Sophie Pembroke - Wedding Promises

‘This is brilliant!’ Eloise burst out, and Dan blinked at her.

Either they’d been a lot more convincing than he’d thought, or there was something else going on here. Something that meant Eloise didn’t want to examine their lies any more deeply than she had to.

‘Melissa has insisted on Riley staying in a separate room until their wedding night, so I had to give him Dan’s—sorry, Dan.’ She gave him a quick smile. Dan didn’t return it. ‘But if you two are together, then that’s fine because you’ll be sharing anyway!’

There it was. That other shoe dropping.

He really, really hadn’t thought this through. But, in fairness, he hadn’t thought it would actually be happening. It had just been an idle suggestion—a possibility that Laurel had quashed almost instantly. If she’d said yes in the car, they’d probably have talked it through and realised how impossible it was. Instead here they were, stuck with a fake relationship Dan was rapidly realising was clearly destined for disaster.

‘Sharing...right.’

Laurel’s smile had frozen into that rictus grin again. He didn’t blame her. How had things escalated this quickly?

Eloise frowned. ‘As long as that’s okay...?’

‘Of course!’ Laurel said, too brightly. ‘I mean, why wouldn’t we?’

‘Exactly,’ Dan said, trying not to imagine how his week had just got worse. ‘Why wouldn’t we?’

Because we’re not a couple. Because it’s all just an act. Because I was really looking forward to a quiet room and a mini-bar all to myself.

Because I’m not sure I can keep my hands off her for a full week.

No. That he could do. Laurel was cute—gorgeous, even. But Dan prided himself on his control—and this situation definitely required it. Especially considering all the people who would be watching.

He’d offered to be her fake boyfriend for the week, promised to be a friend—nothing more. And she needed that. This was going to be a hellish week for both of them, and they each needed someone to lean on—Laurel most of all. He couldn’t take advantage of that just because she was hot and they only had one bed between them.

Besides, she was waiting for her prince, and he was all out of crowns and white chargers.

‘Well, I’m glad that’s all sorted,’ Eloise said, clapping her hands together with glee. ‘See you both later, then.’

And with that, the new maid of honour disappeared, leaving them to figure out how, exactly, they were supposed to share a room.

Dan looked down at Laurel. ‘Honey, I think we need to talk.’

* * *

Laurel couldn’t blame Eloise for this ridiculous situation, she realised as she led Dan towards the lifts. Melissa had obviously decided to be a cow—again—and who could blame Eloise for finding the best way out that she could? And, as an added bonus, Melissa would be really annoyed not to have caused Eloise trouble. So, really, this was all win-win for her.

Except for the part where Laurel now had to spend the next four nights sharing a room with the gorgeous guy who was pretending to be her boyfriend for the week.

Pretending. As in fake. As in a hilarious prank that had seemed a lot funnier before they’d realised they were sharing a room. A room with only one bed.

The worst part was she couldn’t even blame Melissa. No, this was a full mea culpa Laurel mess. She was the one who had stupidly seized Dan’s offer at the last minute and dragged him into this charade. He probably hadn’t even been serious when he’d suggested it in the car. It had probably been a joke that she’d taken way too seriously and jumped on because she’d felt worthless in the face of Coral wearing her engagement ring.

One moment of ring-based madness, and now here they were.

‘I’m really sorry about this,’ she said as the lift doors shut and the lobby of Morwen Hall disappeared from view. At least here, in the privacy of the lift, they both knew the whole situation was a sham.

Dan stepped away from her, his hand dropping from her waist for almost the first time since they’d arrived. Her middle felt cold without it there.

‘It’s not your fault,’ he said, not looking at her, obviously knowing that it totally was.

Instead, he seemed to be staring at their wobbly, muted reflections in the brushed steel of the doors. They looked hazy—indistinct blobs of colour on the metal. Which wasn’t far off how she felt right now—as if she wasn’t as sharp or as focused as the rest of the guests arriving for the wedding.

They all knew exactly who they were, what they were portraying. All Laurel knew was that she’d let herself get carried away with a pretence that was about to come back and bite her.

‘Eloise means well,’ she tried, not wanting Dan to spend the week blaming her friend, either. ‘I suspect Melissa was just trying to make things difficult....’

‘Seems to me that’s what Melissa does best,’ Dan said.

‘Well, sometimes,’ Laurel agreed. ‘Most of the time. Possibly all of it.’

‘And she’s going to be my sister-in-law.’ He sighed.

‘You don’t sound thrilled about that.’

Or was it just sharing a room with her he wasn’t looking forward to? How was she supposed to know? She’d only known the man a couple of hours. Hardly enough to get a good mind-reading trick going.

‘I just don’t want Riley to make a big mistake.’

‘Marrying Melissa, you mean?’

A cold feeling snaked down through Laurel’s body. Was Dan planning on persuading Riley to call off the wedding? Because that kind of thing really didn’t tend to get the wedding planner any repeat business, even if it wasn’t her fault.

Dan flashed her a smile. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be fine. I’m just...interested to meet her, that’s all.’

‘Right...’ Laurel said, unconvinced.

Was this why he’d suggested the whole fake relationship thing in the first place? She’d known he had an ulterior motive—that was one of many reasons she’d turned him down. And then she’d panicked and forgotten all those reasons.

This was why she didn’t do impulsive. It always ended badly.

Well, if Dan thought that Melissa was a bad choice for Riley, Laurel would just have to prove otherwise. Hard as it was to imagine trying to persuade someone that Melissa was a good person, apparently that was now the latest task on her wedding planner to-do list. Great—because that wasn’t long enough already.

‘So, tell me about your room.’ Dan turned towards her, sharp blue eyes watching her face instead of their reflections now. ‘For instance is it a suite, with multiple bedrooms and a stuffed mini-bar?’

‘It has a mini-bar.’

‘And bedrooms?’

‘Bedroom. Singular.’

‘Two beds?’

Laurel winced, and Dan turned away with a sigh just as the lift doors parted again, opening onto Laurel’s floor.

‘Sorry,’ she said, leading him out into the corridor.

‘I’ll cope.’

‘I’m sure you will.’ Big, strong stuntman like him—he’d be fine anywhere. It wasn’t him she was worried about.

What was the protocol for this? Laurel wondered as she slipped her key card into the door and pushed it open. He was the guest—did that mean she had to give him the bed? In fairness, she’d probably fit better on the tiny sofa than he would. But on the other hand it was her room... No. He was the one doing her a favour, pretending to find her attractive and worthwhile in front of her family. He probably deserved the bed.

It was just that it was a really comfy bed.

Dropping her key card on the tiny dressing table, Laurel moved across the room to the window, staring back at Dan, looming in the doorway. He was too big for her room—that was all there was to it. It had been the perfect room for just her—queen-sized bed with a soothing sage-coloured satin quilt, white dressing table with carved legs, a small but perfectly formed bathroom with rolltop bath...even the dove-grey wing-back chair by the window was perfect for one.