Not Fake for Long by Weston Parker

27

HARRISON

Keira and I arrived at the wedding venue with minutes to spare. The wedding itself was only starting in about an hour but she needed to be there early so she would be present for pictures and while the bride got into her dress. The itinerary for the day was tight and we’d come very close to the maid of honor not showing up when she was supposed to.

She turned to me when we drove through the gates of the sprawling estate. “I’m sorry this place is so ostentatious. I told her it was too much, but both of them felt like it was perfect.”

Right. So this isn’t the time to tell her I’m an investor in this place, then. “It’s not that ostentatious. The Italian villa style venues are better than some of the other places in the city.”

“Fair enough, but there’s just not much soul,” she said as we drove up the long driveway, between paddocks filled with horses, and underneath a canopy of trees overhead. “It is beautiful, though. I have to give it that.”

It was also one of the most expensive venues around, but I didn’t mention it. “It really is beautiful. Although anywhere with horses and open spaces will be beautiful to me.”

“True.” She laughed. “I agree with that sentiment. Are you sure you’re going to be fine while I go smile for the camera?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said, leaning in to brush a kiss against her cheek when we rolled to a stop outside of the suites. “I’m going to go find parking. Then I’ll take a walk to the stables. I’ll see you after the ceremony.”

Her gaze softened as she nodded. She threaded her fingers together behind the nape of my neck and bought her mouth to mine. “Okay, I’ll see you after.”

“One last thing,” I said, digging into my pocket and coming back with a velvet ring box. “You’re going to need this if you want your mom to believe us.”

Her eyes widened when I popped the top off the box and she saw the simple gold band with the solitaire diamond sitting in the middle of it. “Harrison, that’s gorgeous. Where did it come from?”

I shrugged. “A small boutique in Red Hook. I realized yesterday we’d need one. May I?”

She held her hand out to me, and her eyes grew misty when I slid it on. “Wow. I know it’s not real, but this is just… Wow.”

Tilting her hand from side to side, she admired the ring for a second before she threw her arms around me and kissed me deeply. When we broke apart, I grinned against her lips and took her hand to run the pad of my finger over the ring.

“You like it?”

She smiled. “I love it. Thank you. You really didn’t have to go this far.”

“I never do anything half-assed,” I said. “I’m sure your family would’ve noticed if you didn’t have a ring.”

“I know, but…” She trailed off, then dragged her fingers through my hair as she kissed me again. “Thank you. I love it.”

She broke away from me with a soft sigh, smiled again, and then climbed out of the truck. I watched her walk toward the suites, unable to tear my gaze away from her until she’d turned the corner.

Her bridesmaid’s dress was a soft, shimmering gold. With her dark features and smooth skin, she looked fucking breathtaking in that color. Then again, she looked incredible in any color.

When she’d come out of her bedroom in that dress, I’d very nearly dragged her right back in. Regardless of the fact that I’d just had her, I’d already wanted her again. I couldn’t get enough of her, and I doubted I ever would.

Something about her had gotten under my skin from the word go, and now I couldn’t shake her. I also couldn’t shake the feeling lodged deep inside my gut that things were about to go sideways.

There was no point dwelling on it, though. I already knew what was coming. All that was left to do was to grab my balls, jump right in, and hope to everything that was holy that she would forgive me for not telling her the truth right away.

If all else failed, I wasn’t above groveling. Ashton had prepared me for the fact that it might very well come down to begging for her forgiveness, and I’d already decided I’d do it.

While I couldn’t remember the last time I’d begged anyone for anything, or even if I ever had, I figured if there was one person I could humble myself to, it was her. The bottom line was that I wasn’t ready to let her go and I’d do whatever it took not to have to.

In the meantime, all I could do was make sure she had fun at the wedding and that her mother bought our story about being engaged. I’d almost overlooked the fact that she’d need a ring to sell it properly, but the thought of putting my ring on her finger—even if it was just for one night—had just been too tempting.

Although if it had been for real, the rock would’ve been much bigger and the band something a little more elaborate. I’d want every fucker who even glanced her way to see that she belonged to me. While I knew she’d probably be entirely happy with something small and simple like the one I’d gotten, I’d want a ring that left no doubt in anyone’s mind that she was taken.

A part of me had wanted to get her something like that for tonight anyway. If I’d already told her who I was, I’d have done it, but a simple guy working with horses wouldn’t exactly have been able to afford what I had in mind. I planned on telling her tonight but not quite yet. If I’d told her before the wedding, the whole plan might’ve gone up in flames anyway.

As I parked the truck, I saw a sign for the stables. I remembered being shown where they were when I’d come out for a tour of the property during the time the owners had been searching for investors. Wedding venues weren’t traditionally my cup of tea for investment, but this one promised returns that had been too good to pass up on.

Plus, I’d helped broker a deal for some of their horses with a breeder near the farm, and I’d liked how passionate both owners had been about the horses. They also offered a host of other function options over and above weddings, and a lot of their plan had centered around the horses. I’d liked that too, so I’d given them some money.

It was working out well so far. When I saw their stables, I had a good idea why it was working out so well. They allowed others to stable their own, private horses here and had even built an indoor arena. I also knew they held shows here from time to time.

Not only was it a sought-after wedding venue, but it had also become a playground for every rich horse owner in the city. As I looked around, I was proud of having gotten in on the ground floor of this one.

A groom dressed in bottle-green jodhpurs with a khaki shirt bearing the logo of the venue walked up to me. “Can I help you, sir?”

“No, thank you,” I said, my hands in my pockets as I walked farther into the stables. “I’m just admiring the setup you guys have here.”

“Are you a guest at the wedding later?” he asked, falling into step beside me. “I can show you around if you’d like.”

“Yes, please do.” I understood why he didn’t want to leave me alone. “It must be difficult keeping wedding guests and the public out of the stables when there’s no one on hand to accompany them.”

He blinked at me in surprise but then shrugged. “Whenever there are going to be guests at the venue, we’re all here. Just to keep an eye out to make sure the guests and the horses are safe.”

I nodded. “Good to know. I have a few horses myself. It can get tricky to keep people from doing silly things. Especially when there are children involved.”

He groaned. “We had one trying to get a horse to drink a milkshake from her straw once. We’ve also had some teenagers thinking that the paddock behind the stables was a good place to sneak a smoke.”

I chuckled. “We had some kids on the farm once who thought a stall was a great place to stockpile snacks.”

He laughed and seemed to relax a little with me. “Hence the need to have so many eyes out whenever there are guests on the property. Is there anything in particular you’d like to see? We’ve recently purchased a new carriage. It’s being used in today’s wedding, if I’m not mistaken.”

“The bride is arriving in the carriage?” I guessed, blowing out a breath and grinning at the knowledge that I’d definitely be shoveling shit for the next month.

The groom nodded. “She was going to ride in on horseback, but they decided on the carriage instead last week.”

“I’m sure the carriage will make for beautiful pictures,” I said, following as he led me to the other end of the building.

He motioned toward a side door, and when we stepped out, there were two large, black mares being hooked to a white princess-style carriage. “The bride has been by to take some pictures with the carriage already, but she didn’t want to get too close to the horses.”

“I’d imagine she was afraid of getting her dress dirty,” I said.

He lifted his shoulders, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. “I know the venue itself is very upper class, but one would think that if the couple wanted the horses involved, they’d be okay with a bit of dirt.”

“One would think,” I mused. “To each their own, though.”

“To each their own,” he agreed.

We walked around for a few more minutes before I spotted guests starting to enter the area where the ceremony was being held in the distance. “I’d better get going. Thanks for the tour. Maybe I’ll see you again later.”

“Enjoy the wedding,” he said, then hurried back to the carriage to help another groom give it a final wipe down.

When I reached the clearing, I hung back until most of the other guests had been seated. Once it was my turn, I found a seat in the back so I would stay out of the way. Then I sat back and waited for the start of the event that had led Keira to me, hoping it wouldn’t also be the event where it would all end.