It’s my wedding day.
The words loop in my head as sunlight spills across the penthouse suite and Tiana tugs at my hair for the third time.
“Hold still,” she scolds, a brush clenched between her teeth while she pins another curl in place.
“I am still,” I mutter. “You’re just aggressive.”
“It’s not my fault you keep flinching. You need to look perfect. It has to look real.”
“It’s not real,” I grumble, but my heart skips anyway. My stomach has been twisting itself in knots since dawn. Real or not, I’m about to walk down an aisle in Paris for my wedding. To Worth.
Tiana hums under her breath. “So… Did you tell Mom and Dad?”
I freeze. “About the wedding?”
“Yeah.” She arches a brow at me in the mirror. “It’ll be kind of hard to hide the wholegetting married in Paristhing.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “No, I didn’t. I honestly didn’t know how to bring it up without sounding completely unhinged. ‘Hey, Mom, I’m marrying my boss in Paris tomorrow, but don’t worry—it’s just for business!’”
Tiana snorts, shaking her head. “Good point.”
“I’ll tell them the truth eventually.” I smooth the silk of my robe over my knees. “Once we’re back and things settle. I just want to be able to explain it properly, you know? Mom’s going to be shocked. Devon, too. But once they hear everything, I think they’ll understand.”
Tiana’s expression softens. “They will.”
I nod, but the reassurance doesn’t stop the ache building in my chest.
I stare at my reflection while Tiana works, and the woman looking back at me almost fools me, too.
When I first opened my eyes this morning, the pillow fort I built last night was a heap on the floor. I don’t remember when it fell, only the heavy warmth of Worth beside me, the faint trace of his cologne still clinging to the sheets.
And Worth’s fingers giving me the best orgasm I’ve ever had. The fact that he was touching me while I was asleep should freak me out, but when I woke to his strong hand between my thighs, his hot breath on my shoulder, and his hard cock pressing against me—I don’t know what I would’ve done if he had stopped.
A blush creeps up my neck even now. I shouldn’t like how easily he gets under my skin, how every move of his body rewires something inside mine. But I do.
Worth was already gone when I got up. No trace of him, except a folded note.
Went to the gym with Griffin. We’ll get ready in the other suite so you and Tiana have privacy.
“Stop smiling like that,” my sister says, snapping me out of it. “You’re just supposed to be nervous, not lovestruck.”
I roll my eyes, though she isn’t wrong about the nerves. My palms are damp, my pulse uneven.
Tiana dusts a shimmer across my cheekbones. “Worth is going to lose his mind when he sees you.”
A strange ache blooms in my chest. I look away, exhaling slowly as Paris hums beyond the windows. The dress hangs near the door, waiting. It feels too beautiful, too sincere for a pretend wedding, but it’s mine now, just like this day.
It’s almost time to leave, and I hear low male voices drifting in from the other side of the suite. Worth and Griffin are back. Tiana perks up instantly, abandoning the last of the makeup brushes on the vanity.
“They’re here!” she whispers, eyes sparkling with excitement. “Okay, don’t move. I’m going to wait outside so I can record Worth’s face when he sees you.”
Before I can protest, she’s gone, heels clicking down the hall, and I’m left alone in the bedroom with my racing pulse.
For some reason, this part—the reveal—feels like the most nerve-racking one of the entire day. Even more than the ceremony.What if he thinks the dress is too much? What if he doesn’t like what he sees?
I glance at my reflection one last time, reminding myself I shouldn’t care—that it’s not real.
The gown hugs me perfectly. I lift the Cartier earrings from their velvet box and fasten them through my lobes, then adjust the matching necklace until it sits neatly at my collarbone. My fingers smooth over the front of my dress again, pressing down invisible creases I’ve already fixed many times.