve never been so bored.” I laughed, but I didn’t really have much to say, so I let Em continue. “Did you two talk about it?” Emily asked.

I sighed, flipping back on my bed once more. “I don’t want to talk about Hudson. New topic. How’s work? I didn’t get a chance to ask you last night.”

“Depressing. Cases are climbing again. New topic.” Emily lowered her voice to a near whisper. “What do you think of the bridesmaids dresses?”

Honestly? I had a million terrible thoughts about the bridesmaid dresses. Thoughts I would only share with Emily. And maybe Hudson. If I hadn’t driven Hudson out of the house. Still, my voice lowered to a whisper as I replied, “They’re terrible, right? I’d never say anything to Nora, but they’re terrible. Is it just me?”

Emily giggled. “She’s making us wear crushed velvet outside in August. No, it’s not just you. They’re terrible.”

I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face. “She said she wants us to look like wood nymphs.”

“What the hell is a wood nymph?”