“I’m sorry. That had to be really hard for you, to be cut off from your best friend.”
I’m not sure I would have ever noticed if my father stopped calling me when I was in college or if I would have even cared. Even back then, I despised him.
She lifts her shoulders and then drops them on a sigh. “He’s not the same, and I don’t entirely blame him. I’ve changed too. Now, I play her games because, if I don’t, I won’t have access to him. She’s already cut off my uncle Jim because he basically called her out on being controlling.”
“How big is your family?”
She bites her lower lip. “Pretty big. My dad has five siblings. Aunt Eileen, who you’ll love, is divorced. Aunt Marie, who is a pistol and is married to Arthur. He indulges her every whim. Uncle John, who is married to Gail. He’s a dean at a college in New York. Then there’s my uncle Jim, who refused to come if Satan’s sister was invited because he didn’t want to cause drama. Then my aunt Shannon is the baby, and she swore off men years ago. All of them together are amazing and loud and funny, and . . . well, I think my dad really needs them. It’s been a few years since they’ve been together, which is another reason this wedding is so important. I want to see Daddy happy. I want to give him this wedding because I think it’ll give him closure with his siblings he misses.”
“And if this backfires and he ends up heartbroken?” I ask because I think she might be ignoring the fact that it’s a real possibility. She’s so focused on figuring out how to make her father happy that she isn’t seeing how crushed he will be if he finds out his daughter lied to him.
“Then I’ll figure it out, but . . .”
“But you still want to try.”
Her big green eyes are wide and open, full of vulnerability and hope floating through them. “Do you think I’m horrible?”
“No.”
After hearing how much this means to her, I don’t know if I would’ve said no even if I didn’t have the resort to think about. None of that seems to matter as I look at her.
Which is fucking stupid.
Maren is literally coming out of a failed engagement, lives hours from here, and isn’t someone I have feelings for.
Yet.
I can’t stop looking at her and wishing I could take all her pain away. I need to get my ridiculous hero complex under control. Lord knows it’s done enough damage over the years. I don’t need another reminder of how I’m good but not good enough.
Before I can think much of it, Fred, the permanent fixture at the diner, appears next to me. “I hear you’re tying the knot.”
Bill, his counterpart, stands next to him and answers. “You don’t hear anything. I heard he’s getting hitched.”
Fred slaps his back. “It’s the same thing, you dumb-dumb.”
I offer a tight smile and release Maren’s hand. “I see you spoke with Mrs. Garner.”
Bill shakes his head. “Kristy knows too?”
“You didn’t hear it from her?” I ask.
“No, I heard it from Jeremy. Came in here for his coffee and sandwich before his shift and said he heard it from Joey, the plumber, who heard it from Michael, who is working on the traffic light, who heard it from one of the Andrews sisters.”
“I’m sorry I asked,” I grumble under my breath.
“So, it’s true?” Fred jumps in, looking over at Maren. “Please tell me it ain’t you. You’re much too pretty for this boy.”
She clears her throat to cover a laugh, and I bristle. “What does that mean?”
They ignore me, staring at Maren with wide grins.
Maren returns their smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Bill sits beside her and practically purrs. “The pleasure is all ours. Believe me, we are the ones who are very happy to meet you.”
Oh, Jesus. “You two get away from her,” I warn and reach for her hand.
“You don’t want to marry him.” Fred jerks his head at me. “He’s not all that bright.”
“And has bad hair and no skill with the women,” Bill says.
“You have no hair,” I fire back at Bill.
“In my day—”
“Which is far gone,” I finish.
Maren giggles, and I swear, her entire face lights up. She’s so fucking beautiful that it hurts to look at her. They’re right, she would be much too good for me if she were mine.
She just needs me to pretend to be hers, which is really proving to be far too easy.
“Now that you’ve all met, you should go back to your stools before someone takes them.”
Bill waves dismissively. “They can have it if I can have her.”
I roll my eyes. “She’s taken.”
“By whom?” he asks.
“Me, and you know it.”
I wish I could say this was all for show or that I was protective of her out of some sense of obligation to our arrangement, but I’d be lying. A part of me—a part I’d like to pretend isn’t really there—wishes it were true. Maybe it’s because she’s so fucking pretty. Maybe it’s because it’s clear she’ll go to any length to give the people she loves what they need. Maybe it’s because, when she looks at me with those big doe eyes, I want to fall to my knees in front of her.
Whatever the damn reason is, I need to remember that she doesn’t want me that way. She is only doing this because of her father.
And this is fucking fake.
Maren leans into me. “I think I have a good guy right here.”
Fred chuckles. “He’s all right . . . I guess. Don’t forget, though, not all that bright.”
I shake my head, the old people in this town need a different hobby. “Don’t you have some other person to harass?”
The door chime rings and Stella heads our way, making Bill and Fred tense. They may think they are tough and like to give everyone shit, but they’re afraid of my sister. In all honesty, we all are.
“Hello, boys. I hope you’re not bothering Oliver and Maren.” Her brow raises as though she knows exactly what they were doing.
Fred’s eyes turn soft. “Never, sweetheart. We were just meeting the newest member-to-be of Willow Creek Valley.”
Shit. I didn’t think about this. We haven’t had much time to talk about our story, the town people assume she’ll move here.
Stella doesn’t miss a beat. “That’s very kind, but as much as we’d love to visit with you both, we have wedding plans to finalize.”
And just like that, they leave. I really envy this woman sometimes. Stella sits and drops a binder onto the table. “Now that we’ve taken care of that, let’s get to work on this wedding and ensure that no one will think that you two aren’t in love.”
Nine
MAREN
I’m not as sure this is such a good idea anymore. Today, Dad and Linda arrive, and when we planned this after Oliver one-point-oh proposed, it made perfect sense for them to get here before everyone else. I wanted to let my father spend some time with Oliver before the wedding, get to know him, see how much he adored his baby girl.
This . . . well, this is utter insanity. Last night, Oliver and I spent three hours going over each other’s lives, friends, and family dynamics, and I still don’t feel ready.