One Night Bride by Marika Ray
12
Esme
“Okay, first of all, you need to calm down. It’s not what you think.”
I held my hands up, placating the wild anger I saw on my twin’s face. I didn’t blame her. We shared the same tight bond all twins did, telling each other everything. But this had been different. This was just a mistake. One that would be righted shortly—if we ever got that damn annulment filed. Somehow that idea didn’t make me feel any better about things.
“So, you aren’t married?” Izzy asked, her eyes skewering me with accusation.
I cringed. “Well…”
Izzy huffed and slammed the paper down on the table in the entry. “How about you both explain how my twin sister got married, and this is the way I found out about it?”
“I think I can help,” Remington said, stepping forward finally, our bags still in his hands. He set them down against the wall and put his hand on my back. “Let’s all have a seat, shall we?”
Izzy gave him a death glare, but she stepped into the living room and sat, tapping her foot while Remington and I had a seat on the couch. I felt slightly nauseous over the whole thing. I didn’t think for one second Izzy would out me to my clients, but the more people who knew about this sham marriage, the more I worried it would get leaked somehow.
“So, you know how we met in Tahoe. All that was true. I just sort of left out the part where we were so drunk we went to a drive-through chapel and got married. Accidentally. Regrettably.” I twisted my fingers in my lap.
Remington grabbed my hand in his and squeezed. “Not so regrettably on my part.”
My head looked over so fast my hair whipped me in the mouth. “What?”
He shrugged. “I don’t regret it anymore. I think it’s a brilliant situation.”
I tried to pull my hand away, but he wouldn’t let me. “Well, of course you would, because it’s advantageous for your business. Meanwhile, it could tank mine.”
“Actually, it’s got nothing to do with the ranch. I think if you and I had dated like normal people, we would have eventually ended up with a marriage license.”
My mouth dropped open, even as a ball of something unidentifiable warmed in my gut. “What?”
“Um, hello? Still here.” Izzy’s voice held a heavy dose of humor.
I’d forgotten she was sitting right there. I gave her a weak smile of apology. “Sorry, sis. But do you see what I’m dealing with here? He’s impossible!”
Izzy’s gaze darted to Remington and back to me. “I actually kind of like him. I mean, I’m angry you didn’t tell me what was going on with you, but if you had to pick a husband, I think you did a bang-up job.”
I stared at her. “A bang-up job?” Since when did Izzy talk like that?
She grinned sheepishly. “I’ve been watching too many episodes of the Great British Bake Off.”
Remington chuckled silently beside me, vibrating the couch. A car door slammed outside, followed by another.
“Who would be here at this time of night?” I muttered, standing up to go look out the window.
Izzy put her thumbnail in her mouth and chewed on it. “Yeah. So. I may have texted the girls when I saw the marriage license.”
I whirled on her, my voice coming out scary deep. “You texted them?”
Remington groaned and scrubbed a hand across his face, knowing exactly who them were. “I’m never getting to sleep tonight, am I?”
“You can just be quiet, Mr. I Don’t Regret It,” I snapped. I stepped out of my heels and got the door before Amelia banged it down, went into preterm labor, and blamed me for it.
“What a lovely surprise,” I said sarcastically, right before I was practically mowed over by Vee, Amelia, and Oakley, barging into my house like they belonged there.
“Remington!” I heard Vee shout. The little hussy already plopped down on the couch next to him, despite knowing he was my husband.
On paper only, of course.
Amelia took the chair Izzy vacated for her. It was the only one she could still get out of on her own with her distended belly. “So, you went and got hitched, huh?”
I folded my arms across my chest, knowing the interrogation from all four of my sisters wouldn’t be fun. “Like I was explaining to Izzy, it was a mistake. A drunken decision that shall be righted shortly when we file for an annulment.”
Izzy frowned. “But you went back to the hotel and had sex afterward, so how can you claim an annulment? Shouldn’t it be a divorce?”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, first of all, you need to stop reading so many historical romances. It’s not like fucking seals the deal anymore, Iz.”
“Sex afterward is definitely not a factor in being able to obtain an annulment,” Oakley helpfully piped up.
Vee snaked her arm through Remington’s and leaned into him. “I don’t know. You look like you’re of sound mind. And body.” She gave him a saucy wink.
My vision went wavy, and by the time I blinked, I was shoving Vee further down the couch and gluing myself to his side instead. He put his arm around my shoulders and I instantly felt calmer.
Vee and Amelia looked at each other and burst out laughing. Izzy just shook her head with a smile on her face. Oakley studied us like if she just watched us closely enough, she’d find the secret to all of life’s mysteries.
“What?” I finally asked when they’d calmed down.
That sent them into another peal of laughter, Izzy and Oakley joining in this time. I looked to Remington. He just gazed down at me with a smile. He leaned down, nuzzled behind my ear and whispered, “I love it when you get jealous, wife.”
My body froze and my brain finally pondered what had come over me the second I saw Vee touching Remington. I’d been jealous. Plain and simple, and I hadn’t even recognized it. Shit. Being jealous implied I cared.
Vee put her hand on my knee. “I’m sorry for laughing. And I’m sorry for flirting with your man, but sometimes you need a shove to see what’s right in front of you, Esme.”
I scrunched my nose at her, but leaned forward to grip her hand, anyway.
“You two clearly have something between you that’s real. All of us can see it, feel it. Why don’t you explore it?” Amelia said kindly, rubbing her baby belly.
A flutter of nerves crowded out what they were saying. How could I take a chance when so much hung in the balance?
“It was just supposed to be a vacation fling, you guys. You know my business. If they catch wind of a husband, they’ll freak out. It would only take one ugly comment from some keyboard warrior about being a fraud, and I could lose everything.”
Remington’s arm came off the back of the couch, his hand rubbing my back. Which was sweet. And comforting. And what I so badly wanted when I thought about my life outside of my business. He acted way too sweet for a guy who was only my fake husband.
“And I need a wife to get out of running the family ranch. If I’m married, I’m free to run the nonprofit I’ve started and want to put all my time and attention into. I vote for staying married.” Remington’s deep voice illustrated our dilemma.
Oakley, the newlywed of the group, cleared her throat. “How about you pause on the annulment and take some time to just date each other? That would give you time, Esme, to see if being with Remington is worth making a pivot in your business. It would give you time to put together a plan to slowly introduce the idea to your audience.”
That sounded reasonable. Maybe even brilliant. My heart rate kicked up at the thought of actually dating Remington. We’d put everything backwards by getting married before we even knew each other. The prospect of dating him set everything to a warm simmer inside of me.
“All I know is Mom and Dad are going to freak out you eloped. They nearly disowned me for getting married in Vegas with Titus. And that was even when I promised them a reception in Auburn Hill afterward!” Amelia had a gleam in her eye, like she couldn’t wait to see me get my ass handed to me by our parents.
“That’s true. They weren’t happy for a long while,” Izzy said quietly.
“I think it’s super romantic! Imagine the story you’ll have for your grandkids,” Vee exclaimed.
“Hold up, you guys. No one is telling Mom and Dad anything. You have to keep this all a secret. Until we decide what we’re going to do, I don’t want it getting out that the marriage license even exists. Are we clear?”
Vee pouted. “I don’t know how long I can keep quiet about a thing like that.”
I gaped at her. “Seriously, Vee? You’re my sister. Surely you can keep your trap shut for a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?” Amelia asked loudly. “I can do a week. Tops. Besides, you know Poppy will sniff it out if you drag everything out too long. That woman is like a drug-sniffing hound for gossip.”
Remington grimaced. “This Poppy sounds awful, but just like our town’s dispatcher. She knows everything about everyone.”
“I think Poppy’s nice. She only shares because she cares,” Izzy said, always with a kind word for everyone.
I hopped off the couch. “Okay, enough about Poppy. I’m exhausted and I have another long day tomorrow. Don’t forget about the retreat here tomorrow night.”
All four of my sisters groaned.
“I really can’t commit. I could go into labor at any minute,” Amelia said with wide, innocent eyes.
I pointed my finger right at her face. “You’ll be here and you’ll be nice. This is my first in-person event. I’ve invited every woman in Auburn Hill, including the infamous Poppy. You need to support me.”
I spun to face Remington. “And you need to stay hidden away. I can’t let them see you or this whole thing will blow up in our faces before we’ve had a chance to figure things out.”
He put his hands up. “No problem. You won’t see me or hear me. That short trip to Wyoming put me behind. I’ve got a ton of work to do.”
I rubbed my hands together, already nervous about hosting a retreat for the ladies of Hell, having Remington hiding in the house, my sisters knowing my secret, and the potential for Remington and me to officially date.
My life had been so predictable before.
How did it come to this?