But still. It would be better to wait.
“Let’s get some sleep,” I suggested, and let his hand go. “Big day tomorrow.”
He chuckled. “The big reveal,” he agreed.
All the same, as he snuggled up against me, his warm chest against my back, I was determined to make sure Tyler Blakely didn’t start the next year single.
The next morning, we turned up for the communal breakfast with the understanding that we should get the lie off our backs as soon as possible. The wedding would take place here in the great hall later that night, and some of the decorations were already in place, while against one wall was a stack of white folding chairs.
We were hoping to corner Jon and Cooper, let them know quietly about our ruse, and apologize. After that, we’d make the rounds of Tyler’s LA friends and grovel appropriately, particularly to Brandon and Heath, and Seth and Tristan.
Then boom, everything would be totally fine.
That’s what we kept repeating to each other. Everything would be absolutely, one thousand percent, fine.
We still had those owning-up jitters, though. And when the first person I saw heading toward us was Cooper’s mother, I almost turned tail and ran. That woman was terrifying and I’d admired the way both Cooper and Jon had handled her during the events so far. But now, she was making a beeline for Tyler and me, and there was nowhere to run. In an act of self-sacrifice, I pushed him behind me, but it was too late—she’d seen him.
“Tyler,” she said, as though he’d done something worthy of exasperation. “Where is Jon? I need his final decision on my lip color for the wedding.”
“We’re looking for him ourselves, Mrs. Kincaid,” Tyler replied politely, stepping out from behind me. “If I see him, I’ll let him know.”
But Alicia Kincaid was already distracted by the setup of the breakfast buffet, turning around to complain to the serving staff about the breakfast mini-soufflés starting to fall.
As for Ty, he was starting to look as wobbly as those soufflés as she jiggled the tray.
“Maybe they’re down at Jon’s cabin,” I said to Tyler. I put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a tiny shake, just like Mrs. Kincaid was doing to the soufflés. It seemed to help Ty more than the soufflés, which continued to deflate. “The sooner we get this done, the better. You’ll feel much better when the truth is out.”
“Truth?” Alicia Kincaid whirled around, alarmed. “Tyler, don’t tell me there are any scandals going on today. Everything must be perfect. The senator will be a guest!”
“Everything’s fine,” I said brightly, when it became obvious that Tyler was also going to stay as silent as the offending soufflés, now being ferried back to the kitchen. “We promise,” I finished, nudging Ty.
“Yeah,” he said, finally shaking off the nerves. “Yes, Mrs. Kincaid, everything is fine. In fact—” He looked at me, a silent Can I? I gave him the nod. “In fact, it’s all just been a misunderstanding. This isn’t Shane—this is Damon.”
I’d never really understood the word vexed until I saw Mrs. Kincaid’s face in that moment. “This isn’t Shane? But that means the place names are all wrong—we certainly can’t change them at this stage—and the seating chart—”
“No need to make any changes,” I assured her. “I don’t mind if my seat says Shane as long as I get to sit with Ty.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Mrs. Kincaid sighed. It felt like a big reaction, until I turned to follow her line of sight and saw she was watching Jon enter the room. He was followed by the whole LA crowd, including a new guy who looked really familiar—oh. Xander Romano.
The actor who’d given Seth a hard time.
Jon raised a hand in greeting to Tyler with a wide smile. But when I turned back, Mrs. Kincaid was eyeing me with suspicion. “But how did this mix-up begin?” she asked. “Is your middle name Shane?”
I cleared my throat. “Uh, no. It’s hard to…you know what, it’s kind of like what Cooper and Jon did at first? How they were pretending to be together when you first met—” I broke off at Tyler’s frantic shaking of his head to the side.
But Mrs. Kincaid had seen his reaction, too, and her eyes narrowed further. “I beg your pardon? Jon was doing what? Pretending to be what?”
Oh, shit.
“He just meant—” Tyler started, but died into silence as Alicia Kincaid’s hand shot up in a stop sign.
“I think I’d like Shane—Damon—whomever—to explain.”
Jon was already halfway over to us, and I couldn’t think how to cover up. “Well, ma’am,” I said, “it’s really none of my business, and I think Jon could probably—”
“Yes,” she said, turning to Jon, whose feet slowed way down when he saw the expression on her face. But inevitably, he had to come closer. “Jon, what’s this I hear about you and Cooper pretending to be in a relationship?”
Jon’s eyes shot to Tyler, fierce and questioning.
