ADAM

Lizzy wrote vows that promised just the right amount of commitment to make the wedding look legit, but not so much that either of us felt like flat-out liars. None of this “until death do us part” business, which, to be honest, even if I ever did get married again for real, I’d never, ever say to another person. My chest squeezed at the thought.

The only people who knew the truth about our fake relationship were Dylan and Kama. I hated not being honest with the rest of the family—for a second time—but we needed it that way in case I really did have to go to battle for Olivia so we wouldn’t put anyone in a situation of having to choose between lying or ruining our marriage of convenience if they were called to testify about my suitability as a father.

I did my two-finger whistle to get everyone’s attention, then wrapped my arm around Lizzy’s shoulders.

“I know this wedding comes as a bit of a surprise to some of you—”

“Not to me!” Olivia interrupted with glee as she ran up and jumped into my free arm.

“And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little surprised myself to be tearing up my singles dance card—”

“Bro, who even says that?” Nick called from the back steps of his house.

I gave him the finger with the hand on Lizzy’s shoulder. Subtle enough that neither Olivia nor Nana would see it.

“Lizzy has been family adjacent for over a year, and I thought it was time to, you know, make her family proper.”

“Lizzy, how can you still be standing with all that swoon-worthy, romantic talk?” Dylan asked.

“Dude, you suck at speeches,” Josh called over the laughs.

I felt Lizzy’s shoulder shake. She was biting her lip again and trying not to laugh. “Sorry, but that was awful. You ready to do this, handsome?”

Am I ready? The blizzard in my gut said no. I swallowed the memory of the first woman who’d married into the illustrious Rhodes family—and then, who’d left me before anyone even knew what we’d done.

This is different, I told myself. Lizzy and I are on the same page. We have a shared expectation of where this is headed. And for how long. It’s all good.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

I put Olivia on her feet then nodded at Lizzy and kissed her, as we’d planned. Our first public display of affection. As fake as our marriage was going to be, the kiss felt real. And lasted much longer than we’d agreed to. I squeezed my eyes closed, telling Belvedere to settle down, reminding him that there would be no wedding-night fun.