Outrageously in Love by Jen Morris

29

“Okay… nude, I guess.”

Alex gives me a strange look. “Are you sure you don’t want to go for something more exciting?”

I shake my head, and the manicurist reaches for the nude polish. I’ve already had these ridiculous gel things put on my nails, making them twice as long as they should be. It’s bad enough I won’t be able to use my hands for anything now; the last thing I need is for them to be bright orange or something. Even Harriet 2.0 has her limits.

I relax back against my seat as the manicurist sets about painting my nails. It’s been a busy few days and it’s nice to unwind and be pampered a little.

“You know,” Geoff chimes in from where he’s getting his feet scrubbed, “you could argue that going nude is the most exciting option.” He tosses us a cheeky grin and we all laugh.

“So, are you feeling ready for the big day?” Cat asks Alex, blowing on her scarlet nails.

“Mostly.” A smile brushes Alex’s lips. “Once I get this draft to my editor tonight, I’ll feel better. The only reason I’m not totally stressed is because Harri and Luke have worked so hard to get the wedding sorted. I don’t know where I’d be without them.”

My body tenses ever so slightly and I steal a quick glance at Alex. After our minor detour into New York real estate three days ago, Luke and I have spent a lot of time together. We haven’t spoken about the cafe again, or Luke’s suggestion that I move to New York, and I’m glad that he’s given me some time to process it.

Instead, we’ve spent our time in bed, under the pretense of completing wedding tasks. We actually managed to finish the wedding stuff in one day, and I’ve been terrified that Alex would figure it out. Every night I’ve come home from Luke’s, anxious that her and Michael would be suspicious, but they’ve both been so distracted by their work they haven’t noticed a thing.

“And is Mel still coming?” Cat asks.

“Ugh, yes.” Alex makes a face and Cat glances at me.

“She’s told you about Mel, right?”

“Yes. I’m on it. My job on the day is to make sure she doesn’t do anything.”

Geoff snorts. “Good luck.”

My eyes dart between the three of them. “You don’t really think she will pull something, do you?”

“I don’t know.” Alex’s brow knits. “I wouldn’t put it past her. I’d hate for Henry to get caught up in something, and I want Michael to be able to relax.”

Right. I need to absolutely stay on top of the Mel situation. It doesn’t matter what’s going on with Luke, or Dena, or anything else—Mel needs to be kept in line so Alex and Michael can enjoy their wedding.

“Don’t worry about it,” I assure Alex. “You can count on me.”

“Thanks, Harri. Are you still okay to go up to Indian Lake early?”

“Uh-huh.” I focus on my nails, careful to suppress the excited smile I feel forming on my lips.

As nice as it’s been spending the past few days with Luke, every evening I’ve had to come home. But Luke had a great idea; the wedding and reception are taking place at some lodge at Indian Lake, a town in the Adirondacks where his family has had a cabin for years, and he thought we could go up to the lodge a day early to “get everything ready” (read: spend a whole night alone together in the cabin). I was nervous when I floated the idea to Alex, expecting a raised eyebrow at least. Instead, she was overcome with relief and thanked me for being “so thoughtful,” then turned back to her laptop without a second thought. I couldn’t believe it.

But the fact that she doesn’t suspect anything—that she trusts me so implicitly—has made the guilt I feel about lying to her so much worse. It’s not just that, though. Growing up, Alex and I never talked about boys or that kind of stuff. I finally have something so juicy to share, and I can’t. I’ve never wanted so badly to tell my sister something, and it’s killing me.

Anyway, at least the wedding is organized, so I know that will go smoothly. Now Luke and I can go to the cabin for a night alone before our families arrive. Anticipation rushes my bloodstream at the thought of spending an entire night with Luke.

“…so he’ll just see you the morning of the wedding…”

I sigh happily, letting my mind drift off as I picture curling up in Luke’s arms, kissing his—

“Harriet!”

I startle, causing the manicurist to smudge my nail. She gives me a disapproving look and sets about cleaning it up.

“What is going on with you?” Alex demands, her eyes narrowed to slits.

My cheeks grow warm. “What?”

“I’ve just spent the past five minutes talking to you about Derek and you’ve been somewhere else the whole time.”

“Derek?”

“Your date for the wedding.”

“My date?”

“Yes!” she says, exasperated. “Remember, you asked me to find you a date for the wedding. Cat asked Derek, and now—”

“Oh. Yes. Derek.” Shit. I completely forgot about him.

“You still want to take him to the wedding, right?”

“Er, well…” I don’t really want to take this random Derek character to the wedding, even if Luke will be there with Dena. I never wanted to take him at all, but I can’t say that now.

“Oh for God’s sake.” Alex puffs out a frustrated breath. “Why have you changed your mind?”

From the corner of my eye, I catch Geoff sending me a knowing look. For a moment I wonder what’s going through his mind, if—fuck—has he figured it out? Then I remember the conversation with him and Cat where I told them I’d been in touch with the “guy from the plane.” And I realize that maybe, if I’m careful, there is a way I could share some things with Alex.

“Okay.” I give Geoff a conspiratorial smile, then turn to Alex. “I… uh, I’ve kind of been seeing someone.”

“What?” she squeals, and Cat chuckles at her response.

A grin streaks across Geoff’s face. “I knew it! Is it your hot plane lover?”

I nod, finally letting myself beam like I’ve been wanting to all afternoon.

“Wait, what?” Alex cocks her head. “You’ve been seeing the guy you hooked up with on the plane?”

“I have,” I say cautiously. Relief rolls over me at sharing—well, if not the whole truth, some of it.

“Oh my God!” She smacks a hand on the table and the manicurist pauses, giving her a look, but Alex doesn’t notice. “Why didn’t you say something? How did this happen?”

I shrug, trying to be nonchalant. “It just kind of… happened.”

“Wait.” She sits upright, concern flickering across her face. “So you haven’t been working on the wedding stuff?”

“Of course I have! That’s all sorted.”

“Oh.” She settles back in her chair, going quiet for a moment. “I guess I did notice you’d been staying out pretty late. I just figured you were at Luke’s.”

“No!” I say, a little too quickly. My pulse jumps and I stare intently at my nails as heat spreads across my neck. “I was with… Liam.” Gah! That’s too close to Luke!

“Liam,” she repeats, as if testing the name out. I glance at her in worry, but she’s grinning. “Well, tell me about him! I want to know everything.”

This time I do blush, properly. I haven’t had a chance to share this with anyone, and I’m dying to. I know I probably shouldn’t say anything, but surely a few, vague details would be okay?

Before I can help myself, I’m gushing. “He is so sexy—but it’s more than that. He’s been really supportive about this idea I had to open a cafe. And he’s so cute with me, always holding my hand, kissing me, and he does this sweet thing where he tucks my hair behind my ear.” I smile, picturing the adoring way he looks at me when he does that, and a little sigh escapes me. “He’s just… he’s amazing.”

“Wow,” Alex breathes, her eyes wide. “You really like this guy.”

My skin prickles uncomfortably at her words. She’s right—I do really like this guy. I like this guy who is pretending to be married to someone else and lives thousands of miles away from where I live.

“Yeah,” I mumble, my shoulders slumping. Across the salon I see Geoff watching me curiously, but I ignore him.

“So you’ll bring him to the wedding then?” Cat asks.

“Oh, no.” I shake my head and a heavy feeling settles over my heart. “It’s… no, it’s not like that.”

“What?” Alex asks, puzzled.

I shrug, blowing on my nails. “It’s complicated.” I think back to when Luke first used that word, and how much more complicated it is now.

“You mean it’s just a fling?” Cat says. “Because you’re leaving?”

“Yeah,” I mutter. A fling. I hadn’t thought to label it but I guess that’s what it is.

“Are you kidding?” Alex blinks at me, incredulous. “I’ve never heard you talk about a guy like that before. That’s not just a fling, Harriet. It sounds like you’re in love.”

“I’m not in love,” I reply, chuckling. That’s such an Alex thing to say. “It’s only been a couple of weeks.” But she’s right about one thing: I like him a lot. So much that I can’t bear the thought of leaving. And that’s before I remind myself that I’ll have to see him pretending to be in love with his ex-wife soon. But there’s no point dwelling on that right now.

I push the thought from my mind, and by the time we finish up and head out of the salon, I’m back to being excited about spending the night at the cabin alone with Luke. It’s going to be delicious.

The four of us wander through the East Village, talking and laughing in the pink blush of early evening. There’s a cool nip in the air, and I smile when we step into the warmth of Bounce. Alex and Cat head for a booth, but Geoff grabs my arm.

“We’ll get drinks,” he calls to the others, then drags me up to the bar.

I open my mouth to ask Geoff what’s going on when a tall, bearded bartender appears in front of us. Cat’s brother—I remember him from the last time we were here.

“Hey!” He runs a hand through his messy, dirty-blond hair. “You’re Alex’s sister, right?”

“Yes,” I say, smiling. “I’m Harriet.”

“Cory Porter.” He extends his hand and I shake it, feeling a little flustered. I’d forgotten how cute he is.

Beside me, Geoff rolls his eyes at Cory. “Don’t even think about it.”

Cory laughs, raising his hands innocently. “Just being friendly.”

“Sure.” Geoff adjusts his glasses, then gestures behind the bar. “Can we get a round of strawberry rosé mojitos?”

“Seriously?” Cory scrunches his nose and Geoff chuckles.

“Yes. It’s a bride thing.”

“Fine.” Cory lets out a resigned sigh. “I’ll get Josie. She knows how to make them.” He heads to the other end of the bar, speaking to a petite brunette woman, and she grabs a pitcher to make our drinks.

Geoff turns his attention to me. “I told you something would happen with your plane man,” he says with a self-satisfied grin. “So you figured everything out?”

I play with a cardboard coaster on the bar, overcome with the sudden urge to tell him everything. Steph’s been busy at a work conference and hasn’t had time to chat, and when I think of the last time I talked to Geoff, he was so encouraging.

“Well,” I say, dropping my voice, “kind of.”

He quirks an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“He’s—” How do I explain this? “He’s recently divorced. He still has some loose ends to tie up, but—”

“Loose ends?”

I glance over to check that Cat and Alex are still in the booth. “Yeah. He hasn’t told everyone he’s divorced yet.”

“Why not?”

“Oh, um…” I stall, thinking. I can’t very well tell him about the wedding situation, can I? “That’s the complicated part.”

Geoff’s brow furrows in a frown. When he catches my worried expression, he shakes his head. “I’m sorry. It’s probably nothing.”

Unease threads through me. “Geoff, tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Well…” He hesitates, holding his breath, then exhales. “I find it strange that he’s divorced, but hasn’t told everyone.”

“He has a good reason. And… he will. It’s just not the right time.”

“Right,” Geoff says, unconvinced. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but surely, if he likes you as much as you like him, now would be the right time? Why would he want to hide what he has with you? I know you said this is just a casual thing or whatever, but you do seem to be quite… invested. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

A pitcher appears on the bar in front of us. “Strawberry rosé mojitos,” the brunette bartender says. Her green eyes are bright with a smile.

“Great! Thanks, Josie.” Geoff takes the pitcher then turns back to me, his face softening. “Look, I’m sure it’s fine. If you say he has a good reason, then…” He shrugs, nodding towards the others. “Come on. Let’s have a drink.”

I watch him head to the booth, my gut twisting like a rag. I know what Geoff is saying and it makes sense. But… Luke isn’t hiding me so much as he is keeping up appearances to placate his father. After the wedding, all that will be over. He still has to tell his family, of course, but he will tell them, I know that. He won’t pretend to be married forever, otherwise why would he suggest I move to New York?

“Harriet!” Alex calls.

I scuttle over to the booth, shoving Geoff’s words away. It might have only been a couple of weeks, but I know Luke. I know this is not something I need to worry about.