“I do not sound like that,” Stefan protests, sounding commanding and overly serious.
“You do too!” she insists. “And for the record, you’ve already been drinking fancy algae in your smoothie every morning. That’s why you’re so handsome.”
“Ah. So I haveyouto thank for that,” he says, finally cracking a smile and pulling her in for a kiss.
Everyoneooohs. Everyone but me.I’m too torn up over the line I’m walking with Luka.
The teasing continues, much to everyone’s delight.
“You’re lucky you have me to take care of you,” Tori says. “You know who else is lucky?” She puts her hands on Luka’s shoulders and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sure Brooklyn will be forcing you to drink your greens soon, too.”
Luka gives a look of mock horror. “In that case, I better double down on tempura and cheesecake while I still can.”
They’re all looking at me while they jest and have fun. I force a smile, but my soul hurts too much to really join in. They hope that I’m going to take care of Luka, that things will work out splendidly for us the way Stefan and Tori’s arranged marriage did. But the difference is, they love each other for real. They take care of each other for real. They’re happy just being together.
The meal turns into a pleasantly chaotic mess, everyone standing or walking around the room, taking a bite of this or that and then finding someone else to talk to. It’s nice seeing all the people in Luka’s life having such a genuinely good time.I just wish I felt their lightheartedness.
I push the food around on my plate, the burning in my throat preventing me from enjoying any of it. Water isn’t helping, nor is the champagne.
“Brooklyn!” a voice hisses.
When I look over my shoulder, I see Emzee triumphantly marching over with a stack of magazines under her arm.
“What are those?”
She grins. “Travel magazines,National Geographic, a Lonely Planet guide, and a few random others. These all have articles on romantic destinations, so you can start getting ideas for sightseeing on your honeymoon! I’ve been pulling this stash together as part of your wedding present, but I thought you might want to get started now.”
My mouth falls open. “Oh, wow. Thank you, Em. That was so thoughtful.”
“I’m going to put these with Luka’s coat so you can take them on your way out. You guys are going to have thebest time,” she gushes, before heading back to her table.
I take a deep breath. I can’t keep holding my secret inside. Tomorrow is my wedding day and for all it’s worth, I want my marriage to start out right and not on a foundation of lies. We might not be able to change the reasons we became engaged, but I can do my part to make it better from here on out. Just not with the contract mocking me from the depths of my purse.
Luka takes his seat next to me and I study his profile as he laughs with the woman next to him. Slowly, I run my hand over his thigh beneath the table, a tingle going up my arm at his firm warmth. I know what I want to do. It’s time to come clean.
He turns to me, the smile fading from his lips when he sees my face.“What’s wrong?”
“I, um, I need to tell you some—”
“Brooklyn, you haven’t eaten a thing!” Stefan interrupts. “I know you probably have pre-wedding jitters and all that, but you’re missing out.” He leans over my shoulder and spears a piece of tempura shrimp with my fork, then brings it to my lips with an expectancy I can’t deny. I eat it to appease him and he starts talking to Luka. Before I know it, he’s feeding me another.
“Why am I feeding your bride instead of you?” Stefan teases his brother with an amused laugh.They banter back and forth for a while, and my future brother-in-law goes back to his spot to retrieve his drink before mingling with someone else.
I wipe my mouth with a napkin. “Wow. Stefan seems to be in a good mood. He usually seems more…serious.”
“True.” Luka leans closer toward me. “To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I saw my family this laid back, especially not about something as big as a wedding. They’re actuallyrelaxed. Stefan’s been downright easygoing. I guess we’ve really been nailing the PR stuff.”
My stomach clenches and I clear my throat. “Yeah, that must be it. I’m glad.”
Luka glances at my full plate. “Are you nervous? Is that why you’re not eating?”
I’m not going to lie to him. It is nerves, and so much more. “Yes.”
His warm hand wraps over mine and he kisses me on the cheek so gently that I shiver. I quickly eat a prosciutto-wrapped scallop before I blurt everything out right here and now.
“What did you want to tell me?” he prods.
“Hmm?”
