The Perfect Husband by Lynn Dare

3

Cecilia

“Hello, wife.”

My brain stuttered. What did this man say to me? I eyed him up and down, trying to place why he looked so familiar. I’d remember a face like his, wouldn’t I? “Who the hell are you?”

The infuriating stranger pushed past me into my apartment like he’d been here before, like he belonged here. Not happening, dude. I had a distinct distrust of all things strange men. Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, I hauled him back. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, buster, but you can’t just walk into a girl’s place.” I crossed my arms. “You a friend of my brother’s?”

His smile only faltered for a second before rearing back, brighter than ever. “Cruz, right?”

Some of the tension eased in me. At least this guy knew my brother. “Is this some practical joke he’s playing on me after last night?” I didn’t remember most of my night once I’d started drinking, but the part I wished I could forget had stuck to my mind like superglue. Not everyone is meant to fall in love. My family wasn’t intentionally cruel, but sometimes they didn’t get how hurtful they could be.

Except Cruz. The jerk obviously found it funny and sent me this ridiculously attractive man to mock me. I pushed him toward the door. “Well, you just go tell my brother I’ll get him back. Wife.” I shook my head. “As if.”

The man clamped one hand on the doorframe, his smile fading. “This isn’t a joke.”

My brow arched. He was taking it a little too far. “Can you please just go? I’m nursing a wicked hangover, and I really don’t feel like playing loser Cecilia in the doorway right now.”

He dug his hand into his pocket. “I have proof.” Pulling out his phone, he passed it to me.

Rolling my eyes, I took it and glanced down, not really sure what I was seeing. It was a picture of me, glassy whiskey eyes and all. And the man with me… I looked up. It was him. Where were we?

I peered closer, my eyes widening. Stumbling back, I reached for anything to steady myself, knocking the lamp from the table near the door. “What the frack is going on?”

One corner of his lips tipped up. “Battlestar Galactica?”

I shot him a scowl.

“Right. Not the time.” He ran a hand through his thick black hair, the only sign of his confidence falling. I watched the movement, noting the way his tight shirt rose up just the littlest bit, revealing a sliver of toned skin.

A flash of tanned skin came back to me. A man hovering over me with a… I reached for him, pushing his shirt up.

“What are you doing?” He didn’t stop me.

I shoved the fabric far enough so I could see his right pec, and there it was. “Oh my God.” I let his shirt fall.

This morning, I’d woken up naked and alone, thankful for that last bit. I hated mornings after when it was awkward as hell. This guy saved me from that.

Until he returned to tell me we were married.

I stepped back away from him, a million thoughts racing through my mind. “You can come in.” I turned and walked through my living room to reach the kitchen.

I was still nursing a hangover, and the thought of drinking made me want to hurl, unfortunately. This conversation would go so much better with a drink… or ten.

Instead, I started a new pot of coffee—I’d already finished the first one. Hurrying to my bedroom, I found some yoga pants and slipped them on before pulling my hair back into a loose ponytail.

I eyed my rumpled bed, flashes of the night before hitting me in waves. He’d been surprisingly gentle, kind. I couldn’t remember anything from before we got to my apartment—not even his name.

Maybe my family was right. I’d never fall in love when I was hooking up with strangers I barely remembered the next day.

When I walked back out into the living room, trying to appear more calm than I felt, I took him in, like really took him in. There was something rebellious in his look, something that said he didn’t care what anyone thought of him.

It was damn sexy.

Oh my God, no. He wasn’t sexy. He was annoying with the smirk that now sat firmly on his lips, lips I wanted to taste.

I groaned. I was so screwed.

His eyes followed me as I entered the kitchen again and poured two mugs, not bothering with sugar or cream. We both needed the hard stuff today.

I walked toward him and held one out. “You can sit.” I gestured to the couch.

He looked surprised for a moment before lowering himself. “Your place is nice.”

I snorted as a laugh escaped me.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, bro, but you showed up here all ‘Hi, wife’ with that ridiculous grin. I think we’re past the small talk of my home décor.”

“My grin isn’t ridiculous.” He pouted, and Lord, he grew even sexier.

I sipped my coffee to distract myself. “It is when you shouldn’t be grinning.” Setting my coffee on the table in front of the couch, I took a seat, keeping a good two feet between us. “Okay, so tell me exactly what happened.”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

He cringed at the volume of my voice. “Chill, woman.”

“Chill? I got married to some strange man-child last night and don’t remember it. You chill. This is all your fault.”

“Mine?” His voice rose.

“Yes, yours. I never would have married some guy who probably doesn’t even know my name.”

“Cecilia.” He leaned back, a satisfied smile on his face. “What’s mine?”

I got to my feet. “I don’t owe you anything.” Really, I didn’t know. How could I not know his name? I refused to admit it to him. “If you don’t remember what happened, how do you know we’re married and it wasn’t some weird Elvis thing, where we didn’t even sign a marriage license?” Please be a weird Elvis thing.

He sighed and drained his coffee before setting the mug down. “I ran into Georgina… Gina… Genevieve…”

“Ginger?” This was worse than I thought.

He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. She congratulated me on the wedding. I couldn’t believe what she was saying, but then she sent me the pictures, and pictures don’t lie, darlin’.”

“Don’t call me darlin’,” I snapped. “Do you know what this means?” I sat back down and buried my head in my hands.

“That we need to go to the courthouse for an annulment?”

Did he know anything about Cape Kismet? Obviously not. “I need to deal with this on my own.”

“What? We’re in this together. Kind of takes two to tango down the aisle.”

“No.” I looked at him, seeing past the good looks and charm to a clueless man, one who didn’t understand anything about female reputations or small towns. “I don’t know if you’re just not from here or whatever, I’ve never seen you before, so I’m guessing you come from a place where you can be more anonymous.”

He shrugged. “Sure. I had a home base in Clearwater, but I travel all over for work. Now, I live in the Cape.”

“Thought so. Well, here’s your first small-town lesson, control the narrative.”

“What narrative? Ginger promised she wouldn’t tell anyone.”

I laughed at how naïve he was. “She might not take it to the airwaves, but that’s not how the gossip chain works. You and I, we can’t be seen together until I handle this.”

“But…” At my sharp look, he stopped arguing. “What are you going to do?”

“What I have to.” I couldn’t take another moment in the same room as my supposed husband. What a ridiculous thought. I pointed to the door. “Please just go.”

He wasn’t smiling as he stood, doing as I asked. At the door, he paused. “You really don’t remember my name, do you?”

I wished I did. “No. And I don’t think I want to know it. I just want this to be over.”

He nodded with a sad smile. “Sorry to ruin your day.”

As the door shut behind him, guilt twisted inside me. My mom used to tell me I was too independent for my own good, that sometimes it was okay to let other people help me. I’d never believed her.

Other people let me down. Most of the time, when I screwed up, I preferred only having myself to blame. It was lonely, sure, but I didn’t really know another way.

I leaned my head back, imagining what my family would say to this newest screwup. “Just Cecilia being Cecilia. Not surprising that when she finally got married, it would be a mistake.”

Married.

Shit.

I left my coffee mug on the table and walked back to my bedroom, my entire body sore from what I guessed was a great night. I crawled back into the sheets that still smelled like a man, like the mistake I’d made.

I’d deal with this later.

* * *

I knew exactly what I had to do.

So far, if I was lucky, only Ginger and Hank would know of the marriage. Maybe they hadn’t told anyone yet. The two of them were married, and their teenage son was something of a troublemaker. Last year, Cruz and I talked a store out of pressing charges after he’d stolen from them. We made sure it never spread around town. They owed me.

So, then, why was I hesitating to go over to the courthouse? I’d come straight from work to Kennedy and Hadden’s place today. They were cooking dinner for all of us. Ellie and Cruz had already been there when I arrived.

Everyone was coupled up, and I was just here. I could hardly look at them with this giant secret I couldn’t spill. The truth was, I was embarrassed. Kennedy and Ellie were both in these loving relationships. They were pretty perfect.

Then, there was me. Always on the outside. Always alone.

“Where’s Harley?” Ellie asked as she and Kennedy joined me on the couch. “Thought he’d be joining us.”

Kennedy rolled her eyes. “A photo shoot. Seriously, I feel like I saw him more before he lived next door. He’s been working insane hours.”

I tried to get out of my head and into the conversation. “I still need to meet this mystery ex of yours, Ken.” Hadden’s brother had been living in Cape Kismet for weeks, but we had yet to meet, and I was damn curious.

“You’ll like him.” Kennedy smiled fondly.

Ellie laughed. “Picture a more sarcastic Hadden and you’ve got him.”

“Sarcastic?” My interest was definitely piqued. “Sounds like my kind of guy.”

Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Don’t get any ideas, Cecilia. I don’t need you and Harley having some short-lived fling and making our group dynamic super awkward.”

Well, no chance of that, for the time being, since I was apparently married. I took a gulp of wine, my face heating.

Hadden joined us, perching on the edge of the couch. “Cruz kicked me out of my own kitchen. How is that fair?”

Kennedy patted his hand. “He’s the cook.”

“It’s my place.”

“And you can get obnoxious in the kitchen.”

Hadden pouted at that, and I got a flash of another pout that made me jump to my feet. I should not be dwelling on that stupid guy when I was here with my best friends. “Well, I, for one, can’t let Cruz cook without anyone annoying him.”

I rounded the kitchen island and pulled myself up to sit on the counter.

Cruz gave me some serious side-eye. “That’s not sanitary.”

I plucked a piece of chicken from a bowl. He was making chicken pad thai, one of my favorites. “Aren’t you supposed to just be the taco guy?”

Cruz hated people thinking that was all he could cook, so he ignored me.

I nudged him with my foot. “You okay there, Cruzy Wuzy?”

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I’m never getting rid of you, am I?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Fine, just don’t try to add anything to what I’m cooking.”

He knew me too well. I was constantly trying to experiment with different spices, adding way too much heat sometimes. I made an X over my chest.

“So,” he started slowly, “El told me you heard what our ever-pleasant little sister said about you.”

This was so not what I wanted to talk about. “It wasn’t just her.” My tone softened. “But you defended me. Thanks for that.”

“Celia.” He sighed and focused for a moment on stirring the rice noodles. “You know you don’t have to get married, right? Getting hitched doesn’t give you any more value.”

I nodded, willing the tears to stay away. How disappointed would my romantic brother be in me if he found out I got married to a guy I couldn’t even name? “I know that.”

“But also, you never know when it’ll happen. You could fall in love twenty years from now or you could fall in love tomorrow. It doesn’t matter when it comes, just that it’s right when it does.”

I slid from the counter and stepped forward to wrap my arms around him. The last thing on Earth I wanted was for my big brother to be ashamed of me. He was my favorite person. I rested my chin on his shoulder. “Being with Ellie has made you a sap.”

He laughed, and it vibrated through me. “I won’t deny it.” I released him, and he called to the others, “Dinner is ready!”

There was a chorus of about times and finallys. Cruz rolled his eyes at them.

We ate in Hadden and Kennedy’s living room, never lacking for things to say, to laugh about.

It only solidified what I’d already decided. I needed to dissolve this marriage as quickly and quietly as possible. My friends, my family… none of them could find out how much I’d messed up.

As I was leaving Hadden’s place, I vowed to do it as soon as I could. Driving through the streets of Cape Kismet had always brought me a sense of calm, but this time, as I rounded the corner and saw the courthouse, I heard myself.

“This will be fun.” I’d laughed, leaning in to kiss my companion. We’d tumbled out of the back of a car, giggling and stumbling toward the door. Ginger was closing up for the night, but she’d smiled as she saw us.

How the hell did we end up with an expedited marriage license and a wedding?

I stopped in front of the courthouse. The lights were on inside. Closing my eyes, I tried to recall more of that night.

We’d run outside like there was a crowd of family and friends sending us off with sparklers and rice. Instead, it was only an empty street.

The man, his black hair askew, stepped into the center of the quiet street. “May I have this dance?”

I’d laughed and yelled to him, “I’m not going to dance in the middle of the road!”

He ran back toward me and threw me over his shoulder.

“Harley!” I’d yelled.

My eyes snapped open. No. Oh no. Harley. That was his name. The lens tattoo because he was a photographer. Hadden’s brother and Kennedy’s ex.

I’d married Harley Hardwick.