“And you’ll be too busy planning the Halloween party at the bar in October,” Lance chimes in. “And then there’s Thanksgiving…”
“Oooh, what if we did early December?” Tilly exclaims, her excitement growing with every second. “It’s close to the holidays, but I think we could make it work.”
Lance’s head bobs up and down in agreement. “I do love Malibu in the winter. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, sure,” I say absently.
Tilly claps her hands together excitedly. “Great, then it’s all settled. Let’s eat!”
Pres and I just look at each other. What the fuck just happened?
It looks like I might be staying a bit longer…
Chapter Twenty-Two
PRESLEY
After my parents ambushed us with a surprise wedding reception, Hollis and I slowly start to settle into a nice routine.
He works during the day, doing whatever managers do to get a new nightclub up and running, while I run errands and take care of things around the apartment. In the late afternoon, we both head to the bar. I’ll either work a shift with him behind the bar or, if we have enough coverage, I’ll go back to my office and try to find ways to keep the doors open.
On days when we both have off, I act as a tour guide and take him to the beach or a museum. We even spend an entire day at Disneyland, where we buy matching mouse ears and ride Space Mountain three times in a row.
We talk endlessly about the past—his and mine, together and apart. I learn so much about him and the life he’s lived. I think it’s been a lonely one.
And the more I listen, the more I start to wonder if mine might have been too.
We do not discuss the kiss in my parents’ driveway.
And I definitely do not think about it when I’m alone in the shower. Or in bed late at night. Or that one time I locked the door to my office…
Occasionally, my mom calls and asks us questions like,Do we want the reception inside, or on the beach under a tent,ordo we want a cake or a dessert bar?
I have no idea how to answer, because all I can think about is the fact that Hollis was supposed to move back to Nashville in November, and now my parents are throwing a lavish celebration of our love a month later.
He told me he would stay, but how is it going to look when he leaves a few weeks later?
Or a month?
God, this will break their damn hearts.
In all my self-loathing over the bar and Jace’s break-in, I never stopped to think how this fake marriage might affect anyone else. When Hollis suggested we stay married, all I could see was how it would benefit me and solve my problems.
Now, I’m worried about how much collateral damage we might cause because of my selfishness. This revelation is why I decided to ask them to hold off on telling my siblings.
Maybe if they have less time to become attached to him, it will hurt less when he’s gone.
My mom was initially resistant to the idea, so I may have laid it on a bit thick, telling her at dinner that night that we just wanted a little time for ourselves before everyone else found out. I watched as her expression softened, and she gave us a sappy smile. She agreed we’d tell the rest of the family when Hendrix and Zander return from Europe next month.
That was two weeks ago, which means I have two more weeks of dodging my siblings before the news of my marriage gets out.
I’m honestly surprised my mom has managed to keep a secret this long, especially one so big. She’s been dying for one ofus to get married for years. Pretty sure she almost got her wish when Cash was dating Taylor’s mom, but that all went to shit—to put it mildly.
Speaking of…
Sitting in my office, I look up from the report I’ve been staring at and do a double take as I catch a glimpse of my brother entering the bar on the security camera I now keep open on an extra monitor on my desk.
“Fuck.”
