12 - Joanna

12

Joanna

I'm going to ruin this wedding .

My mind raced as Teddy—Theo—sat in the chair opposite me. His eyes bore into mine, first filled with confusion, then accusation.

I quickly pulled out my phone.

Me : It's not what you think. Don't make a scene. I'll explain everything after dinner.

Still scowling at me, Theo pulled out his phone and punched in a response.

Theo : You need to explain NOW. Meet me at the bar in one minute.

"Everyone has a drink but me!" Theo said cheerfully. "The wait staff has their hands full serving the food. I'll grab a drink at the bar. Mrs. Cozart? You want another Chardonnay?"

"Oh, you're such a darling, Teddy!" Danicka replied.

He got up and left the room. I counted to twenty. "I'm going to use the little girl's room before the main course arrives," I announced. Nobody was paying attention though. Everything was fine. This was all totally normal.

"We have a private bathroom in here," Marisa said, pointing across the room. I guess someone was paying attention.

"I… I think I saw someone just go in there. I'll use the one out in the restaurant."

Marisa shrugged and returned to her salad.

Out in the main restaurant, Theo was leaning against the bar and saying something to the bartender. "I can explain," I began.

He whirled to face me. "You lied to me!"

"No! I'm lying to all of them!"

"That's worse! You're cheating on Landon! He's such a nice guy, too. I'm keeping that bloody Bedard jersey."

I grabbed a handful of his button-down and pulled him closer. "Stop talking before you create a lot of unnecessary drama. Landon and I aren't together. I'm pretending to be his girlfriend for the wedding to keep his family from bothering him."

"Why the hell would you do that?"

"Because he works for Defense Technologies, and is going to get me a job there. But I can kiss that job goodbye if you blow our story! Remember how I said I have a great story to tell you?" I waved my hand in the direction of the rehearsal dinner room. " This is that story ."

Slowly, the color began to return to Theo's face. "That's not as bad as I thought. But still… you're lying to everyone?"

"You lied about being out of town for two weeks!"

"No," he replied firmly. "I was at a conference in Columbus. I got back into town an hour ago and came straight here. I have the wedding tomorrow, and then I'm going out of town again—to go on the honeymoon with everyone."

"Well… you… you…" I tried to think of something else to say. "You lied to me about your name, Teddy!"

"First of all, that's not even remotely the same thing as what you're doing. Second, Teddy was my nickname in college. Bradyn and his family still call me that. Not a lie."

The bartender returned with two glasses of Chardonnay and a double shot of tequila. Theo slid the latter glass toward me.

"What's this for?"

"I was planning on telling Landon about the two of us, and I thought that would soften the blow of being embarrassed in front of your boyfriend's family. But I guess now you can have it to calm your nerves."

I took a long sip of tequila. "I'm just surprised you knew my favorite drink."

"You told me during our date last week. Personally, I like the strawberry martini better."

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," I explained. "But everything is going smoothly. The Cozarts are buying our story. Danicka loves me. Which means Landon will get me that job at DefTec." I held up a finger. "But only if you don't say anything."

Theo leaned his elbows on the bar and laughed to himself. "I won't say anything. The whole thing is actually kind of ridiculous, when you think about it."

"I know, right?"

The two of us chuckled together at the bar.

"Listen," I said. "If you're upset about all of this and don't want to see me again, I'll understand."

Theo turned to face me. "Joanna, there are three things about you I'm certain of. One, you're super fucking hot."

"If this were a date, that would earn you two points," I said.

"Two, you can pull off a nose ring like a bad ass."

I touched my nose. "I'm not wearing a nose ring."

"No, but we both know you totally could if you wanted." He held up a third finger. "Finally, I'm certain that I want to see you again. And not from across the table at a rehearsal dinner. In a hotel room. With room service on the way."

"No spending limit?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Here's a secret, Joanna. There never was a spending limit. I was going to order every item off the menu, and eat half of them off your body."

A sexy tingle ran up my spine as I leaned closer to him. His lips were pursed together in a satisfied smile. I wanted to feel those lips all over my body again, just like in the hotel room last week…

Theo started to lean in for a kiss, and I closed my eyes. I wanted it, needed it. But the kiss never came.

"Probably shouldn't do that," Theo said, picking up both glasses of wine. "It would suck for everyone to find out and ruin things. Wait a little bit before coming back to the table."

"I will." I let my hand drop down between us, my fingertips caressing across the front of his pants. I felt his cock leap to attention within. "Oops."

He glared down at me. "You did that on purpose."

"Who could even know that?"

Theo flashed me a parting smile, then weaved his way back toward the private room. I watched him go, enjoying the way his chiseled ass looked in those slacks, before turning back to my tequila.

"Tito's is better."

I flinched and looked to my right. It was Austin, the guy with the smooth Texas drawl. Marisa's friend. He was casually leaning on the bar, staring into the contents of his glass.

"I'm sorry?"

He pointed at my glass. "Tito's vodka is better."

"This isn't vodka. It's tequila."

Austin shrugged casually. "Clear liquors are all the same."

When I realized the implication of him being here with a fresh drink, my skin went cold. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know you've got a secret. A secret you don't want Landon to know about."

The threat was palpable, but I felt a measure of relief. He thought I was cheating on Landon with Theo. He didn't know Landon and I were faking our relationship.

What he thought he knew wasn't much better, though. Should I tell him about the deal between me and Landon? After Theo's appearance, the number of people who knew the truth was rapidly rising. The fewer people who knew, the better.

"Are you going to tell anyone about this?" I asked.

He shrugged again and gave me a cutting sideways glance. "Haven't decided, yet. Figured I'd play it by ear."

Okay, motherfucker. If you were going to be a coy bitch about it, then I could play the same game.

"Maybe we could make a deal," I said.

"You want to buy my silence?"

"I'd rather play it like this: you keep your lips sealed, and I won't tell the bride that you're still in love with her."

Alarm flashed behind Austin's pale blue eyes. It only lasted a second before his calmness returned, but it was enough to confirm what I suspected.

"I'm not—"

"I saw the way you looked at her when she introduced you to me," I said, acid dripping from every word. "And I noticed how you watched her and Bradyn all night before we sat down to eat. You're in love with her."

He furrowed his brow. I got the sense that my accusation was close, but not perfectly on the mark.

"Or," I added, "you're not still in love with her, but you're hoping the wedding will fail."

There it was. The acknowledgment in those calm eyes. That was what this was all about: he wanted the wedding to blow up.

And revealing that Landon's girlfriend was cheating with the Best Man would definitely blow things up.

"Might be you're in the neighborhood," Austin said with another casual shrug. Too casual. "Doesn't mean anyone's going to believe you."

"And nobody's going to believe you if you start spouting off nonsense," I shot back at him. "They'll see the truth: that you're just a jealous ex trying to ruin the wedding. So go ahead. Tell everyone. See if Marisa thanks you for creating all that drama, or hates you for it."

I knocked back the rest of my tequila, slammed the glass down on the bar next to Austin, and walked away.