“We’re just two people getting married. I get the job I want and you get to go back to Canada, remember?”
“Then why do we have to go through the pretense of being in love?”
“Just tell me what happened.”
“I heard some people talking about us, and it made me feel stupid.”
His eyes narrowed. “Who?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see them.”
He gently grabbed my fingers in his big hand. “Let’s prove them wrong.”
I shook my head. “It’s too late for that.”
He threaded his fingers with mine so he could hold my hand. “Come on. We’ll work as a team to be a happy couple for everyone. Especially for your uncle.”
I swallowed down my emotions and worked to calm myself. “Okay, but I want to leave early.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Like the obstacle course, most of the work at the party landed on Axel’s shoulders. He never left my side, and he doted on mecompletely while performing perfectly for the rest of the room. We walked around together, and he carried each conversation with the guests who stopped to congratulate us. When it was time to cut the cake, he slowly and delicately fed me a bite of cake while the photographer snapped away. He ended that photo session by kissing me on the lips, to the crowd’s delight. Then I cut up the rest of the cake while he plated it and handed it out to the guests, who lined up for a taste.
When the staff cleared some tables to widen the dance floor, he pulled me into his arms to dance alone.
“I’m not a great dancer,” I said nervously, my eyes flitting to the crowd that stood and watched us. I couldn’t stop looking for the group of laughing people who were probably mocking me right now.
“Hey.” He pulled me closer. “What are you worried about?”
“Nothing,” I lied, but my gaze stalled on his face. Now that I’d noticed what he really looked like, I couldn’t seem to stop staring at him.
He smiled down at me. “What? Do I have cake on my face?”
“No,” I said, a bit grumpy.
He pulled me a little bit tighter. “Well, now you have to tell me.”
I hated it when he acted like we shared the intimacy and closeness of a loving couple. It rattled me. Not because it was fake, but because it was starting to feel too real.
“You’re better looking than I realized, and it’s getting on my nerves,” I said testily.
He laughed. It escaped him against his will, and I realized that I had never heard him laugh before. Not for real. Not like this.
“Finally, some appreciation,” he joked, but he ruined it by tugging me a bit closer and letting his eyes linger on my face.
I felt my cheeks flush. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“I’ll try and look more hideous next time just so I don’t get on your nerves.”
I thought of when he’d come out of the cornfield and his face had been misted with blood, and I decided to change the subject.
You know she’s going to starfish on their wedding night.
“What’s a starfish in bed?”
He stumbled slightly at my question. “What? Where is this coming from?”
“I heard something that I didn’t understand.”
