Page 91 of Fake It For Him

Mikey’s voice started shaking, but he pushed on. “For years, I watched you surrender all those little things about yourself, your own hopes and dreams, and I saw him taking and taking, never giving a thing in return, but I couldn’t say anything. Not when your parents loved him like a son and you were giving up so much to be with him, but your parents don’t even know Calan and I don’t have to shut up this time.”

My chest tightened, but Ella stayed calm. There were tears tracking down her cheeks again, but she didn’t even try to wipe them away. “I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t say anything. I wish you would have, but I get it. I wouldn’t have listened anyway and you felt like the same thing was happening now. With Calan.”

He jerked his chin in a nod. “Isn’t it? This man literally bought and paid for you, Ella. You’ve done everything he’s asked because it’s in some contract, and once again, it doesn’t look like you’ve had much of a choice. Once again, I’ve had to watch you put what you want on the backburner for a guy who isn’t willing to give an inch for you. How is that fair, Ella? How is that not crazy?”

She stared at him for another beat before she glanced at me over her shoulder. If it wasn’t for the small smile she gave me, I’d have thought that maybe she believed what he’d said even if nothing could be further from the truth.

As she turned back to him, she took his shoulders to move him to face the distillery. In the dark and with the snow still coming down, we couldn’t really see the building from here but we could see the glow of the lights and we could still hear the faint sound of the music in the distance.

“Right now,” she started softly. “Calan’s family is over there, celebrating his sister’s marriage. She’s the person who means the most to him in this world, and yet, he’s over here with us instead of being over there, trying to clear things up.”

“Yeah, because he needs you with him to be able to do that.”

Ella’s head shook. “When I ran out earlier, he came after me immediately. I screamed at him that he’s an asshole and took off again, and you know what he did? He followed me again, gave me his coat since I’d run wearing only my dress, and when we got here, the only thing he asked was what I needed.”

Mikey didn’t argue this time, his gaze on the lights across the lake. Ella must’ve taken his silence as her cue to keep going. She smiled as she stepped into his side, taking his arm in her hands and squeezing it. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

“After I told him I wanted to go home, he offered to call me a car, but I called Kara instead. At that point, he definitely could’ve just gone back to the reception and told them all that I was gone. He could’ve tried to make amends and he could even have lied about it, but he didn’t. In fact, you just heard him say that he told his brother the truth at his sister’s wedding because he didn’t know how to tell me how he feels about me.”

She dragged in a breath so big, it made her chest rise and fall under the thick coat they’d brought her. “Does that sound like the actions of a man who’s unwilling to give an inch? I respect you and I know you’re just trying to protect me, but you don’t have to, Mikey. I know to the depths of my soul that this is right. I don’t expect you to understand, but after taking some time to process, and as my friend, I expect you to accept that I’ve made this decision and to respect that I love him.”

She gave him a quick hug, then let go of him and strode over to where I was still standing with a sobbing Kara. “Thank you for coming to pick me up, but you can leave now if you want. I’m sorry for wasting your time and ruining your night. I’ll make it up to you. Somehow. Just tell me what I can do.”

I gave Kara a final squeeze and withdrew my arm in favor of holding Ella instead, my mind racing with what I could do to help her make it up to her friend. “If you want to stay, there’s one more room available at the property next door. Why don’t you come back to the wedding with us, have a few drinks, and then sleep over there?”

Kara wiped her cheeks and arched an eyebrow at me. “You’re inviting extra guests to your sister’s wedding?”

“It’s a nice wedding,” I said. “I’ve already blown it up. Why not bring two extra people back with me to boot?”

I cracked a smile and she grinned, but Mikey didn’t. She glanced at him before she sighed. “Well, I’m in, but we’re going to have to talk him into it.”

“Come on, Mikey,” Ella encouraged him. “Maybe if you see his family and where he comes from, if you speak to them and witness the way he interacts with them, then you’ll have a better idea of why I love him. Plus, there’s really good booze down there. Only the best stuff. At worst, you’ll be able to get the most expensive buzz you’ve ever had and you won’t have to pay so much as a dollar for it.”

“What she said.” Kara went over and batted her lashes at him, a wide grin spreading on her lips. “Come on, don’t be a party pooper. Besides, it’s a wedding. There are always single girls at weddings, looking for a young, handsome guy exactly like you to keep them company when they’re feeling all alone.”

He blew out a heavy breath, but after a few more seconds, he nodded. He didn’t look happy about it, but at least he’d agreed to stay. I wrapped my hand around Ella’s and we all hurried through the snow back to the distillery.

Ella was still in her sweatpants and I had no idea what we were going to say to try to fix things, but when we finally reached the wedding, I was relieved to see my sister dancing with Jim and some of our cousins, laughing and having fun.

They’d moved out into the tent again to watch the fireworks still going off and a speaker had been moved out so people could keep dancing. It looked like the celebration was still in full swing, which meant that maybe I hadn’t done as much damage as I’d thought.

As we rushed in, I headed straight to the person who mattered the most. Freya. She was still dancing, but she saw us coming as Jim spun her in a circle, and I swore I saw her light up with hope. But then Finn was there, his hand landing heavily on my chest before he shoved me back and put himself directly between my sister and me.

“Back off, Calan. Haven’t you already done enough?”

Ella was still holding my hand and her touch kept me calm. I thought back to how she’d handled Mikey earlier and drew inspiration from that, hoping that Finn would be back by my side by the end just like Mikey was still at hers.

Reluctant and uncertain, for sure, but he was here. Maybe I could convince Finn to give me the chance to convince him as well.

“I’m sorry about how I handled things earlier,” I started. “I didn’t explain myself very well nor did I give you any reason not to react the way you did, but I’m not running this time. I’m owning the mistake I made, I’m taking responsibility, and I’m hoping that you’ll talk it out with me and let me make it right.”

Mom and Dad moved in next to Finn, who was still just glaring at me. Dad looked as skeptical as Finn and he stood close to his side, like he, too, was trying to protect Freya from me. Mom glanced at both of them before she turned to Ella and me.

“I’d like to hear him out,” she said.

A moment later, Freya appeared, looking gorgeous in her wedding gown with her eyes clear and not swollen. It didn’t look like she’d cried at all, and while there was definitely some anger in her tightish jaw, she motioned for me to continue.

“Speak, Cal. I want to hear what you have to say for yourself this time.”