“What? You’re already married. You were smart enough to lock her in before she figures out all your faults.”
Eve laughed. Her husband grinned at her.
Shawn wasn’t particularly amused. Rhett didn’t look like he was enjoying the stand-up comedy routine either. He was frowning, and when the waitress asked him if he would like a drink, he ordered a double shot of tequila. Holy firewater, amigo. Shawn looked at him in amazement.
“Maybe you shouldn’t order that,” Eve told him. “You don’t want whiskey dick on your wedding night. Or technically, tequila dick. But that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”
She and Nolan both laughed again, enjoying their little shared humor at Shawn’s husband’s expense. She had to say, she did not care for that one bit. “That’s not a problem for my husband,” she said, and damned if she didn’t sound like one pissed-off wife, legit.
Everyone else must have agreed because Eve’s laughter cut off and Charity was staring at her wide-eyed.
“It was a joke,” Eve told her. “Truth be told, I don’t give any thought to your husband’s dick.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Nolan said.
“Are we having fun yet?” Charity asked, holding up the basket. “Chip, anyone?”
“I’ll take some,” Shawn said, reaching in and grabbing a massive fistful. She suddenly felt the urge to stuff her face before she said something that was rude and uncalled for to her friends.
Rhett’s hand squeezed the top of her thigh. He leaned in close to her and murmured, “Thanks for defending my prowess, babe. I appreciate it.”
She made the mistake of turning to look at him. He was closer than she realized, his mouth inches from hers. “Well, I can’t have people talking smack about my husband.”
Then she jammed a chip into her mouth to combat the salivating desire to kiss him in La Ranchita.
His hand came up and cupped her cheek. “God, you’re gorgeous,” he told her earnestly.
A warm wet pool of desire formed deep inside her. Did he have to be so sexy?
Harley coughed next to her. When Shawn looked up, she saw four faces staring at them, with varying expressions, ranging from horror (Eve) to envy (Charity).
“Is that your wedding ring?” Harley asked as Shawn reached for her margarita. The diamond band was glaringly obvious in the multicolored lights of the fiesta décor.
“Yes, it is. Isn’t it beautiful?” That wasn’t an exaggeration. It was a stunning ring, delicate and vintage-inspired. Oddly enough, she didn’t think she would have chosen it for herself, yet it fit her perfectly. She liked that it wasn’t showy or attention-demanding. It was something her grandmother would have worn, which made her feel a little melancholy. Her grandmother had died when Shawn was twenty, and she and Pops had enjoyed a fifty-year marriage.
The thought of their love and commitment had her reaching for her margarita again.
“It’s gorgeous,” Harley agreed. “Rhett, did you pick that out?”
“Yes. It just looked like it would suit Shawn.”
“Are you going to have a reception or anything?” Charity asked.
“We’re having a party, not a full-blown reception. On Valentine’s Day,” Rhett told her.
As he spoke, his hand covered hers, his finger stroking over the wedding band with a clear display of possessiveness that made her uncomfortable. What was he doing here, by the way?
“If you need any help, let us know,” Nolan said mildly, like it was perfectly natural for any of this to be happening. “We have the race on Sunday, obviously, but V-Day is Wednesday this year, so I can help you out on Monday and Tuesday.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Rhett looked genuinely touched by his brother’s support.
Shawn pictured this evening times ten at a wedding reception on Valentine’s Day, of all days, paper hearts and doilies barfed all over her house, congratulations, curious stares, and the knowledge that she was a massive fraud, and she just wanted to get drunk.
But when she reached for her margarita, Rhett actually moved it out of her reach. “What are you doing?” She stretched further, and he put his hand over hers to stop her progress.
“I just did a double shot of tequila. I think you should drive us home, not me.”
Was he f**king kidding her? “I didn’t tell you to take a shot!” And what was this about going home anyway? Whose home? She had fully intended to spend tonight alone with her rabbit. The vibrating kind, not the furry kind.
“But I did. So would you mind driving us home?”
His tone was even, but his eyes said something she didn’t understand. Shawn felt confused, miserable, and in desperate need of an orgasm. If she said yes, she did mind, she would just sound petulant. Besides, she probably shouldn’t argue with her fake husband on her wedding-night outing with friends. It would look a little sketchy.
“Of course I don’t mind.” Big. Fat. Lie. “Though I guess we should discuss these things right off the bat, shouldn’t we?”
“Communication is key to a successful marriage,” Charity said confidently.
“How the hell would you know?” Eve asked. “You’re not married.”
“So?”
They started to argue, and Shawn sat back, glad the spotlight was off her. An hour later, she was more than ready to leave and massage her cheeks out of their lockjaw from fake smiling.
But of course, that presented a different set of issues. Rhett held her coat out for her, and when she slipped her arms into it, he said, “Just let me get my bag out of Nolan’s truck, then we can go.”
He really was coming with her, and she couldn’t ask him what the hell he thought he was doing in front of everyone else. That it was manipulative and rude.
After hugging her friends and smiling and waving in the parking lot, she climbed into her car and wished for death. It would be preferable to this bullshit. Why had she thought she could do this?
This was the stupidest, most ill-conceived plan ever on the face of the planet, and she was going to be struck by lightning and die for lying to her closest friends. Either that or end up in prison after murdering Rhett. A girl was entitled to her cocktail, thank you very much, and if he valued his junk, in the future he would not do that. It was patronizing and it pissed her off.
She was going to have to establish some ground rules.
He got in the passenger seat and smiled at her. “That went well.”