Her thoughts turned to Zane. I needed to kiss you last night. But where did that leave them now? Wishing she had answers, she forced herself to think about her motivations. She sighed, picking at her muffin and thinking about when she’d gone off to college after they’d slept together. He had done her a favor. She hadn’t wanted to go away to college as an inexperienced virgin, and he’d given her experience. The problem was, no man could ever live up to what she’d built that night up to be in her mind—or in her heart.
She’d been naive to think she could sleep with him and not feel anything. She and Zane had continued texting for the first few weeks, but it wasn’t like they’d texted love notes or had developed a real relationship. At least she’d stuck to that end of the bargain and kept her true feelings to herself. But she’d hoped that at some point their relationship might naturally develop into something more, and she’d gone out with her new friends and had boudoir pictures taken, intending to send them to Zane and win him over. But then he’d stopped texting, and with his radio silence, she’d chickened out. She’d never gone back to pick up the photos. And it was a good thing, because it might have taken her several months to finally move past her first all-consuming love, but knowing the kind of man Zane had turned into painted a pretty clear picture of what he’d wanted. If she’d sent those pictures and he’d turned her down, she would have been mortified on top of being heartbroken. And if she’d sent them and by some miracle they’d tried to have a relationship, he probably would have cheated, and that was the kind of pain she might not ever have recovered from.
She pushed those painful memories aside. Sometime later, after finishing her coffee and muffin and thinking about the Spider-Man cake she was going to bake for Louie’s birthday, she was in a better mental place and determined not to go back to being that vulnerable girl again. From here on out, this was a business deal that wouldn’t, couldn’t, blur the line between friends and lovers.
Feeling more in control, she picked up her sandals and went in search of Zane, thinking about last night again. The man had more willpower than she did, and she was glad he’d finally given in. She had really believed he hadn’t wanted to kiss her, and she had been surprised at how much that had hurt.
The gazebo came into view, and she recognized Zane’s unmistakable profile: the sharp ridge of his nose and strong jaw, hair that looked as wild and free as his smiles did. He sat beside Liz, who was in her wedding gown. Willow’s pulse kicked up as he leaned closer to Liz and took her chin in his hand, moving her face toward his. Willow froze, her fingers curling into fists. Was he hitting on the bride? Did Zane have no scruples? She stormed across the lawn, preparing to give him hell. And what was that stupid bride thinking? So what if he was Zane Walker! She was supposed to be in love with Mark. Didn’t love mean anything anymore? Had the entire world lost their minds and turned into sweet-and-sour tarts? Be sweet. Or be sour. But don’t pretend to be one when you’re really the other.
Liz turned red, puffy eyes in Willow’s direction as she approached, and Willow’s stomach plummeted. He’d made her cry?
“Hey, sweetheart,” Zane said softly. “Liz is having a case of cold feet. I was just telling her that means she’s truly in love with Mark.”
She wanted to ask what he knew about true love, but the lump in her throat only allowed an empathetic mew to escape. She stepped into the gazebo, and Zane reached for her like it was the most natural thing in the world and pulled her down on his lap. He brushed her hair over her shoulder, and his honest eyes made the lump in Willow’s throat expand.
“I know a thing or two about cold feet,” he said. “I was so afraid Willow would say no when I proposed, I wasted weeks trying to get up the nerve to ask her. You’re just afraid of being hurt, Liz. But I’m sure Mark feels about you the way I feel about Willow. Like his world wouldn’t be complete without you.”
He turned his warm brown eyes on Willow, and she felt herself sliding down a slippery slope, wanting to believe him.
“She’s my whole life,” he said with a tender smile. “I can’t imagine going a single day without seeing her beautiful face. I dream about seeing her belly round with our babies and about taking long walks when we’re old and gray, so hard of hearing we have to shout just to hear each other.”
“Gosh, you guys are so in love.” Liz wiped her tears with a wad of tissues.
If Willow didn’t know Zane was just playing a role, she’d have said the same thing. Part of her believed every word out of his mouth. But she pushed that vulnerable, naive girl down deep. Then she stomped on her head a few times, burying her even deeper. She followed Liz’s gaze across the lawn and found Mark approaching, looking handsome in his tuxedo, a concerned expression etched into his face.
“Come on, baby,” Zane said to Willow. “I think Liz and Mark should be alone.” He squeezed Liz’s hand and said, “Marriage takes an act of trust. In some ways it’s a blind bargain, because by nature people and life are fluid. They’re destined to change, which is what makes them so wonderful.” His arm circled Willow’s waist, and she wondered if he’d had relationship lessons for breakfast. “But if you both make an effort, you grow together, not apart. You’ve got this, Liz. Be happy.”
He led Willow away from the gazebo. She waited for him to brag about how good an actor he was, or fish for kudos for a deed well done, but he remained silent. That silence endeared him toward her even more. These glimpses into the guy he had been were piling up inside her like sprinkles on her Zane cupcake, making her hungry for more.
His phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket and glanced at it. “I’ve got to take this. Give me a sec?”
Willow watched him walk away, silently reprimanding herself for jumping to the worst conclusions about him. She vowed to stop and to try to gain control of her jealousy, which had spurred that awful thought in the first place. She watched him pacing, his hand cruising through his hair so many times she knew he was dealing with an issue. He downplayed his job whenever she brought it up over text. Show up and look good. Nothing to it. But she knew him better than that. She knew he’d probably studied and rehearsed relentlessly in order to have this time off. She also knew it would be far easier for him to have asked an actress from LA to play the part of his fake fiancée. It would be weird to try to act like this with anyone other than you.
She hadn’t paid enough attention to his answer when he’d said it. Or maybe she was reading too much into it now, wondering if he really believed it, because for her it was one hundred percent true. She could never act like she had a serious relationship with anyone else. She’d found that out when she’d brought home another guy the Christmas after she and Zane had slept together. Faking it had made her sick to her stomach. She was thinking about that painful holiday when he returned to her side with a disgruntled expression.
“Come on, we’ve got to pack.”
“What’s wrong?” She hurried to keep up and followed him into the resort.