Mira: Okay.
Immediately, I find my brother’s name and press it. It rings three times before he picks up.
“Hey, Hart. What’s up?” he asks.
My stomach wobbles as I hear his voice. “Not much. What about you?”
“Just got out of practice and I’m fucking beat. I’m on my way home for a shower and a nap before Astrid gets home.”
“What’s she doing today?” I ask.
“Working for Tate Brewer. She has a few projects going on with him that she’s trying to wrap up in the next few weeks, so once the season is over, we can head back to Sugar Creek.”
I take a breath. I hadn’t stopped to think about the fact that Gray will be here in about a month. Faking a marriage shouldn’t be a problem in front of people. It’ll be sketchy with Brooks, but it should be fine.But Gray?My brother can see right through shit—especially my shit. And I’m going to have to lie to his face.
This is not gonna be fun.
“So,” I say, blowing out the breath I’ve been holding. “I actually have a bit of news.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” I lick my lips. “Believe it or not, I’m … getting married on Thursday.”
The pause is long, about five seconds, before he starts laughing. “Stop fucking with me, Hart.”
“I’m not.”
His laughter dies down. The remaining silence is thick, pregnant with unanswered questions and answers.
“You’re serious?” he asks.
I hum in the affirmative. “I’m getting married at the church on Thursday. Seven o’clock. It’s no big deal?—”
“You’re getting fucking married. That’s a big deal, brother.” He whistles through his teeth. “I have questions, as you can imagine. But let’s start with who are you marrying?”
The fact that he has to ask me that is wild.Who gets married to someone, and their family must ask who they’re marrying?If it’s anyone, it’d be Brooks. Not me. Not the responsible one.
“Mira,” I say.
“What?”
“Yeah, I’m marrying Mira,” I say, tasting the words as they come off my tongue. I can’t stop the smile that slips across my cheeks, nor can I dampen the heat crashing through my veins. It’s like my brain is fully aware that this is pretend, but my body didn’t get the memo.
“I …” Gray stops as a chuckle rumbles through the phone. “Fuck, Hart. I’m speechless. Congrats, first of all.”
“Thanks, man.”
“But how did this happen? I didn’t know you’d been seeing her,” he says. “You haven’t said a word. Brooks hasn’t mentioned it, and God knows he mentions everything.”
Gray is suspicious, but I knew he would be. I’m also not totally sure that I can convince him this is real.
Something in my gut twists as I prepare to lie to my brother. There’s no harm in what I’m telling him—it won’t affect anyone in any way except for Mira and me. But it still feels wrong not tobe honest with him. I hate it. But I gave my word to Mira that I’d go along with the ruse, and I won’t go back on that.
“We’ve been talking for a while,” I say. “And we just decided not to waste any more time.”
“I can’t say that I’m not surprised. You’re usually much more measured than this.” He takes a breath, as if he’s wrestling with this information. “But you know what? Mira is a good girl, and I think a lot of us felt that this was inevitable. Maybe this shows what an influence she has on you, and you’ll be less of an uptight dick going forward.”
Chuckling at the tease in his voice, I look at the ceiling. “Shut up, Gray.”
