Page 72 of Weddings, Revenge & Fake Dating

“Client happiness is our number one goal.”

He rolls me over, gathering me in his embrace. When he’s done, my milkshake has been shaken, stirred, and the glass licked clean.

After showers, we dress in terrycloth bathrobes and find our way to the terrace. Stretched out on loungers, we bask in the morning sun and our post-sex bliss.

“Look at you two lovebirds.”

Behind my sunglasses, I open my eyes to Mom’s voice. She stands on the terrace beside ours with a smug expression. I’ve been living so rooted in the land of Jeanie and Nathan, I forgot anyone else existed, which I admit is a nice change.

Nathan waves. “Morning, Betty.”

“Morning, Wolf Boy.” She lifts her sunglasses and waggles her brows.

I raise my sunglasses and mirror her expression.

“I see you two making faces,” Nathan says, though I don’t understand how because his eyes are closed, his face tilted toward the sunshine like he’s recharging.

“You guys weren’t exactly quiet last night. The entire floor heard your mating calls. Horny bitches,” Mom says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Wearing a content smile, I sink deeper into my chair.

Nathan reaches for my hand until our arms form a swinging bridge between our loungers.

“When you two come off your sex-high, join us for brunch on the pool deck. Your son and his sidekick will be there, so try to control your hormones.”

“We make no promises,” Nathan says with a grin.

A new man appears behind Mom and slides gentle hands down her arms. He says something in what I suspect is Portuguese and slips back inside.

“I’ve gotta go do Alfonso before we leave.” She disappears. A few moments later, giggles emanate from her open terrace doors.

“Hypocrite!” I holler over the railing.

Nathan and I reluctantly dress for brunch when our need for food outweighs our need for sex. In the hallway, we bump into Roman and Sophia. Sophia immediately wraps her arm around mine and leads me ahead, while the men trail behind.

“You guys disappeared on us last night,” Sophia sings.

“We were exhausted,” I say with a shrug, playing it off.

“Right. Exhausted,” she teases, then swoons. “He’s so in love with you.”

In love with me? This is the second time she’s mentioned love.

I laugh at the impossibility of someone falling in love in a matter of days. Nathan is a phenomenal actor, so I don’t believe he’s in love with me, but he could be in lust. Very deep, very sexy, very, very fun lust.

Am I in lust too? I glance over my shoulder. Nathan and Roman walk side by side. It allows me a moment to compare my first love with my new one.

One man I came here to steal back. The other man appeared out of nowhere and gave me the confidence to do something for myself. I hang on to this thought for several moments, studying all the implications.

“We just started dating,” I say to remind Sophia, though who knows what we are right now. Yesterday was our first official date, and we agreed our fake-dating charade would resume today.

Do I still want to sabotage the wedding?

“Doesn’t matter. Everyone can see it, even Roman,” Sophia says.

“Roman?” My head swings in her direction.

“This morning, he said, ‘I think Jeanie’s really dating that guy,’ like he couldn’t believe it. Then he mumbled something about love. He’s been so grumpy. I think it’s wedding nerves.”