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She continues, “We circulate and be visible for an hour, then disappear. No one will notice we’ve gone until the party’s over.”

“I’ll take the left side of the room, you take the right,” I say to her.

She stamps her foot. Actually stamps it. “Not fair, that means I have to talk to the Tri-Delts.”

“What the hell am I going to say to them?” I raise an eyebrow at her and shake my head no slowly.

“Fine. But we meet here every fifteen minutes. We leave after you give a toast.”

“Brilliant.” I lean in to kiss her cheek. It’s sweet and I mean it. Nate’s over her shoulder watching us with a grin, and I remember where we are and what we’re doing. I watch something flicker across her face when she pulls back before she puts it away. Then she puts a hand on my chest and kisses me. Shocks the fuck out of me but she does play a good part.

“See you in fifteen,” she says, and sets off toward the shrieking blondes.

I head for fist bump hell.

Nate’s assembled his groomsmen near the bar like it’s a rugby scrum. His best friend, also named Nate, two guys from work whose names I keep forgetting, and Tommy. Despite the fist bumps, they are all good men. Even my brother is a good guy, we’re just very different. “There he is.” Nate claps my back. “The elusive brother. Been hiding your girl from us.”

“She’s been around,” I say gesturing with my drink that’s not strong enough. He was never the protective big brother, more of a tolerating big brother. He and Sweetie are cordial but never really connected either. It often feels as if we’re brothers in name only. He’s always been the popular one. I know he’s jealous of my friendship with Colin but I needed a brother and found one.

“Where’s your lady now?” Nate asks and I don’t take the bait.

“You’re punching above your weight.” The other Nate raises his glass. “Objectively.”

I take a drink and say nothing.

Tommy leans in. “Nate says she works in a gallery.”

“She does,” I say it flatly. “An impressive gallery in the Hudson Valley.” It’s a good little lie she cooked up. Easy to believe. That girl is good.

“With an ass like that, the art shit won’t matter, people will just buy it to get a whiff of her. Hell, I’d become an art connoisseur if…” other Nate says.

I turn and burn him with a specific expression. “You want to finish that thought, motherfucker? Perhaps therapy might be a good idea for you. Learn how to speak about women or even to them.”

My brother puts a hand on Nate’s shoulder and says, “Not cool, man. Compose yourself.” Interesting, since he called her highly fuckable earlier.

Nate reads the room. “Easy. Protective. Good sign. Sorry about this afternoon, I was being an ass.” I slap his back and nod. I’ll take it, growth. I glance around the room desperate for an interruption and see she’s being pawed at by Stacey’s blonde bubbly squad.

“She can handle herself,” I say. “I’m not protective. Just acutely aware of how freaking inappropriate talking about any woman like that is, especially my fiancée.”

The word lands differently when I say it without thinking about it. Somewhere deep in my stomach like an annoying nudge. Nate notices. He doesn’t say anything.

Tommy raises his glass. “To Zane finally bringing someone home who isn’t a disaster.”

“To that,” Nate agrees and tosses his arm around me as other Nate slinks away to his wife. Lucky gal.

Across the room I can see Kat has her fake smile fully deployed, giggling on schedule, watching the clock in the way only I would know to look for. She catches my eye for exactly one second and the practiced smile becomes the real one, then it’s gone and she’s back to the Emmas and Olivias. I think they’re all named that.

Fifteen minutes later she materializes at my elbow at the bar like she conjured herself there.

“We may need to get married,” she says.

“We just got done actively hating each other. Shouldn’t we date first?”

“It can be for show. I need to prove your sister wrong.” Her hand finds my chest again and I don’t hate it.

“That would be fun. But that’s a big fake step.”

“Think of the pressure we’d alleviate. The hiding we could do with this one artificial act. Come on.” She lowers her voice. “I’ll even cheat, you can be the hero.”