Delaney sucked in a sharp breath as she caught the fierce expression on Nash’s face. He kept coming forward, only stopping when he was about a foot away from her.
“Change your mind?” he bit out.
“No, dude,” Ryan responded before she could. “The woman does not have all the things on the list. Considering the way her last wedding ended, don’t you want her to have good mojo?”
Nash cut a quick glance at his brother, only for his stare to immediately return to Delaney. “What is he talking about?”
“He’s being stitious. Minorly so. Not super.”
The furrow between Nash’s brows cut deeper. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”
She was still trying to follow along herself. “Thank you for the daisies,” she murmured. “They are my favorite.”
“I know.” Nash cleared his throat. His head angled toward his brother. “What list are we talking about?”
“Her sweater is blue,” Ryan announced. “Her daisies are new. I gave her a handkerchief to borrow, but the woman needs something old or this marriage is just going to be doomed. Doomed, I say.”
“Heard you the first time,” Nash muttered.
“Do you want it to be doomed?” Ryan pressed.
It was a fake marriage. Ryan could ease up.
“I want you to be less of a dramatic asshole.” Nash shoved his hand into the pocket of his jeans. “I’ve got something.” He inclined his head toward Delaney. “Left hand, please.”
She extended her left hand. Her right continued to hold her precious daisies.
Nash slid a gleaming, diamond and pearl ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. A truly beautiful ring.
“An engagement ring,” he said. “There. Something old. Done.”
“Pearls are my birthstone,” she managed to say, feeling more than a bit dazed.
“I know.”
Her head whipped up. His expression had shut down. Gone so unreadable.
Ryan cleared his throat. “If you just got that from Jez for the cover story, it doesn’t count as old. Hate to break it to you, but those are the rules. I don’t make them. I just follow them.”
Delaney was pretty sure Ryan was just making things up as he spoke.
A muscle jerked in Nash’s jaw. “I didn’t just get it.” His Adam’s apple clicked. “I’ve had it for years. Happy, bro?”
“Getting there,” Ryan allowed. “Moment by moment. Gotta give this real marriage all the luck it can get.”
It wasn’t real. But she’d still take any luck that came her way.
Nash remained in front of Delaney. “Are you ready to marry me? Did we check off everything on your list?”
Not everything. Her list was different from Ryan’s. Her list mostly contained just one item. Nash hadn’t professed undying love to her, and that would be really awesome but…
Fake. Marriage.
But that confession was not going to happen.
“I’m ready,” she agreed.
He turned on his heel and strode back down the aisle. The organist resumed playing The Wedding March. Goosebumps rose on Delaney’s skin. “I really hate that song,” she told Ryan.
